Philippine Travel Notes

So, ganoon na nga... I was inside the Mabuhay Lounge, their TV was playing the live broadcast of Miss Universe. Oks lang naman - but I heard some commotion outside. It was an excited roar with clapping and cheering. Hmm, very easy for me to discern what it was! This country always does that on Beauty Pageants or Pacquiao Fights! I knew it! Most everyone, passengers, crew and employees were fixated on the TVs! Oh the final three was just announced! This is that rare moment where e very mouth in this country is zipped to deafening silence - only the TVs would blare any sound ! Ah, seryosong bagay yan. Open your mouth and you'll get those murderous glances ! People intently listen to what each final candidate has to say in that "final question"! I almost laughed out loud when: while Catriona was saying "I work a lot in the slums of Tondo Manila..." a 'usual' airport announcement was coming in, but someone who knows how-to, pressed the local g...

As said in my previous post , this first leg of my circle trip was flying TAC-CEB-MNL. Not that I am complaining, I'm just telling! I've been doing that for many years now. Oh, if you're new here, or not yet that familiar, I've started using IATA airport codes in my blogs, like: TAC is the code for Tacloban, CEB for Cebu and MNL for Manila. Now.., why go through connecting flights when there are lots of direct TAC to MNL flights? Well, people have many varied reasons in doing so. But, many of you, dear readers, already know, my reason is: just to drop my laundry in Cebu - where I live ! Oist, nothing illegal there! I just handcarry my "labadami", go out of departure area, Manong JC would already be there waiting, and then we "exchange gifts", that's it! Anything that I have to carry back inside still pass by those x-ray machines. In case I need to check-in anything, I also still go through the check-in or bag-drop counters, even i...

After a few days in Bohol, here I was, departing from the new Bohol International Airport. Yey! But, as I always say, 'let me start from the very beginning'. So here was my getting out of Alona Beach ! Finding The Bus Stop I walked from ISIS Bungalows to the main road (corner of Circumferential Road & Alona Beach Road). That is the usual way of most everyone exiting from the various beach-side resorts on Alona Beach. If you're not the walker type, there are motorcycles or tricycles you can hire at the corner by the beach. Alona Beach Road is too narrow for vehicles to enter and try to maneuver a u-turn at the end (beach), as it always teems with humanity (mala-palengke na sya). Only emergency/PWD vehicles are allowed. Mind you, that's about 500 meters of an upward walk. Not really that steep. I think that intersection is only about 30ft above sea-level, and from the beach corner where Alona Beach Road starts ascending is about 300 ft. away, thus th...

Do I hear someone singing? Bakit ka kumakanta? The song is "Ang Kawawang Cowboy", ito Baboy! Ah the things we see on the road, they are not only educational, they are also somehow entertaining! Windows were all closed, airconditioning was on and driver was playing some music (because there is no radio reception in this area of the highway in W. Samar). Yet, we could hear a pig's cries of distress! I asked the driver where that was coming from, since there were no houses along the way - at alangan tumatakbo kasabay namin ang bahay na me baboy na imiiyak 'no! Driver pointed his 'nguso' up front! When I looked, I saw that habal-habal with a pig tied "upside down" (I mean not upright, according to a pig's point of view - yes me ganun hehehe), on the right-side passenger footrest of that motorcycle. Can you see it? So, it kept wailing in distress. Kahit ikaw naman, di ba? Subukan mong itali ka ng ganyan patiwarik sa isang humaharurot na ...

The Oxford Dictionary defines pe·des·tri·an as a person walking along a road or in a developed area ; Cambridge Dictionary defines it as a person who is walking, especially in an area where vehicles go . Eh paano ang aso, pusa, manok, kambing, AND in this case, si Islaw Kalabaw and family, and friends? 6:30AM on a rainy Wednesday, and I was running late for an engagement in Guiuan Eastern Samar. My driver knew the situation, and was flying on the road (without me even requesting), but I liked it. Shh! Somewhere along Brgy. Diit in Tacloban, the vehicle suddenly slowed down, intermittently stopping. I asked why, driver jokingly smilingly pointed ahead saying " sir, unruly pedestrian on the road " (yes, in English pa)! Easy to grasp hehe, I knew he meant those carabaos. Not one, not two, but many of them! I curiously watched how he would 'manage' this very tricky "overtaking" situation. I was running (very) late for Guiuan, but this was such an int...

I was lining up to get some cash at the BDO ATM Machine at Robinsons Mall in Sagkahan, Tacloban. It had a very long line in front of it - I expected that, because that is always the case, I was 11th to front. However, all those before me would spend a very short time on the machine, then they would leave. I said to my self, "ah maybe they were just doing a 'balance check' - better for me, line was moving fast! When I was 3rd on the line, 2 men came, went straight to tinker on the machine - literally opening the insides (I was actually excited as this was the first time I was seeing the 'innards' of an ATM machine)! Probably to erase the boredom and anxiety of many who were on that line, I half-hollered at the guys saying "hoy, authorized ba kamo hiton"?, "how do we know you are not robbers"? Some folks laughed. Some people left the line without saying anything! The 2 guys paused, looked at each other, fished for their IDs from their ...

I like dogs, in general. I can play with dogs that know how to play with people, and not bite them. I do not like the mongrel-stray-types, that bark for no reason at all - and ever ready to chew upon people. I'm not a dog lover, if that means sharng a bed and my meals with them. I just like playing with them, not looking after their poo and/or grooming them or dressing them up like people. No, I am not that. During my childhood years (until I eventually went to find a job), I lived in a house where dogs were a no-no, though cats were aplenty. That said, if I say I like a dog, it probably is likable to you dog lovers. Now... there are dogs over at Yolanda's Eatery in Tacloban, that look really ugly to many people, to me and even to the owners themselves! But for reasons I do not know, I like them - and they like me too! They are 'free-roaming', meaning they are never caged nor tied by the restaurant owners, but they are not (that) dirty. But if you ta...

Just their mere passing-by is enough to get heads turning in their direction. Whatever it is they do, or wherever they go, and whoever they are, when they zoom-by, they're truly an attraction on our roads! All the more if you see them parked somewhere and you get to have a closer look at their equipment! Drool is the right word. As in maglalaway ka sa inggit, probably thinking "sana all"! All big bikes. Those are Honda, BMW, etc., and that one departing at the back, is a Ducati. My goodness magkano isa nyan! To me they're an attraction as themselves cruising on our streets and highways. They catch attention, they're entertaining to watch or take pictures and videos of, and they usually perk up your curiousity! Syempre, with a thumbs-up permission from one of them, as they devoured Rutchel's Tinolang Manok (in Calbiga), anopangaba, I had instant pictorials amid 3 of those big bikes, with my driver as kodaker! What fascinates me about these big bike ...

Because I was in Calbayog, and (unfortunately for me!) a friend knew about it, she requested that I go check-out this resort for her. It wasn't clear to me (I didn't ask much) if this resort was just opened or about to open or some parts refurbished. I just went in, looked for the contact person given - at 7AM! And I said "okay done" then sent those pictures above to her! For my comments, I said "good enough", the rooms are "basic" nothing fancy nor elegant, and they're dull concrete boxes viewed from outside. Oh this was also requested, so I added: the swimming pool is wide and looks great! I said I have to go! Unbeknownst to the requestor, I did not actually leave immediately! I stayed a while for a one-on-one interview and photo shoot with the only living thing I saw at the pool area! Remember, 7AM pa lang e! Can you see him? her? it? If you can't, focus on the first step of the stairs to the jacuzzi! Brown & Cute! ...