Airports are among my favorite places in the world; full of chatter, employees working purposefully, mishaps, and people buzzing at the thought of their upcoming trips. That excitement is palpable and contagious! However getting to one's departure gate is but the end of a long list of steps to tick from the to-do list. The following are musings from over a decade of travels, expressed by self-made toy brick sets.  And every great trip begins with planning! A solid three months before every flight: flights are booked, hotels are researched, tours and itineraries are mapped out, and documents such as visas and insurance are prepared. The adventure officially starts at the airport, where our tradition of packing light (and shopping heavy in our destination) makes for a hassle-free check-in. Always be kind to the check-in staff. It's not only the classy thing to do, sometimes you might even score an upgrade (three, by our count). Online check-in lines are always shorter than regula...

For millions of Filipinos, the United States of America is the land of promise: famous cities, iconic landmarks, relatives eager to show you around, fantastic food choices with huge servings, exciting NBA games, and loads of shopping. Unfortunately, we Filipinos cannot just fly into the US. To be able to legally enter America, we need an official document from their government authorizing us to enter their territory. This document is what we call a visa. A US visa carries several advantages: 1. Duration - an approved US visa can be valid for a few weeks to up to 10 years depending on how your whole application is processed by US Embassy officials. Compare this to EU Schengen (duration of stay as per itinerary), UK (6 months), Japanese (3 months), and Chinese (duration of stay as per itinerary) visas 2. Value for Money - Total visa application fee is at $160. If you get a 10 year visa validity, that fee comes out very economical. 3. Other Visas - It is not explicitly stated ...

After getting through the PLANNING phase (PART ONE) , we now go through PREPARING for the Embassy appearance and interview!