Philippine Travel Notes

Listen up my fellow Coke addicts. This was such a fun and funny discovery! I asked for Coke 8oz as I was devouring a delectable fried pork belly at this fastfood. This bottle was what appeared on my table but I sipped immediately anyway! Then… Me: Manang, sabi ko 8-ounce, Sakto itong ibinigay mo Manang: oo sakto gyud, 8-ounce na dong Me: Asuuus, nagpalusot si Manang! (and I asked for extra rice) When she returned with my extra cup of rice, she also brought an unopened bottle of the usual “Coke 8oz” that many of us are familiar with. Beaming with pride like an elementary school teacher, this jolly manang pointed to me the contents label… And I really took a closer look at the two bottles! Yeah, looks can deceive... Whadyathink? Oh, here's a clearer view... Later in the afternoon I passed by a carinderia and asked for “Coke Sakto”. Here it is, the usual “Sakto” that all of us know. It says 200mL. Okay, my lips are sealed now. Ah, make that both feet in the mo...

Whatever this bird is, it is beautiful! And, howsoever I keep saying that Consolacion Cebu is fast urbanizing, I guess this little one is proof that there is still a livable nature herearounds hehe! That powerline is just above the house I stayed at. The colors (yes plural) of that bird are really bright and attractive.

Weird, even eerie title, right? Well, at least for me. There are just many things around us that we take for granted. And I am proud to say, I owe it to my travels that I learned (and keep learning) so many other things about this country. Take the case of our catholic ceremony or ritual (howsoever it is really called) before burying the dead. [A friend corrects me that it is called ‘mass celebration’ in the catholic church. Whatever, I just do not like associating the word "celebration" with the dead! And I do not think a ‘ceremony’ or ‘ritual’ is offensive anyway. Basta yes, the church activity just before the “ kabaong ” is brought to the “ huling hantungan ”. I really all along thought those are done “individually”. I mean one complete mass service for an individual patay before or after the next. That is what I have seen in the decades of my life, so I just assumed it really is so. Many times I have encountered scenes where one hearse waits outside the church entr...

That is the question! And I had a lesson here. I think I could even consider that a "sermon", but very well taken. And I will have to try to remember this lesson. The scenario: About 2++PM going to 3PM, I arrived from the city (Cebu) and got off the jeep just before Jollibee (Consolacion) on the way to V&G. I hopped in and ordered my usual (fave snack) TLC. At first I said I wanted it "to go" but on second thought, I said "dine-in" because I saw the dailies, a chance for me to read-up and/or catch-up on current events. Oh yes, CDN, The Freeman and Sunstar are always available here for "free-reading". When I reached the second page of The Freeman, I saw this 'beautiful' news about two lady cops being awardees of the country's top. I got my phone so I could take a snap of the article (rationale: when I get home and see my pics, I'd be reminded of that news article, then look that up on the web). Unfortunately or fortu...

Where and what time is yours? Mine would be about 11PM on busy days and between 2AM to none-at-all on ultra-funtastic days, anywhere I may deem fine! Ah, to each his own really, right? Take this adorable kitty-cat I chanced upon at a market stall in the suburban town of Consolacion, Cebu. Time of day? Exactly 12NN, and there were quite a number of folks buying this and that from the store. One customer even made a phone call via that landline, but this unperturbed meow-meow did not even bat a whisker! Yes, we can call it “trust and confidence”! Oh well, sleep is a need… lack of it is your greatest enemy. I think! ISSN: 2516390.5-1201

Two weeks after the mother of all storms, the dear homemakers of Cebu probably felt a dwindling supply. Oh yes, many poultry farms over at the ‘egg basket’ of the Visayas (Madridejos) were flattened by Yolanda. I chanced upon these ‘inahans’ in a mad scramble at a sidewalk. Their scrimmage was getting to be a spectacle. They were altogether digging into that basket, as if those were the last few eggs they’d ever see on earth! Some eggs cracked and I saw hands being wiped on their sides or the seams of their skirts, shirts or shorts! This did not take long. And this probably made the 'manang mangingitlog' the happiest woman of the day! Oh well… I love instant spectacles as I roam about. It's really more fun IN da filipins!

There are many things to titillate our minds about this country, even as we just zoom along going anywhere. As many travelers say, “it’s not just the destination, it’s also the way going there". Here are some I caught along Cebu’s north road: How would you pronounce that? The parlor owner probably just wanted to make their name unique by writing the word uniquely, right? But if you are a fan of languages and pronunciations, this will give you a headache hehehe. It did me! Okay, many of us know that letter “e” weirdly carrying two dots on its head is called with an equally weird name: “diaeresis” (sometimes “dieresis”) or “umlaut”. This is used in a few languages. Common to Filipinos might be English, French, Dutch, Latin and some others. But in whichever language you pronounce “Unëëk”, you could twist your tongue and might as well die laughing. English: Yon-e-e-kay? Yon-e-ek? Un-e-e-kay? Un-e-ek? French/Dutch: Yon-we-wek? Un-we-wek? Latin: Yon-uh-uhk? Un-uh-uhk? Uh,...

Hide your kikay selves ladies! Hear this: I rode on a habal-habal at Consolacion, Cebu while looking for some place. I asked him to wait for me as I won’t be long. When we were back on the highway, and as I paid my 16 peso fare, I noticed those ‘sexily’ painted nails, and in bold RED no less! First I looked at his face, he did not look like he was a fag. So, laughing a bit, I asked why he has his nails “manicured” and painted red. His reply was: “trip trip lang pag me time”! Ahaka! And he gamely posed for this pic! Look again folks, those are not just haphazard water-color dabs on his nails. That is a real beauty parlor kind of a coloring job, I think! The pesky paint even has some glittery scatterings of silver and gold. Imagine?! Here’s a closer look at it: Oh well, if it makes you happy, go for it. YOLO!     ISSN: 2516338.75-1149

I was puffing at the terrace (whatever it is called) just outside the 2F food court at SM Consolacion. Somebody came near and asked for a light, so I instinctively gave my lighter though my eyes were still focused down at the highway as I was watching traffic and the Ceres buses picking passengers. I did notice that when the lighter flicked, it happened at just about a few inches above my head (I was seated), so I looked who the hell was lighting up… and when I looked… It was a kid! OMG yes, a youngster! He was already puffing, so I could not anymore deny him my lighter. And he sat on the very same table where I was too! That, while his companion, an even younger kid, stood behind him waiting. I asked how old the kid was (as he was busy puffing his cigarette), his reply was “eight... seventeen” and I told him outright it was a lie. He did not seem perturbed with my comment and just continued puffing. I turned to the smaller kid and asked how old he was. He said “ten”! But I clarified I...