The art of doing nothing in Tacloban

MANILA, Philippines - It’s the ultimate luxury. In the Introduction to her book The Art of Doing Nothing, Veronique Vienne wrote: “For us, being in a state of not-doing is the outer edge, the ultimate luxury, the impossible dream. But could it be that we’ve been looking for that elusive nothing in all the wrong places?”

The thing about looking for something elusive is that it suddenly pops up when we’re not looking.  On a recent trip to Tacloban, we stumbled upon the ultimate luxury, of letting precious time simply slip away while doing nothing, or at least, next to nothing.

It was midweek, not your usual day for thinking of spending time at the beach. But there we were, at Patio Victoria, San Jose inTacloban City. A popular venue for special occasions such as “weddings by the beach,” Patio Victoria isowned by former actress, Cristina Gonzalez-Romualdez, now councilor and wife of Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez.

Just the night before, the newly re-elected mayor had joined our small group of Manila journalists for dinner at Cocina Don Vicente, popular for its buffet, at Robinsons Place, right next to Gohotels.ph Tacloban where we were billeted. A local dance troupe entertained us with some native dances. We also got to taste locally produced coconut wine under the new label, Vino de Coco. Wearing a white T-shirt with “I (heart) Tacloban” stitched on its breast pocket, the good mayor shared his thoughts about his beloved city, the regional hub and primary gateway to Eastern Visayas.

The capital city of Leyte province, Tacloban is also the region’s trading capital as well as the center of government, culture, education and tourism. Classified as a highly urbanized city, the first in Eastern Visayas, it is the largest city in terms of population. Mayor Romualdez remarked, “During the day, the city’s population of about 218,000 triples, with workers and students coming in from the nearby towns.” He describes the people as generally laid-back. “There is no traffic,” he said, such that when the first traffic lights were put up, “it became a tourist attraction.”

Tacloban is better known as a tourist destination for its historical significance in the Second World War. It is closely associated with General Douglas Mac Arthur and the American Liberation Forces, which landed just outside the city along Leyte Gulf on Red Beach in the town of Palo, where now stands a monument depicting the historic event.

In the city, within the walls of Patio Victoria, as a matter of fact, is another reminder of that tragic period in our country’s history. We saw a couple of Japanese “pillboxes,” concrete half domes with stone steps leading to a cave underground, said to have been built “by the Japanese Imperial Forces during World War II as part of the fortification against the Allied Liberation Forces led by Gen. Douglas MacArthur.”

There were not too many people out on the beach that day, we had the pool almost all to ourselves. We were spoiled for choice at the lunch buffet, from freshly cooked crabs to a whole lechon. What else was there to do after a heavy mid-day meal? Nap. Lounge.

Be pampered. The girls from Cristina’s Salon and Spa (located downtown and another one at Robinsons Place mall) came to give us special service— manicure, pedicure, massage.

The rest of the time, we spent doing nothing.

Veronique Vienne wrote: “doing nothing doesn’t mean being inactive, it means doing something that doesn’t have a name.”  What would you call gazing idly at the horizon, where the sky meets the sea? What would you call watching clouds softly changing shape and form? What would you call sinking in the moment and losing your grip on time?  Nothing.

It was not part of the plan to drive up to San Juanico Bridge, the 2.16 kilometres S-shaped bridge, the longest in the country, that spans the islands of Leyte and Samar across the San Juanico Strait, said to be “the narrowest navigable channel in the world.” But when the idea came up, it was a unanimous decision among the group to go for it.

We had just finished dinner at Ocho Seafood Grill, the popular “paluto” restaurant downtown where you get to choose from a wide display of fresh seafood and specify how you want it cooked.  It was baked scallops, sinigang  na  ulo  ng  tanguingui   and adobo rice for us. Hands down, it was the best meal we had on this trip.

San Juanico Bridge is about 15 minutes away north of Tacloban City. It’s a favourite spot for joggers in the morning. Lighted up at night, it’s an attraction just as well. We drove from the Leyte side and crossed over to the Samar side of the bridge, and in that instant, we found ourselves in another province.  We drove a short distance farther until we found a u-turn, and not long after, we were back in Leyte.

Gohotels.ph Tacloban, our home away from home during our stay in the city, is a convenient 10 to 15 minutes ride away from the domestic airport, right along the Tabuan national highway. With 98 rooms, 50 twin and 48 queen rooms, it is ranked number one among the provincial gohotels.ph in terms of occupancy since it opened barely a year ago, about the same time as the Annex to Robinsons Place Tacloban was inaugurated. The main mall opened in June 2009. As the story goes, on opening day, the escalators stopped moving due to the load of the crowd who came to welcome the new addition to the city’s commercial landscape. It’s certainly a great boost for the local businessmen, especially with the local government’s support. And where there is a Robinsons mall, you can expect gohotels.ph not far behind.

 â€œAs a budget hotel offering value-for-money rates, Gohotels.ph Tacloban follows the same “booking, lower rates” scheme that made its Manila flagship property in Mandaluyong famous among constant travellers,” Gohotels.ph sales and marketing officer, Adrian “Adi” Ong, noted.  “The chain’s variable ‘bucket pricing’ is considered a first in the hotel industry and was inspired by the set-up commonly practiced by airlines that rewards lowest available air fares to those with the earliest and quickest mouse click.”  Book on-line at www.gohotels.ph.

Gohotels.ph is an essential service hotel that offers great value with amenities that are usually considered add-ons in other hotels of the same class, such as individually controlledair-conditioning units in every room and flat screen LCD cable TV.  There’s free wi-fi access not only in the lobby but in the rooms as well. Every room has a private bathroom with hot and cold rain shower as well as handheld showers. The Windsor beds, manufactured exclusively for the local hotel chain, uses only 100 percent cotton sheets, and coupled with  the chiropractic pillows, you are assured of nothing less than a perfectly restful sleep. After all, more often than not, a comfortable bed is all the luxury a weary traveller needs.