SO why wait till the monsoon season to pack your bags and leave the city? Four things come to mind:

? Rains mean floods in the Metro and traffic at a standstill. Brownouts too if thunderstorms hit. Then everything comes to a halt. You don?t want to stick around for that.

? No guilt. With everyone back from their annual VL, you can go off without messing up the workload. It?s your turn, and even your boss can?t begrudge you that.

? Lean season rates. With summer officially over, the travel industry trims 30 to 50 percent off rooms and airline seats. It?s five-star comfort at three-star prices. Baguio hotels are a bargain these days (as much as 70 percent off, last we heard), while Seair has a Free and Easy package in partnership with Boracay Garden Resort until October 15.

? No crowds! The kids are back in school and their parents are again slaving away at their desks. You have the airport, the beach, the pool and the sea to yourself and your flab.

With fewer guests to please, hotels too can concentrate on better service and more creative offerings so you don?t have to feel trapped in your room waiting for the clouds to clear. Here are a few suggestions on how you can make the most of your rainy day getaway:

1. Get physical. Most hotels have gyms and health clubs to keep guests from getting lethargic from the weather. Shangri-la Mactan even has a whirlpool inside the women?s section of the gym so you can have a relaxing dip in warm waters without leaving the place. Or you can book a pool access room at Boracay Garden Resort so you can just slide open your balcony door and jump in if you?re too lazy to toddle off to the nearby beach.

2. Get connected. Most hotels have complimentary wi-fi in guest rooms, the coffee shop or even the lobby. You can surf, Twitter or update your Facebook all day. (Not sure about downloading porn though). But make sure you have an umbrella?d drink by your side or are wearing a beach hat, so it still feels like a vacation.

3. Park the kids and let go. If your preschool kids insist on coming (or you?d like to take them along), find hotels with good entertainment zones where they can zap aliens online, play arcade games like air hockey or Nascar racing, Wii and board games for hours, while you hit the gym or the spa.

?Our Adventure Zone is a sure hit with kids,? says Shangri-La Mactan?s Mildred Amon of the hotel?s three-level playground with obstacle courses, ropes, ladders and 900 drop slide.

But the hotel?s best site for mass distraction is easily its friendly beach, a marine sanctuary teeming with tropical fish that?s fairly jumping out of the water. No kid can resist feeding the fish, what with a basket of stale bread nearby. Even grownups can appreciate the early morning fish-feeding session, if only for the ticklish sensation of having a hundred fish tails and fins swishing against one?s body. Definitely a National Geographic moment.

4. Go on a food trip. The rains always stir up one?s appetite, so yield. And be adventurous for once. Go beyond the usual chori-burger at Bora and sample regional specialties, dishes that help you blend with the locals.

Aside from its staple of continental dishes (roasted snapper with tomato and mozzarella, chicken breast tim, prawns thermidor, fillet mignon, seared scallops in ponzu, etc.), Boracay Garden Resort recently introduced vegetarian dishes and Ilonggo fare in its food outlets to give tourists a taste of the island?s culinary culture. Among the Ilonggo dishes prepared by Chef Mario P. Gatmaitan, Boracay Garden?s Food & Beverage Manager are chicken binakol (the Visayan version of chicken tinola stewed in buco juice and usually cooked inside a bamboo tube), shrimp ukoy (fritters) with pickled ampalaya, sinaing na isda (Batangas mackerel wrapped in banana leaves) with pork belly inasal (barbecue), and kalabasa (squash) leche flan.

The vegetarian offerings include stir-fried tofu, lentil (munggo) roast with tomato salsa, risotto verde (Italian rice with spinach) and blinis (thin pancake) with smoked salmon and sour cream. The chef has also given Filipino favorites a twist: the adobong hipon at aligue (vinegar-stewed shrimps with crab fat) is cooked with soda, the beef nilaga has fried sweet potatoes, the sisig (grilled and chopped pig?s cheeks) has mayonnaise instead of pig?s brain, the crispy pata (pork hock) is paired with sinamak (palm vinegar).

The Koreans, the bulk of the hotel?s clientele, love kimchi for breakfast, but are willing to try local dishes, says Chef Mario. In fact, they love lechon and grilled lobster, he reveals.

5. Give something back. At Be Boutique Hotel in Mactan, foreign guests are signing up for the Voluntourism program. According to Andrea Lugue of the hotel, the idea is fast gaining popularity among tourists from developed countries. ?It adds value to ordinary vacations and is a perfect way to do some good while having some rest and relaxation.? While donations to local communities can be one way to get involved, Be Hotel is teaming up with some NGOs for its voluntourism program set to be launched this September. ?Our partner for this year is OceanCare Advocates Incorporated, a non-government organization focused on protecting and rehabilitating the marine environment of Mactan Island and its interdependent island ecosystems.?

Specifically, Lugue adds, they are focusing on the environment where their property is located ?because as a beach resort we are a stakeholder. We will be inviting people to go mangrove planting in Olango Island. For divers we plan to do a deep-sea coastal clean-up. Kids are also welcome to join; we will have a session where they can learn to snorkel and point out the different creatures in the sea.?

She adds: ?The initial voluntourism project is set on September 10-12, with Be Resorts offering a 3 days/2 nights accommodation package. Oceancare will provide modules for mangrove planting, snorkeling, and cleanup diving to guests who avail themselves of the package.?

This is just the start, says Lugue. Interested guests who want to join future voluntourism projects are advised to contact OCAI?s administrator, Mario Marababol, through lifelinemario@yahoo.com or mobile number 0905-3658075. PAC