Travel for work
In my glory days, friends even people I'm not too close with, would randomly leave a comment or message me saying how lucky I am to have found my work. They'd jokingly add "Are you hiring?" Back then, I had no idea that my work looked luxurious from an outsider's perspective. For inside, it was a battleground, a constant push and pull between work and play, but one thing's for sure, never boring.
Before the pandemic, I was the one organizing our Strategic Planning that happens once towards the end of the year. I made mention a couple of times and even wrote separate articles about those past work trips. Today, let me walk you through a usual day on an official business trip and how I inject fun amidst the busy schedule.
Fun fact! Because of my work, I get to travel in top Philippines destinations all for free. I usually list 2-3 destinations as options for the meeting venue. We've been to Bohol, Camiguin, JPark (in Cebu) and this time, we're splurging in El Nido, Palawan. For those who might not be that familiar with Philippine geography, El Nido is a 4-5 hour car ride from Puerto Princesa, where the main airport is located. But did you know there's one boutique airline that flies Cebu direct to El Nido? It's called AirSwift. The roundtrip fare could easily buy you an international ticket. RT fare starts at around Php 10,000 if there are promos and can go as high as Php 20,000+ on a regular day. I booked our flights with the help of AirSwift's Sales Executives and got our RT fare at ~ Php 12,000. This is not economical for a local flight. I'm beyond grateful to have experienced it without worrying about the cost. 😁
Considering I'm oganizing a business trip for our managers (I was still an officer back then), I proposed to skip the long inland transfer from PPS to El Nido. My boss approved it and the next thing I knew, we were flying AirSwift's small plane above El Nido's countless islands and islets scattered all over the Bacuit and El Nido Bays.
Arrival in Lio
This is the part where things get cooler!
We weren't only flying a boutique airline, we were also landing in a private airport owned and operated by the same airline for the private use of their planes. Awesome, right? Lio Airport Terminal or commonly known as El Nido Airport is part of Lio Tourism Estate, an Ayala Land property, which we will explore more in my succeeding posts.
The airport might be small but its design will take any tourist into travel mode right away with its tropical atmosphere.
Check in time!
Lio Tourism Estate is a wooping 325-hectare property that houses resorts from the afforable ones such as Casa Kalaw, Huni, Balai Adlao and Hotel Covo to the luxurious El Nido Cove and the latest addition, Seda Lio.
After thorough analysis of the cost-benefit, we went with Huni. This was newly opened during our visit. It's a small rectangular shaped 2-storey hotel that has a massive pool in the middle.
It was a free day or night for us. I shared the room with two other workmates; we dropped our bags, waited for others to meet us at the lobby and we went for a quick sunset walk at Lio Beach. For any work trips, you should look out for opportunities to sneak out and explore. It turned out other colleagues were already outside ahead of us.
Busy bee: Meeting Day 1
It was a sunny first official working day in El Nido. We had our meeting at one of Huni's conference room. The long morning discussions came to and end and we were welcomed to a fancy buffet lunch by the beach. I was enthralled by the view of Lio Beach; it was calling my spirit to ditch the meeting and swim in it's endless cerulean blue ocean.
I mean, who on their right mind will not answer to this call, right? I held back, worked hard and prayed the 2-day meeting will come to an end the soonest. 😅 The lunch break might've given us time to snap photos of here and there but I was looking forward to running in the beach like I own it.
In the evening, a classic team dinner was prepared by yours truly. Oh, I didn't cook but I arranged the reservations and made sure everything's in order. The last thing you want on a busy work trip is for people to go hungry. We fuel our body to fuel our minds for the 2nd installment of our meeting the following day.
Last leg: Meeting Day 2
It couldn't get any sunnier in this part of the Philippines. I thought we'd get rain since it was November but my photos show otherwise.
Just like in Day 1, we took off our heels, replaced them with our slippers and run to the beach for a quick getaway. Pose here, swing there and back in the discussion hall for the afternoon session.
Another sumptuous dinner was served to all. Before I forget, you won't go hungry in Lio Estate. Aside from the hotels offering their own food, restaurants offering different cuisine are lined up in the entire Lio Beach. We tried Shaka, the Red Crab, etc. They're pricier than usual but very convenient if you are staying in any of the hotels in Lio Estate.
The 2-day meeting finally came to a close. Plans were made for the next year or so. This only means one thing: tourist mode on here in El Nido. Did you really think I'll propose an El Nido meeting without touring it even for a few hours? 😎 Stay tuned in the next post as I bring you with me in our manager's destressing day at the beautiful islands in El Nido, Palawan.
Living life intentionally every single day, she believes that there’s no limit to one’s potential. Right now, she’s on the loose for the pursuit of endless holistic self-growth and development. She wants to light the way for others. She believes there’s no better way to leave a legacy than to pay it forward.
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