Philippine Travel Notes

Let's do a recap of the 'resorts' and 'rides' part, of my fun travel to the Pacific Towns of Northern Samar, since that's where most of the "kakaiba matters" in my notes are! Disclaimer: Whatever I say below, I will insist this corner of Samar Island is paradise in its own right; as of now worth a visit; definitely evolving (if you know what I mean) ! Ah! Yes, you have to know what I mean: the more developed a tourist destination is, the more crowded, showier and noisier, the lesser it is a respite for peace and quiet. Unfortunately, more crowds mean more earnings for the tourism service providers. So, go now! Aw, in the next dry season hehe! The Rides Going There: We have extensively discussed how to approach those pacific towns: by air, then by bus or van earlier , right? Slow, few and fading are the jeeps, but mini-buses are a hit! We said (oh, did I?) , that riding a private vehicle (owned, borrowed or hired) is the best for g...

This is a beautiful beach, still a daily tableau of the "rural life-and-recreation"! Potong Beach , is not (yet) that much publicized, thus, not in the bucket-list of many a traveler, and I think I like it that way (greedy ba?) , but by-and-by, it is getting 'found'! If not yet widely-known, how did I know about this place? Ah eh, I have my ways, let me count the ways... hehehe! Honestly, I saw this last year, while at Sunrise Resort. By my guesstimate , Sunrise Resort will probably be somewhere at that yellow arrow, or probably even nearer. My green arrow points to Momoy and Sinulog resorts area. Learning about Momoy and Sinulog, I bucket-listed them. After a year, here na me ! Oy it looks like, and very similar to other beaches, like Binogawan for one. The sand here is just lighter in color. But another place, another experience - that's the essence! The essence of "travel pa more", di ba?! Oh, what I loved about this visit was the reali...

Potong, Lapinig, Northern Samar . This was my next destination on this 'tour' of Northern Samar's Pacific Towns . And I stayed at this barangay's busier place (dadalawa lang naman sila!) - Momoy's Resort ! Not sure about the "correct nomenclature"! That billboard says Momoy Beach. Then I heard some friends call it "Sinulog Beach". But, the only two resorts in this location are beside each other - they are "Momoy Resort" and "Sinulog Resort". Ta, nga linop! Nano ngaran san beach?! Pending any "official clarification" (why do I sound so legal-minded today), why don't I just call this Potong Beach , since this is at Brgy. Potong, Lapinig, Northern Samar ! That way, in this story, I can say Momoy Beach Resort and Sinulog Beach Resort at Potong Beach . But I stayed at Momoy's, so my stories will mostly revolve around it. Fact check: that is Momoy's Resort behind the signage. Sinulog Resort is to ...

Here is one story that would probably be my first on the convergence of us Humans (our curiosities) , Nature (the unadulterated world around us) , and, AI (new technology) . As I walked on the beach at Mika's Beach Resort, fascinated, I took this picture... Right there, I uploaded it to my AI Chatbot and asked " What is this crab-art called? " The reply opened with "indeed it is crab art" parang tao rin, trying to pull my leg! And went on to tell me that it has many names depending on the speaker or the location. I learned anyway that those are called (any of the following):     ☺ sand balls     ☺ sand ball patterns     ☺ sand pellets     ☺ sand pellet patterns     ☺ feeding pellets     ☺ crab feeding pellets     ☺ sand wreaths     ☺ sand rosettes     ☺ crab tracings and many more, depending on who's talking! So, oo nga, the names are descriptions. And dependent ...

Time to stroll around Gamay's town center. But first this, at 6:36AM still at Mika's: Already much different from my ' morning has broken ' views more than an hour ago! I didn't know I was riding that van at left, c/o Sonny (the resort's manager), because yesterday, his son gave me a ride to town (to buy lunch) on board their own scooter. Free rides but nakisabay lang . They were really going to town anyway! Is it far? Is 'downtown' far from Mika's Gapo Beach Resort or Marcela's Resort Hotel ? I guess it is more than 2 kilometers, the first 2 of which, is on a highway along empty fields! Why not walk? Empty vast fields nga on both sides of the highway. It's lonely and might even be... Well, there's the New Gamay Terminal, and after some distance, the Gamay Doctor's Hospital, but they're both "in the middle of nowhere". Civilization is at Gamay Bridge! Yeah, alive moving things only start at Gamay River,...

From Nathalie's Resort on Araw Beach , a morning snack at Marcela's Resort , it was then time for check-in at Mika's Gapo Beach Resort , still in Gamay, Northern Samar. Finding the resort. Where is this place? Aw, an expansive beach property just behind Marcela's. While it is still distant from the highway, you won't miss their signage in big and bold letters. Here here, for clarity, I grabbed an image from google maps' street view. Got it? No? Aw, bahala ka sa buhay mo, malaki ka na haha! Sige na nga, let's describe the arrows: Starting from the right... White Arrow - the southward way to Lapinig, Arteche, San Policarpo, Oras, etc. Black Arrow - the northward way to Gamay proper, Araw Beach, Mapanas, Palapag. Red Arrow - the entrance gate and swimming pool of Marcela's Resort Hotel. Yellow Arrow - that perimeter wall signage shown in the picture above. Blue Arrow - the multipurpose, convention, events, whatever hall at Marcela...