Philippine Travel Notes

After the church, we headed to see the city hall of Baybay. Not for anything but just to see it as I usually do peep at such structures during my roams. And I was in for an interesting surprise! This: And I did not have to ask what happened here. Seeing this, I immediately remembered what I saw and heard from the various news media sometime end of June 2013 – an election related riot in this very place. I think the manang at the barbeque shack also made mention of that incident when we were talking to her last night. Anyway, I gathered that the incumbent mayor decided to let this vehicle remain where it was overturned by her opponents as a memento, monument, memorial, whatever. Nice one. Retaining it there and that way, everyone of them (both sides, I mean) will be reminded of their barbaric tendencies just to be able to grab the mayoralty post. Why? Ala eh, kelangan pa bang itanong yan hehe

Wow! Big and rustic old! Uncommon in Eastern Visayas! Honestly, seeing this church, I almost thought I was in Cebu, Iloilo or Bohol. And if looks could be the basis, I would rather be. This is a church where fortunately the the parish priests that came by all these ages were not so ‘atrevida’ as to smooth out the external walls with cement and paint them pink or blue! I can dare tell you, this has been the case of many churches in Leyte and Samar. I should know, I have seen most of them by now. Basey, in Samar is another such exception that would seem a brother church of this one in Baybay. All the rest? Ah, I will tell later! Anyway, looking at this church from the outside (my companions already piled in), I wondered if Baybay may have been another provincial or regional center during the olden days. I have observed that many big churches are indicators of their being so. Remember the church in the town of Bantayan, on Bantayan Island, Cebu? Sift through your dusty history books and y...

I thought I might as well call this a fly-by because we just zoomed through. Our driver knew we had a schedule to follow, even if already distorted and retrofitted a number of times. We arrived at this university last night, so there was nothing much that I saw. And today, we went to specific institutions that I had no time to wander around the way that I do – wandering without much of a purpose, but where I usually stumble upon great surprises. Anyway, here we were exiting the place and fast. I had to make my eyes open wide looking side to side, front and even back at times. Yes I had my camera, but Roy was too much a-zooming it was hard for me to snap shots. At least I have now an idea on what or where to look closer when I come this way again. Soon! Here are some of those I caught: Goodbye VSU for now. That was such a whole lot of learning I got there! Let’s go back to Baybay, shall we? In the next story, I mean

Done (overwhelmed) watching the fresh milk deliveries at the back of the little BDFA building, I circled towards the other side. And this was just actually the time that I realized I was moving from back of the building to front. Whoa! Timely that my companions were already out of the main carabao center building who all trooped to see what I was very curious about. OMG! A little dairy store complete with a snack bar with high chairs! What’s on sale? Milk and more! Fresh Carabao Milk in convenient plastic bottles. But there’s more! There is also Choco-Milk and Fruit-Flavored Milk all for the taking. Like there is melon flavored, mango flavored and others. You of course know what happened next, right? Yeah, we had a milk-party hehe. All of us bought a bottle each, choosing flavors that invited our interest or curiosity and consumed them right there! Whatta morning snack! After eating vacuum-fried jackfruit we washed them down with various flavors of milk. Sa’n ka pa, di ba?! My stomach’...

This was our next destination, and in my mind I was saying “what will I want to see in that carabao center anyway”? Do I want to learn how to make them fat and big? Do I want to learn how to make them produce healthy offspring? Ride them, pwede pa! But who was I to question this part of the itinerary when I was just a mere ‘kibitzer’ on this, my friends, tour with a purpose, right?! So to the carabao center we went and I left them talking/discussing in those air-conditioned rooms while I roamed outside, savoring the breezy fresh air under clear skies! I was tempted to walk to the sports field where I could hear the shrieks, screams and growls of students at their intramurals. But it was some kind of distance from this carabao center. Not that I cant walk that far, I guess I have walked more than a hundred fold that distance (remember my walk to the Dambana?), but I was a bit worried my companions would be out of the center early and I could delay the ongoing tour. So I stayed in th...

I've been hearing this on local TV and radio news in Cebu for some days now. So, I checked the web and found at least one here . The tone is that some officials are vehemently denying "food poisoning". Whatever they want to call it, the most important thing is these students and teachers ate something, wherever during the tour, and this something made them ill.

We were still at the laboratory producing Vacuum-Fried Jackfruit, but I wandered out towards the other areas of this expansive facility. This area here is some kind of a display area (museum?) for old and new but all still operable food production implements big and small – from the cute and “nice to have at home” manual canning machine to those enormous kiln driers or ovens. Meron palang ganun?! You can dry fruits, fish or meat in various ways without literally bringing them out to open space under the sun and for the flies and insects to feast on! Ah in this room, there are ovens with a twist and electric mixers with a tweak! Aliw! The professor told us some were made on purpose by their scientists based on research or scientific needs. Aren’t they all scientists here, anyway? And some were produced/created by students in various research phases down to their theses or dissertation requirements. Wow ha?! Here’s more, some are patented, some are not, some have been adopted by factorie...

Yeah we’re still at Visayas State University and my “Livelihood Tour” continues – a whole lot of learning since yesterday, I may even have forgotten some details. But let’s go to our next appointment, the VSU’s Department of Food Science & Technology. On arrival, we were met by the heads and ushered to a classroom already set-up for a quick presentation. Of? Of things coconut (of course), PLUS, many other things that we usually take for granted but are actually worth venturing into – especially for the rural folks who need to have extra means of earning to sustain an acceptable sustainable economic status. Ah they presented and discussed many things. My friend and her companions, even the DTI officer escorting us, got fascinated and asked about various details. How much more the lowly me, myself and I, right?! Overwhelmed! This country is just so full of ideas, talent and resources. Pero hanggang dyan lang yan hehe! Take the case of the Langka. Yep, the jackfruit. It is such a sw...