From NAIA to Narita

I used to fly Northwest Airlines a lot during the ’90s, between Manila and New York, and I had forgotten how nice it was.
These days Northwest is known as Delta Airlines, and last January I received an email from Delta offering ticket sales that seemed too good to be true. Business class to Narita started at US$589, plus taxes of US$240, came to about US$829.
Last year Jeroen and I cancelled our anniversary trip to Japan because of Yolanda, so I thought this was a good time to go and see if I can get a three-year visa (I did!). Never mind that the weather is a bit too cold for me.
Last Thursday, we left the house at 5 AM and arrived a bit early at NAIA for our 7:45 AM flight.
Good news: the airport looks like it’s finally getting renovated.
Never mind the chairs and the carpet—these should be gone soon. We hope.

Those horrible souvenir shops and food stalls are now boarded up.

Hopefully to make way to better brands, edible food, and more international-friendly concepts (read: not native). Eek.

The Delta flight was so pleasant! I am not a morning person. I did not sleep a wink because I had to wake up at 4:30 AM, so the flat bed seat with a view of my husband was really comforting to me.

I slept for most of the flight. Or I prayed even thought it was only slightly bumpy. I am still afraid of flying. But the flight attendants were so nice, like Badette who reads my blog and Stephen who is an old friend of ours.

Also met a reader named Gem or Jem who said hi to me before boarding
Travel tip: if you have a cold/cough, Drixine will be your best friend 30 minutes before landing.
Spray this into your nostrils to avoid painful eardrums and temporary deafness on the plane.

We landed safely at Narita, which was amazingly deserted. I have never seen this before.

This was after 12 noon. Why oh why??

I don’t understand

We got our luggage quickly and was out of there in minutes.

Is that why the tickets were on sale? Is everyone landing at Haneda instead?
Somebody please explain.