Philippine Travel Notes

We all know what this is, right?! While it may not yet be celebrated 100% worldwide, The Philippines, most of its urban centers anyway is a very active participant of this worthwhile cause. I think since 2008, the very year after Sydneysiders have pioneered that once a yearly event to remind us all on keeping this planet worthy a place to live - for us and for the future generations. This year, Earth Hour 2011 caught up with me while I was roaming for some errands and client meet-ups all over Metro Cebu. I did not even plan to watch or see any of those. But it turns out, I ran into various stages of four such Earth Hour celebrations at various locations - which I might claim was even more than many have seen hehe. And I liked it. Why? It reminded me that more and more people are taking part in this cause! Let's hope it spreads more and becomes more often. Yea yeah, I have seen the many computations all over the web at how much energy this planet can save even for doing just a very ...

I call this place DVD Country just because that is what came to mind when I first tried describing this sea of pirated discs for sale. Others call it a DVD hub, mecca, bazaar, bagsakan, central, arcade and whatever else. But that is one and the same place famous (or infamous) for the proliferation of illegal copies of virtually anything that can be put to disc. Yes, most of them are DVD movies and audio CDs, though not to be outshone are the various installer-discs for just about anything you could think of feeding unto a computer. Let’s go! We went there after the San Sebastian Church accidental visit. But, this time, we took a jeep ride instead of continuing our leisurely walk. After having walked about 2.5 kms from Carriedo, to Quiapo Church, Hidalgo, Raon, MLQU and San Sebastian, somewhere in our muscles and bones started complaining hehe. The mind cannot always prevail when the body is tired. Tao lang hehe. Mind you, we still had the energy to roam around DVD country, so once we a...

Alright… we accidentally walked all the way from Quiapo church to reach this place WHICH we did not even know was doable. None of us expected to see this and none of us even thought it is still in Quiapo. Yeah, we all know and knew that there is a San Sebastian Church and all of us in this stroll pack have been there one time or another during our lives. But by chance we had this unanimous misconception that this church is only approached from the Legarda-Recto area, since that is how we have seen and passed-by in previous situations. Call it “dayuhan sa sariling bayan” haha, one of us in the group even spent college life at a nearby university and she was as surprised when we spotted the spires while still at Hidalgo St. Ah we did not stay long and were not able to ‘explore’ this edifice lengthily. Thanks to a wedding ceremony of a whoever and whoever where every nook of the church compound seemed to have been installed two or three policemen. They did not bother us though. We just ga...

The Raon overpass was bustling with people and it was rather not easy to move. When we thought we’ve had enough and decided to go back down, we found it difficult. As some of you may know, that overpass has an ‘island’ at center, a concrete barrier about chest-high (that becomes a convenient display shelf for the vendors). And ‘traffic flow’ of all humanity who pass there is ‘one-way’. To backtrack means you have to go cross this overpass to the end and transfer to the ‘opposite lane’ to return. And we did just that. However, upon reaching the other end, we instead decided to go down and explore this other side of Quiapo, instead of treading our way back in that congested overpass. And the story begins… One companion asked “what is there to see in this area?”. We all looked at each other seemingly asking the same question. But I suddenly remembered that nearby (almost directly across Plaza Miranda) is the ‘famed’ hub of pirated DVDs in this country. So, I suggested we go see the place,...

Walking two blocks of the little narrow street beside the church (Paterno?), we emerged on another famous narrow strip called ‘Raon’. That is pronounced “ruh-on” in the accent as you would say the name Ramon - just remove the "m", silly! This street is famous for electronics and similar gadgets. But OMG we salivated at the sight of many stores also selling sports things esp the hit of the season (or should we call it the fad of today?), yes, badminton. Too many stores selling too many things badminton that the choices are endless. Tubes of shuttlecocks of every kind are available and very cheap. There are even stores that have string services for a personalized tautness of your badminton or tennis racket. Whew! And the many sports bags on sale were attractively cheap, though you’d instantly know they were mostly ‘copies’ hehe – what with a bright blue and green tennis bag just worth P300? We examined some of those and some did look and feel like they were sturdy enough. Hmmm!...

Across the church entrance and the parking area called Plaza Miranda, there is a Mercury Drugstore in one corner and itself is a landmark known to most Filipinos. This time, it has a bigger digital ad signage above it that will surely catch the attention of many a first time visitor. It’s like a gigantic TV. Beside this drugstore is one of the entry/exit ways to a well-known (or shouldn’t I say ‘notorious’?) old infrastructures of Manila City – ‘the underpass’. Going beyond it and away from the parking lot (okay, Plaza Miranda) is going towards “Ils Da Tuls” – yeah “ilalim of the tulay” or “under the bridge” (Quezon Bridge) which is known for cheap native handicrafts and souvenirs but similarly known too, as still part of the domain of snatchers and pickpockets. Let’s not go there for I did not, okay? I may go back there sometime soon. We headed right instead towards Hidalgo St. This Hidalgo St., is very popular to older photography folks. I hear that in the past, the stores that line ...

Yes, Quiapo in Manila, and this is such a realization. Having lived most of my life in the metropolis, I had this assumption that everyone may/should have already seen Quiapo. But with many folks I encounter/ed especially on other islands, I learned that they have only heard about this notorious place and the generally bad stories about Quiapo. Thinking about those views, I realized, I too had similar bad thoughts about the place. Still have sometimes, and no one can blame anyone for thinking so. There is probably never a day that no petty crime would happen in that place. So I don’t consider going there ‘fun’ but sometimes ‘very’ necessary. Like when? Like this time that I have to tell you something about Quiapo… so I had to go there again – with some friends of ocurse. And come to think of it. I liked it. Don’t’ worry, I emerged safe and still whole after this visit! Let’s make the rounds? Church. Ah that is the most common landmark in the area, right? Yes, commonly called the ‘Quiap...

Done with the building and the hefty lunch in previous blog entries, lets go out to the inside area of this resort which is basically the expansive waterpark. Shall we? Okay, we shall! As I said previously, this place is nice to view from over at the lobby lounge and even the Familia Buffet Restaurant. There are nice directional signs everywhere, so you don’t get that much of ’lost’ while roaming around. You can always go back to the building anyway if you felt like you were already somewhere outside Mactan hehe. It’s a big place but made smaller for the wanderer in us as the sides are dotted with those luxurious villas. Actually I cannot be wrong if I declare that Shangri-La Mactan has a bigger/wider garden than Imperial’s. But what do you do in a big grassy garden with only 2 pools over at Shang while at Imperial there is a ‘waterpark’ of sorts. Well, that’s how they call it anyway. Fact is, there are also only two main pools in Imperial but ‘the works’ make it look like there are...