Philippine Travel Notes

Just about noontime kanina, I was not really in a good mood as I arrived at my Tacloban abode - on a weekend, due to some #$%$^ exigencies. Then I heard some singing that brightened my eyes and flapped my ears. Whoa, I literally dropped my bag at the gate and ran towards a neighbor's house where the singing seemed to be coming from. Note: I do not know this neighbor (yet) but I entered their gate anyway (yan ang totoong gate-crash hehe) to shoot this video hahaha! And, just as I thought... carolers, in the waray-waray old style way! So here it is: Akala nyo tapos na?! Nope! I followed them, thinking they would sing at another house hehe. But, argh, they sang at the little corner store where there were a lot of pedicab drivers etc hanging out in the area, and they even crowded around the singers. So, I waited, thinking I could follow them to another house. But they sat down just outside the store, to eat bread and drink sodas - yun kasi ang ibinigay sa kanila after singing. Har...

My title for this story should have been: I Saw Kalanggaman Island On A Flight From Tacloban To Cebu ! But that's too long, so I instead wrote the title above: "Aerial View of Kalanggaman Island". Pwede na! Now as you already know, I always try my best to do a "blow-by-blow" account of my travels, so here I go... starting from the time I left Tacloban, until arrival in Cebu via PAL's 9:35AM morning flight, PR2237. I was actually just transiting in Cebu going somewhere else. But let's do that in my next story! At 8:35AM, I was already inside Tacloban Airport's pre-departure lounge, ready and waiting to board. While that wasn't happening yet, I tinkered with the "panoramic setting" of my phone's camera. I have to somehow: 1] make use of what I already have; and 2] keep up with today's gadgets or technologies! Pwede na di ba? Masabi man lang we know how to fully use our phones hehehe. Do you? Travel is learning, as we...

This was another of those days where I was returning from Tacoban to Cebu. A late afternoon flight on a sporadically rainy day. Nothing much I thought. But as I keep saying, every trip is different, even if it is on the same path you take everyday. Since I always have my phone, I still take pics here and there. This time, a darker-than-usual day, I thought I'd play with the video - for whatever it may give me. Without expecting, what became the highlight of my otherwise boring evening flight was this: That is just another evening view of San Juanico Bridge , yet it still commands my amazed attention. It fares well in my stories like here , here and many more (just search for them on this blog). But evening views of the bridge from up in the clouds are really captivating - you'd wish you had a pro camera not a mere cellular phone! Although, tingnan mo ang pics & vids ko, mukhang kaya naman ng phone lang! With nothing much to do, it became automatic that I also sho...

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 ...

Kaonan means eatery. Carayman is a barangay in Calbayog City. Kaonan Sa Karayman is OMG superb. It's a homely (native touches) restaurant that specializes in mostly Filipino foods like you see above. It is cozy and tidy everywhere, but you will see that undeniable mark of a frequented place. Its tables are abundantly scratched and faded on the sides, obviously because of constant frequent use. Then I said to my self 'this place must be popular'. They are! On some days, they cause barangay traffic jams! This is more of a lunch and dinner place for families or groups. Well, I saw twosomes in the past. What started as an eatery of 4 or 5 square tables has now grown into a restaurant with all rectangular tables for 6 or 8 - many are almost permanently joined together for the 'usual' big groups or families. Everybody loves their chili crabs and so do I. Awrrrr! But everything in the menu is delectable. It is on the pricey side of course - if you only compare pr...

I remember I already posted a similar article about the sunset at this beach, ah I remember too, I said I want to keep returning to it, so eto na... "I have returned no. 1" (because there might be many)! Yeay! By the way, I just realized, it's not "malahog" as I wrote in 2012 . It's "malajog" pronounced in the same way as "malahog". Now therefore, Mr. President, I stand erected hahaha! In fact, if you observe locals, the tricky difference isn't even in how the name is written, but on how it is pronounced by us visitors. It's a hard "O" in the last syllable. Not the "O" as in jog hog bog or nog. It is more like your "O" in hood or good or google, though a bit shorter. That is why some folks could/can/might write it as "malajug"! Anyway, I came just for the sunset and nothing else. Let me tell you, the way there is still "holy"! Holy, meaning there are so many holes on the r...

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! ...