Philippine Travel Notes

I was at J-Mall this morning for some quick errands (and lunch too), and I happened to have seen a number of live chickens on display. Some were caged, some not, some were on a table, some on the floor, some in cabinets and some in crates! So I walked towards them saying in my mind "wat da..."! First I thought this was a trade show or something about fighting cocks. But they looked punggok! And so I read that sign. Oh okay, alright, this was a Serama Show. But what is a Serama anyway? The first thought that came to my lowly mind was "who is this Rama nga mamaligyaay'g hinuptan"? Haha! So I waited for any of those busy folks (they were all youngsters) to be available to enlighten me... Make the long story short, someone educated me that a "Serama" is a breed of chicken, in fact the smallest in the whole world he said. It started being popularly bred in Malaysia, now a global craze. Well yes, the "Rama" part came from a name, but not the ...

So we thought those flight information displays at the Cebu Airport are cool eh?! They changed the old 1980s-looking CRTs to flat screens about last year. Believe me though, those are just ornamentals. Never believe whatever is shown or even blinking on those screens. Those infos are either inaccurate or incomplete, therefore misleading. I took this picture at 1804H on my phone’s clock that automatically synchronizes with the world’s time clocks. But it says 17:56H on this display. Bearable, right? What if I told you that I was at this place to check-in for a regular Zest Air flight to Manila departing at 8PM?! In fact, there is no day that there’d be no domestic flights out of Cebu between 1910H and 2315H! Well, as if to highlight the public’s need to ignore those (should be) informative displays, here is one acquaintance who works at the airport  has to say about them “sus sir oi, design ra man na sila gud”! Oh well…

There is an over-supply of the ‘letter S’ at this mall just beside the University of San Carlos Talamban Campus (ok TC now means Technology Center whatever)! Being beside a school, (where we hone the bright minds of Cebu to be always sharp, healthy and alert, "char"!), this mall declared everywhere, including parking lots and external open areas as Non-Smoking. Yes entawon, even the roadside, as if it does not teem with thick emissions from those dilapidating 13C jeeps! But, the mall is still kind to us puffers hehe. They provided a smoking room about the size of what it is over at NAIA Terminal 4. The walls and ceiling are elegantly plastered with wallpaper showing the horrifying effects of smoking. This picture is what you see when you raise your head to ‘exhale’ your smoke away! And you realize that there has got to be one ‘letter S’ that must go! Whahehehe! Oh well… Warning: NOT Smoking Makes You Forget Your 3rd Grade Grammar! ISSN 2516389.25-1235

Yes that is Zubuchon, but no, I was not alone. That yumminess would be too much! There was three of us. ISSN: 2516389.375-1201

Where and what time is yours? Mine would be about 11PM on busy days and between 2AM to none-at-all on ultra-funtastic days, anywhere I may deem fine! Ah, to each his own really, right? Take this adorable kitty-cat I chanced upon at a market stall in the suburban town of Consolacion, Cebu. Time of day? Exactly 12NN, and there were quite a number of folks buying this and that from the store. One customer even made a phone call via that landline, but this unperturbed meow-meow did not even bat a whisker! Yes, we can call it “trust and confidence”! Oh well, sleep is a need… lack of it is your greatest enemy. I think! ISSN: 2516390.5-1201

Two weeks after the mother of all storms, the dear homemakers of Cebu probably felt a dwindling supply. Oh yes, many poultry farms over at the ‘egg basket’ of the Visayas (Madridejos) were flattened by Yolanda. I chanced upon these ‘inahans’ in a mad scramble at a sidewalk. Their scrimmage was getting to be a spectacle. They were altogether digging into that basket, as if those were the last few eggs they’d ever see on earth! Some eggs cracked and I saw hands being wiped on their sides or the seams of their skirts, shirts or shorts! This did not take long. And this probably made the 'manang mangingitlog' the happiest woman of the day! Oh well… I love instant spectacles as I roam about. It's really more fun IN da filipins!

That’s the full resort name and address! Surprised? Me too! You and I thought this fine resort is only at Malapascua Island , right?! Known for the many thresher shark dives, right?! Well, I just discovered, they’re already on Kerikite Island – though actually, still in the making! But I had the opportunity to visit it anyway, thanks to the jolly Barangay Captain of Kerikite and the few Exotic Resort staff who are already there. The grounds are still mostly in a state of being ‘landscaped’ and there is just one real cottage nestled on a hill overlooking the beach. Fantastic views from up there! Other structures are also in the making, though there seemed to be no activity when we visited. I saw some other structures big and small also under construction. Same with what will become the resort's water system, and so on. A promising new haunt for the itchy feet soon, I suppose! But let's see what I got... Kerikite is covered by the red dot while Malapascua Island is at ...

The engineers and officers arrived from that nearby hill they went to. Interesting to overhear them that there is actually another barangay on the other side of this island (Magsaysay). Ah, I should have gone with them! Too late for that. Add kalamansi to the wound, I still heard one of them say, "the views are great from up there". Argh! Mea Culpa! But I consoled myself with “at least I had just my first-ever tilang encounter”! Okay, lunch was: Fish, lots of them in various colors and sizes, some fried, some grilled to perfection. Do you know how to tell if grilled fish was fresh from the sea versus fresh from the freezer? I do now, thanks to these folks in Kerikite. No I’m not telling here! You have to roam the islands and learn for yourself! This is proof of what I keep saying that travel is mainly education too. Aside from being fun, our islands are big classrooms too! oops, sorry I only took pictures after eating! Pasayan (shrimps), some boiled in aromatic herbs, some sa...

Do you know what that is? Taklobo, in Tagalog, I think? Or a similar specie? Whatever, I just know they call it “tilang” - pronouced 'tee-lung' in the speed as how you would say "fillet", "obey", "belong", "along" etc. It was still alive being contributed by one man to the lunch fare being prepared! My first time to see this thing live! A woman told him to bring it to the right side of the stage, where men were grilling fish. Instruction was: immediately cook it (blanch) after the “masag” (blue crabs) is done in the big kaldero! I followed the man, eager to watch how they'd cook the tilang! Seeing that the pot was not yet ready, and seeing that I was tailing him eager to see more of the tilang, this manong instead placed it on a low side-wall of their barangay stage. I took pics of course. I was curious about that shiny slimy flesh protruding out of the shell. It kept moving! I attempted to touch it just at the tip. And OMG my de...

It still happens folks! At least on the island of Kerikite! While still with the kids, I noticed adults (men & women) kept darting in/out of the barangay multipurpose hall. Noticeably, the womenfolk were in some kind of a panic mode, while males were in their usual ‘coolness’ness! When anyone of them would talk, it seemed like the topic was food – so I understood. That is always the case when women prepare food anyway, right?! As if everything is a disaster, as if all is late, as if something is always missing, as if something is out of order. And if anyone asked what the problem is, with a smile you women actually say “nothing really”, right? Very! Curious at the usual womanly commotion that is really not, I went back inside the multipurpose hall to watch them. All very obviously went into that ‘prim, proper and very well collected’ mode hehehe. As if I don’t know. I have been a customer service trainer, mystery shopper, quality auditor, project manager, process engineer and a  se...

How do kids in this remote island play? Looks like the iPad culture has not yet arrived in this place (thankfully). I saw one boy, probably 9 or 10 years old, who sat by the external wall corner of their barangay hall, and he was expertly making a ball out of coconut fronds (he calls it “lukay”). I watched for a while and asked him to do it slowly so I would learn how to make a ball too. Hopeless! Can’t get how he makes the thing curve into a ball. Some, about his age or older, were down at the marshes (their knee-deep) catching crabs from the mud. I asked if they were asked by anyone to do it, their unanimous reply was “kami-kami la” (just us), and they told me they will cook the crabs later. Some others were armed with rubber-band slings targeting either birds or the crabs that would pop out from their mounds. Ah, I had to suppress my laughs at this dude in dark blue jersey who can’t even walk straight yet. His older brother caught another small crab, tied a string around it and g...

Familiar word/place? Haha, not me too! Locals pronounce that as “ke-ree-kee-te”. It’s an island that belongs to the town of Almagro, (Western) Samar. This island actually has 2 barangays (Kerikite and Magsaysay) but my destination was only Kerikite. Yep, the red thing you see on these map images. Fantastic views along the way. As we neared this island, boat mates were teasing one of our companions about food/lunch. The tone of the joke was something like “remember there are only 10 of us, you might have prepared for an entire battalion again”! This was the guy I saw busiest on the phone either calling or texting since we left Calbayog. I came to know he was coordinating with his barangay-mates for this lunch! He is barangay captain of Kerikite and known to everyone as very generous (aka excessive) when it comes to hosting visitors in his barangay! Hmm, on that, I suspected another hefty meal haha! Oh my life! Here are more views as we approached: As they did in Sto. Nino , exce...