Philippine Travel Notes

This was it pusit! My roam of Gamay's central area - with no itinerary! I like doing this kind of walk, where I don't know which way to go, what to see, what to expect. Come what may or where my feet lead me to . Here I said: "which way now" ! Natawa ako sa sarili ko, as if I was asking St. Michael for directions! Eh on that shot I was standing at the church door , facing outside. That, is where I came from earlier. That big building is their municipal gym (or whatever it's called nowadays). I started my walk there going leftwards as I earlier saw a row of big houses both old and new. Ancestral Houses I was certain some would still be made of wood and old-era-style. Like this one: Still big and beautiful, right? But as we said in many past stories, they are difficult to maintain, mainly because wood is expensive and even by-and-by already prohibited. I went closer. Oh, the big doors are still made of wood, but the walls are 'corrugated galvanized...

I am not really sure if what I heard was "kayas" or "kayab" or "kayag", but I know this activity - WINNOWING in English. PAGTATAHIP in Tagalog? Not sure about that too! The act: separating the rice hull or husk (chaff and other impurities) from the 'usable grains' by making them fly away, when poured from a "nigo" (big bilao) at head level ! Ang hirap pala i-describe nyan mapa-english o tagalog! Good that I have that photo! But many Pinoys know 'winnowing', for I recall that word was in a gradeschool song! If you're Pinoy, I'm sure you will agree, what many of us remember, is the very same "activity" in the picture without those electric fans, right? Only with wind and gravity. Well, farming methods have apparently (or is it obviously?) been upgraded! At akala natin mga cellphone lang ang nagle-level up? Meron din pala sa palay harvest time! And it can now be done just in front of your very own house...

My roam of the northeastern towns of Samar Island continued. After the Rakitdakit Rock at Palapag, my scooter ambled the southward run to the next town, Mapanas. It is just about 9 or so kilometers. But there are always things-to-see along the way, right? Right. And I didn't anymore check my list - my driver knows them - plus more! As I marveled at the seemingly serpentine form of this coastal highway, Buyungaw (yes my driver!) was telling me about a waterfall just on the roadside, but "dry" now. But that waterfall topic was quickly 'shelved' (because it has no water now anyway), when we again saw, a number of rocks and boulders on the pacific side of the road! Plus, where there are no fallen boulders, the snake-like road really got my attention! Do roads really have to sway like that? Am just curious. I don't despise them. In fact, as passenger, I like invariably curving roads (when the pavement is smooth lang ha?) . Every ride is more exciting ...

After the Galleon Port visit, it was time to finally say goodbye to Palapag, and hop to Mapanas. Is this far? Not really. Just a little above 20 kilometers. 20 minutes or so? But I had planned stops here-and-there ! This was actually one compelling reason why I hired a habal-habal (aw scooter pala) - as I can't do that with 'regular' vans or buses ! And on a habal-habal, it's slower so you get to see more! Hmm, let's expound a bit about Traveling in The Provinces ... bow! Why not rent a car? (which I didn't mention in my Out Of Palapag story) Mind you, I asked around if there was a real rent-a-car service here arounds. When I say "real" , I mean a true business of renting out cars like that of Haven's in Tacloban. Or Hertz, Avis, Europcar, Budget, etc., etc.! None . I think it is only Tacloban that has, in the likes of Haven's nga - they may not be the best (yet), but I tried & tested them! Rent-A-Car . Not the car ...

I did not even know there was such a thing! Thanks to my driver for suggesting that we pass by this port. Dagdag kaalaman! Oh yes, an additional historical knowledge! Physically, it's actually nothing but a 'pantalan', no different than many little ports all over this archipelago. But it has 'historical value' if you are into those kinds of things. That's where the concrete structure starts jutting out to sea for probably 100 meters. That habal-habal, aw scooter nga pala [pronounced: is-koo-ter] was my ride. And as you can see at right, is a historical marker planted by the National Historical Commission in 2015, describing the historical significance of this very place/locale. I tried zooming another shot I had of the marker, so I can show the words clearly. So what did I learn? Let me English my Tagalog heheh. Hagii, puyde ba Waray nala? Anyway, this port was a last stop of galleons, to load up on firewood, food and water en route to Acapulco...

I just happened by this hub, walking to where our vehicle was parked, after dinner at Ronn's . One derivative advantage when dining at restaurants with no parking spaces! Imagine that, if the restaurant had its own parking area, we wouldn't have walked on a one-way Burgos St., searching where our car was. Then I wouldn't have found this! What is it anyway? A Co-Working Space . A commercial venture, providing a shared office environment , where individuals from all walks of life like freelancers , remote workers , or other "unrelated professions" , work either individually or as groups or teams . That, includes students and/or researchers. Kon karuyag mo mag-trabaho (whether on the web or otherwise), pero ma-aringasa or waray espasyo ha imo opisina, balay, apartment, boarding house, that is where you go. This is something a bit new to Tacloban. There are still very few 'spaces' like this in the city, and this is even a first-time I saw one. We...

Let's explore this museum. It's (of course) the biggest in Cambodia, and more about the country's fascinating (Khmer) culture and arts of the past than present or future. So 'wag kang umasa na me makikita kang 'rocket science' or 'captured military tanks' ! Wala ring 'landmines' or 'genocide' dito. Or at least wala akong ike-kwentong ganyan! In fact, nabasa ko ang Objectives nila: The National Museum of Cambodia houses one of the world's greatest collections of Khmer cultural material including sculpture, ceramics and ethnographic objects from the prehistoric, pre-Angkorian, Angkorian and post-Angkorian periods. The Museum promotes awareness, understanding and appreciation of Cambodia's heritage through the presentation, conservation, safekeeping, interpretation and acquisition of Cambodian cultural material. It aims to educate and inspire its visitors. Things on display are about their ancient culture and arts until...