Manila Philippines Guidebook
Friday December 16, 2005, 11:46 AM
I am in Manila, Philippines again, I decided to leave Palawan early, for some reason I was able to arrange to leave early with Asia Spirit Airlines for no charge. I was trapped in Puerto Princesa with nothing to do because of the rain and the amount of time I needed. I am not a usual person as I feel I need from 3-10 days in every location and then I move locations.
This all makes me think about guidebooks and how to write a guidebook. The normal guidebook and the internet I believe will merge or work together soon. How this will happen and in what format is not certain.
What is annoying to me about guidebooks is their desire to be politically correct. I am not wanting a guidebook to require interpretation. I want it to say, this is this type of Hotel or this is a problem, or why this may exist. Now they are a guide and not a answer to all questions, however they stay out of the middle and stay too much on a guide language and not telling you the real situation. I keep realizing any Hotel is like a home, it needs to have a laundry facility, Television room, close to a grocery store, in a good neighborhood for the children, and a play room for people to play games. How close the place is to restaurants is a plus also, many have restaurants inside, and I am starting to feel a good Hotel has a breakfast, and maybe snacks at night, however never a proper restaurant. Unless they have a common area that is totally separated and free and a free guest kitchen for people to use with out competition from the owners kitchen or restaurant.The job of a guidebook is to tell you how close it the hotels are to this type of home.
