I've been trying to put my thoughts into words about the renewed hope for the Philippines. I'm drawing a blank.
It's been years since I went back, my last not necessarily a vacation but a crisis brought about by the corruption of the country. There are so many changes I hope for the country, so many beautiful places that I hope will be revitalized, so many people that must be helped.
I'm crossing my fingers and putting my hopes in the new president.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Jetsetting...Not worth the hype
I've been travelling for work non stop since the start of June. You can feel the recession at every arrivals terminal, and you can basically tell what sort of motel you've been booked to the moment you see the lobby. I've seen my fair share of scary ones, the last being the worst by far.
Zurich Ibis: No kettle, a must for me, since I was battling the flu. I needed my chinese tea to calm my throat and bring down my fever, and begging the in house restaurant for their pint glass for hot water didn't get me anywhere. I deeply regretted not bringing my travel kettle on this trip. No iron so I had to make do with my creased dress. Hairdryer felt like it was a cooling fan. Took me ages to dry my hair. At least the room was clean and the matress was firm.
Dublin The Glen Guesthouse: There's something in the water in Dublin. White scum appears on top of the water whenever you boil it. I think that's why I had to use the loo multiple times a day. Iron and hairdryer can be borrowed and returned the next day. Dirty carpets, overused bed and so so sheets.
Stockport The Alma Lodge: I felt like the convict walking the green mile in Tom Hank's movie. The walk to the room was solitary and scary, the halls were dark. No elevators. Matress had plastic in between the sheets, so not good when you're tossing and turning.
Belfast Travelodge: Lobby smells of piss, floor was dirty and food scraps on the floor, nice touch. Elevator's dirty, and I mean DIRTY. There was a puddle of liquid on the floor of the elevator. I asked for a room change because the room overlooked the garbage bins, which was ok, I wasn't there for the view. There was hair on the sheets, which was ok since it wasn't pubic hair. The kettle was dirty and there was leftover yellowish liquid in it, which was ok since I can live without tea for 2 days. The tv was broken, which was ok since I can finish my emails faster when I don't watch tv. I didn't want to walk barefoot on the carpet, which was ok since I always bring flipflops. The bathroom smelled of piss, which was not ok on top of all the other ok things in the room. My next room was on the fourth floor, acroos the club which pumped out base and drum songs until two in the morning. The towel had hair on it, it was curly, I didn't bother using it and took the towel from the other room. The kettle was clean, the sheets were clean thankfully. The toilet smelled less of piss, but yes, there was still a hinge of piss smell. I still didn't like the look of the carpet, thank goodness for my flipflops. My first night of hell was me getting a wiff every so often of the piss smelling bathroom, boom and base from the club and women and men screaming and fighting. They didn't stop until three in the morning. Why do drunk people in Belfast have to talk so loud even when they're the only ones left on the street? At four in the morning I received a wakeup call from a woman who was slightly intoxicated: "Did you, heee heee, ask for a wake up call? Hee Hee." And the people on my floor all knew each other, so there was a party on my floor. Nice, I was the only one who wasn't invited. My second night of hell started out the same way, with me going to sleep at five in the morning because the party on my floor ended up with a catfight. Oh, and some random group of women took a picture with me while we were in the elevator. I am never going to book into Travelodge ever again.
It's scary that budget motels feel the need to budget even more, and thus, that is why you get hair on your towels, bathrooms that smell of piss, broken tvs, kettle filled with dodgy looking liquid and nights from motel hell.
And so ends my week of hell. Round four next week.
Zurich Ibis: No kettle, a must for me, since I was battling the flu. I needed my chinese tea to calm my throat and bring down my fever, and begging the in house restaurant for their pint glass for hot water didn't get me anywhere. I deeply regretted not bringing my travel kettle on this trip. No iron so I had to make do with my creased dress. Hairdryer felt like it was a cooling fan. Took me ages to dry my hair. At least the room was clean and the matress was firm.
Dublin The Glen Guesthouse: There's something in the water in Dublin. White scum appears on top of the water whenever you boil it. I think that's why I had to use the loo multiple times a day. Iron and hairdryer can be borrowed and returned the next day. Dirty carpets, overused bed and so so sheets.
Stockport The Alma Lodge: I felt like the convict walking the green mile in Tom Hank's movie. The walk to the room was solitary and scary, the halls were dark. No elevators. Matress had plastic in between the sheets, so not good when you're tossing and turning.
Belfast Travelodge: Lobby smells of piss, floor was dirty and food scraps on the floor, nice touch. Elevator's dirty, and I mean DIRTY. There was a puddle of liquid on the floor of the elevator. I asked for a room change because the room overlooked the garbage bins, which was ok, I wasn't there for the view. There was hair on the sheets, which was ok since it wasn't pubic hair. The kettle was dirty and there was leftover yellowish liquid in it, which was ok since I can live without tea for 2 days. The tv was broken, which was ok since I can finish my emails faster when I don't watch tv. I didn't want to walk barefoot on the carpet, which was ok since I always bring flipflops. The bathroom smelled of piss, which was not ok on top of all the other ok things in the room. My next room was on the fourth floor, acroos the club which pumped out base and drum songs until two in the morning. The towel had hair on it, it was curly, I didn't bother using it and took the towel from the other room. The kettle was clean, the sheets were clean thankfully. The toilet smelled less of piss, but yes, there was still a hinge of piss smell. I still didn't like the look of the carpet, thank goodness for my flipflops. My first night of hell was me getting a wiff every so often of the piss smelling bathroom, boom and base from the club and women and men screaming and fighting. They didn't stop until three in the morning. Why do drunk people in Belfast have to talk so loud even when they're the only ones left on the street? At four in the morning I received a wakeup call from a woman who was slightly intoxicated: "Did you, heee heee, ask for a wake up call? Hee Hee." And the people on my floor all knew each other, so there was a party on my floor. Nice, I was the only one who wasn't invited. My second night of hell started out the same way, with me going to sleep at five in the morning because the party on my floor ended up with a catfight. Oh, and some random group of women took a picture with me while we were in the elevator. I am never going to book into Travelodge ever again.
It's scary that budget motels feel the need to budget even more, and thus, that is why you get hair on your towels, bathrooms that smell of piss, broken tvs, kettle filled with dodgy looking liquid and nights from motel hell.
And so ends my week of hell. Round four next week.
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