No room for cynicism in Aloguinsan

My sister and her family were visiting from the US so I flew to Cebu to see them, two weeks into their trip. By that time, I knew they’d already been to the beach, malls, eaten lechon and done the round of new restaurants, visited the dentist, spa, hair salon…in between all the other planned activities.

So when my sister told me I could do what I wanted on two of the days I was spending with her and the rest of the family in Cebu, I didn’t hesitate. I’d learned about the efforts for community-based tourism in Aloguinsan, Cebu via FB from Boboi Costas, who serves as consultant, as well as friends who’d been there via their FB postings.

Somersweet

Hubby was flying back home late on the day of our anniversary.  So instead of going through the long drive home after picking him up from the airport, my daughter and I decided to surprise him with an overnight stay in Makati at a serviced apartment.

I’d had occasion to visit the Somerset Salcedo apartments, since it is accredited by the company where I used to work.  I liked the rooms, but I wanted a place nearer the commercial business district.  I tried reserving a unit at the Ascott Makati, but they were fully booked.  Then, I remembered how one of the managers had switched to the Somerset Olympia apartments for the same reason, and though she warned me that the rooms were a bit old, and smaller than their Salcedo counterpart, she found the accommodations OK, since it was just walking distance from the Glorietta malls, as well as the eating places at the Ayala Triangle Gardens.

Birthday surprise

My husband recently found himself alone on his birthday in Thailand, where he was attending a seminar. I decided to surprise him by emailing a request to Holiday Inn Bangkok, where he was staying. The request was simple: for them to print out the attached birthday greeting that my daughter and I had made for him and to give it to him when he came down to avail of the breakfast buffet.

Given the simplicity of my request, I actually expected their positive response but was still pleased when I got it.  What happened next was unexpected. Since he had so many assignments, hubby didn’t go down for the breakfast buffet but went straight to the seminar room, also located inside the hotel, to start working.