what's in the bag?

several packing lists i had to make recently. last july for the trip to HK and last august for the trip to coron, palawan. experience tells me that packing can be a lot less stressful and can even be fun if you make a list of things you need to bring a week before the actual trip and gradually acquire the things you need prior to the trip. please allow me to share the lists i came up with for these two trips, hoping to equip you or assist you in your own packing. for a 3-day/2-night trip, here's what i would normally bring:

- at least 6 t-shirts or upper garments
- 2 night shirts
- 3 walking shorts/pants
- at least one jogging pants/pajama for sleeping
- 6 pairs of undergarments
- one extra set of clothing that you can bring easily, for any emergency purposes. this should go with you on your carry-on luggage. for me, an extra shirt and an undergarment is enough.*
- the clothing you will wear on your way home
- a sports or light jacket (something you can wear on the plane or elsewhere in case it gets cold)
- indoor tsinelas

if the itinerary includes swimming, make sure you bring the following:
- sarong
- swimsuit (for me this will include a sando, shorts and bathing suit)
- beach tsinelas
- goggles and/or snorkel
- sunblock lotion
- a band, something to tie your hair with

other important items:
- a tote bag (to carry your things with you when you actually go around or island hop)
- a pair of sunglasses (also to be used when you want to get some shut-eye anytime)*
- a cap or hat (for extra sunscreen)*
- an umbrella*
- a raincoat
- a drybag (for storing your tech gadgets when traveling via boat)
- medium-sized towel
- shower kit (body wash/soap, shampoo, conditioner, facial wash & feminine wash)
- after-shower kit (lotion, anti-perspirant, powder)
- sanitary napkin (just in case)
- panty-liners*
- all-day beauty kit (lip gloss, facial moisturizer, facial powder w/ mirror, cologne, comb)*
- a lot of extra plastic bags (to contain your wet things, garbage, slippers, etc)
- oral-care kit (toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, etc)*
- a medicine kit (mine has some mefanamic acid, paracetamol, band-aids and efficascent oil)
- alcohol (the isopropyl kind) and/or hand-sanitizer*
- a face towel
- some wet towels*
- some travel tissues*
- anti-mosquito lotion
- a sewing kit (i just bring a needle, thread)
- a swiss knife (or a small pair of scissor at least)
- nail clippers
- ballpen, notebook or organizer*
- a book or magazine, devotionals (if you plan to do some reflecting)
- your travel guides (these are maps, trip itinerary, etc. i usually keep them on one ziplock)*
- your travel documents (passport, flight itinerary, also in a ziplock)*
- your wallet (with enough cash hopefully, health card & credit card)*
- cellphone*
- cellphone charger
- flashlight (even when you're not camping)
- a fan (it can really get humid sometimes)*
- some snacks (i usually bring oreos and pringles) and water (allowed in local flights)

if the itinerary includes trekking, bring a mojo sandals or any slippers/footwear with ridges for easy walking on rivers, muddy terrains. this can be the same as the beach tsinelas, but this should be different from the indoor tsinelas. so in my trips, i always bring at least two pairs of slippers. always.

if youre into photography, make sure you bring the following also:
- your camera, lenses, your filters, batteries and charger and enough CF/SD cards
- your tripod (optional)
- you may bring a laptop too and a card reader if you are checking into a hotel with good reputation. this will allow you to upload photos in case you run out of CF/SD cards (optional)
- your cleaning cloth, lens pen, blower

*these are the items i carry around everywhere in the tote bag

whew! that's it. it's obvious that im not a light-packer, but i also believe this is not too much. without the laptop, snorkel, SLR camera and its accessories, all these things can actually fit into a 30-liter mountain pack or a medium-sized travel bag. when i travel, i seldom have to check-in a baggage. in case i do, its usually just the tripod that goes in.

everything in the list (except the camera, laptop and tripod), i carried in that gray bag

having a list such as this can be amazing. the night before my two recent trips, all i had to do is look at the list and place the items in the bag one by one. it took me less than 15 minutes. its the acquiring of the things that you need that is more difficult. what i did is to buy 2 or 3 items that i need which i dont have yet on a daily basis. it took me three days of shopping around for items (mostly clothing), 1-2 hours each day.

anyway, in case you have other suggestions or find the list helpful or have questions, please feel free to let me know. im not an expert traveler, so i would love to hear suggestions from you guys also.

have a happy trip! :)

a grief ago

'There is no grief
which time does not lessen
or soften' -
so said Cicero, a man so often right;
a Stoic, those for whom
all life presents a lesson
to be learned from,
and then, to move on from..

But I wonder about all this:
is grief ever lessened or softened?
Is it not, perhaps, overlaid
in our so various ways?

For some, grief framed and falsified
to ease that grief;

For some, like hyacinths and crocus bulbs,
left in a dark cupboard in the autumn of our grief
to respond to time, and
become at last
themselves?


gently, gently, the covers pulled
over the loving bed,
the true, the pure, the lovely painful grief,
the memory deep cherished,
gently, gently, folded
into the cupboards of the heart

there to be known, without the door disturbed
until the time - 'a grief ago' as Dylan wrote -
the cupboard opened only for love's sake
without grief...:
those carefully folded memories
brought out and loved
and lived a while...

not grief, not grief...but
the pure memory of grief

and behold,
LIFE.

at the wensha spa

katz, rheih, jp and me at the wensha spa

before my 3-day trip to coron last weekend, my friends and i decided to have an evening rendezvous at the wensha spa in pasay city. it was supposed to be strictly for the girls only, but i felt that i needed to be beside JP a little bit longer before the long vacation. i literally could not let go of JP's hands and arms when it was time for me to say goodbye and take the bus to ayala where i was supposed to meet my friends. i dragged him quite easily inside the bus and declared that he was going with me to the spa instead of him going back to the office to finish his work :) fortunately, JP was not difficult to persuade -- all i had to say is that wensha spa comes with a buffet and that the bill would be on me, hehe.

from browsing several local blogs earlier, i have learned that they had a "haircut w/ back massage" service which i had planned on getting. when we got there, we found out that they are no longer offering that and had to settle for their wensha spa massage. i wasnt disappointed by that. what disappointed me more were two things: first, the receptionist at that time was not accomodating and was somewhat impatient which did not leave a good impression for first-timers like us. after giving us our "bracelet keys", she immediately shouted the next number to call the next customer. i did not recall hearing any pleasant words from this receptionist at all. my second complaint was that taking photos inside the building was prohibited. this surprised me a lot, since i saw several photos of the place taken from inside in the various blogs i saw. things have changed i guess.

from the reception area, we headed straight to the dining hall which was already filled with customers by then, this was around 930pm and the start of long weekend. i was not used to seeing people walking around in their bath robes, so i was somewhat uncomfortable. ignoring the bath robe people, we went further in until we found ourselves a table that can accomodate all four of us. i thought the place was too busy for a spa that was supposed to have a relaxing atmosphere. we were later able to confirm that it was indeed busier that night than usual.

the evening went on smoothly, though much slower than expected. we had our dinner, which we all thought was really good: we had pancit, lumpia, beef something, chicken something, tofu something... i forgot really. i was especially happy and content with the lumpia and pancit canton and had to get more than one serving. we had ice cream (mango, ube and chocolate) before heading to the locker room for a shower. it was not the special kind, but it was ice cream nonetheless and we just could not pass that up. we decided to skip the shabu-shabu and thought we could have that after our massage.

everything we needed was provided for in the locker. robes which come in sizes were available, clean white towels were unlimited, slippers, lotion, powder were also available. each person was given a plastic bracelet which serves as a key to the lockers also. i wasnt too happy to find out that my locker was impossible to reach without the use of a ladder, so i decided to share lockers with rheih. fortunately, one locker was big enough to accomodate both our things.

after shower, katrin went to take a dip on the jacuzzi pool while rheih stayed for a minutes within the steam room. i contented myself with sitting in one of the pool chairs nearby and waited for them to finish. there was a large TV in the area and i entertained myself by watching what was being shown. i wanted to try the jacuzzi pool, but could not bring myself to go in, naked all the way through. most of those who patronized the place were pinoys, some are chinese or korean, i think. that did not matter, i was self-conscious just the same. hehe.

at this point, JP had to be separated from us. the locker, shower and spa area for men are located on the opposite side. i wonder how he was enjoying the jacuzzi...

from there, we headed towards the massage area where we had to wait for an hour before getting our massage due to the number of people present that evening. we took advantage of this and tried to catch up on what's going on with each other's lives. the massage room was large enough to accomodate around 10 customers, i think. there is a wall separating the sections, and each section can contain 2 or 3 beds. light was dim as expected.

when our masseuse came, we were asked if we wanted a swedish massage or a massage with oil -- ginger or this other kind. we chose the other kind of oil, not ginger because neither of us wanted to leave the spa smelling like salabat. after one hour, we concluded that the massage was okay. the neck and head massage were really good, but something was not right with the back massage, i thought. something was missing.

as expected, we started to feel sleepy afterwards. it was almost midnight by then. we were asking ourselves if we still want to get some shabu-shabu, but since it was already too late, we thought we should head home. i told katrin that i haven't yet discovered the ultimate spa experience, one which is 100% relaxing and completely stress-free, but wensha will be among the favorites. for less than P700, its definitely a must-try especially with family and friends. im going back for sure, but hopefully, when there are less customers. i prefer more peace and quiet when i visit a spa.

that evening, i needed all the comforts a spa can offer. but more than that, i needed to be with friends, those who know me the most and love me just the same. it wasnt the perfect spa experience, but it was the perfect evening to spend with my perfect friends.

lessons from YM

one of the first things i do when i get online is to login to Yahoo! Messenger and check to see who else is online and what people are up to lately by reading their statuses. i often read something related to problems of the heart as well as problems at work, but there are a few instances when i would read something inspiring about life. today i have decided to share them with you:

There are many things in life that will catch your eye... but few that will catch your heart.

The only thing that stands between a man and what he wants from life is often merely the will to try it and the faith to believe that it is possible.

Life is either a daring adventure... or nothing.

Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass... it's about learning to dance in the rain.

the last one is my personal favorite.

beach bumming in punta fuego

tina, joan and me


...i bet we can do this all day...


i didnt write those, but they were true for me nonetheless



was afraid im going to declare: failure to launch

actually, we lazed around the pool more than we did on the beach because we were avoiding the noon sun and didnt really hope to get some tan. but i insisted and told tina and mommy jo that we cannot leave punta fuego without getting to bum around the beach.

so bummed around we did, which meant that we laid on the almost white sand, jumped in unison (several times to get the perfect shot), sat and stared at the sea (or sometimes nothingness), took photos every now and then, and of course, went swimming on the beach. the water was clean and warm on the surface which made swimming and dipping and diving really pleasant. it was not as clear as you would see in bohol or puerto galera, but it was pretty good enough for us to enjoy.

strong waves were not frequent, so waiting on them hoping to get washed ashore was not an option. i chose to lie on my back, floated and watched the clouds go slowly by. to me, that was the best part and i could only wish i could go drifting that way more often. 100% stress-free!

if it weren't for those "things" that bit on our skin and leave them itching, we would have stayed longer in the water. the last time i was in a batangas beach (2008), i had the same experience. something on the water bites and it gets really annoying after a while. what are those, anyway?

i actually would want to go for another trip on the beach in batangas, perhaps stay at a resort overnight and drive to tagaytay the following day... but im concerned that i would again be bothered by "the biters". and that's not something you can look forward to in a vacation of any kind. sayang. i hope someone can do something about it.

lampa-taba

...i did my best, but my best wasn't good enough...

patawa talaga when they told me i had to participate dun sa tug-of-war. two girls per group were required to join and since there were only two female in our team, kasali ako by default. i kept saying, i had ZERO strength AT ALL and that there's no point in competing pero they wouldn't believe me. i guess they had to see before they can believe. or i guess, they were simply left with no choice.

so ayun, i pulled once and then i fell on the ground. HAHA. it was hard! i thought it was strategic to lower yourself on the ground, but it didn't work for me. nakaladkad lang ako at napatid pa ang tsinelas ko, haha! grabe, walang tibay na maaasahan! i do not know what would work for me when it comes to physically demanding sports or games, actually kasi im so LAMPA lately! LAMPA-TABA, hehe!

i feel like the official weakling during the entire avanade outing. there was another round with the male members of the team for the tug-of-war challenge and although it was a lot easier than just us girls pulling, i found that round hard pa rin. i was pulling as much as i could. but i could still feel myself being dragged towards the opponent's direction and that wasn't a good feeling at all. napatili na lang ako. i think i was screaming harder than i was pulling, hehe! i actually heard other people laugh because of my screaming. comedy talaga!

pero BUMAWI ako later on, ha! from being last, our team standing went up to 2nd overall. i will tell you next time HOW. also a funny story :)

kahit lampa, cute naman! hehe!