Staycation at Diamond Hotel

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.

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!

Thank you, Diamond Hotel for a nice, warm stay! Until our next staycation.

Xx

Sheng

Manila Sunset

It's fascinating when an opportunity like a long weekend rolls by and you haven't made plans to go out of town. 

Well, we had great plans of spending a night in the cooler side of Manila with a nice vista of the Taal lake in Tagaytay. But some plans aren't meant to be. 

The past two weeks I've been having bouts with hives. I know not the kind that needs to be shared. But I just wanted to point out that I've been having trouble getting my share of forty winks. It's so darn itchy at night. The sad news is there's really no medicine for it. Only some antihastamines that may or may not really prevent itching and a lotion that at least soothes the skin. 

Because of that and among other things, we decided to just sleep away our Friday. You'd think we'd wasted an opportunity to be outside -- shop, dine and enjoy the mall's idea of what the Christmas season is all about. 

But when the afternoon sun sets west, I happen to glimpse its incredible beauty. 

Lovely Manila sunset. (Unfiltered; iPhone shot only)

I think we were meant to stay home and just enjoy the natural wonder of what we have. Without spending so much, we have this as a backdrop while we enjoy the afternoon breeze in our tiny balcony. 

Staycation wasn't that bad at all. I got to enjoy my three great loves in one day: hang out with my hubby in my crappy house clothes, enjoy many sips of my favorite java and read to my heart's content. Thank God for iPads. But it's another story. 

Happy long weekend, everyone! Here's to hoping that you were able to spend it with your great loves doing what your heart desired.

XX

Staycation

I wish I've traveled so I can say that my long weekend was well spent. But I didn't; I stayed home. I tried to catch up on sleep and reading. 
I read some books. And I wrote a few entries into my blog. Alternating between naps (long ones) and social networking is finding time to write down my thoughts, observations and reflections. 

Thanks to Facebook, I was able to browse through some old pictures that made me smile and ponder. Where does the time go? Long before social networking, my best friend and I, would write letters each week without fail. I was in Cebu and she was based in our home town, Davao back then. 

Eagerly, we would send each other letters through a courier service so we won't have to wait too long. Snail mail was too painfully slow. As soon as we've posted our mails, we would then inform each other through email that the missives are now on their way. 

We were at it for quite a while. As fate would have it, she would work as well in Cebu. Then, we shared a small but cozy studio for more than two years. We partied together, we dated together. 

And then life happened. We shared our own moments of disconnect but we still managed to be the friends that we were. Somewhere along the way, Jinggay decided to go back home and pursue her post graduate studies. When it was time for her to leave, I cried buckets. 

But true friendships transcend time and distance. We've managed to stay in touch despite the crazy schedule and our priorities. I've moved to different cities several times. But what remained constant was our friendship. I've met and broke up with a guy whom I thought I was destined to be and yet, Jinggay and I were still as solid as ever. 

I went home for her wedding. I was her maid of honor. 

 

 

 

 

 

Few pounds ago :-) xoxo

The letters are now few and far between but when you have a strong foundation, you can always manage to pick up where you've left off whenever you see each other. Christmas is a tradition that we have kept through the years. It's a visit and a reconnection.

So, while I didn't go to any exotic place this long weekend, I had the privilege of traveling back in time. Am in bed surrounded by those letters we've exchanged through the years. I've moved countless times, zip code and all but one item that is non-negotiable is my treasure box where all my mementos are stored. Those short and long letters that never fail to remind me why I took the journey. 

It's a happy staycation, after all!