Philippine Travel Notes

This is dedicated to the entire crew of Shangri La Mactan Resort. Please don’t “reconfigure” your security procedures after reading this, okay? You will find a reason to agree to this request at the last paragraph of this topic! Having checked-in many times at this fabulous resort (on official company-sponsored junkets), I had the mistake of bragging about how truly beautiful this resort is, how great every detail of the structure and facilities are, how professional and likeable the staff are and how expensive it is to stay there! Naturally, when I and my friends jetted in for a budget-saver “own-tour” of Cebu and Bohol, they all demanded that I take them there for a peek at the place. So we did! I already knew that no “day-tourists” are usually allowed inside this resort – beyond the lobby, that is. That means you have to be billeted in this expensive resort, or at least be attending a party or function to be free to roam around. But to show my friends just the expansive landscaped f...

Of art, stone, colors, tourism and ignorance, sometimes come forth funny caricatures from what used to be a monument of heroism and valor! Take the great monument erected for the great Lapu-lapu right on the spot where he valiantly led a fight and victoriously killed Megallan. As a monument, it is a proud mark of our history. As a work of art, it is more than great! It is more than life-size as it stands tall probably 9 to 12 feet from foot to head and it stands on a high mount in itself already about 8 or 10 feet. The muscles of this man are so pronounced, the face, the eyes and every bit of it are almost real. But of course it is made of stone or cement or whatever material it is (probably even brass or copper). Now the disgrace! The authorities (whoever they are), probably in an effort to make what is beautiful even more grand, did something that they should have not bothered to do. In fact, the effort must have been expensive. Oh what did they do? They just painted the whole statue...

SUTUKIL is a contraction of three cooking terms, SU gba, TU wa and KIL aw. Each term is in verb form so it does not refer to the cooked food (or dish) but rather to the way the food is cooked. All three terms are in the Cebuano dialect. I am not great at kitchen or dining terminologies but let us give this a try! Sugba means grill and if your fish is sinugba it is grilled! That’s easy! Tuwa is ah.. well… Stew! Sometimes Cebuanos themselves spell this as Towa or even the Tagalog term Tola . Further, the term refers only to fish and/or chicken. And the soup is always clear. So if your fish or chicken is Tinuwa / Tinowa , that is stewed. Now Kilaw is hmm… even harder! It is raw fish(usually), cooked in just vinegar with a lot of other ingredients like ginger, onions, pepper, peppercorn, garlic, etc., and usually for people in the visayas, coconut milk! More like of a salad really. No heat or fire. In fact, it’s even more delectable if served chilled. So if your food is kinilaw … well...

If you have been to Cebu, you will not have missed the famous Magellan’s Marker and the equally well-known Sto. Niño Church. Let us do some qualifiers first. I say, Magellan’s Marker because of so many names so many people use to call it. Many call the place Magellan’s Cross. Some call it Magellan’s Monument, Magellan Shrine, Magellan Memorial – ahhh whatever. Just remember, it is a little “building” that enshrines the cross purportedly brought by Magellan in the 1520‘s. The Church right beside it is not spared! It also has many names that the lowly traveler like me gets confused! Sometimes it is called a shrine, a basilica, a cathedral, a chapel, a museum – sometimes even a combination of two words like “The Sto. Niño Cathedral and Museum”. Let us talk about the marker and the church AND candle-making instead, okay? These two “edifices” – if we can call them that, are probably the most famous tourist landmarks in Cebu and located right smack in the busiest of its districts. Or we can ...

This log is dedicated to a friend who hails from the great city of Pasay! While we were in our hotel about 9AM trying to catch some rest, this friend suddenly found out that he needed toiletries and other things. Since there was no nearby store, I told him to go to Ayala Center or Fuente Osmeña and buy his needs from any of the supermarkets. Hesitating to go alone, he asked me: “ ano sasabihin ko sa taxi? ” As I was busy watching a live tennis tournament on ESPN, my answer was: “ pucha naman, e di magsalita ka in the manner and language that you know! You are still in the Philippines and people here talk the same Pilipino and English that you know. Okay, medyo pagtatawanan ka lang if they hear you pronounce tabe instead of tabi or lalake instead of lalaki or hende instead of hindi , but just the same they will understand you and you won’t get lost because of language barriers ”! My litany did not end there and I capped it with this: “ buti pa, go take a jeep dyan sa baba, sabihin ...

This airport, being relatively new is still good – meaning clean and functional. On arrival via a domestic flight, you walk down to the baggage claim area. In many of my visits to Cebu, I have not yet encountered any malfunctioning or dead escalator leading down to the arrival area - even if it was during the wee hours! This is not so at the “new” Centennial Airport in Manila. And thankfully, the baggage carts are also free. The comfort rooms are clean. Being the premier airport of a heavily visited destination in the country however, the information booth or Tourist Information Counter should always be manned from the first airline arrival at dawn up until the last arrivals in the evening. Not that I realy want to get any information from that booth since I fairly know my way around Cebu! I have been frequenting this city since 1989. My concern is for those visitors who may need assistance. Not only foreign visitors but even the local folks who are not very familiar with Cebu. In this...

First the pronunciations: Taytay is always pronounced as “tie-tie” while Majayjay is pronounced as “ma-high-high”. Clear? Okay, let’s proceed! The waterfalls is named Taytay, sometimes it is also referred to as Imelda Falls and at other times, by others as just Majayjay Falls, it being in Majayjay! Let’s repeat that, this is in the town of Majayjay, Laguna and not the town of Taytay in Rizal near Pasig! How’d I end up being there anyway? Well, was doing some official work at Majayjay, community service in fact, but care of or in behalf of the company. Towards the afternoon, when we were just baut wrapping up, discussion flowed into how different the air they breathe in Majayjay, since the place is cool and breezy and really, the air has a different “taste” if I might call it that. We were of course unanimous in recognizing that it was because the town is still forested with a lot of trees and greens all over. Until one of the locals mentioned that we should have visited the waterfa...

This for me is a vibrant region of half greats and half nots! Region 6 (sometimes written with the Roman numeral as (REGION VI) or Western Visayas is an interesting mix of "wow" and "huh" places! I love roaming around here. This for me is the number 1 place in the Philippines that will demonstrate to everyone the true meaning of “if they have it, we’ll do too! (It’s just my view and am not open to debate this time. Okay?) If you extensively read on Philippine history, you might actually start to get teary-eyed reflecting on the past and present of this area in the country. Yes, this is Ilonggo country – even if people from Bacolod want to be called Negrense! The Ilonggos had been through various cycles of the fabled “gulong ng palad” and they always emerge with chins high up ready to show that they won’t easily give to even the most trying of life’s challenges. I consider this region as home not only to the sing-song dialect but also home of the most social an...

This is the WET & HOT Region of the Philippines! Region 5 (sometimes written with the roman numeral as REGION V) or Bicol Region can be mostly “wet” as it is on the eastern corridor of the country facing the Pacific Ocean where typhoons usually come from or pass by. Bicol is a perennial recipient of greater amounts of rain! Many times during the year, majority of the area is blessed with rain – and we may of course also sometimes call that “cursed” with rain. When I go to Bicol for some sunny side activities, I skim through a lot of references just to ensure the clouds won’t rain on me! Many times, they still do! But hey, being wet does not necessarily mean cold! For me, this region is “hot”. What with 3 active volcanoes and another 3 being potentially active! That should be enough to get them really hot on the seismic map, right? How much more if we count 25 others that are considered inactive volcanoes! Yes, you guessed it right, as of this writing, the latest recorded volc...

The ‘Last Frontier’ region of the Philippines! Region 4B (sometimes written in roman numeral as REGION IV-B) is MIMAROPA and that stands for the provinces of MI ndoro, MA rinduque, RO mblon and PA lawan. Note that Mindoro is actually composed of two provinces – Occidental Mindoro and Oriental Mindoro. In the past these 5 provinces were actually part of the big Region 4 called Southern Tagalog – which was more recently chunked into two separate regions namely Region 4A (CALABARZON) and 4B (MIMAROPA). While the claim “The Phlippines’ Last Frontier” would usually mean the province of Palawan, my opinion is that it might as well include Mindoro, Romblon and Marinduque. I am almost certain that in the next years, Palawan will even become a bustling metropolis while the other three islands, especially Romblon and Marinduque might still retain much of their natural allure! Its just an inference and there’s nothing wrong about calculated guesses hehe! While many of the great 'tourismic...

The fascinating suburb! CALABARZON or Region 4A (sometimes written with the Roman numeral as REGION IV-A), is what became of the other half when in 2002, Southern Tagalog (Region 4) was split into two. The term CALABARZON is actually an acronym representing letters from the names of the 5 provinces that comprise it – CA vite, LA guna, BA tangas, R izal and Que ZON . Like Region 3, it also spans from east in the pacific to west in the south china sea. All of these five provinces are within easy reach from the metropolis where majority of its workers actually come from. While these are almost part of Metro Manila, since many industries, corporations and academic institutions have branches and/or headquarters in many parts, they also offer some of the nearest and worthy places to visit for any reason one can think of. When people from the metropolis are in search of a place that they can easily hie off to, many places around these 5 provinces are first on the list. And they are quit...

This is the EVERYTHING Region of the Philippines! Region 3 also mostly indicated as REGION III or Central Luzon has everything for everyone, from kids to serious businessmen. This region is one of the best for outdoor fanatics to history and culture enthusiasts! It has everything from rural seaside towns to exclusive members-only resorts and everything from the illegal gambling operations to glittering modern casinos hahaha! To be able to completely roam and absorb everything that this region has to offer, a month or two may not even be enough! Composed of 7 provinces (12 cities and 118 municipalities), Central Luzon is one of only two regions in the country that spans it shore-to-shore from east to west. I even call this vast place as the region from A to Z! That is A = Aurora (the eastern-most province, kissing sunrise and the Pacific Ocean) and Z = Zambales (the western-most province, hugging sunset and the West Philippine Sea (formerly the South China Sea). This area of the co...

This is nature-adventureland Philippines! Region 2 (sometimes written with the Roman numeral as REGION II) commonly referred to as Cagayan or Cagayan Valley Region in the big island of Luzon is composed of five provinces or about 90 towns and 3 cities that make up the north-eastern portion of the country. I consider this region to be the Philippine showcase that truly has everything for the nature adventurer. From leisurely jungle trails to spelunking to whitewater rafting and secluded beaches, this region is just perfect. By the name Cagayan Valley however, one does not readily recognize that this region actually includes the Batanes group of islands in the northern-most tip of the country – even nearer to Taiwan than Metro Manila! This area of the country is culture and nature rich! Attractions in this region are not limited to caves, waterfalls, the Sierra Madres, the biggest and longest river nor the northernmost islands however. The people’s way of day-to-day business...

This is "Ilocandia" which many believe is home of the most industrious Filipinos! Region 1 (sometimes the roman Numeral is used, ie., REGION I) or the Ilocos Region in the big island of Luzon is composed of four provinces or about 116 towns and 9 cities that make up the north-western portion of the country. I consider this region to be one of the areas in the Philippines that forever has too many things for the visitor both young and old. Culture, history, industries, festivals, unique foods, politics, beaches, sports activities, islands, caves, mountains and vistas abound in virtually every one of the four provinces. I cannot even point to a favourite place as each locale is uniquely a fine place to visit even repeatedly. While I love being in the Vigan and Laoag areas, I also like going to Pagudpud or roaming around the beaches and surf of La Union coastal towns plus of course I cannot miss the bangus of Dagupan, the dried fish of Sual and the tupeg from Mangatarem! While t...

Owing to so many questions from friends, colleagues and relatives, let us start the year with my comments about this nagging question: “Where do we go to get the best deal, the airline or the travel agency?” Hmm, did you actually think there is a definitive answer to that question? In your dreams! Let me share a common prank that I use on my friends (but don’t do this at home): Friend: Where do I get a ticket going to London, the airline or the travel agency? My answer: Oh, okay, that’s great! (then I hang up) Next my friend rings again for me to hear a barrage of curses all day long hehehe! The more exact reply to that question should be: it depends on where you are headed. So let us discuss the options. Here we go: For domestic travel and not on a packaged tour, go directly to the airline. It is cheaper. Unless it is very inconvenient for you to go to an airline’s ticket office, avoid dealing with travel agencies if you just need a ticket. These airliners maintain offices at strat...

A vow to roam the country... Yes, your PinoyTraveler (that's me) is not at all religious but just the same made a "solemn" vow to roam the Philippines as much as I can and as long as I ever live (whichever ends first - as if they don't go together hehe)! This vow was "solemnized" by the fact that this occurred during a Sunday mass! I was a young 20 year old then. Way back then, really! The Scene The 9:30AM mass, the last row (pew) St. Patrick's Catholic Church, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida - as homily was in progress The Dialogue American Guy : (smiling and with great enthusiasm noticeably inched to get nearer to me and whispered)... "you a Filipino? a Pinoy?" PinoyTraveler : (also whispering and wondering why the urgency of the question) "yes sir, I am, why?" AG : It has been like ages since I saw a Filipino. I love Filipinos, the Philippines. In fact I married one! You see my wife there in the front pews? You will recognize her, s...

From mountains to plains, from waterfalls to oceans... Of strawberries and grains, to delectable crustaceans... From scholarly men, to boxing heroes and talkative politicians... Of award winning musicians, japayukis and emmigrating physicians... This is the Philippines, a great haven for tourists and balikbayans! =o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o= This country has so many things for people to learn from and wonder or marvel about - even for those of us who live here. The many islands would usually have different attractions, customs and cultures that I hope to all see in my lifetime. Unrealistic ambisyotic ba? Sige lang.., at least I have a goal heheh! I write lengthily, taking notes of anything that invite my interest or curiosity. So you will mostly be in for a very long read! But I also do try to put my photos or videos (if any) to enhance the storytelling! Oh, you will notice below each story are tags/labels of regions, provinces, towns and/or interesting subjects. ...