Limlingan: The NAIA and Linapacan Island
THE NINOY Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 (NAIA-1) was again rated by a travel site as the world's worst airport for 2013.
"The Guide to Sleeping in Airports", a travel site, has chosen our very own as the worst in the world and in Asia last October 15 due to its congested and dilapidated state despite being our country’s main international gateway.
The NAIA was the 5th worst in 2010 and earned the top spot also in 2011. At least we have maintained the topmost ranking for this year.
According to the site, the rankings were based on factors such as comfort, cleanliness, conveniences and customer service. It seems we topped it all.
Malacañang in a press briefing quickly came to the rescue, saying that the issue on the poor condition of the airport is not new and that the said concerns are already being addressed.
Since the poor condition of the airport is not new as mentioned straight from the Palace’s mouth, we can’t help but think that the government is doing nothing in order to improve the airport’s condition not only for ranking purposes but for the convenience of the travelling public. The airport moreso is one of the show windows of the country that can be seen by foreigners as to what kind of a country we are.
The NAIA is more than 30 years old and it indeed requires a major facelift to make it at par with other air travel gateways. As a traveler, I can say that we are left far behind by our Asian neighbors in terms of technology and facilities such as airports.
Since our premier airport in Metro Manila seems to be having a hard time coping up with repairs, improvement and development, we might as well resort to transferring more flights to a better airport, the Clark International Airport (CIA).
While government is trying to resolve NAIA’s problems for years, it is also eyeing to transfer some of its international operations to the CIA. Perhaps it’s high time to realize the CIA dream with the recent tagging (again) of the NAIA as the world’s worst airport.
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Despite having the worst, we have at least a best that we can be proud of.
Recently, the American news site Daily News Dig recently came up with a list of “35 Clearest Waters in the World to Swim in Before You Die”.
The news site has included Linapacan Island in Palawan as having one the world's clearest waters to swim in. The recognition came with other beach sites located in Europe and in the South Pacific areas.
For those who may not know it, Linapacan is in a remote province and home to many beaches with super clear water. The island has a population of just less than 15,000 people and has a number of other tiny islands to boast.
I have been to Palawan several times and have seen the pristine waters it has. One can literally see his toenails while submerged under beach waters.
With the recent recognition given to Linapacan Island, I might as well go and explore the place when time will permit me.
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