Tuguegarao for once.

One of the highlights of my budding work career came last quarter - I flew alone for the first time to meet up with a prospective client (And a hoard of representatives). Honestly, I can count on my fingers how many times I rode on a plane and I am thankful that this will add to my travels (Happiness much hehe).

Thought what really made me happy is that my boss and other big boss had entrusted me to do such a complicated task. In the past meetings we had, I would only accompany assist my boss. Now it felt that the ball is in my hands. The funny thing is, my boss and I were weighing who should go to where (There were two special meetings we need to attend at the same time), and only one line made me choose immediately:

Boss: “Oh gusto mo ikaw humarap sa kanila?”

Me: “Ah ma’am sige po. Ako na lang ang magtratravel”

Aside that it was an important meeting, the chance to travel alone and outside Manila (Hey, this is way farther than Baguio) made this a milestone for me. On the day of the travel, I feel so liberated. Walking around the airport while strutting (Fumafasyon? Haha) my luggage; it came as a great feeling that I can actually make anything I set to on my own (Of course with God’s guidance).

Anyway, this was also my first travel using Terminal 3. I can say that out of all the terminals I've been to, Terminal 3 would be the one I consider as the cleanest and widest. So, while I was waiting for check-in status to be available, I went on to take a few photos of Terminal 3.

All alone.

So where did I travel? Tuguegarao, baby! I choose to stay at Hotel Roma, considered as one of the best in the city. My big boss and the client recommended this hotel, so what does an obedient employee does? E-mail them to know the rates.

I took the lowest rate they had, thinking that I would only be there for work and nothing much. My thoughts on Hotel Roma:

• Transportation: Travelling by plane is the fastest way to go to Tuguegarao. If you are the adventurous one, you could opt to travel by private car or by bus. Just be sure to travel safely, I’ve seen news about vehicular accidents along the way to Tuguegarao. Upon the airport, you may ride one of the transportation means they have – tricycle. Sorry to inform you, but taxis are not available in Tuguegarao (As what I’ve seen and been told by the Hotel Roma staff). The tricycle rate is usually 10Php to 50 Php (Depending on how far is the travel). There is a 20 minutes approximate time from the airport to Hotel Roma. There are also horse-pulled carriages available within the city proper if you want an idle commute.
• Fees: The rate for the standard room is 800.00 Php/night. You may call them or e-mail them to ask about their rates.
• Room: The room was adequate for one person. The bed was tolerable but they need to stock up on new pillows. I only got one thin pillow which cannot even support my back when arching on it while watching TV. There is a cable TV but when I entered the room, there was not even a remote control provided. I have to contact the concierge in order to have a remote. You have to watch out for ants if you plan to eat inside your room. Though there is a trash bin, ants will be able to travel up to your bed if you are not careful. Good thing I called at the concierge to pick up the trash from my room. Why do I have to always call? Well, my room is located on the highest floor so it is reasonable to just call than to go up and down in the flight of stairs.
• Washroom: The bathroom was decent enough with hot and cold water available.
• Food: There is a restaurant inside the hotel where you can ask it to be delivered at your room. I ordered beef with mushroom and their garlic rice. Upon serving the food, I was surprised that it was enough food for two (Well I can actually eat for two haha). If you do not dig the menu, you can always go out for the usual Mcdonald’s or other restaurants available.
• Security: Our client said that Hotel Roma is one of the safest hotels there is. I can vouch for that. It was also good for me that there were events that took place during my stay, making me sure that I was not the only person inside the hotel (Talking about paranoia haha!).

Here are some photos from Hotel Roma:

Goodbye Tuguegarao! All the people I've meet here are nice and warm :)

Oh by the way, I bought a dozen of milk candies (35.00 Php to 40.00 Php depending on the number of contents), native tea and milk pastillas as pasalubongs.

Until next post!

Ciao,

Maddie

Un-packing.

I’m gently opening my luggage; gathering the strength to organize the things that were once scattered while I was on my flight. I needed to finish this or else, there will be no other time.

You might think I have been independent and started living on my own. Nah! Not a chance (At this year or so). What really happened is I just came back from my first ever vacation with a friend. I came back with a mishmash of emotions – refreshed, harried, disappointed but happy. I’ll explain once I post my recent trip.

For now, I want to share how it has become a breath of fresh air not to write for how many weeks already. It’s not that I have ton of readers, but having to agonize for the first few weeks since I stopped, that I have not been able to write makes me lethargic at work (Seriously). I think the sense of doing tasks at the same time (Writing a draft while answering a client call and making mental notes of what your boss instructed you to do hahaha) energizes me to no end. So how did it end up good hiatus for my blog? Well, there is this mysterious feeling to experiencing stuff without having to worry that you need to write before you go to bed. For the agonizing part, it was gone before I noticed it since work got really busy (Alam na, naghahabol sa target dahil 4^th quarter na hahaha!).

Having the [imposed] freedom was actually good. Looking back, I observed how silly my ideas were on how to ‘just’ present my posts; how tiresome it is to stare blankly in my screen because my brain (and eyes) were heavily shutting down on me (Kailangan matapos itech bago mag-12 a.m., ang drama ko haha); how it always seem rushed to me whenever I randomly write stuff for the sake of posting something.

I finally realized something – the reason for me starting this blog. It is not to attract millions of readers – but to share my experiences, my literature and my thoughts. It is not to gain popularity – but to tell a story based on my style. Heck, I’m not a professional blogger, just an amateur who wants to write in the digital world.

Now, I’ll revert to my un-packing of stuff.

Until next post!

Ciao,

Maddie