Philippine Travel Notes

I went for a quick meetup at this town before proceeding to Marabut right after that. Not so many chances to look at this-or-that , but I tried my best kahit mabilisan lang! If their munisipyo will be our basis, we might say thankfully it was not that affected by Yolanda, though I saw many ruined houses. But, no storm surge here. Landlocked ito! I think that municipal building is a bit new and made well with good engineering and proper mix of materials - nakatayo pa eh! It looks like a sturdy concrete block to me! Yet those banners tell me, Pastrana was also affected. Tinulungan din e! They won't have sought help kung di naman sila nasalanta, diba? Maybe at other parts of town. Looking around, well, just across that building, I saw signs of Yolanda's wrath. At the left edge of that picture, after the monument, are the skeletal remains of their covered court. Just bended or twisted steel rods, which must be difficult to remove. Well, you can see their stage at r...

That's five months and two days after Yolanda/Haiyan. Or this could have been Only then was I able to wing air tickets to Tacloban , I'm not so sure na. Basta, I knew regular commercial flights have returned sometime ago, yata ! As you would have read from my previous posts, I've been in and & out of the region after the storm (since 29NOV) , but by boat to Hilongos , Catbalogan , Calbayog , Ormoc . Thus, I was curious 'how would Tacloban look from above', 5 months after Yolanda. A mere 11 minutes after takeoff from Cebu, here I was above Tanauan, Leyte as the plane banked left, positioning for approach to Runway 36 of Tacloban's DZR Airport. Too many new silvery roofs, reflecting sunlight glare as our plane pass above them. I have seen those on my recent (land) travels, but they are more evident from above. These days, we have to be cognizant of 'roof colors' while traveling in Region 8. It is an indicator of what happened to them, t...

This is not only a question of fairness or cruelty. This is probably already disrespect to humanity, and should be illegalized as it is not stipulated in their terms of service. Here's the story: I was on a Cebu to Tacloban flight today. I thought everything was normal and fine naman, until they boarded passengers - where I saw something ' shamefully brutal '. Passengers seated on the front-half board normally via the aerobridge, while those seated at the rear-half must go down the emergency stairs of the aerobridge, walk on the tarmac to the tail section of the plane, then climb up to the rear aircraft door. A blue guard is ceremoniously posted at that area near the door to strictly drive rear passengers down to the bare pavement, by checking each and every boarding pass. That's unacceptable for many reasons. The hell we care if it's "to facilitate boarding" . It is not proper. It is unfair to passengers seated at the back because they we...

After 5 months , I was back to Oslob, to see whale sharks, again. I was with another friend who wanted to see them, because in the near future, we're bringing a group of friends to also experience them or other tourist sites in the area. Did you notice that? I said "we are", not "she is" bringing a group of friends. Dinamay ako! Haruy hahaha! Gawin ko kayang profession maging Executive Tour Guide, ano! But I'm not complaining, since I love traveling to the countryside. Every time friends and/or family ask me to go with them, is another chance for me to do that. Laag ba! Da epek? Panibagong kwento dito sa blog ko. Win-win situation. Tara let's go na! Going there Still the same old song, as I've described in my story last November (after Yolanda) . Most comfortably affordably convenient (if there is only 1, 2 or 3 of you) is still taking the bus, preferably Ceres, and preferably on their air-conditioned trips to Dumaguete. Mind ...