Travel Tips

2002 was a good year for me and travel. February saw me celebrating Valentine's Day in Paris and the two weeks following that were spent in Rome, Florence, Milan and Amsterdam.
Holy Week, which usually signals the beginning of summer here in the Philippines, had me boarding a flight to Boracay on the last days of March. A few weeks after that I was flying to and from Manila at least twice a week for work. By mid April, I was again happily planning another trip to Europe for May. The thought of getting away from Manila's oppressive heat was heaven in itself.
Springtime in Tuscany was absolutely beautiful. The weather was perfect and I thoroughly enjoyed my first time in the fortress city of Siena and the surrounding towns of Monteriggioni, Ama, and Castellina in Chianti. I was lucky to have had sunny days while in Amsterdam on my way home. It allowed me to enjoy the Floriade which only happens once every 10 years.
Normally, June and July aren't good months to be in Boracay because it's typhoon season but I kinda like the peace and quiet you get when there are less tourists around.
In August I was running after one crook and chasing away a con-artist. I got rid of the con-artist but I have yet to catch the crook.
By September I had to spend a lot more time in Manila to oversee a project but that didn't hold me back from a whitewater rafting weekend 10hrs north of Manila in Cagayan Province. Two weekends after that I was enjoying dimsum and congee in HongKong.
In October I visited Subic and Mt. Samat in Bataan with VT friends and by Halloween I was back home taking care of important business and health matters.
November and December I stayed in Bacolod..the longest time I've spent at home this year. I had a difficult time at first but I needed the quiet time to regroup before planning next year's trips.