Philippine Travel Notes

Let’s talk about fruit baskets and gowns, as mentioned in the last sentence of the previous article! Those are not considered “Security Retrieved Items” for indeed, security will (should) have nothing to do with those. AND the people at that x-ray area should not in anyway interfere with you or your gown and/or fruit basket. Remember that. These and similar things have nothing to do with security. Why, what can you do with the fruits to breach security? Ano, you will shout “this is a hijack pag hindi kayo sumunod sa akin, babatuhin ko kayo ng ponkan, mangga, mansanas, ubas at baryabas”! Ganun?! Do that and you might be surprised all passengers and crew will eagerly face you na naka-nganga waiting for the fruits hehe! But (especially for the big fruit baskets) the airline will usually get them from you at the boarding gates. Those things will be retrieved from you and tagged to your destination like what is done with security retrieved items. They’ll put those in a safer place than your...

This topic comes to fore from the seemingly “hot” umbrella topic. My goodness I did not expect the umbrella thing could flood my emails hehe. But happy to receive them anyway even if I am lately burning many sleepless nights just trying to read all of these emails. What am I becoming now, a complaint desk? Hahaha its looking like so, but I am not complaining (yet). Promise! I mean honest! Keep them coming since I actually forward many of those concerns to my friends from the airlines, airports, military, travel and tourism industry – without your identities, of course! All for their benefit and ours, really! Can you believe some of these contacts do not even know who I really am nor do I know who they really are?! But I know things happen and things get attended to anyway! So let’s move on and here we go on SRI… What’s an SRI? It means “Security Retrieved Item”. Wheh? What is that? Calm down people of the world, the phrase may just sound rocket science, but we are all familiar with wha...

What would be your preferred shape during the Christmas holidays anyway? Pear-shaped or Pearl-shaped? I saw this sign at the Robinsons Supermarket down at the basement of Banilad Town Center in Cebu. And I was/am sure they meant PEAR-SHAPED HAM which we know is very common, right?! For if we added the L to that word, what shape does pearl come to us anyway? Butill? Aruuuu! Ah well, the careless dependence on ’intelligent’ word-processors in these our times hehe!

“You what”? That’s what a dear friend exclaimed when I told her I was on the way to Roxas to watch Dinagyang hehe! She was going to Iloilo, I was going to Roxas, and our flights were leaving just within minutes of each other when we accidentally met at the airport’s departure lounge. I said yes I’m going Dinagyang but via Roxas City! She knows me better than that though… a few more questions and she learned that I only decided 3 days ago, with all Iloilo flights already full. I did not tell her anymore this was the 2nd time I was going via Roxas for the 7th time that I was going to watch the Dinagyang! ON this occasion however, I was determined to see more of Roxas City! So, off I went! I’ve been to this city several times before, even stayed here for a week. But I was on a business trip and have never really gotten to see even the city center for real. I just know where is what, but more of I have just taken glances of this and that. This time, I was determined to see more and pay att...

I didn’t want to miss it, so I hopped on aboard! Do you know what this thing is? It’s a ship of course! You'll recognize that just from the "M/V" which means “motorized vessel”. But not just an ordinary RORO or passenger ship, it is a floating book fair. Yup, a bookstore! You may have heard about Doulos ? Or read my blog about it here ? Well yes, it is the same thing from the very same charitable institution. The replacement in fact, but a bigger and brighter ship. Caught up with it in Cebu and I learned it will be there until 13FEB as it will move on to Manila and Subic. How did I know it was there? By chance hehe! I just ‘accidentally’ saw it! The ship was docked behind the ‘Malacanang Sa Sugbo’ and I said it was unusual since no ships “park” there unless they’re some kind of special – like the Andalucia, remember? Well, you guys who maybe approaching Cebu by boat or fastcraft from Bohol, Dumaguete or any of the islands south of Cebu, watch out as you’re likely to s...

Disasters are getting into my system like they never did in previous years. Oh my. This, I guess, is one unpleasant consequence of having visited so many places in this country. I have claimed pride (and even honor) at having been to each and every town or city of so many provinces – and that includes, Surigao, Agusan, Misamis, Negros, Cebu, etc. Prouder still as I went to see them not because of a job I needed to do, but because I was just a roamer who wanted to see them. ‘Local Tourists’ as the industry call us. But today, it looks like I’m reluctantly claiming an unwanted feeling no one ever dreams of experiencing. That genuine heavy feeling for the loss of lives in those towns that I have visited. It just gets rather too personal at times that I also feel helpless like the disaster victims themselves. I think it is human nature that I feel more for those people who I think I may have said hi or hello to, one time or another. I feel their pain at seeing those houses, roads and b...

Just what did I do in Dakak that the planned overnight stay became three days? Nothing actually. And this is one of the few instances where I say there is joy in “nothing”. Yeah, really! My activities were more of… wake up early mornings, walk around, breakfast, hang-around, wade in the pool, beach bum, walk around, lunch, sleep on that hammock by the beach, play pool, then bowling, then swim again, walk around, sing with the band, wade in the other pool, talk to the crew, chase some birds, kayak in the placid waters, soak in the rain, bask in the sun, go snorkeling, eat, drink and be merry! Hmm, one morning I even tried helping sweep the beach of fallen leaves from the talisay trees with that coconut frond thingy that the manong cleaner use as broom! Just to get a feel of how easy or hard it is hehe! The life! Oh hey, I am trying to be ‘untalkative’ so let’s just show you some of my pictures, okay? They’ll tell you a story anyway! Hey, here's some ...