Philippine Travel Notes

This topic started with this article There are three towns that bear the same name and those are located up north, middle part (almost Visayas) and down in Mindanao. Hmm! Claveria is a town in the province of Cagayan (Region 2 – Cagayan Valley). This is the northern-most town of the island of Luzon that faces the Babuyan Channel. A fantastic place to visit for sights, sea, sand and sun. This will be your best rest area if daring to skirt the northern tip of Luzon east to west or vice versa. There are also the lighthouse and a waterfall by the sea! The next Claveria is a town in the province of Masbate (Region 5 – Bicol). It is actually the southern half of Burias Island. Just across from Sorsogon. This is also a nice place to visit for sandy beaches white or otherwise. The little islands across this town are little paradises. One of those islands has a very wide shallow area of white sand with nearby coral reefs for the insatiable snorkelers! The last Claveria is a town in the province...

This topic started with this article Kalayaan. Oh freedom! Thou shalt be the name of many things! It’s good we’re just talking about towns so there are only two in the whole country! One is a town in Laguna (Regiona 4A – CALABARZON) and the other is in the island province of Palawan (Region 4B – MIMAROPA). The former is sitting on the eastern edge of Laguna Bay and is interestingly composed of just 3 barangays! Oh yes, that is where you are supposed to find the “Lukayo” – a tradition of long ago slowly disappearing due to the hypocrisy of catholic priests, that transcended into what most Filipinos now call "moral standard" and even transcended into how laws are made in this country. Should you be interested, remember this... the Lukayo tradition has already been a practice of our forebears even before the jesuits came! Oh of course, this little town is more known to the business community for power-plant topics than anything else! Then again many of us know that this town als...

This topic started with this article There are also two towns! However, one sports the name “Jose Panganiban” while the other is just plain “Panganiban”. Jose Panganiban town in the province of Camarines Norte (Region 5 – Bicol) is that town jutting out to the Pacific Ocean. And while it is a major fishing port, it also has its share of beaches. And there is an inactive volcano called Bagacay. Now the other Panganiban is in the island province of Catanduanes also in Region 5. It is on the north-eastern tip of the island facing the Pacific Ocean. Ah yes, this town is where you’ll find the little heard-of Catanduanes Island Beach Resort. There are other white beaches, a waterfall, dam, lighthouse and even a small airport! But hey, though both towns are in Region 5, their names are in honor of two different Panganibans! The one in Camarines Norte is in honor of Jose Maria Panganiban y Enverga – the propagandist and guerilla leader during the Spanish regime, while the one in Catanduanes is...

This topic started with this article There are also two towns. One is in Quezon Province (Region 4A – CALABARZON) along the pacific seaboard and facing the Polillo Islands. Nice secluded beaches here, and off the beaten tourist tracks. Of course this place is part of the "Lambanog Capital". But the long stretch of coastline is most prominent in my memory. Ah the winds from the sea are quite a treat! There are modest resort in this blissfully rural coastal town. The other Infanta is in the western portion of the province of Pangasinan (Region 1 – Ilocos) kissing the south china sea and where you’ll find the Balaki Islands. This town is along the now-getting-famous scenic route of the western seaboard from Zambales to Bolinao. Oh both towns got their names in honor of “Infanta Queen Isabel of Spain”. See?! Even these two towns are related to the places named Isabel and/or Isabela!

This topic started with this article There are two! One is a town in the nearby province of Bulacan (Region 3 – Central Luzon) and is a bustling fishing and farming town owing to its proximity to Metro Manila and being strategically located on the shores of Manila Bay. It is also one of Bulacan’s border towns with the province of Pampanga. Well, it is part of the historic province, so it has its own share. Start with the church of St. Anne, then there are old era houses dotting the town some are labeled with the names of heroes who previously owned them. There is even a beach - but that's the waters of Manila Bay hehe! The other Hagonoy is far south in the province of Davao Del Sur (Region 11 – Southern Mindanao) and is also a coastal fishing town but facing the Davao Gulf instead of the murky Manila Bay! You can go bananas in this place as like its neighboring towns, banana plantations are vast. Oh there's a new inland resort called seagull! Am not sure if it was from Hagonoy ...

This topic started with this article Let us jump to the moon? Well, yes Luna is Spanish for Moon! What do we call people who hail from a place named Luna? Lunatics? Aw! There are 2 towns named “General Luna” while there are 3 towns named just “Luna”. The town General Luna in the province of Quezon (Region 4A – CALABARZON) is a fishing village facing the Tayabas bay and the island of Marinduque. Hey, I was surprised to learn (no, I did not see the spectacle, we arrived late) that this town celebrates holy week like how its done across the water over at Marinduque! Wow! The other General Luna is the famed surfing town on Siargao Island in the province of Surigao Del Norte (Region 13 – CARAGA). Kilometers and kilometers of fine white sandy beaches (untouched) are the thing here other than the surf and other water sports activities. The beaches are just not the in thing that tourists go there for. And to my delight! Then there is a town up north named Luna – a town in the province of La Un...

This topic started with this article What about HOPE?! Well, there are 3 towns in the country that bears this name Esperanza – meaning “hope” in Spanish. First is a town in the province of Masbate (Region 5 – BICOL) and it is at the southwestern-most tip just across the northern tip of the island of Leyte. Being a coastal town, this Esperanza also has its share of white sandy beaches. And it also has nice snorkeling and dive sites nearby. But accommodations are best had at the provincial capital. Then note that there is also the town of Esperanza in the province of Sultan Kudarat (Region 12 – Central Mindanao). Ah this town bordering the province of Maguindanao is adjacent to the Sultan Kudarat capital town of Isulan. More of a farming community than anything else, at least you’ll find a hot-spring in this town! Now there is still another Esperanza! And that is this big agricultural town in the northern part of Agusan Del Sur in the border with Agusan Del Norte. Rainforests are still h...

Metro Manila is awash with all kinds of malls and shopping districts. These establishments are sprouting by the day. And just about a few rainy seasons ago, there rose Tiendesitas – an affluent kind of tiangge or a permanent bazaar for the well-to-dos! It’s a wide expanse of a tent-like roofing with hundreds of little stores (stalls) in it – tastefully and orderly arranged – therefore expensive hehe! From the outside, the place looks like a Mindanao-inspired thing. Even the decors at the eating areas have those colorful vintas of Zamboanga. So what really is there at Tiendesitas? Ah… well… food, fun and shopping for expensive things that you can otherwise have at very low prices elsewhere. But let’s give you a tour of this “hip” place as many a middle-class family would call it. Where is it? Tiendesitas sits in a sprawling field near to (not along) Ortigas Avenue in Pasig . It is also near to (not along) Julia Vargas Avenue still in Pasig . Its frontage faces east and right in front...