DISCOVERING THE SHORES

Finally, the much-needed and well-deserved break . . .

It's not yet party season in Boracay. The plan was to just strap ourselves to the beach chair and let time pass by, blithely unnoticed.

A quiet witness to the famed sunset.

With my trusty ice cold beer.

In my pitstop.

A PIECE OF JAPAN

I'm starting to believe Life is full of surprises.

I took a Northwest flight from Chicago to Manila via Japan. While I was waiting for my turn to board the plane in Narita, the NW agent announced the flight was overbooked and they needed volunteers who were willing to give up their seats.

Smelling freebies, I immediately had myself bumped off to a JAL flight a day after.

The deal i got?

Overnight stay at Radisson (i was tempted to go to downtown Tokyo but time wasn't on my side). A free roundtrip ticket to the U.S., redeemable within a year. Two thousand Worldperks miles. USD 50 airport voucher.

How's that to cap a week-long respite?

And oh, i also got a Sakura lounge pass. For a moment, I thought i earned a business class upgrade too.