Jed Oliva, a 31-year-old architect, has won over netizens with his quirky caption depicting a supposed immigration encounter at NAIA Terminal 3 with an Immigration Officer (IO).
In his post, he shared a witty, make-believe exchange with an IO, who asked about his purpose for traveling to Shanghai, China, to which he jokingly responded, ‘to eat Shanghai rolls.’
The entire caption reads:
“IMMIGRATION STORY
NAIA Terminal 3
IO: San ka punta?
Me: Sa Shanghai po.
IO: Anong gagawin mo sa Shanghai?
Me: Kakain po ng Shanghai habang namamasyal at nanonood ng race sa Formula 1.
IO: May dala kang Shanghai?
Me: Meron po.
IO: Okay, tingin sa camera.
Sabay tatak! Shanghai lang sapat na! HAHAHA!”
Posted alongside the creative caption were photos of Oliva everywhere in Shanghai, holding a box of Shanghai rolls as a prop.
In the photos, he can be seen holding the Shanghai rolls with some of the iconic places in Shanghai as his background.
In an interview with The Filipino Times, Oliva shared that he went to Shanhai last month to watch F1 or Formula 1.
“I’m a big F1 fan, and I also went to Suzuka City in Japan last year to watch the Japanese Grand Prix. Going back to the Shanghai trip, aside from F1, of course, I also explored. I went to The Bund, the famous waterfront area of Shanghai where you can see the modern skyscrapers of the city. I also went to the observatory area of the Shanghai Tower, the third tallest building in the world. As an architect, it’s a dream come true for me to see and climb one of the tallest buildings in the world. Of course, I didn’t miss the chance to visit Shanghai Disneyland,” said Oliva in an online interview.
His post, originally shared in the DIY Travel Philippines group, received positive reactions, particularly from netizens who are also Shanghai roll lovers.
When asked how it felt to receive an outpouring reaction from netizens, Oliva said: “Nakakatuwa po na maraming netizens ang napasaya ko sa aking ‘kumain ng lumpiang Shanghai sa Shanghai’ post sa isang FB travel group. Nasa travel bucket list ko po talaga kasi na kumain ng Shanghai sa Shanghai.”
Last year, Oliva also went viral after creating a witty caption with the same format, saying to the IO that he’d play with a lato-lato toy in Malaysia, which was a craze in the Philippines last year.
He also received a lot of reactions from netizens when he shared his travels to real-life locations from the anime series Slam Dunk. Slam Dunk was a cartoon show that was famous in the PH in the 90s.
In real life, however, he never really jokes when speaking with Immigration officers (IO) but would like to ease up Filipino travelers’ fear of speaking with them.
“Maging totoo lang po sa mga sagot sa mga tanong ng mga IO. Prepare the necessary documents lalo na sa mga first-time travelers. Intimidating lang talaga ang mga IO kung minsan pero kung travel and leisure lang talaga ang pakay natin sa bansang pupuntahan natin ay walang dahilan para matakot tayo at ma-pressure.”
Oliva has traveled to almost 30 countries, including Canada, the US, Japan, Korea, and mainland China, to name a few.
“Most of my travels po ay personal talaga at kadalasan ay solo travel. Yes po, hobby ko po talaga ang mag-travel. Magastos na hobby pero masaya! Sa Tokyo, Japan po ang aking unang solo travel noon, I think 2022 yun. I’ve been to Osaka, Japan ng 2019 pero may mga kasama ako that time. Nakakatakot po sa umpisa ang mag-solo pero eventually you’ll enjoy the good part of solo traveling, just make a research and plan ahead bago pumunta sa isang bansa as solo traveler,” shared Oliva.
He also shared that the UAE is also on his bucket list of countries to visit. He mentioned being enticed by the prospect of traveling to the country, particularly because Abu Dhabi hosts F1 races as well.
How about you ka-TFT? Where is your favorite travel destination, and what’s your immigration story?
