i really thought i would be spending my holyweek vacation with a nasty cold. summer won't be a blast if you're running around the beach with your nose running after you. it won't be fun if you can't smell the freshness of the fruits of summer. and chicks don't go near guys who spend more time blowing their nose than swimming -- both on the beach.

i am addicted to details, and scent is no exception. whenever i travel, i take note of certain smells that define the places i have been to.

when i was in grade school, i could tell if we were already in manila just by catching the stench of garbage. it could really answer the ever annoying question: "malapit na ba tayo?"

in Victorias, Negros Occidental i found the real scent of sugar. the smell surrounds a certain part of the town that you could imagine your sugar level rising while walking there. but victorias is definitely no hell for diabetics.

and ilocos sur, for me, won't be complete without the scent of a woman, not tobacco.