Posts Tagged ‘vacation’
Hongkong holiday
Hongkong was a blast. Very tiring and extremely humid, but fun, nonetheless.
It’s a bit funny, now that I look back on it, that I almost didn’t make it. My passport wasn’t due to be released until the 23rd (our departure was on the 18th)… but I managed to find a way, thankfully. I would have missed out on the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of Hongkong.
Our first day was really about exploring the are and getting our act together — i.e. planning what to do, finding a place to stay, getting the best exchange rate, etc. So after burning the free phone lines to book a hotel, accidentally getting a cheap fare into the city and stumbling across a good eatery, things seemed to be falling into place.
On day two, I had to go see my dad’s banker to sign some papers. I separated from the rest to find one of the Citi banking centers in Mong Kok, while the rest took the MTR over to Hongkong Disneyland. Naturally, after performing my familial duties, I rushed over to the theme park.
As it rained that day, the adult attractions like Space Mountain were closed. Since we were with the kids, it didn’t really matter anyway. One cool thing of note (and something I didn’t notice in the LA Disneyland) was the Filipino section of the It’s a Small World attraction.
On day three, we went to see Buddha… in the Ngong Ping 360 (cable car) and walking tour.
Day four, we said goodbye to Hongkong and all it’s attractions. Hopefully, we’l be able to make it back.
subic weekend
despite my previous post on the horror of staying at the subic international hotel, the weekend was still pretty fun. i was able to hit the beach, relax and spend some time with kan and her family.
and while hanging out at the beach, there was this pretty cool band, kawangis ng tribo churning out some funky tunes with their ethnic instruments.
subic international hotel
It’s sad when an institution with a glorious past has faded into a shell of its former self.
Over the Holy Week holiday, we checked in to the Subic International Hotel — a once premier destination in the Subic freeport area. As we were a semi big group, we were placed in the Alpha hotel (the oldest section of the buildings). There was a reception area, with no receptionist and no guard on duty, and half the lights in the building were off. Our room was actually pretty decent, considering the hotel is decades old. However, it did have a distinct smell to it…sort of like checking into an apartelle [and the connecting room was worse]. As soon as we got settled in to our room (at around 3pm) we asked to have one extra bed removed, as it was blocking the door to the connecting room. And we also complained that our aircon didn’t seem to be cooling. Their response: “We’ll have someone go on up to remove the bed and check into the aircon.” So we decided to go out and enjoy our free time.
Fast forward to around 11PM. Our elevator wouldn’t stop on the third floor, so we had to get out on the fourth and take the stairs to our stop. (Okay, so it’s not really a long walk, but it’s still not what you’d normally expect from your hotel) The bed was still in our room, and our aircon was surprisingly shut off. So we called for some assistance. After a few minutes, someone came to retrieve the extra bed…then the aircon mysteriously came on. We didn’t touch anything, we didn’t move anything. it just happened. but as we were dead tired, we decided to just let everything go.
The next day, was pretty much the same — we were out of the hotel the whole day, and when we got back the airconditioner was still “breathing its last gasps.” We called the hotel to complain about the cooling system. Their solution: to move us to a different room at 1130 in the evening. But again, we were so tired, we decided to call it a night. By around 12, we were all knocked out, starting to sweat from the heat. And to make matters worse, the lights and aircon intermittently shut off, at varying intervals like a cheap disco trying to save on some electricity bills.
At around 7am, the next day, we were all up…a little grumpy from our restless sleep, but still making jokes about the previous nights “(mis)adventure,” when we started to smell something burning. Our favorite aircon was starting to spew smoke. Immediately we shut it off and unplugged the appliance, and promptly informed the front desk of the incident. The hotel staff promptly arrived and removed the offending party, and sheepishly admitted that their rooms and amenities really aren’t cared for or upgraded…or at least haven’t been for the last 48 years (probably an exaggeration, but at the time, it seemed like he wasn’t joking). We didn’t get a call or an explanation, so we decided to file a complaint. I wasn’t there personally, but as Ran narrated, she felt that the Executive Assistant Manager was really not sympathetic to our plight. He just kept on saying “We’ll take this constructively yada yada.” No apology, no explanation”. What if we had been asleep when the aircon actually burst into flames?!? And he even had the gall to say “Have you seen our Delta building (the newest wing of the hotel).” No, we haven’t, as you placed us in the crappy wing…and we probably won’t, as the hotel now sucks.
I don’t mean to bash the hotel for no reason at all. But for the service and amenities provided this weekend, this has go to be put out there in the public. So the next time you head over to Subic, make sure to check out the other hotels before even considering Subic International Hotel. And if you do decide to rest there, make sure to say your prayers before hitting the sack.
