Philippine Travel Notes

Normal day. I was on the way home after a long happy day of engagements. Then I saw this... Not clear. I asked my driver to go closer saying buntotan mo yan . He was surprised but did it anyway. Okay... I got it... and here it is. Can you read it? Yes, you can! Teka, I didn't say kantahin mo ! Anyway, I was still trying to 'analyze', to understand what it was trying to 'convey', but my driver already reacted with a laugh, so I asked him what it really means. He explained that, this jeep's route was, and still is 'Palo to Tacloban Via Maharlika Highway and vice-versa' despite the availability of other routes! Note: At that corner (near 'Pisay'), jeeps from Palo either go straight to Real St. or left via Maharlika Hiway! All I could say was "ang Pinoy talaga, mga buang tulad ko"! But that's why it's fun in the Philippines ! Yes Mano, we sang Imelda Papin songs all the way to my apartment! Oh well, the signs of our time...

I was on the way to Kananga and Ormoc when I saw this signage somewhere in Palo, Leyte... It's a small garden-shop, I'm not even sure how such stores are called. But I liked the name, which was the reason I took that pic in the first place! Even my driver immediately recognized why it amused me! For those who don't get it, the store name is Meet Your Garden . Try pronouncing it faster and faster! Keep repeating that name, soon you'll remember Dong Shancai, Dao Ming Si, Huaze Lei and all of F4 ! If you still don't get it, ah just drop it. Baka di ka Pinoy o Pinoy ka na walang TV for the past 30 years! Oh well, the witty clever creative signs of our times... are entertaining!

We all have heard about Inflight Music, Inflight Movies, Inflight Radio, Inflight Food, Inflight Amenities, Inflight Magazines, Inflight Announcements, Inflight Calls and many other things 'Inflight', right? But, is there really a thing, or phenomenon, that's called (referred to) as Inflight Sunset or Sunset In The Air ? Ah well.., effective today as in now.., THERE IS! I am declaring so. Walang kokontra! So I flew on another PAL short hop flight from Tacloban to Cebu with a fantastic Inflight Sunset. Yeah! If you're still not getting it, I'm just finding a way to show-off my sunset pics today. Inflight Sunset it is! It started with... upon boarding the plane, I felt the world was 'unusually more colorful than usual'! Taking off on Runway 36 was normal, except that there were more vivid orange hues than usual... The sun just looked trying very hard to persist amidst the darkening clouds... Even on this shot, the highlight wasn't suppo...

It's the biggest mosquito I have ever seen in all my life! I was in one of the buildings at the Government Center of Palo Leyte. While waiting to enter an office, I saw this thing on a wall. It didn't seem to be even bothered by human beings passing-by or near it. Da! Would its bite be more painful than the usual mosquito bite? Does it also carry diseases like dengue? I called to show it to my driver who attempted to touch it, and... This is such an amazing earth we live in! We never really fully know what next will fascinate us! Keep travelin'!

On the way to Tacloban from some hinter town we passed by a bank's ATM in Palo Leyte. Somewhere nearby, on that row of establishments, is a branch of Panny's Bakeshop, where one of my companions also dropped-by to pick a number of pastries for our afternoon 'meryenda' in the office. And I saw this: Especially that the packs had the 'ensaymada' positioned where they are placed sideway, I got curious what 'ensay' meant in one of those product/price tags. So I asked and the girl said "ah ensaimada sir"! I don't know if there's any right or wrong abbreviation for the name of this delectable "daily bread" that seem to keep evolving through the years! It was "ensaimada", now "ensaymada", shortened to "ensay"! Whatever nomenclature it asssumes in the coming years, I'll still say, this pastry is always delectable. Hey, I'm no foodie. I'm just your mere simple Pinoy Traveler who's pe...

On a clear day, yey! I like flying on clear (maaliwalas) mornings. We get to see the whole world below, as a plane glides by. Admittedly, that is one of my favorite things to do during a flight - look down! So on this sunny April morning, I anticipated being able to clearly see towns and cities from up in the air! Whoa, but even down on ground I already started 'clearly seeing' things I did not quite notice before! Yep, I pass by this airport every week (sometimes even twice in a week), but I wondered why I seem to have not really seen that big sign yet, ever! Maybe I was pre-occupied with other things while I passed by this place in those many times. Or, even if mukhang luma na, maybe that thing was newly installed! Really? Anyway, I like what it says, if only to remind people about littering. I know it really is an advertisement, but at least, it has a dual purpose. I think that's a better way of making your company or brand 'visible' to consumers - especi...

I have been passing by this area in Palo Leyte for some time now, and the name of this place got me very curious as to how a "Drive-Thru Car Wash" works, for as far as I can recall, I haven't seen one yet. Yes I have seen some of those on TV and in youtube videos, and that there are even differernt types or kinds of wash, like there's the "basic", the "touchless" and whatever else. However, all of those that I've seen (on TV or online nga) were in other countries. I thought there is/was none yet in our dear 'Pinas. Honestly, the most 'hi-tech' car wash, that I remember I have really actually seen, decades ago that is, when I was still in high school, was/is, that one at a gas station on EDSA cor. McKinley Road. Well, a similar thing was in Magallanes, but in both cases, driver gets off while car 'floats' via conveyor belts! So, passing by Palo this morning, on our way to Naval, I 'remembered not to forget' this ...

Wowowow what a colorful end of day! Look at the blues, reds and other hues up in the sky. Beautiful! Driver was rushing me from the Government Center of Palo in Leyte, to the DZR Airport in Tacloban as I needed to catch my evening flight going back home to Cebu for Christmas, yey! Beautiful day indeed! But I was in no hurry.., the driver was! Ah yes, our drivers have all been trained to remember and stick to their "protocols". Like I left that last meeting an hour before ETD? That is a no-no for them! Even if they know I already did a web check-in as early as last night! Their protocol? Passenger (me, in this case), must be at the airport at least two hours before departure. Oh ha, laban ka? I am well taken care of in Region VIII! Sometimes, to a fault! I requested that we stop for a moment so I could take pictures of the alluring afternoon sky. Promptly replied with a direct, and firm "no sir, waray na kita oras". Wha! I should have taken offense, but I know...

Lunch today caught up with me while in the area of Palo, Leyte. The easiest choice for me (as usual) was Red Beach SUTUKIL, the restaurant across DPWH Leyte and the Philippine Science High School. Nothing new, nothing fantastic.., other than I was happily surprised to see this group of diners.., Look at their heads. All focused to one direction. No one talking. All intently listening. Dapat lang? Yes I think dapat lang that they listened to their new boss talking. The 2016 presidential inaugural speech. As I looked at them listening very intently to what their new boss was saying, I wondered.., what could it be that runs in the minds of government employees after a change in the country's leadership? Can it be different from what the rest of us also think? Maybe, right? Some of them could now be rejoicing while some may be apprehensive, right? Maybe this affects only the 1, 2 or 3-downs of the president? I wonder.., But let's see what happens in the next 6 years.., Go...

The initial title that I wrote for this story was "Palo Archbishop's Palace. But I changed it to "Pope Francis Parish Church" as that is purportedly the official name, so I learned from a nun at the church. The story is... this place (not just this church) has been very well-known to many Catholics for being the "Archbishop's Palace". But this edifice I visited is not the palace. This is a church built very recently and beautifully, together with an orphanage. So where is the palace? Up at the hill above this church! Anyway, I was just passing, and saw that this gate was open. I said to the driver "let's check it out"! And so we did! Driver initially parked at the side of the road, but an old man told him he can drive his car in and park there instead. I left them to it and already proceeded inside by that open gate at right. You know, this compound now has two big gates that are a bit of an angle instead of a straight side-by-side f...