Blogging While at Work Is Bad for Your Health

ideas

I just have to post what's currently cooking up inside my mind before it eventually goes away. This is the academic in me talking, bear with me.

Now at the latter part of my urban planning studies escapade, I now come to the point where I have to sit down and cook up a nice topic for a masteral thesis. Yup, thesis na naman! Unlike western and European countries where the conception and preparation of a thesis topic and probable output is done firsthand, upon entering the course, here the school prepares and introduces the course first thoroughly, before the student can eventually develop a good topic.

Throughout my masteral course, I have always focused on educational facilities and university planning. Since I am working, living and studying inside the university, I might as well make the most out of my stay here. So I try and develop this interest into a specialization of sorts. Might as well focus on the development of my own backyard you might say.

On a side note, I recently went back to our hometown in Bolinao, Pangasinan to inspect a project there. Having to endure the six to nine hour travel time back and forth, the trips gives me the opportunity to just sit and think, since there is nothing to do inside the bus, unless you have the urgent need to go to the john, and therefore worry when the bus will finally reach the stop over point up north.

Which brings me back to the main topic of this piece. The development of the province of Bolinao, specifically Alaminos, home of the Hundred Islands, and/or Bolinao, slated as the next Boracay.

Allow me to explain.

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Alaminos is the town prior to Bolinao (although there are a few more towns in between). It is a prime tourist destination because of the hundred islands. But the way to the port leading to the hundred island is obscure and undeveloped.

Bolinao is located at the northwestern part of Luzon. If you will imagine the mainland via a simple sketch, it is the small "horn" we see when we draw the map of Luzon. It has magnificent beaches, historical lighthouses, museums, and the UP Marine Science Insitute research facility. Is has been said that the town is being redeveloped into the next Boracay.

Now let's connect the dots. Lets do a little writing freefall.

Many tourist destinations. Unconnected. Obscure. Undeveloped. But frequented.
MSI. University. Research. Environmental.
Beaches. Boracay. Tourists.

So for purposes of writing it down before I lose it, my proposed thesis topic would roughly be on the development of the towns of Bolinao and Alaminos, with focus on the introduction and/or development of the tourism and academic / research centers within the region. Think university town. Think Boracay. Will the two mesh? What will be the problems, in terms of environmental, social, economic? Will it sell? Will the residents like it?

What do you think? Comments are most welcome.

posted by nap @ 8:17 AM