Philippine Travel Notes

Just passing-by for a quick consultation with one of my contacts in this town that has a vivid imprint in my heart. I remember this town as a total wreck when I came days after Yolanda (first 4 pics here ). Oh, I now know that this town's name is written "Alangalang" but pronounced "alang-alang". And as we can all see.., the town has slowly started to become beautiful again. And even "bigger"! Written on big bold letters at that far side, it says NEW ADMINISTRATION BUILDING. Oh ha! But I don't know where the old one might be, and am not looking for it! I do know, their MDRRMO is in there now. Their fire department is new too - since nothing was left of their old structure anyway.., Every little thing in this town had to be rebuilt, since every little thing was actually Yolanda-flattened. Just look at this arch and there's already a church again, and compare that to the second pic here .., I shot this pic from the munisipyo side. That ro...

Noting what I said in the last paragraphs of the previous post , let me say... meanwhile, the ride continued, there were many more sights and scenes worthy of my memory. Yes like that one. All I could silently exclaim to myself was ano ba yan, nakikibagay si panahon sa mga nakikita ko! Almost 4 months after Yolanda everywhere still looks sad. Hindi yung jeep oy, normal yan kahit walang Yolanda! The devastated structure at left is/was the Barangay Hall of Brgy. Tibak, Sta. Fe, the first barrio after Palo. Sad, but what can we do, andyan na yan. Smile & move on na! Warays (Pinoys I guess), are generally like that, right? When it seems like we're in our lowest-of-lows our brains try to find something that makes us genuinely smile, diba? Sali ako dyan, Pinoy ako. I always smile when I pass by this barangay because... Sometime ago, a colleague (Tagalog) was reading (aloud) the names of devastated barangays we've seen so far. He pronounced the name of the area a...

This was the final leg of my sojourn to Yolanda-stricken places in Samar and Leyte. The return trip from Catbalogan to Cebu, via Tacloban and Ormoc. Am not sure I am ready to call this fun. But full of realizations how people all over this planet get mobilized to rise up to calamities like Yolanda just brought upon the Visayas. Let’s go kwento! Oh yes, this was already the first day of December. But nowhere I have been in the past two days seem to tell me ‘be happy Christmas is here’! Anyway, I must remember “uso-os”. It’s a whitish kind of fish that the driving friend cooked for breakfast – in three different kinds of dishes – paksiw, tinola and prito! All delectable to pep anybody’s morning! I roamed (on foot) Catbalogan City a bit, unsuccessfully looking for MarlLights hahaha! Thankfully another friend offered to drive around and promised to return with at least a pack! Hay ang maging adik! It was followed by a perspiringly sumptuous nilagang baboy for lunch over at another friend...