Philippine Travel Notes

Silmugi Festival of Borbon came next. Ah first time I’ve seen them. I think they didn’t join last year. Oh the audio-van was also a float depicting a foresty place. Nice. Nice dancing especially that snake formation thing. Unfortunately the group’s routine was more of a walk when they passed where I was so I didn’t see other movements. Ah yes that dude at the very last of the dancers… he looked like he was ready to hop in an ambulance… I hope he went fine. Now I think I have to correct myself on an earlier comment... This group paraded the tiniest image of patron saint, I think hehe! And I am still thinking if there are green crabs in the Silmugi River. Are there? The town of Alegria came next with their Kawayan Festival. Haha, their big truck looked like a cross between an army camouflage tank and a giant bacteria hehe. Am not sure I got the message on that one since their festival is about bamboos. Hey, I really thought those chunks of bamboo the kids carried on their “backpacks” wer...

Kinsan Festival. My side of the street roared into laughter when this group approached. A little boy in the audience suddenly shrieked “hala, mama ang trak gi-lumoy sa isda o”! I looked again and indeed, it seemd so hehe! The audio-van of this group was decorated to be like a big fish with gaping mouth. Thus, the van really looked like it was swallowed by the fish! Though I think it could have been done better, the concept of making their audio-van like the ‘kinsan’ was splendid. Beautiful young and sexy festival queen, but what with that headgear almost already covering her eyes?! Nice fish costume. And very nice of them to have used those light blue fans. Everyone liked it esp when two of those were joined to form like jellyfish. Beautiful! Ah, the woman in the video…? Si ma’am? Looks like she pre-empted everything hehe, and why be loud letting us the audience (and my cam) hear all about it hehe! Then followed Cordova’s Dinagat Festival where representative group just won at that loc...

Sogod town with their Panagsogod Festival was next. Crowds were noisily cheering again, this time because the groups lead guy (the one that holds their identity i.e., PSS-11) was a young gay dancing in exaggerated movements that everyone had fun watching him. When asked to stop by their coordinators, he would do so in a mighty starlet’s pause hehe! This was a group of black and shiny shimmering kids. Many of us toyed with shooting pics and vids to watch how the reflections from their costumes affected the camera lenses. Even the festival queen’s costume was shining shimmering glittering silver, no one seemed to be minding about their dance hehe. Well, I did notice this group must have had the tiniest of patron saints paraded. Next was the town of Malabuyoc with their Binuyokan Festival. Hmm, the truck that carried their sound boxes was adorned with drawings of corn and leaves, good enough. But the dancers wearing those props that made them look like a plank of 5 people was curious and ...

I was surprised at the crowd reaction on the next contingent. 'Comparsa Sa Mandaue' was already in front of us and no one seemed to be enthusiastically cheering. More of everyone just froze and concentrated at watching them. Felt like I was the only person among the spectators that kept moving. Anything wrong? Last year, when Mantawi passed by anywhere, crowds were loudly cheering. What was the silence all about?! I do have a hunch, every Mandaue dude watching was all curious and apprehensive about the group representing their city. 'Comparsa' is a new festival declared just recently by Jonas (yep the mayor) and thus replaced Mantawi in this Pasigarbo. Well, the kids did good but not something to shout about. Sinanggiyaw Festival of Dumanjug came next. Beautiful festival queen and nice moves from the dancers. There was just a lot of running for the girls I was getting tired for them hehe – pwede ba yun?! I thought maybe the choreographer should have spaced them a bit cl...

There I was again, baking under the wrathful heat of mid-day sun, to watch the Pasigarbo parade. Its been the second year I watched it, and it’s the third time its being held. I don’t know, these festivals just have a very strong magnet on me that I can’t seem to get enough of them. And I always like it anyway! This year there were only 32 participating groups. That means 32 towns and cities in the whole province. Last year I think there were 38. But am not complaining. They say the pasigarbo is the “festival of festivals” in the province, and I think no one will contest that. Imagine the reigning festival champions of all those 32 towns and cities gathered in one place for a showdown?! Spectacle of spectacles, I must add! This time, I did not anymore roam around the troops before they actually started. I instead asked driver to drop me at Mantuyong ASAP lest the road closures trapped us. Good idea, soon as I got off, various portions of A. Del Rosario St., were already being closed bu...

Yes it’s a luxury resort, yes it is expensive. But unlike Shangri-la Mactan, no you do not have to be checked-in or availing of an equally expensive day-tour to see Plantation Bay Resort and Spa “legally” or “officially”. So there is no need to scheme for a gate-crash as you would have read from my blogs about Shang . And mind you, Plantation says they have been rated by Conde Nast Travel as one of the top 100 resorts in the world. Why? Now I am not so sure about my answer to that question as to why we folks want “to see” plantation bay even if many of us all know we cannot afford their regular rates. It probably is just about curiosity, like we want to see for ourselves why everyone is saying its one of the best, luxurious, resorts in the area etc etc. Probably too we want to see it for ourselves, get a feel of what it is and affirm to our families and friends that indeed its such a class of its own, to help them decide if they should go there. In my case, many relatives, friends and ...

By the time I click “publish” on this one, I am almost sure the affair is not yet quite done! I went to see it by accident. I was hesitant at first as I know how crowds in this country go when it comes to spectacles that are staged on a stage. But since I “discovered” the affair early, I thought I might peep in at least for a time and see at least a part of it. Why was it by accident? Ah, I went to CICC having heard that there is an ongoing 'One Cebu Expo 2010'. Roaming the second floor displays, when I was viewing the Central Visayas Tourism tableaux, I noticed some hectic hustle and bustle at the nearby plenary hall. So I went in and saw the stage had three big screens displaying “Pasigarbo Festival Queen 2010”. I asked a janitor what time it was supposed to start and she said probably 730 or 8PM. As it was not yet 730 and there were a few people inside, I thought it must have been 8PM. So I stayed around. 8:18PM, Gwen entered the hall with board member Magpale and other folk...

The Airport is not the Airline and the Airline is not the Airport – even if there’s only one airline flying to/from that airport. That’s how it is here and virtually everywhere else in the world. Except probably the likes of North Korea hehe. Why am I talking about these? Well, that is for many passengers I have encountered that most often bark at the wrong tree! The airport is not like your Philtranco or Victory Liner Terminal in Pasay where the bus company owns the terminal structure and so on. The airport is more like Megamall. O sosyal di ba? That means, the owner of the building is not any airline but the government. Its just like many of the shops inside megamall, they’re not owned by SM. Rather, they all pay rent for use of the mall. Likewise, all airlines pay hefty sums to the government for using an airport. Clear? Alright, yey! But why are we talking about all these? Let’s hear these so you don’t bark at the wrong tree: Case 1 – Lady flaring at Terminal 2's Terminal Fee ...