I feel sick already!

Last weekend, my dad announced at dinner, "Pack up your things kids! We'll go to Baguio!".

While the whole family is thrilled and excited for this trip, I don't feel a pressing desire to travel to the mountains again.

I mean, I love meeting new people and exploring our country but I guess I'm just naturally prone to motion sickness. Sea sickness. Car sickness. Air sickness. Elevator Sickness. Amusement Ride Sickness.

Sigh.

Whatever they call it, I have it and I hate it.

Just the mere thought of going to Baguio makes me dizzy and nauseous already. No kidding!

As a child, I couldn't remember any Baguio trip without me doing the technicolor yawn. My family tried a couple of things to help me ease the pain. Granny usually rub a drop of eucalyptus oil under my tiny nose. Mom suggested I look outside the window and breathe the fresh air. Dad preferred that I just sleep. All of which, I tried politely but still the inevitable for me happens. So after some time, they were all raising the white flag in my battle with motion sickness and decided to just bring plastic bags or brown bags for my "throw up time".

It starts with a headache, then a queasy stomach. Soon I'd turn green and clammy. The worst part is that even after vomiting, I still feel unwell and miserable.

My US trip in 2005 was around 20 hours. So yes, I was throwing up for the entire trip - 20 hours. Beat that! My bosses were taking me to the nearest hospital the moment they saw how terrible I look in Jacksonville airport. I assured them I just need a quiet, comfortable room where I can rest for a while.

I was reminiscing these horrible travel stories with Gilbert last night. He was laughing hysterically at first and later on, told me it's merely a childhood fear and that I have to overcome it.

I'm still undecided if I'll travel to Baguio with my family tomorrow. But what I'm sure is that I'll be missing out a lot of fun just because I worry about being sick.

Oberoi Bangalore - A Review

I fled to Bangalore, India to attend a business training in November 2004. It was my very first time to travel internationally and I was so thankful to have such wonderful experience in Oberoi.


What I like about it: The hotel's location is great for tourists since it is near the market, church and shopping districts. My room was very spacious and I had a balcony with a nice view of the lush gardens.

Because the hotel is in the heart of shopping district and the doors to each room are external, it can be a little noisy. It's not that bad in my opinion though because each room has a hall door between the main door & the bedroom space that could block the street noise.

The best part is the hotel's top class dining. I always look forward to the sumptuous continental breakfast at Le Jardin. My colleagues and I usually eat lunch at the trainng center so when we reach the hotel at night, we feast on authentic Chinese Szechwan style in Szechwan Court. We also tried the fabulous alfresco dining at the hotel's Thai restaurant.

The overall ambiance of the hotel is amazing - lots of greens, streams and ponds. At the end of each day, I soak in the tub for thirty minutes or so and enjoy the relaxing moment.


What needs to be improved: Just a very minor incident upon check-in - The front desk officer is persistent in having my personal credit card. I had to convince her it was a business trip before she finally gave me my room number. She was very polite but she could have just checked our company's reservation details beforehand. When I told my boss about the incident, he was totally surprised because he called the front desk a few minutes before I arrived to confirm my airport arrival.

My ratings for this hotel are:
4 of 5 = Check in / front desk
5 of 5 = Quality of Service
5 of 5 = Value for Price
5 of 5 = Rooms (Bathroom, Kitchen, etc.)
5 of 5 = Cleanliness