Keukenhof, Leiden

If paradise had a flower garden, it would look like Keukenhof.
**
I was a bit hesitant at first and thought that this was another one of those lousy tourist traps. What would a macho man (*cough cough*) like me do in a flower garden? Traipse among the daisies? Run around with a rose behind my ear?

Of course not. But I came really, really close.

It was so beautiful that I started to quota poetry! I realized how utterly useless these flowers were-- they were simply there to be admired. However R.W. Emerson knew what he was talking about when he said that "beauty is its own excuse for being".

There's a real garden labyrinth with 10 foot tall shrubs as walls. (You would get lost if not for the watch tower in the middle of the gaden.) Comfy lounging chairs under the sun, cherry blossoms, a river with swans, a windmill, reflecting pools, playgrounds for children and lots and lots and lots of colorful flowers.

This place was engineered for photo-ops and cam whores would go crazy. If you can afford it, this is where all brides should have their photos taken.

P's Keukenhof Tips:

• Buy the ticket online (EUR18) or at the Leiden Centraal train station to avoid the long lines.
• Get there early and leave before 5:30pm to avoid the massively long queue at the bus stop. There is only one express bus that leaves Keukenhof for Leiden Centraal.
• BUT, do stay until the park closes at 7:30 because this is the best light for taking photos. Don't worry about the looooong line at the bus because I've got a hot tip exclusively for the ReviewsByP readers...
  
• There is an alternative bus stop 10 minutes away! Walk out of the Keukenhof, make a left and walk straight past the roundabout. Bus 57 on your left leaves every hour and terminates at the train station. Show your Keukenhof ticket and you get to ride for free! It's not an express so it takes a bit longer but it's not as stressful as standing in line. Take a nap and when you wake up, you'll be at Leiden Centraal.
  

Rating:5/5
Five pawikan points! Great for photographers, couples or families with kids. I'm going to gloss over the absurdly long lines at the toilet (BTW, toilets aren't free!) because there's so many pretty things to see here. This truly is the most beautiful that I've ever seen and will be the garden I will measure all other gardens.

Dear Kuya by Sugarfree

Rating:5/5
Ikaw ba'y nalulungkot at nag-iisa? Pakinggan mo itong kantang Dear Kuya ng Sugarfree (mp3) para sa mga malulungkot na OFW tulad mo.
***
Dear Kuya,
Kumusta ka na dyan? Anong balita, malamig ba dyan? Dito mainit pero kung bumagyo, para bang lahat ng tubig sa mundo ay nandito. Matagal na rin mula nang ika’y magpasyang subukan ang swerte, at abutin ang yong mga pangarap sa ibang bansa kung saan ikaw ay laging mag-isa. Kami tuloy dito nag-aalala,

Nasan ka man ngayon, ano mang oras na ika’y may kailangan, tawag ka lang sa amin at parang nandito ka na rin.

Oo nga pala, kung nasayo pa ang checkered na polo ko, sa yo na yan. Hanap ka na rin ng maraming mapapaglibangan dahil balita ko mahal daw ang sine dyan. Dambuhala raw mga pinapakain dyan. Tataba ka malamang. Miss mo bang magtagalog? Kuya pag may kumausap sayo galingan mong mag-ingles. Galingan mo kuya.

Dear kuya,
hinahanap ka ni mama at daddy. sulat ka palagi. Miss ka namin, pati nga kapitbahay nagtatanong san ka raw nagpunta? san ka raw nagpunta? Nasan ka na? Kuyaaaa...!

Young Pinoy helps design USA's Ballistic Missile Defense Radar System; named top 15 young engineers of 2007

Rating:5/5
Balita.com reports that 24 year old Filipino Earl Valencia is the youngest of the 15 men and women chosen by USA's National Engineers Week Foundation as one of the New Faces Of Engineering of 2007.

A Lasallian who graduated from De La Salle Zobel High School, he has a BS in Electrical Engineering from Boston University, an MEng in Systems Engineering from Cornell and is taking his PhD in Systems Engineering at the University of Southern California.

According to the foundation, he "has had a hand in some of the most critical defense projects sponsored by the U.S. military, including the design phase of the DDG 1000 Next Generation Naval Destroyer and the Ballistic Missile Defense Radar. As a systems engineer, he has played an active role in developing proposals and has led a major process improvement initiative for a factory of airborne radar antennas. "

You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know na meron pa ding malulupit na mga Pinoy!