If you have flown aboard Philippine Airlines, you probably have heard of Inka Magnaye’s voice.
She voiced the flag carrier’s announcement and safety reminders.
For Inka, however, it was only her first time to hear her own voice aboard the plane last Monday, which also happened to be her first international trip.
The voice talent and content creator flew to Singapore with her mother for a seven-day work trip sponsored by the Singapore Tourism Board.
“I was shaking because I’m so happy and this is such a surreal moment for me. I recorded this (voice recording for the airline’s announcement) in 2019, so it’s been a while, compounded by the feeling of my first-ever trip outside my country,” the 33-year-old content creator said.
“On the outside, I was subdued and acted per usual, but on the inside, I was brimming,” she added.
@inkamagnaye Replying to @annswerte ♬ original sound – Inka Magnaye
Inka could not contain her happiness and cried when their plane landed.
“I was getting a little embarrassed, but I couldn’t help the overwhelming feeling,” she said in a video.
“The Philippines was all I’d ever known, and other countries had only lived in my imagination,” she continued.
@inkamagnaye Replying to @fonz ♬ Paper Birds (3 min) – Jordan Halpern Schwartz
Why Inka has never traveled abroad before
Some social media users cannot believe that Inka has never traveled outside of the country.
“Hindi ako makapaniwala 1st time mo lang sa plane kasi ang galing mo mag-English saka mukha kang mayaman na afford mag-travel,” a TikTok user wrote.
Inka responded to this and said, “long story short, I cannot afford it.”
“Every time I think of traveling, it sounds like so much fun, and then I think about plane tickets, accommodations, food, pocket money for whatever I need, transportation, and then pasalubong,” Inka said on a TikTok video.
“As much as I know that travel will be good for me, these are expenses I cannot justify on my own,” she added.
“The way I think of it is the plane tickets to and from will be my rent. My food and accommodations alone for that trip would be my groceries,” Inka said.
“Transportation (and) pocket money, those things could go [to] my bills,” she continued.
Inka said her mindset about traveling was influenced by her experience when her father’s business faced problems and she was forced to stop school.
“I think that happening to me made me so super hyperaware of these responsibilities that I have now as an adult because, again, I’m the primary breadwinner of my home,” she added.
“I really can’t afford to travel. I hardly go shopping. I think I go shopping like once every quarter,” Inka shared.
Inka said that her inconsistent income as a freelancer is also one of the reasons why she never traveled abroad.
Despite this, Inka said she tries to travel locally to the “best of her financial capabilities,” revealing that she loves going to Tagaytay.
The content creator said she previously took local trips to Cebu, Boracay and Davao, paid for by her grandmother and clients.
Meanwhile, when traveling to the beach, Inka said she always goes on a carpool with her friends and looks for camping sites to save money.
“I’m gonna keep working hard so one day I can afford to travel. Until then, I have work opportunities like this one and really nice places we have at home,” Inka said.