NATIONAL UNIVERSITY A CHAMPION NOT ONLY TO HER STUDENTS BUT ALSO TO HER ALUMNI

PHOTO: Courtesy of NationalUniversityManila

Such an overjoyed feeling setting my feet in the New building of National University(NU) for the first time. Being a part of rejoicing and celebrating her victory for winning the UAAP's '77 mens basketball championship against the FEU was a great privilege for me. 

JMB (Jhocson Memorial Building) 

Observing the old walls and floor of the Jhocson Memorial Building(JMB, which I used to call my home before) and the Social Hall and open court (that served as a playground to me) while walking, brought me back in time when I was still a student. Seeing, noticing and recognising all familiar faces like my dean in BSCS Rolando R. Lansigan and my algebra,accounting,trigonometry and english professor and the other office staff that I recognised so well, was a joyous feeling, they were the people aside from my parents who moulded and forged me to become who I am right now. My thanks and appreciations are less compared to my actions and feeling overload when I saw, get near and talked to them again. Schoolmates, classmates and dabarkads, were still the same tho we get a little older but the excitement of being together is much more stronger than when we were studying before. 

When the moment the university hymn started to play and the "Alma mater song" is to be sing, a volt of electricity ran through my body and it gave me a goosebumps. I found myself singing "I shall wave the, gold and blue the colours of NATIONAL U" with all possible humility, felt a grain of tear is ready to fall down from my eye, while I was throwing my fist and punching something on the air like all the nationalians do, it just made me realise and proved to me that I miss my life when I was still studying, I miss the vicinity of the university, the people who worked there, the people whom I've been with, tho it's totally new and different from the National University I grew up with, still the feeling and the experience is of a true and a real same old NATIONALIAN. 

Our(Alumni) deepest and sincere acknowledgement to those people behind this monumental celebration for not just giving the students, alumni, professor and staffs of the university a great night of party but also for strongly keeping it's children together again and making them prouder than proud for her achievements and for this memorable and historical event.

IMPORTANT THINGS TO BRING AND REMEMBER FOR A PERFECT VACATION....

Playa de las vistas Tenerife, Spain                 Photo: Dariophoto Photography

"VACATION",  a specific trip or journey, usually for the purpose of recreation of tourism. People often take a vacation during specific holiday observances, or for specific festivals or celebration. A person may take a longer break from work, such as a sabbatical , gap year, or career break.

People sometimes do need a vacation,  to relax and clear off the stressed mind from a busy and demanding lifestyle in the city. Sometimes we do take advantage of it because we want to own, stretch and spend the time being with our families and love ones, particularly with the boyfriend or girlfriend for this may only occur twice or unluckily once a year.  Before, the idea of travel was a luxury that only wealthy people could afford. But not anymore,  thanks to all the low cost airline companies that are operating in some parts of the world,  amongst are the Cebu Pacific and PAL Express of the Philippines,  making it wise and possible for the Filipinos to travel and explore Philippines and it's neighbouring countries affordably. 

Photo: Dariophoto Photography                                                                        

To make your vacation perfect,  one should thoroughly plan all the things he or she needs to bring, and a list of places to go and what to do,  if necessary,  bring with you a leaflet containing all these listings: to bring,  do and  places to go. 

CAMERA

Las Cañadas de Teide(Teide Volcano) Tenerife, Spain 

When we say Vacation,  we think of a holiday that needs to be documented,  kept and reminisced forever. Aside from a very keen memory,  camera is the best tool for this.  Now a days, bringing a camera is not anymore a hassle and bulky thing to do, as modern cellphones can fit straight into your pocket.  Best example is the Samsung Galaxy k. 

Photo credit: Dario

"For some of us especially for me, DSLR is still the best, ignoring the burden of carrying a big back pack containing a camera, lenses and battery because this kind of camera will give you the best high definition pictures."

CELLPHONE

It's always a good thought to carry with you one or more  cellphone,  especially when it is going to be a long journey, because sometimes no matter how perfectly planned your vacation is,  the need of a communication device is always expected, out of nowhere someone will be looking for you, or you might need to talk to someone importantly,  and from my experience,  most of the resorts and hotels (bed and breakfast or five stars) are charging an amount of money for  the use of their telephone for outgoing and incoming  calls and will be added to your bill, take note: not a regular rate, but a hotel rate which is triple the price of a regular call.

LAPTOP COMPUTERS OR A TABLET 

Due to a rising popularity and a must of the social media such as facebook, twitter and instagram, laptop and or a tablet are very useful to keep you updated daily and connected to the world. Make your relatives and friends updated about you and the happenings going on about your trip by posting all the pictures. For a businessman and office worker, these are their best-friend, simply because all the data and important documents they need are safely saved inside it's database.

"Though some of the top of the line smart cellphones performs equally the same as laptop can, I still prefer to bring this with me as this is more fast and easy to use. Screen is wider and can open several windows at a time."

MINI FIRST AID POUCH
"Mini" because you don't need to bring a big bottle of disinfectant and a box of band aids, etc., because for sure you don't want your luggage or backpack to overweight. A 10ml bottle of disinfectant will be fine and a roll of a medical gauze is perfect. Most importantly, bring a blister pack of paracetamol(for headaches and fever) , loperamide(incase a diarrhea occurs) and antihistamine(for allergies). You can also bring with you all the  prescribed medicines you need.

NECK PILLOWS AND JACKET
It's not a real must to bring with you a neck pillow and jacket or a shawl, but for sure these stuff will make your trip a little extra relaxing. To travel riding a bus or boarding on an airplane, it is better to be ready having your jacket or a shawl on or around your shoulder because of the cold temperature inside these transport, the first thing you will notice in these kind of vehicle  is the air conditioning system on its maximum temperature. And if you are travelling during the nightime via bus,  neck pillow is very helpful to achieve a goodnight relaxing sleep because inside they don't provide a pillow but just a reclining chair with a head support(not that comfy). Flying might be a little relaxing but trust me, even the flight attendant will render a pillow for you, it is never enough especially for those people who's used to sleep surrounded by  pillows.

LOCAL COUNTRY/TOWN MAPS
Today, modernity is everywhere and even worldwide, but the use of a location map is still a must. This is very helpful in arranging your trip, as this map will give you a better and clearer view about the place and places you wanna visit. Unlike cellphones, laptops and tablets, this will never go out of battery, internet is not needed, it's handy and yet , when unfold, it is bigger than the laptop's monitor giving you all the details you need and want. Maps are distributed for free inside the Airport of your destination and hotels or resorts you booked to stay. A nice pair of walking footwear is important to achieve the comfort for a long walking hours of touring around the city.

FASHIONABLE THINGS,  ACCESSORIES AND DRESSES
When packing your things for a long vacation, one never think about bringing something elegant to wear. These are obligatory to have inside your luggage because vacation will not start and end up just touring and exploring around the city and nearby. Sometimes you'll meet a situation where you must smell good and need to dress up elegantly for a nice dinner in a fancy restaurant or inside a hotel's luxurious buffet dinner. Walking around the beach needs a nice sunglasses, a sexy bikini for women and trunks for men. 

"Looking good is a must and vacation or back packing is never an excuse not to look good and fashionable."

TOILETRIES
Lotions, perfumes and baths are less important but it's considerable. There are some resorts and hotels that provides not the best product for baths and some others doesn't really cater at all(lucky if you will be staying in a hotel like Shang-ri-la Boracay because there,  they give you the best service, rooms and products like L'Occitane), for you to avoid the stress with these things, a set of toiletries should be assimilated in your luggage(especially for women).  Going for a swim?, don't forget your  sun tanning lotion and your after sun lotion because taking care of your skin is the main priority before having the sexy golden tan skin that we ever want.

But the most important, is to bring with you "YOURSELF", you being ready for everything, you- being attentive, you- being positive, and most of all,  you-being calm. Travelling for a long vacation, one must be ready physically and be active mentally because some unexpected disturbing situation might occur (We always hope for a safe trip). The stress of transferring from flight to another flight is traumatic especially when you only have a little time for the transitions. Long journey by land is also chaotic for you will meet long and heavy traffic along the roads. Not to mention the stress that a crying baby and talkative people while travelling will give you. Everything will be so easy if you will learn how to handle these  situations properly and calmly, you have a voice, most of theses people will understand if you will ask them to lower their volume while talking or laughing. But most probably you won't be able to do something with a baby crying out loud.

All that are stated here are based from my past experiences, suggestions and listing of what to do and to remember comes from my own opinion hoping that this will be a little helpful to those who are planning to have their perfect vacation sooner or later. Happy trip. 

WHEN A ROMANTICALLY BLISSFUL VACATION BECOMES A NIGHTMARE

Laguimanoc Bay, Padre Burgos, Quezon Province 

It was a day full of hopes and excitement, a day when my mind is so relaxed planning and looking for a time only for myself, "a nice vacation".

It was early August when I planned and decided to take a week leave from my demanding work, regardless of the hectic schedules, I was granted to have my vacation leave in the midst of September, (my being persuasive helped me a lot) "lucky me" are the words and the only words that uttered my lips, at last, after a long busy years of working, I'll have time for myself, oops!!! I forgot to mention, was not just only for myself, but was for me and my special one (yes I am no longer single, sorry guys).

Being a fashion designer, front liner, jack of all trade(I'm too much, just joking), I've no time(literally) to check places to go, tho I've a lot in my mind, but those are places I've  already been, not once but many times.  The only thing that serves as a window for me and connecting me to the world are my laptop and Internet connection that helped me find a place easily and it also serves as my shopping buddy.

Searching for a place - I came across a website of a resort who claims to be just a guesthouse once and opened itself to public due to rising demands(according to them). As I moved the cursor and I scrolled down,  an appetizing view of a beautiful sunset and a clean water beach will make you mouthwater,  not only that, it also included a tour for two in an isolated picturesque island, surrounded with a a white sand, that offers a romantic view of a golden sunset, and waking up to an energetic rays of a bright yellow sunrise. "Wow Philippines", I said to myself silently, "this is it", I want to go and spend my vacation here. I carelessly seized my wallet out from my bag, took my credit card and wallah!.... 'all done, with just one click. Such a big help.

Tamarind Tree House Resort

Days passed and finally the moment of the truth has arrive, from Manila, the resort is reachable by a bus that stops at Lucena City, and from there, we rode another small bus going to Padre Burgos Quezon Province, south of Luzon where the resort is located. A tiring six hours and a half was used for us to reach the resort.

Blue wavy sea, fresh air, powdery golden sand and a glimpse of the sunset kissed welcome us peacefully, such an uplifting beautiful view of the nature and the moment of deep relaxation unravelled us, a true medicine for a hard working stressed souls that needs a break from work and to add up, from the long hours of travel. This is such a nice place to recommend. Okay! okay, I got carried away, yes the title says it all - "when a romantically blissful vacation becomes a nightmare".

As we arrived, we had a hard time locating the resort, as there's not a badge or a name arrowing or pointing out the location of the resort from the streets, what we did is to ask some locals to guide us to the resort. An old wooden gate fronting the beach, being tied by a chain and locked up with a metal locker is the main entrance. A man dressed in a dark green shirt and a rugged short pants unlocked the gate and welcomed us, he was so cheerful, smiling and accommodating but I didn't expect that he was the manager, I thought he is just the caretaker or the maintenance(sorry but that is how he looks like to me). "Come follow me, I'll walk you around the resort and will show you the treehouse(room) you booked for two", he said, we followed him, he toured us inside the resort and showed us the swimming pool(which that time was so dirty), the dining room(which that time was a little messy) and our small room(good for one).

A small beachside room.

I booked a room for two, staying for three days and two nights near the beachfront, because I wanted the vacation to be romantic and relaxing, I also booked a dinner and a breakfast, no lunch, as my plan was to go out for a walk and have lunch outside the vicinity. To my surprise, the room they gave us was a way too far from the beach and was so small that when you need to use the bathroom you have to go out the room and find it somewhere. "I don't like this", I said to the manager, we want another room with a t.v. set and a bathroom inside, so accommodating he showed us another but he said "you need to pay extra as this is not the room you booked". So I paid an extra just to end the conversation even the t.v set was not working properly and the bathroom's hot water was not hot but just warm.

The Deluxe beachside room

Dinner time arrived and he called us from our new treehouse villa (they call it). We went to the kitchen as we were  not allowed to eat inside the room(for I don't know what reason). While sitting and waiting for our dinner the manager, maintenance, cook, waiter all in one, arrived with the tray of food wrapped in a cellophane cover and were no longer hot, we were having our food for the whole 3 days like this so I asked him "why the food came from outside the resort, don't you have your own kitchen and cook here?", he answered back, "we have a kitchen here which you can use for cooking but your booking goes together with a meal so we order the meal  from a caterer outside the resort and serve it here".. WHAT?????, anyways it's okay, we have no choice but to eat and continue. I don't know if this was all my fault as when I booked everything over their website, I was inside the office and working, maybe i was so busy and unaware that I didn't notice anything from the pictures they were showing, but I did a double check and I was so so so right about what I saw and read,  in their website they presented their resort beautifully but it was all contradicting to what is the reality.

To make it worse, the next day, a typhoon was schedule to arrive, that we didn't  enjoy the beauty of the beach and the wonderful nature, nor the Island hopping that was included in the package due to a rough sea that might be unsafe to sail. Unfortunately we ended up our whole vacation inside the room cuddling and listening to all the music provided by our cellphones. We wanted to watch something but as I've said the t.v set isn't working properly, we also wanted to use the swimming pool but they didn't bother to change and clean the water. It's so disappointing knowing that the resort has a potential, if there will be some improvements, and someone to take care of the place literally.

I've been travelling in and out the country, stayed from a bed and breakfast to a five star hotels,but the experience I/we had in this resort was so frustrating, aside from the caretaker's hospitality, his over all look isn't presentable at all, the food they're serving were cold as ice, the rooms were clean but for God sake make it clear in your website and provide some "REAL" photo for your guest's knowledge so we know if we booked a room for two or not.

As a blogger, I am not taking advantage about the power of the pen or the laptop's keyboard, not even doing this to bad mouth the "Tamarind Tree House Resort". I'm writing this, hoping that this will reach the knowledge of the management so the necessary action and a needed improvement  will be taken to make the place a real resort,  I am just expressing and sharing my views and opinions, writing what I think for them to do, as I've seen the potential of the place.