Philippine Travel Notes

Something interesting! After the capitol, I should have been making my way towards Hotel Camila 2. it was past 9PM anyway, and I promised the staff there I will at least make time to peep at their Turnpike Restobar, remember? Well, it did not happen hehe. Here’s the story… Still a few days before Christmas but Dipolog City at night was already quite festive. People everywhere seemed happy. Probably an effect of those lights over at the parks by the capitol and city hall? Probably. So, since it felt wonderfully safe, I opted to some more walking and roaming of the city center. There were nightspots I saw here and there, some looked seedy, some the usual hub of men and women who like croaking on the karaoke (oops, its called videoke nowadays hehe), some looked nice, other so-so. But this one bar called ‘55th Avenue Bar and Entertainment Center’ kinda looked a bit more interesting (yes, I judged the book by its cover and title hehe). I went near and the guard said “welcome sir, we have ...

I’ve read about this place somewhere. Someone I asked while walking around also suggested this place for dinner. I actually wanted to be at some ‘manokan country’ or ‘larsian’–style place but it looked like either there is none in Dipolog or Big Joe’s is really a must visit. So it won! My first impression? “Who says all the nice dainty little restaurants are in the metropolis?” Here’s another proof they’re also found in Mindanao! I mean I was judging from the look of the place, the lights, the furniture and the décor. It actually occupies the ground level of what looks like two apartments where they punched a connecting door on the wall. It looked like a pretty place to have dinner, so I went in. And I was not disappointed! How should I call this place, a fastfood, a burger joint, a snackbar, a refreshment parlor, a native restaurant, a Chinese restaurant, a café, a coffee house, ah er… all of the above hehe! Why so? Well, their bestsellers are belong to any of the above! Example? ...

I walked to it from the city hall area! Not near but not too far either, thus, a good chance for me to witness more of the city. And the more I wondered why trikes had to have days off when there were not so many as I walked. Hmm, maybe because it was a Saturday. Not far from the city hall, there is a “pasalubong store” that has almost all delicacies you can find in the city and beyond. Sardines in little jars seem to be the most in demand amongst the city’s visitors. I did notice a familiar package – fried peanuts – since its one favorite I often buy from a mall in Metro Manila. And golly me, it was only this time that I realized they actually come from Dipolog City! Whoa! Anyway, I moved on and got to be in the area of the public market and “Dipolog Center Mall” which I think is still part of the market. There is one thing I observed to be consistent since the church and the city hall – the streets are clean of the usual city litter. Hmm, maybe Saturday is a clean-up day for the ci...

From the Cathedral, I continued my leisurely walk towards the park and the city hall. Nice place too! Jose Rizal is prominently enshrined in the middle of the park. Plus being the holidays, the park was adorned with many things Christmas including a life-size tableaux of the nativity. Giant “candle sticks” adorned with so many lights were in place too! Hmm, I knew these would been nice to view in the evenings, though I was not sure if I would still have time to come around by then. More prominent in the area is a memorial for three dudes where the monument/s in bright chrome color stand at the very corner of a street dissecting the park and the city hall. Let me recall, they are prominent folks who are the founding fathers of the city. One is a priest, another is a farmer (both are cleanheads, yes bald) and the third man looks like a statesman or something like that. There were names under each statue but I forgot to note them down and my pictures are not that clear on the lower port...

“Over”! That’s what I first thought as I looked at the church upon alighting at the park. It was because I saw military men by the gate and I thought they were there to perennially guard the church. And the lowly brain even went far as to debating why this church would have military dudes with long firearms when even Cotabato’s or Zamboanga’s Cathedrals don’t have them. I continued onwards though, and passing by them, all gave me that cursory head-to-toe look as if their eyes were x-ray scanners. I still continued towards the church. A wedding was in progress. Argh! And there were more military dudes in uniform. But they seemed to be attending the wedding ceremonies than guarding the church. Hmm, so I asked one of the “guards” outside what was happening, why there were so many of them in the church and outside. Hasus! The bride in that wedding is/was daughter of one of their bosses, a general or something. No wonder! So I went out deciding to be back when the ceremonies would be over. ...

I was just on an overnight transit in Dipolog going to Dakak. Not even 24 hours, since I arrived at noon and scheduled to leave early morning the following day. But happy I did this transit thing in Dipolog City! I got to see some bits ‘n pieces of the city that, I told myself… “MacArthur”! That means “I shall return”, remember?! After lunch, and after roaming a bit of Hotel Camila 2, I decided to hit the city center. Passing by the front desk, I was surprised the clerk said “oh sir, just a moment, I will call the driver”. Nye! I said don’t bother since I wanted to go around town the way locals do. So I asked her what would be the usual ride towards the city hall area. After some hesitation, she told me to just hail a trike. So I did, and there I was going towards center of town. Yehey! I saw interesting things that I will probably accord more time to view next time I come to Dipolog. First is that big big rotunda with a ‘fuente’. Beautiful! But perhaps it would be even lovelier if I g...

We are on the topic anyway, so let me proceed with describing my overnight accommodations in Dipolog City. And that is at the Hotel Camila 2. Lunch This was to be my first and only lunch in the city since early following day I would head onwards for Dakak - and after two days there and a day in Dapitan, I would zoom through Dipolog again on the way to the airport. So I was all set to taste, see, hear and experience the best. That meant I did not imagine I would have lunch at my very own hotel. I was more of bent on finding some turo-turo style joints frequented by the locals. But I was probably already real hungry (at 1234NN), or I enjoyed the merry service of the people at Hotel Camila 2, or I smelled something familiar (fried chicken), or all of the above hehe! So, I stepped unto the hotel’s restaurant that had my eyes growing wide at the sight of their menu. I asked where was Sunburst Restaurant in this city, and the waitress, uniformed like a city hall employee, smilingly said t...

Funny meet-up at the airport's arrival area… even funnier arrival at the hotel. This was probably my day! As if I was some kind of a politician, the crews obviously went a quandary on my arrival! Yeah literally! I could see their hurried and harried movements as we approached! Once the Ford Expedition stopped at the hotel’s foyer, driver hurriedly got off and ran to my side to open the door for me. I just thought, “hello, am I an invalid who cant open a car door?” hehe. Not only that, guard was as if competing with driver on who could open my door first. He was a second too late but immediately grabbed my backpack and brought it to the hotel lobby. Well, I was at first not impressed. I panicked a bit why they were as if attending to some fire victim due for emergency treatment hahaha! A young woman and young man (obviously housekeeping) were at the lobby to greet me good morning, seemingly waiting for a command that I may suddenly blurt out, while the front desk clerk was ready wi...

Just a week after I arrived from Cotabato City, I was off to Mindanao again! This time to the twin cities of the south, that is Dipolog and Dapitan, on the way to Dakak! Hmm, I just noticed now, this trip teems with the letter “D”! My flight said ETD: 1045H, but at exactly 1030H, there we were, all passengers seated, doors already closed and the stewardesses already doing their safety demonstration. Does not hurt to be ahead of schedule, does it?! Instead of waiting too long at the departure lounge, this was definitely better! And at exactly 1039H, there we were lifting off Runway 13, heading towards Merville, Parañaque hehe. Well, it was up over the expansive Laguna Lake and ever southwards towards the lower end of this archipelago. Gloomy morning but I liked it. Sun not too harsh on the eyes as I watched anything worth watching down below. Hey I wondered where we could have been at an hour into the flight. I remember taking this picture as I liked the long stretch of white coastlines...

Because I was not able to go around this place in the afternoon… thanks to the driver who wanted to tell a friend of my presence hehe, I returned to see the capitol building after dinner. I knew it’d be a wonderful scene since I saw the Christmas decors with so many little lights during the day. So there I was… and just as I expected… the place teemed wit families having a wonderful time appreciating their capitol with thousands of lights everywhere to herald the holidays! Ah well, hard to take pictures as you’d have to queue-up or make a quick split-second snap as people left or approached the displays hehe. Yep, the residents themselves were all there to admire the lights! I looked around for a far vantage that would give me a total view or bird’s-eye view of the park. None, except that the second floor of Hotel Camila 1 seemed to be a fine vantage enough. I went in, introduced myself as a guest of Hotel Camila 2 and told them I just wanted to go up and watch the lights from the 2n...