Sundo

Kay tagal kong sinusuyod ang buong mundo
Para hanapin, para hanapin ka
Nilibot ang distrito ng iyong lumbay
Pupulutin, pupulutin ka

Sinusundo kita, sinusundo

Asahan mong mula ngayon pag-ibig ko’y sayo
Asahan mong mula ngayon pag-ibig ko’y sayo

Sa akin mo isabit ang pangarap mo
Di kukulangin ang ibibigay
Di kukulangin ang ibibigay
Isuko ang kaba tuluyan kang bumitaw
Ika’y manalig, manalig ka..

Sinusundo kita, sinusundo

Asahan mong mula ngayon pag-ibig ko’y sayo
Asahan mong mula ngayon pag-ibig ko’y sayo

Handa na sa liwanag mo
Sinuyod ang buong mundo
Maghihintay sayo’ng sundo

Photo credit: Chris Sanchez

Green Tea Break

Let me just tell you about my day while I take an afternoon break (in preparation for the busy evening ahead of me) and sip my green tea.

At 12 noon today, my boss kicked me out of the office and told me to just go home and rest. I love my boss!!!! He's frank, caring and funny in a brutal way hehehe.

To save time, I ordered take away from a Chinese fastfood and ate my chicken and rice inside the train. My first time to try eating rice on board the train---it was one of those kapal moments but who cares, the care bears diba? I'm hungry and craving for rice so they can't do anything about it.

So what does a girl do with a half day off work? Syempre malling :)

Well, I didn't actually go there to unwind. I had to do some last minute errands like drop by the bank and pharmacy and buy a gift for a friend. After all that's been done, I went straight to my hair stylist.

When I had a haircut two weeks ago, I asked the stylist to take away the layers so parang one-length ang effect nya. Kaso, after one week, my hair felt heavy and I didn't like the feeling. Since Monday, all I think about was "I have to have my hair cut again". And so I went today, kasi paano ba naman kagabi napapanaginipan ko na yung hair stylist ko---bothered talaga ako hehehe. When I came in the salon, ayun pinagalitan pa ako ng stylist kasi hindi naman daw talaga pwede na walang layer ang hair ko dahil super straight. Sus! Matapos ang lahat, he made me pay only half the price, gave me a kiss and said "Enjoy your trip honey!"

My last stop was Starbucks. I just had to reward myself for a job well done at work and for having a good day. At bilang huling hirit sa tag-init (autumn na dito pero may konti pang init), I ordered their Summer Special called Dulce de Leche Frappuccino topped with whipped cream and caramel. Yum!!!

Now off I go to dinner and after that another round of travel preps (just double checking things) and getting myself ready for tomorrow's hectic day.

Kaya ko 'to! Aja!

Travel Preps (Itineraries and Logistics)

This is just a sneak preview of how I plan itineraries and prepare logistics for travel. Sneak preview lang ha? :P

Planning Itineraries

Chris and I plan our itineraries well because we really want to make the most of our trips, plus both of us have certain must-see, must-photograph and must-eat places in every place we go.

One of the reasons we take ample time in researching about a country or a city is because it is a means for us to come up with an itinerary that will have the musts on our list plus have some time for rests in between and time for exploration and surprises.

A sample itinerary would look like this:

Time	DATE	DATE
	DAY 1	DAY 2
5:00 PM		Gold Souq
6:00 PM	Party with Workmates
7:00 PM
8:00 PM		Dinner - Restaurant 1
9:00 PM		After Dinner Coffee

We gave each other lists of places we want to see, restos we want to dine and activities we want to do for each city that we plan to visit. Pag may list na kami, saka kami bubuo ng itinerary.

Please don't be fooled by our itinerary, you might think we follow everything to the dot. Although there are specified times for each place/activity, it only serves as a guide. On a given moment, we are very flexible especially if a place or an activity is extra fun and enjoyable. May mga parts pa rin dyan na we can readily give up if needed or we can cut short if the place turned out boring and pointless to explore.

Some reasons why you need to plan your itineraries:

• You need to determine what outfits you need to bring.
• You need to make reservations at hotels/restaurants you want to dine in.
• You need to know what activities you want to and have money ready for entrance fees, train/cable fares, etc.
• You need to identify your top of the list places to go to given a certain amount of time.
• You still need to rest---you may be able to go to all the places you want to see but it's not worth it if at the end of the trip you suffer from overfatigue or worse, you get sick in the middle of your trip.

Preparing Your Logistics--in other words: Packing your stuff for travel

This is one activity that I love doing---packing everything for travel. Ako ang dakilang tagapag-impake ng pamilya ko. Sa tuwing mag-travel ang family ko, ako ang naiiwan na nag-aayos ng lahat gamit at naglalagay sa maleta. Ang pag-iimpake ay parang isang laro sa akin--feeling ko Lego ito na binubuo kaya kahit pagod at puyat na ako sa pag-iimpake ng maleta ng bawat kapamilya ko, okay lang sa akin.

Here's a peek on how I pack my stuff:

1. With our itinerary at hand, I prepare a travel list like this:

Documents	Passports
	Visas
	Resident Status in Australia document
	Change of Name document
	Plane Tickets
	Confirmation of Hotels
Clothing	Shirts, Jeans, Shorts, Undergarments
	Evening Dresses for Night outs
	Sleepwear
	Beachwear
	Towel

2. I have what I call a "packing rehearsal" (parang dress rehearsal kumbaga sa isang theatre play). For short trips (10-15 days), I practice packing at least a week before. For long trips (16 days-up), I rehearse a month before. Why? Pag long trip mas madaming dala, kung talagang overweight na ang luggages mo (airlines have certain weight limits), you have the option to (1) lessen your stuff or (2) send your things via DHL/Fedex/UPS--for these two reasons you need ample time.

Now this is what happens during rehearsals:

I lay all the things I plan and want to bring on my bed. It literally looks like a mess but it's "my storm before the calm" kaya wala nang kokontra (my family knows that when I start packing I'm not to be disturbed coz I really focus on it--ganun ako ka-enjoy pag nag-iimpake to the point na super nagko-concentrate ako) and believe it or not, it's still sorted out in a way that only I can understand. :)

In one corner, I have there my gadgets, travel diary, travel guides and reading for pleasure book (for this travel I'm bringing "Love in the Time of Cholera").

In this corner, you'll find all the souvenirs, chocolates and loot bags I will be giving away to friends.

This colored folders contains important documents for the trip: e-tickets, hotel confirmations, etc. Why four folders? Each luggage will have one folder each so that if we lose a folder, we'll have an extra somewhere.

The small fuschia bag is where I'll put my passport, a copy of my e-ticket, money and one credit card. Whatever happens I'll have my this bag wrapped around me everywhere I go, as in EVERYWHERE.

If I have laid out everything I need for my travel, I start putting each one unto their respective luggages. Packing can take hours or even days. I never stop unless I get everything in the right place or I get the right weight for the luggages.

3. Secure the little ones that may spill

This is one of my favorite activities in packing---packing for my toiletries. I like finding mini-me shampoos, conditioners, lotions, etc. They're sooo cute! For some essentials that I can't find mini-ones, I buy little bottle/containers (see facial cleanser bottle below). But before putting them inside the luggage, I make sure they're tightly closed and plastered with sticky tape to avoid spills inside the luggage:

So there, some of my packing-for-travel habits. I still have a lot more "rituals" prior to traveling I'd like to share but I'm pressed for time right now as I about to leave in like 2 days!!! :) Yes, 2 days!!!! Can you believe it?

Am I ready? Let's see:

• I'm done with 3 weeks worth of work at the office
• I've filed all my day-offs and vaycay leaves
• I have somebody who will take over for me at work while I'm away
• I'm done with pasalubong shopping
• I'm done with packing (just need to double check everything tomorrow)
• I'm done with preliminary preps for Chris' Welcome Party next month (menu finalized, guests confirmed)
• Confirmed driver that will take me to the airport
• Checked-in online and booked seat on the plane (Yay! I got the window seat)

So I guess I'm ready.

Travel Preps (Mental and Physical Readiness)

Travel is one of my passions and I make sure that I'm almost 100% ready for it.

Being Mentally Ready

For me, this is the first step and the most important aspect in terms of preparing for travel. This helps in readying the self for the challenge that travel may bring. Travel is enjoyable but exhausting and the only way to ease off a bit of stress is to start with the strengthening and conditioning of the mind.

Why the strengthening of the mind? Travel will present situations that will need you to think--like figuring out how to pack your things, planning your itineraries, knowing the ins and outs of an airport, analyzing maps and directions, etc. Sa pagba-byahe, kailangan streetsmart, madiskarte at kalmado ka. Bawal ang mental block at bawal ang tanga (sorry, but I just had to emphasize that). My way of mental strengthening is to study the country, maps, itineraries, good and bad reviews and even hearsays. I take everything into account. In this way, I'm able to have a sneak peak on what to expect on the place I will be going to. This practice lessens the element of bad surprises for me.

And what about conditioning of the mind? This one will help you in hoping for the best but expecting the worst. Not all trips are made in heaven. Almost all travels are prone to situations beyond your control. Condition the mind that you should be ready in bad situations that may come up, in that way, you can also prepare for plans B, C and D. Prior to travel, I play a mental game called "What if?". What I'll do is ask myself "what if" questions regarding travel, for example: "What if I lost my luggage, what will I do?"---questions like that also makes me logistically ready. For that question, one of my answers would be "to have my airlines' phone number for lost luggages". Most importantly, I condition my mind that every trip will have its hassles and my formula is to still enjoy it (it might turn out to be a blessing sometimes!) and to get thru every bad situation as gracefully as I can (the last thing I want to happen is to lose my temper).

Being Physically Ready

As soon as I know the date of my travel, I immediately start a couple of physical activities:

1. Briskwalk 4-5 times a week from 30-45 minutes.
2. On weekends, I mix briskwalking and running.
3. Lift light weights for strengthening of arms, I try to do this thrice a week
4. Eat more rich in protein foods.
5. Eat youghurt at least a week prior to travel (youghurt helps in the adjustment of your stomach because when you travel you are susceptible to eating new cuisines).
6. Religiously drink my supplements: Vitamin E and C, Calcium and Biotin.
7. Sleep every chance I get

For my vaycay and wedding in January 2007, I physically trained six months prior to leaving Sydney because the reason of my travel then was of too many tedious things: my wedding, honeymoon, vacationing the phils. For the seven weeks of non-stop going and eating everywhere--not to mention that weddings are really really stressful!--I never got sick. My physical training paid off. On the other my husband got sick two weeks prior to our wedding day--hah! He wasn't physically prepared.

For my upcoming trip this week, I started physical training on the 3rd week of February. Then I also had an additional task: to eat McDo's cheeseburger twice before I leave Sydney. To make the long story short: I stopped eating hamburgers in 2005 but I eat when I travel coz I sometimes want one. Now since Hubby told me that we will be staying at place where there is a nearby Jollibee (yay!), so I needed my stomach to familiarize with cheeseburgers again, hence, I ate McDo's cheeseburger twice now. Now I think my tummy's ready for Jollibee.

Up next: Travel Preps (Itineraries and Logistics)