Philippine Travel Notes

From the previous story .., one of us saw this building, so we trooped to it, and what a good find, I must say. Few travel stories / guides tell us about this historical place. How many times ever have I passed this way, and I didn't really know what this was. There are many names that can be seen from the street. Well, we just assumed that "the biggest lettering" must be the building's name. And we were correct. Yeyhehehe! The Cebu City Tourism Commission; Cebu City Public Library & Information Center; Cebu City Museum; A realistic monument of Rizal reading a book with two children; and An unperturbed healthy brown dog, are what you'll see from down the sidewalk. Oh about those faces? Miss Cebu 2009 hopefuls on a new horizontal tarp, mounted on a wooden frame about 3 feet in height, that I can't estimate how long. Basta lang isinandal dyan sa dingding, and we couldn't guess if 'already used' or 'still to be used' . Nearby and...

This topic started with this article There are also two. One of these two is the suburban town of Taytay in the province of Rizal (Regiona 4A – CALABARZON), just a few clicks away from Pasig and the Ortigas Center. This is more of a suburb, in fact more of an extension of Metro Manila. Club Manila East is in this place, along with many woodworks and garments factories. This is the northernmost tip of Laguna lage, along with the city of Taguig where both localities even share some developmental projects. Urban as the town is (already), there is a waterfall in this town. and suburban as it may be, there is an SM City Taytay hehe! The other Taytay is a town in the province of Palawan (Region 4B – MIMAROPA). This is a big town in the northern end of mainland Palawan (just below El Nido) and has many things for the tourist to see and do. I mean the nature-loving tourists. Have you hear about Irrawaddy Dolphins? That’s just part of the excitement. There are sialnds, islets, white beach, ...

This topic started with this article Jose P. Rizal. Are you ready for this? There are 7 towns and 1 province all named Rizal! That was expected, right? He is the national hero of this country after all! First is the town of Rizal in the province of Cagayan (Region 2). It’s in the southwestern portion and in the border with the province of Apayao. Previously called Malaueg, this is the province’s epic town where a lot of folktales and other historical accounts are told. I was surprised to taste delectable mangoes in this high-altitude town which I thought was only to be visited for remnants of some Spanish colonial settlement! Nearby and below is another Rizal town, this time in the province of Kalinga (Region 15 – CAR) that sits in the province’s borders with Cagayan and Isabela. Were there elephants in this country? Well, the ‘elephant hill’ in this town is the site where half the remains of a pachyderm was unearthed! The next Rizal is a town on the eastern portion of Nueva Ecija (Reg...

This topic started with this article Take note there’s a letter G at the end of the word, you Morong hehe! But the towns' name is pronounced in a fast manner with the stress on the second syllable – quite much like in the speed and stress when pronouncing “berate” or “amass”. Clear? Okay now... The first town is that famous place in the province of Bataan (Region 3) facing the south china sea. And yes, this is that town just by the border with Subic – the ex-Naval Base. And yes, if coming from Subic you pass through the “Morong Gate”. The sunset sights up on the highway is spectacular. Don’t miss it. Of course we all know this is a beach town and there are resorts. But if you can social-climb your way (like I did) to Anvaya Cove, grab the opportunity! Having experienced nature in the luxurious comforts and amenities at that exclusive resort estate was really grand. But I don’t dream of buying a property there. I just don’t think it’s worth it as a long term spend! OMG, social-climb...

This topic started with this article So, how about Baras?! There are two! First is the town of Baras in the province of Rizal – not really that far from the metropolis. It has an ancient church, it kisses part of the Laguna Lake and is well known for being the home of the mighty Arnis and Sikaran martial artists. The other Baras is a town in the southeastern seaboard of the island-province of Catanduanes. It’s about an hour and a half ride from Virac. While still very rural, this town is a future tourist attraction. Beaches abound, the Abaca industry is starting to fuel up, plus artists and artisans have come forward that they extensively use or take advantage of the interesting products from this place! Then again, above all, surfing reigns supreme in this place as the best crowd-drawer!

The fascinating suburb! CALABARZON or Region 4A (sometimes written with the Roman numeral as REGION IV-A), is what became of the other half when in 2002, Southern Tagalog (Region 4) was split into two. The term CALABARZON is actually an acronym representing letters from the names of the 5 provinces that comprise it – CA vite, LA guna, BA tangas, R izal and Que ZON . Like Region 3, it also spans from east in the pacific to west in the south china sea. All of these five provinces are within easy reach from the metropolis where majority of its workers actually come from. While these are almost part of Metro Manila, since many industries, corporations and academic institutions have branches and/or headquarters in many parts, they also offer some of the nearest and worthy places to visit for any reason one can think of. When people from the metropolis are in search of a place that they can easily hie off to, many places around these 5 provinces are first on the list. And they are qu...