Growing up, vacation meant the end of school and the beginning of summer. Our family did not go to fancy destinations. Instead, we mostly stayed in our grandparents' farm during summer. The beach was never considered an outing; it was just part of the summer activities of families living within the banana plantation. It was always arranged by the plantation management.
When I started working in a city that was/is an airplane away from home, vacation meant going home for the holidays. But in between, there were those trips to the beach outside of the city. And then, I discovered economy fares. It started my itch to explore new cities, new country.
Thrown in along the way in my life's journey are real-life grown up priorities like amortizing for a condominium unit, paying off the remaining balance on the car and patiently counting the days or months that other obligations will be paid off. So, the wanderlust in us (hubby and me) gets a backseat. We chose to focus on the big picture even when we're dying to hop on a plane.
Somehow, we learned to love staycations. Wikipedia defines it as a period in which an individual or family stays home and participates in leisure activities within driving distance, sleeping in their own beds at night. They might make day trips to local tourist sites, swimming venues, or engage in fun activities such as horseback riding, paintball, hiking or visiting museums. Most of the time it involves dining out more frequently than usual. Or to put it simply, "A vacation that is spent at one's home enjoying all that home and one's home environs have to offer" as defined by the Urban dictionary.
The month of October had a lot of long weekends. We stayed home, read a lot, slept more, had long coffee hang outs and dinners. But this long weekend, we used our Gift Voucher (from Avon) for Diamond Hotel, a four star hotel in the famous Manila Bay area.
I feel bad I missed the famous Manila Bay sunset. But I had the gastronomic pleasure of eating this calorie laden ensaymada (cheese-topped bread).
We were lucky because we were upgraded to an Executive Room, just because we had to endure a one-hour delay in checking-in which we spent lounging at the hotel's lounge sipping our complimentary drink. Not bad.
We spent the day watching a marathon of 'The Voice', long naps and a stroll to the neighborhood looking for a good place to have dinner. We didn't have to look far, we found Nihonbashi Tei. Read my short story here.
The hotel was cozy. The staff were gracious extending our check-out time to 2 o'clock. It was a nice change of scenery. After a hearty breakfast, we bid adieu to this old but still charming hotel.
Thank you, Diamond Hotel for a nice, warm stay! Until our next staycation.
Xx
Sheng
When I started working in a city that was/is an airplane away from home, vacation meant going home for the holidays. But in between, there were those trips to the beach outside of the city. And then, I discovered economy fares. It started my itch to explore new cities, new country.
Thrown in along the way in my life's journey are real-life grown up priorities like amortizing for a condominium unit, paying off the remaining balance on the car and patiently counting the days or months that other obligations will be paid off. So, the wanderlust in us (hubby and me) gets a backseat. We chose to focus on the big picture even when we're dying to hop on a plane.
Somehow, we learned to love staycations. Wikipedia defines it as a period in which an individual or family stays home and participates in leisure activities within driving distance, sleeping in their own beds at night. They might make day trips to local tourist sites, swimming venues, or engage in fun activities such as horseback riding, paintball, hiking or visiting museums. Most of the time it involves dining out more frequently than usual. Or to put it simply, "A vacation that is spent at one's home enjoying all that home and one's home environs have to offer" as defined by the Urban dictionary.
The month of October had a lot of long weekends. We stayed home, read a lot, slept more, had long coffee hang outs and dinners. But this long weekend, we used our Gift Voucher (from Avon) for Diamond Hotel, a four star hotel in the famous Manila Bay area.
I feel bad I missed the famous Manila Bay sunset. But I had the gastronomic pleasure of eating this calorie laden ensaymada (cheese-topped bread).
We were lucky because we were upgraded to an Executive Room, just because we had to endure a one-hour delay in checking-in which we spent lounging at the hotel's lounge sipping our complimentary drink. Not bad.
We spent the day watching a marathon of 'The Voice', long naps and a stroll to the neighborhood looking for a good place to have dinner. We didn't have to look far, we found Nihonbashi Tei. Read my short story here.
 |
| Socks selfie? Oh lala! |
The hotel was cozy. The staff were gracious extending our check-out time to 2 o'clock. It was a nice change of scenery. After a hearty breakfast, we bid adieu to this old but still charming hotel.
 |
| carbo overload! |
Xx
Sheng
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