Philippine Travel Notes

One more from Butuan City! I chuckled at reading this eatery’s name. Why? Because they probably meant "amigo". Well, then again, one of you my avid readers might come forward to educate me that it is a surname? Okay fine, I’ll believe whatever you say! I still smile at reading the name anyway. Well yes, the interesting signs of our times!

Does this depict the condition of our postal service nowadays? Look at the flag pole, It obviously has been chopped-off, probably sold to a junk shop hehe. Look at that tricycle. Looks like its been there, in that ‘melancholy pose’ for some time now hehe. Ah well, the incriminating signs of our times…

Another day of roaming around Butuan and its surroundings was over and I was ready to reward myself with dinner. I planned to take dinner at any of the better, more upscale places, if any. And omegosh it was just a few steps away from my inn. So, dinner was at Almont Hotel! Oops, that is not Almont Inland Resort. Am referring to the Almont Hotel right in the middle of the city just beside my dear old Luciana Inn. Yep, all three places are owned by the same family. First, I asked if Almont Hotel and Luciana shared the same kitchen since they’re just beside each other. The reply was no, thus, I proceeded. Almont Hotel’s spacious lobby actually doubles as some kind of a coffee shop. Half of it is dotted with tables for fine dining. The whole area has minimalist look sanz flowery frills or intricate designs. Even the furniture is simple and elegant without so many curves or out-of-this-world designs. And, the place is tastefully illuminated with subdued yellow lights via dimmer switches. A...

Do you ever even know where that is? No its not that swanky place at the intersection of EDSA and South Super Highway! This Magallanes is a town next to Butuan City (going northeast to the sea) and at the mouth of the big river. What made me go there? Just to see what the town has since it claims to have been the site of the very first Catholic Mass in Mindanao. Plus, it is the location of the purported oldest tree standing in the country. Going there I already knew from www that the best way to go to Magallanes was by boat, so I asked around where I could find those boats. Lucky me, from my rolling tour yesterday, I learned that the Philippine Ports Authority area which is where the boats depart from is just near Luciana Inn. It’s an easy trike ride away but I opted to walk the distance (just about 600 meters) along the side of the river. It is not really a “port” or even a “wharf” as you would see in most places. It is more of a park by the bank of a river! There is no bustling human...

After some rest after roaming around the city and a little reflecting of what I have just seen and encountered, I was again ready to go, this time to find dinner and whatever night entertainment I could chance upon. Another lesson: be very courteous or try to develop an easy topic before you ask hotel staff a direct question such as “where can I eat good food around here” or anything similar. When I asked that question at the Luciana Inn front staff, his face obviously turned sour and said “why sir, don’t you like the food in our hotel” – and I quoted that word-for-word in English! To appease him, I said “oh no no, I don’t mean that, I just want to eat in a restaurant where the locals usually hang out”. Another lesson learned: “where the locals usually hang-out” would mostly elicit a response pointing you to the nearest Jollibee, McDonalds or Chowking – in that order hehehe! But after some small talk, the hotel staff did pepper me with a barrage of names and places, many of which actua...

From that snooze at Luciana, I woke up at 1345H and was ready to roam the city again by 1400H. But where else was I to go? I have seen the three most important sights I wanted to view even before lunch! Aha! The Church! Oh the church called St. Jospeh Cathedral which is just a few paces away from Luciana is big as many other churches in the country. But alas, here I was again, ready to roam a church only to stumble upon a funeral service! Argh! And it looked like the dead was a military or police dude since the outside of the cathedral teemed with so many of them uniformed men and women. When I peeped into the last pews, yeah, it was dotted with uniformed men. So I decided not to start roaming this edifice at that time lest I be in trouble with those people in mourning. And most of them had their “ra-ta-ta-ta-tat” long or short by their sides as if ready to fire any moment. Ayaw ko hehehe! I slowly backed and decided instead look for the ‘ecclesiastical museum’ by asking a guard. The g...

After the heavy lunch at Weegools (or should I say “heavy dessert”), I was not anymore sure of my north-south-east-west! I just knew I was in Butuan City and was confident a tricycle can take me to my “hotels”. Let’s explain that. I booked (by accident) on two separate places for this Butuan City visit – one was done by me calling Luciana Inn and the other by a friend calling a friend to get me a booking at Hotel Karaga! At Luciana Inn, my reserved room was a double at P800/day since their single rooms (P600) were not available. At Karaga Hotel, I was booked for a double room at P800/day since their single rooms (P700) were also fully booked. When an empty tricycle approached, I hailed it and the manong driver (an elderly) was all smiles. I asked him which was farther from where I stood at Weegools, was it Hotel Karaga or Luciana Inn. He told me it was Luciana at city center but we could pass by Karaga since it was along the way. And we took off at what seemed to be another tour, this ...