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Dream vacation for family that reads together

By Kenneth del Rosario
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 03:01:00 05/04/2008

MANILA, Philippines—For science teacher Noria Lim, reading the Inquirer is just as important as eating a good breakfast.

Food nourishes the body, she says, while the Inquirer’s news and information energizes the mind.

There’s nothing like starting the day sipping coffee and reading her favorite newspaper, Noria says.

On most mornings, Noria, her husband Paul and their 7-year-old son Krelian have breakfast together while reading their favorite sections of the Inquirer.

Indeed, the family that reads together, should vacation together.

So when Noria wished for a three-day, two-night vacation in Bohol—because her son Krelian wanted to “dig up all the chocolates” in the world-famous Chocolate Hills—the Inquirer couldn’t resist granting her wish.

Noria was one of 22 Inquirer letter-writers chosen to have their wishes granted during the paper’s 22nd anniversary last December.

Last week, the Lim family was sent packing on their “dream vacation.”

“Krelian was really excited [when he learned we were going to Bohol],” Noria says. “He thought that if he could eat just one hill [of the Chocolate Hills], he would become really fat.”

The Lim family had been planning a trip out of town for a long time. For one reason or the other, it never materialized.

“Times are hard,” says Noria, a teacher at WordLab School Inc. in New Manila. “There were other priorities.”

As to why she chose a trip to Bohol instead of a trip abroad, she explains: “We wanted our son to know that one does not have to go far to find the best things in life. Sometimes, traveling in our own country, marveling at our local treasures can be a priceless adventure.”

The Lim family visited the Inquirer office in Makati City and they couldn’t stop talking about their memorable trip to Bohol.

On the first day of their summer vacation, they visited a reforested area filled with mahogany trees, a butterfly sanctuary, the Loboc River and the Baclayon Church. This is the second oldest church in the country after the San Agustin Church in Manila.

They also trekked up the cone-shaped Chocolate Hills.

“It felt like we were in the Amazing Race,” says Krelian, referring to the reality television show in which teams race around the world in competition with each other.

But was Krelian able to dig up any chocolates?

“Yes, yes!” he says, adding in jest: “I brought a shovel with me.”

On the second day, Noria and Paul, who are both licensed open water divers, went diving off Balicasag Island where turtles, hammerhead sharks and other marine life abound.

Krelian, on the other hand, spent the day glued to his Game Boy. When it became too hot, he swam in the pool at the Amarela Resort where the Lim family stayed for the duration of their trip.

The best was left for last. On the third day, the Lim family went dolphin-watching and snorkeling, much to the delight of Krelian, who was in summer vacation mode after completing Grade 1 at the Raya School on Tomas Morato, Quezon City.

“We had a truly wonderful experience,” says Paul, a program development specialist at the recently opened Manila Ocean Park.

The three days were packed with so many activities, the Lim family didn’t have time to buy souvenirs. Instead, they took lots of pictures and bought peanut candies.

“I remember my first encounter with the Inquirer. I was in high school and I bought the paper from a newsboy to do him a favor,” Noria recalls. “Reading my first bought copy of the Inquirer made me feel like an adult.”

Her loyalty to the paper continued until her college days at the University of the Philippines in Los Baños, Laguna, where she took up BS Biology major in Genetics. It was in this campus where she met her husband-to-be, Paul, who was taking up BS Zoology.
Noria’s says her favorite part of the paper is the Lifestyle section, because it gives “practical information about health, food and fashion.” It also gives “useful advice to young mothers who want to be money-smart.”

Krelian, on the other hand, says he likes reading the comic strips and the Junior Inquirer on Sundays.

The rest of the paper, Noria says with a wink, goes to her husband, Paul.

As to why he thought Noria’s wish letter was chosen among the hundreds of letter-senders who joined the contest, Paul muses: “I believe the Inquirer saw a sincere and genuine wish from a family who wanted to spend quality time together in a paradise like Bohol. For that, our heartfelt gratitude to the leading newspaper in the country.”

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Makes me proud



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