Philippine Airlines and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)

The plane ride to Los Angeles, USA via Philippine Airlines was alright. The kids were their "usual selves" so was I glad that I didn't decide to stay behind with just the two of them as I do not have any work to return to hurriedly anyway.

They enjoyed the meals on the plane -- I mean have you ever met a kid who does not like corned beef or sausage? The Looney Tunes activity kits were also very welcome and kept my daughter occupied when we had to spend a rainy day stuck in our hotel in Los Angeles.

We arrived at the Los Angeles Airport at about 7pm on April 18 still. It was a cold 15 degrees celsius (well, we are Manila people so that is cold for us) so we scrambled to whip out our jackets as we boarded the airport bus.

The lines at immigration were long that it took us more than an hour to get out. That -- after moving from line to line at the instruction of airport personnel. When you get to have your turn at immigration, they will take your fingerprint and your photo -- much like what you had to do at the US embassy when you applied for your US visa.

If you come from the Philippines, the people at the airport will automatically assume that you have food and will ask you: "What food do you have?" You'll be asked to follow a certain line for further scrutiny and when you finally get there, you may be asked, as it happened in our case: "Who told you to come here?" To cut a long story short, we lined up twice or thrice only to be told at the end that we were free to just go through.

My nephew who is based in Los Angeles picked us up at the airport so things were convenient for us. If you have no one to pick you up or bring you to the airport, you can take the shuttle services which are available at the LAX. It will cost you about USD 14 per adult and USD 8 per child (assuming that you stay in the Anaheim area). For scheduling information, you may call 1-800-828-6699.

There is also the Super Shuttle which you can reach at (714) 517 6600 and the Airport Coach that may be reached at (800) 772 5299. You may call them directly to inquire about how much they charge.