You were fortunate to arrive at T1 in the morning as opposed to late night.
The infrastructure has improved even a frequent business visitor notice the improvements. More direct highway access is the one that everyone notices.

"Past performance should not be taken as an accurate indication of future results" applies to your boarding from rear or front door of the plane issue. I stop planning my boarding at T4 to the provinces.

It is not the 90+ temperature that kills you, it is the 90%+ humidity.

I was also surprised by the airport currency exchange rate from USD to PHP and back. It is better than the competitive money changer marketplace in HK.

Like you, I always have a problem adjusting to the Filipino time zone.