adventures in neverland

delectable is probably the wrong adjective to invoke here. but please bear with me and grant me the freedom to use as an excuse the cliched "poetic license", though i don't claim to be a poet, nor a writer of such magnitude to invoke this kind of privilege that's usually reserved for the likes of gabriel garcia marquez, he of the "one hundred years of solitude" and other epic stories and grand prose that deserved a nobel prize more than any other writer, past or present generation, can claim to be. after such a lengthy intro, let me dive on the main topic of this post : the luxuriously luxurious eskaya beach resort and spa in panglao island in bohol, which has become a favourite getaway and go-to-escape from the maddening crowd of such high profile celebrities as paulo avelino, john lloyd cruz, and where socialite and celebrity cheska litton recently profess her marriage vows to the love of her life. you ask: what makes eskaya so alluring that guests don...

"you don't have to die and go to heaven to know what paradise is. no, pia zadora, gorgeous and alluring during her heydays, is wrong, it's not a fantasy created by dreamers like me. it's an hour plane ride away, somewhere in bohol, where the sky is always clear and blue and summery, and the sea, mysterious and beguiling and deep. that's true, that's where......" mahatma gandah. i must have done something right in the past few years while i was contemplating about the universe, and the reasons why i am still alive. a week ago, i was invited to an all-expenses-paid trip to bohol and stayed in panglao island's most expensive resort, eskaya beach resort and spa, where the cheapest villa (they don't have rooms unlike in other resorts. just private villas, most of which have their own private pool) goes for around five hundred twenty five us dollars a night (excluding taxes)! the welcome from one of eskaya's staff at the tagbilaran airpo...

"the hills are alive   with the sound of music..." lady gaga's soulful rendition of the julie andrews classic "sound of music" at this year's humdrum oscar ceremony (the winners of the acting, directing and best picture categories were all just as expected, except for the best actor trophy, which went to that british former model instead of batman) was playing on my mind endlessly, helping cheer me up as i exerted all my energy into climbing the two hundred and fourteen steps to reach the top of the viewing deck to get a better glimpse of the magnificent chocolate hills. yes dearies. you heard it right. two hundred and fourteen steps up. a herculean task given my body weight and lack of exercise that i all blame to my sedentary lifestyle -- staring at the tiny screen of my macbook all day, ogling at young handsome men in their naked glory...oppps . but the young man in our group convinced me that the view from the top was much, much better. "li...