Philippine Travel Notes

They’re cute and there are quite a lot of them everyday! I happened to be at Robinson’s Mall near Cebu’s Fuente Osmena yesterday for another errand and had to get out of the building for a quick puff of cigarette. Then I saw some cute little thingys being sold by vendors just under the stairs of the pedestrian skywalk. Yes, that portion of the building just below Jollibee. Cute little puppies! So I went near and noticed that there were many of them vendors there all showing their pups off to two young ladies who were ‘would be’ buyers. Oh wow, the number of pups being sold were probably 5X the number of vendors! I stayed awhile and watched those vendors try to convince the ladies for this and that puppy. The going rate, I could easily hear them was from P2,500 to P4,000. Am not keen on these animals, so I don’t know if that was expensive or cheap. Again, I have never had a dog nor do I want one, so I also don’t know what breed or kind or type were those pups. I just find them cute to l...

As you could see from the picture, I of course do not mean an orchestra or band conductor hehe. It’s a profession in some poor countries like ours where the “conductor” collects fares of commuters. I was standing on the side of a road at Ayala Cebu and saw that the driver of a multicab in front of me was making funny faces to someone just front of his vehicle. First I thought that was ridiculous for a driver to be making such funny faces, but when I looked, he was teasing this boy. Yes the conductor of the vehicle in front. I got curious and hopped into the vacant front-seat of the multicab. I knew there was going to be more of their making faces at each other. So I rode, not even knowing where these jeeps were going. Hah, I asked my driver and learned that his route was from Lahug to SM. I asked where the kid’s jeep was going and he told me it was the same route as both his and that kid’s jeeps are ‘04L’ – yep, if you don’t know just yet, jeeps in Cebu use those codes to signify their...

For many years, we referred to it as “that tall unfinished building beside SM Cebu”. We can drop that description now, as for about 3 weeks already, that building has a name. It opened its doors on the last Monday of September, and is now called no less than the “Radisson Blu Cebu Hotel”. Yep, their first in south or eastern Asia. And yes too, it already has guests though its grand opening is purported to be set still come 2nd week November 2010 to be graced by a big name from the metropolis! So, what? Well, I went there recently, don’t you want to hear what I have to say?! Here I go… Went there for two things - to book some family who would be coming to visit and witness the Sinulog 2011 and check their function areas as probable training or event venues. The hotel has no discounts nor special packages (yet) for 2011, so all they could tell me were ‘rack rates’ until end December 2010. Anyway, I know that wouldn’t be too much of a difference, I think. But as a training / semina...

It came and its gone... and may never come this way again in the next few years. So am happy I went to see it. Have you?! Well, sorry if you didn’t. You might have just missed a chance of a lifetime – and that is the look and feel of the ship that brought Magellan into these islands, which led to our dear country being named Philippines. But there are so many stories on the web from those like me who went to see it. So you’ll never really have a dearth of info about it. Then again, aren’t you envious you did not step into the galleon? Are you not?! Hehe! Its not that big! Most RORO vessels that ply around the islands would even be bigger. Only the tall masts and sails make the Andalucia look like it was humungous. In fact, I initially thought, “wouldn’t those very tall masts and sails make this boat so top heavy as to easily topple or roll on its side?” Apparently not, since it was able to reach our shores, from Spain no less. Plus, ROROs are made of steel while Magellan’s ‘galeon’ ...

Done with the garden and the cages, Osman led us to a what looked like a concrete bodega. When he opened the metal door, voila, it revealed the “art” side in this sanctuary! Specifically, this is a showcase of the artist in Julian N. Jumalon! Fronting the door were some literature, awards, trophies that the late professor has earned. There are some sculptures too and it was explained to us that Julian Jumalon was also into this kind of art. But the showcase of the gallery that is the entire wall of this circular concrete hut are those framed artworks of the late Julian Jumalon. Thats two rows or levels all over the circular wall. Wow. Sadly, there is big signage that taking pictures is absolutely not allowed, so I heeded. When we rounded the paintings, Osman would tell us the circumstances about each work. Our eyes widened to the max when in front of what looked like duplicate paintings it was explained to us that one was in watercolor while the other was a mosaic made of butterfly win...

Aside from the open-air and free-to-all-butterflies garden, the Jumalon Sanctuary does have cages after all. And lucky I got to step or reach into all of them! Thanks to Osman. He told us that they would not normally allow tour groups to enter those cages for the ‘safety and security’ of the different butterfly stages that are always in progress somewhere in the garden. Fact is, 10 people in the cage, I would consider already too many. What more if there were busloads of youngsters hehe! So I was indeed lucky I planned to see the sanctuary at its most unvisited day and time. Osman led us to enter a cage in the middle of the garden and started showing and naming the many colorful butterflies in there. We asked why the cage while outside there were also butterflies. He said that some of these butterflies were being reared in a controlled area (the cage) to maximize breeding as they are either rare or can’t breed easily. In fact he says, they even have to remove and transfer some of the c...

Done with the “info-overload” on butterfly things inside the house, Osman led us out into the garden (to the right, emerging from the house) for us to see and learn more about butterflies – this time live and fluttering! Wohoa! Mind you, it took us exactly an hour and 7 minutes inside the house. And he did not even open every single framed group of insects for us because there were just too many. By the way, flash photography inside the house is not allowed as they say harsh light from flashbulbs could decolorize preserved butterflies. But out in the open, you are encouraged to do what your camera can ever do! Ah yes, we can say that this is the sanctuary portion of the “Jumalon Butterfly Sanctuary, Museum and Art Gallery”. I am very thankful that there were only three of us being toured by Osman. We were free to ask all the questions we had in our minds, he could easily show and tell or demonstrate to us many things butterfly with all the explanations and expounding that he thought we...

This is the most educational butterfly collection or display I have so far seen in this country, though it does not have hundreds or thousands of colorful fluttering insects nor a grand big big screened cage. Fact is Jumalon Butterfly Sanctuary is an open-air garden, has fewer live butterflies that what you would see at Baguio, Palawan, Marikina, Subic, New Washington or Davao. But the history, variety and number of specimens they keep tops all of those, combined! Plus, there is an awe-inspiring collection of artworks made from butterfly wings. Yes, colorful butterfly wings painstakingly laid down on a canvass, one at a time, to become mosaics! Here’s my story… Reaching the gate, there seemed to be no guests inside and I smiled at the opportunity. I pressed the doorbell button on the right (there are two), it’s blue light flickered though I did not hear anything. I pressed the “older” button on the left and it let off a loud ringing school-bell sound that even surprised me to near pani...