prime gods

I have been having terrible eyestrain with pulsating and recurring shots of pain in the back of my head in between my left ear and temple. My doctor advised me to spend several days off my computer and perhaps visit Cape Town or some place for more laid-back atmosphere.

I was stunned. Cape Town? Isn’t it in South Africa? Anyhow, I wasn’t aware I voiced my thought out loud until my doctor chuckled and said that I’d be surprised to find out that Cape Town actually hosts some of the best natural beaches in the world. It would be good for me, he furthered.

Beach… Best beaches… now those are the phrases that could easily coerce me to jump at the opportunity to visit a particular place – let alone Cape Town. With my doctor’s recommendation, I’m sure I can easily file for my leave off work and relax my strained eyes, at the same time see for myself how great those natural beaches are. *cross fingers*

Since my uncle offered free use of his Orlando vacation home early this year, my cousins and I have been saving up for a “Theme Parks” trip to Florida. Of course, our target dates are sometime this December. You see, although Florida’s theme parks are enchanting throughout the year, the overlay of holiday cheer triples the magic and fun during this Christmas season.

Here’s a list of Theme Parks we have in our itinerary:

1. Central Florida Zoo and Botanical Gardens
2. DisneyQuest® Indoor Interactive Theme Park
3. Disney’s Blizzard Beach Water Park
4. Disney’s Hollywood Studios
5. Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Park
6. Fantasy of Flight
7. Magic Kingdom® Park

Hope to see y’all there!

“One of the best tips when traveling is ensuring that your trip coincides with a great event on your target destination,” this was the advice I gave to Tina before she went to Auckland, in New Zealand this October for her month-long getaway.

Heeding my advice, she lined up her destinations according to her researched and handpicked Auckland October events:

1. New Zealand Symphony Orchestra Concerts (Sept. 3 - Oct. 7)
2. Garden Art Exhibition at Eden Garden (Oct. 20 – Nov. 3)
3. WE WILL ROCK YOU - The Musical by Queen and Ben Elton (Oct. 26 – Dec. 3)
4. Tempo˚ - NZ’s Festival of Dance (New Zealand’s biggest dance festival held from Sept. 29 – Oct. 28)
5. The adidas Auckland Marathon (Oct. 28)

This is what you call, making the most out of your trip! Cool, huh? She just called and informed me that she already bought a ticket for the “We Will Rock You” musical tomorrow. Wish I could join her there.

Anyhow, Tina’s currently staying in one of the Hotels in Auckland and shared that although Auckland Hotels are wonderful, I ought to avail of a different Auckland Accommodation should I decide to visit the place – one that is easily accessible and near the major attractions of the city. I’ll definitely heed her advice on this one.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith (not the movie, these are my neighbors) will be celebrating their 25th Wedding Anniversary in February. Unlike other family activities usually celebrated with relatives and friends, the forthcoming wedding anniversary will be spent at Las Vegas at an intimate gathering with their four children. Family bonding at Las Vegas will be a great experience for all members of the Smith family.

Having read about the Las Vegas Hotels, my mom recommended to the couple the Stratosphere Tower because the place is a known landmark and it has everything - from hotel, casino, and restaurant, to an observation post. Stratosphere Tower is the tallest observation tower in the world, and its peak houses the Top of the World Restaurant which revolves 360 degrees each hour.

The Smith’s children will surely treasure this memorable stay at Las Vegas, living the high life at Stratosphere Tower, one of the prominent Las Vegas Hotels. This family bonding at Las Vegas will definitely strengthen their relationship towards each other.

A lot of people would love to spend their holidays abroad. Who wouldn’t? With only a few days for a holiday, you might as well go out of the country and get to experience what the other half of the world is doing. Still, not everyone could avail of a trip abroad because the cost of the entire trip (airfares, accommodation, city tours, etc.) can burn a huge hole on your savings.

On the other hand, you can always opt for self catering holidays. That is, instead of staying in a hotel and eating hotel-prepared dishes, you avail of self catering holiday apartments where you can cook, eat, drink, and do whatever you want without worrying about the huge bill and getting too drunk because you bought the stuff straight from the grocery store and you’re on your own turf (temporarily anyway).

With this, you do not only get to save on your holiday expense, you also get to save on your “spending money” abroad and even experience local culture. How? Instead of eating in the same hotel restaurant every night, you get to sample all the local restaurants prized dishes, interact with the natives, and perhaps even meet new friends.

So next time you think of going on a holiday, don’t constrain your option to the usual expensive all-inclusive holidays. Be more daring and try a self catering holiday. After all, “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. (Helen Keller)”

At three months, my sister Anne could already hum while the choir sing praises to the Lord. At age three, she could already draw and her painting skills already evident. In her early years in school, she has been an actress, a painter, a singer, a guitarist and adjudged the best drummer in high school. In few months time, Anne will be graduating in Fine Arts at the State University.

Her graduation gift is a trip to Australia to attend the Perth International Arts Festival (PIAF). This is an annual activity held in Western Australia every summer that showcases some of the world’s finest artists and performers. PIAF is the oldest international arts festival in Australia and the state’s premium cultural event.

Anne’s trip to Australia will be also a good opportunity for her to visit her relatives in Sydney and Adelaide. Thus, the pocket money to be given her has to be budgeted to maximize her attendance at PIAF. In her schedule, she listed some hotels in Perth and hotels in Adelaide that offer discounted rate and have similar comfort offered by Melbourne accommodation. Anne is so excited to finish college to receive her most awaited Graduation Gift.

The Bali Island in Indonesia has been one of the top ten destinations on my list of must see places in Asia since college. Tagged as ‘island of the gods’, Shangri-La, the ‘last paradise’, the ‘dawning of the world’ and the ‘centre of the universe’, who wouldn’t want to visit the place? Also add the fact that this tropical island with a number of beaches and island resorts presents ample diving and surfing opportunities, Bali is definitely THE primary destination in Indonesia.

Being a diving fan, I’m looking forward to visiting Tulamben Bay in Bali which, according to Wikipedia, boasts the wreck of a 120 meter (400 feet) US Army commissioned transport vessel, the USAT Liberty Glo. Of course, with Surfing sites that are recognized as world class sites, trying out this popular sport is also on my list of things to do in Bali. There are about 33 surf spots from West Bali to East Bali. My final stop will be at Ubud, Bali to have a glimpse of some Indonesian history and culture. The place is known to be a Haven for the arts, paintings, lush rice fields, museums, galleries, and dances.

In case you’re also interested in visiting the place, to avoid disappointment and a wasted vacation from weird and uncomfortable accommodation, I suggest you ditch the thought of going for discount asian hotels for once and enjoy the island at its best by booking in one of the comfortable seaside haven hotels in Bali.

My sister Anne is currently taking up Fine Arts in our state university. Like most artists, she dreams of enhancing and practicing her talent in New York - “The City that Never Sleeps”.

Although we have an aunt who currently resides in New York, Anne does not want to live off my aunt’s generosity. So instead of staying at our aunt’s house for her internship interview this October, she decided to join her classmate Inna in booking a room in one of the hotels in New York. They’re actually planning on booking in Renaissance New York Times Square. I nearly fainted. I told them that with hundreds of New York Hotels to choose from (e.g. city’s famous luxury hotels, moderate, budget-priced or long term stay hotels, youth hostels, etc.) why select the most expensive one?!

They laughed at my reaction and said that since it’s their first time to go to New York and they’re not even sure if they’ll pass the internship interview, they might as well enjoy the city at its best during their trip. Meaning they intend to pamper themselves in the best hotel and visit the Statue of Liberty, Top of the Rock, the Times Square and other NYC attractions. With a response like that, what more can one say?

Now that my last day at work is approaching (it’s on September 14, 2007 by the way), I think I ought to start my freedom from boring five-days a week work with a perfect holiday in Europe.

Though tour packages like Austrian holidays are tempting, I prefer to build my own holiday trip. There’s nothing more relaxing than pampering yourself on a well-planned, personalized trip. It’s a good thing that you can avail of “Build Your Holiday & Pack Your Bags!” on some websites which allows you to create the holiday that you desire. That is, you can book cheap flights to a huge choice of destinations and find accommodation to match your type of vacation.

With cheap customized vacations online, why bother with the usual tour?

Few years ago, with a group of students; I visited Sydney, one of the big cities in Australia. The Sydney accommodation that we had was arranged by our school head. It was during the trip I learned there are places to stay in Sydney that are cheaperthanhotels. This information and experience will be very useful for I am now finalizing the plans in my business trip to Australia, with leisure and visitations. Yes, it will be shooting three birds in one shot, they say. I will visit my relatives and friends in Australia, who are residing in three different places: Sydney, Adelaide and Perth.

This is what I intend to do. As soon as I arrived in Australia, I will stay in the same cheaperthanhotel, which provided Sydney Accommodation to us when we were then students. From Sydney I will proceed to Adelaide, which is about two hours by air. I already noted which of the Adelaide Hotels is closely situated at the house of my relative. While in Adelaide, I will make sure to sample the variety of tastes on offer at the famed Adelaide Central Market. I was told that this city has so many things to see and do, thus I should stay here longer.

Then from Adelaide, I will fly to Perth to visit my friends in High School. Perth is Adelaide’s nearest city. Similarly, as what I did in Adelaide, I will book at the Perth Hotel that provides good accommodation at discounted prices and is situated conveniently in the city. Now, that I had finalized my in-coming trip to Australia, all I have to do is to pack up and wait for the d-day. I knew as a general rule for traveler, “travel light”. With this guide, I will travel light in baggage and expenses.