Philippine Travel Notes

My driver already knows - that if I have got nothing specific to see in a town, I go for the church and the municipal hall. Knowing I was already done with my business in Allen yesterday, he went straight to the church without me asking! Marunong! So here I was! St. James the Greater Parish Church. Hm, I seldom see "the greater" in church names. Or am just not used to it. What I oft see/hear is St. James the Great or St. James the Apostle. Anyway, here in Allen, their church name has the "ER" - St. James the GreatER. That's a comparative adjective (greater). So, I now wonder if there is a St. James the GreatEST! This is inside the church, viewed from the main entrance... Airy, bright, neat, and just pleasing to the eyes and soul of the prayerful, right? And this is the altar... also not cluttered with unnecessary art ek-ek! I did, and I do still wonder why is their depiction of Jesus Christ like so. Not crucified. Gin-bitay?! Jesus was hanged? And by th

Nothing much that I have to say about this place, except that there was an impostor! I was checked-in at Wayang-wayang Beach Resort  and had lunch there. So I wanted to have dinner at some other place - perhaps also see the nightlife in Allen, if any! My driver knows I prefer nearby places, so he drove towards Allen proper (than make an hour-long trip to Calbayog). We like simple homecooked meals. And a SML or two for me. We were already about to enter town proper, yet still nothing caught our attention. Then driver asked "sir, Paradise"? - referring to Paradise Inn and Parrot Cafe that we visited last month. We were already nearing the place. So I said "sige na nga, kung wala nang iba"! As the car slowed down, I saw that signboard (picture above). So I said, "subukan yan"! So, sinubukan! We had this... pork ribs... shared. We also had this... grilled tanguigue... shared. And this is my cup of fried rice. Ayos na! Masarap! Uneventful! I happi

Dusk view from the terrace of my room at Wayang-wayang Beach Resort.  I have seen and mentioned this place before . But I did not even take a peep. This time I needed to stay overnight in Allen but not or R&R (so I was not looking for a sandy beach), and this place was suggested by a friend. So I told myself "Wayang-wayang it is"! Pleasantly surprised that there were no guests nor visiotrs on a Friday noontime! So driver and I had a luxurious choice of where to while the time away on this "beach"! I already mentioned in a previous story, right? There is really no real beach here. It is some kind of a "breakwater" that the resort topped with white sand, to make it appear that you are on a real white sandy beach! Which, is a common practice in many places! Timely, I was starving when we arrived at this place. So, lunch was in order! Impressive list of dishes on their menu. And hey, those I wanted were available - naman! 42 minutes for these to ar

Laureen's Pahayahayan Hotel & Restaurant. That is the complete name of this place located in the Port of Allen also called Dapdap Ferry Terminal, or Balwharteco Port - I'm not sure if there are any "other" names for this pier or pantalan in Allen Northern Samar! Anyway, I went to Pahayahayan not to check-in. I just went with a business associate (my ka-meeting at BCAT) who needed to talk to someone as their venue was the hotel lobby. I was not part of the interview nor their topic. I just 'inserted' my self to see the hotel! That is how the hotel looks like from down at the very wide parking area. Wide as it is, this place could get jammed with all sorts of vehicles when a RORO departs or arrives. That door half covered by this white van is the entrance (to the ground floor restaurant) There's a staircase in there, going to the hotel lobby and rooms at the second floor. You see that terrace up there? That was my target on this visit (to see the v

On the road again, on a lovely bright morning! Yehey! This time I was on an easy run from Catarman for an 8AM meeting at Allen - the north-western edge of Samar Island. We knew it takes about an hour (50kms?) but we left early at 6AM, so we'd have enough time for the morning traffic (kids going to school) as many schools are by the highway. Then, still ample time for a hot 'tinola' breakfast at Allen, and be cool until the meeting! We opted to pass by the (fairly) new road at the end of the runway, instead of the usual (a street that crosses it), as we knew the PAL flight to Manila departs at about a few minutes before 7AM - where that street would be temporarily closed to land vehicles. Nice plan. All set. And here we go! Let's start with this corner going out of Catarman towards the west.. Going straight is back to where we came from yesterday - Lope De vega, and onwards to Calbayog if you like. While my route today goes rightwards to the end of runway 22 (or