Philippine Travel Notes

Let's go! But... What Where When How? After asking around, I learned that it is only D'Turbanada Transport that has regular scheduled direct Tacloban~Palapag trips. So I went to find their terminal in the city. Easy to find because they are on google maps , and they have an FB Business Page ! They even have a people profile also on FB that looks like the most regularly updated. Click click click and... I wasn't satisfied, so, I went to their Tacloban Terminal, 2 days before planned departure. Why? Because I needed to know the differences between a big-bus , a mini-bus and van . Why? Ay, for longer trips, my long legs need to know! At the terminal, I was told it takes the van 6~7 hours from Tacloban to Palapag, but due to the waiting at San Juanico bridge, it at times becomes 8 even 9 hours. Hiyay! I knew that was a bit exaggerated. I noted that anyway, to manage my expectations. Then I saw these... all taped at various parts of the tellers' glass-wall...

This was excitingly fun with lots of happy surprises! That means... this will be a long read for you. But as I always do, I'll chunk my stories into a series for ease-of-read ! Alright... where is this place? It's on the northeastern tip of Samar Island. Here... That portion of Northern Samar (Province) has four towns facing the Pacific Ocean. Why go there? Well, why not? 'Hwag maging dayuhan ... remember? This side of Samar Island, along with towns to the south (part of Eastern Samar) have less explored natural wonders. Keep reading this, and my next stories, I'll tell you about many of them - in a series! I'll start with Palapag, then Mapanas, down to Gamay, Lapinig, Arteche then Oras. In one day? No no hehe! In several days, but most will surely be: I wish I had more time ! How to go there. There are various ways, depending on your preferred level of comfort, convenience, etc., plus - the adventure or challenge level you want to experience, ...

Done at Đà Nẵng, Vietnam , it was time to hop to my next destination: Phnom Penh, Cambodia . Oh don't worry about that city name, it's actually very easy to pronounce! How do they say that? Locals pronounce Phnom as Pnom [no vowel sound between 'P' and 'nom' ] dropping any "h" sound. Technique: start saying "nom" with pursed lips - the "p" will come out! To my ears, locals pronounce Penh also without any "h" sound anywhere. And, they utter the 'e' in Pen with a very short and guttural "u" (like in b u rn), not "e" nor even "i". For many children, it's even pronounced like "puyn" with just a very faint "y" sound. Easy di ba? Hahaha! Anyway... How to fly from Danang to Phnom Penh? Except for a daily flight to Siem Reap, there are no direct flights from Da Nang to all of Cambodia, and it did not match my planned route and/or departure/arrival...

Here is another circuitous trip I had. We can consider this a circle trip, or a series of circle trips. This wasn't only in the country (mainly abroad). Yet, full of fun learnings. My route went like this: TAC ✈ CEB ✈ TPE ✈ HAN ✈ DAD ✈ SGN ✈ PNH ✈ REP ✈ HAN ✈ VTE ✈ DMK ✈ MNL ✈ CEB ✈ TAC. Hahaha, ridiculous? Well it was fun! The little red planes above are international flights, while those in other colors were domestic flights inside their respective countries. Oh okay, let's describe the codes. For easy identification and understanding, I numbered the flight legs - 13 flights! I went from Tacloban to Cebu. Then Cebu to Taipei transiting to Hanoi and Danang. After Danang, I went to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh) transiting to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. After Phnom Penh, I flew transiting at Siem Reap (that's still Cambodia) going back to Hanoi, this time to stay a few days. After Hanoi, I departed for Vientiane in Laos. After Vientiane, I jetted to Bangkok's ...

My bus ride from San Jose De Buenavista in Antiqué, to Iloilo City. Yeah! Finding My Ride This was as I have intended ( to ride a bus, not a van ) for 2 reasons: 1] bus seats are more spacious than the vans (more leg space), 2] best views of the world outside. And I knew even from long ago, there are Ceres buses (both "Aircon" and "Ordinary") going to Iloilo or elsewhere. So, I took a tricycle from downtown to the bus terminal. Not here, these are the vans for Iloilo! Not here too, these are going to Anini-y! The yellow buses here! Note: the red sign at that back building says San Jose De Buenavista Bus Terminal . Behind the buses is a street. Driver brought me there, saying it's nearer . True! Here! That man in shorts told me the 2nd bus, behind the 2nd tree, was the next for Iloilo. That's the one in front of him in that photo above. This: So I went for it. Yeah! Look! There is that prominently displayed trashcan right upon getting on ...