Philippine Travel Notes

This is dedicated to the entire crew of Shangri La Mactan Resort. Please don’t “reconfigure” your security procedures after reading this, okay? You will find a reason to agree to this request at the last paragraph of this topic! Having checked-in many times at this fabulous resort (on official company-sponsored junkets), I had the mistake of bragging about how truly beautiful this resort is, how great every detail of the structure and facilities are, how professional and likeable the staff are and how expensive it is to stay there! Naturally, when I and my friends jetted in for a budget-saver “own-tour” of Cebu and Bohol, they all demanded that I take them there for a peek at the place. So we did! I already knew that no “day-tourists” are usually allowed inside this resort – beyond the lobby, that is. That means you have to be billeted in this expensive resort, or at least be attending a party or function to be free to roam around. But to show my friends just the expansive landscaped f...

Of art, stone, colors, tourism and ignorance, sometimes come forth funny caricatures from what used to be a monument of heroism and valor! Take the great monument erected for the great Lapu-lapu right on the spot where he valiantly led a fight and victoriously killed Megallan. As a monument, it is a proud mark of our history. As a work of art, it is more than great! It is more than life-size as it stands tall probably 9 to 12 feet from foot to head and it stands on a high mount in itself already about 8 or 10 feet. The muscles of this man are so pronounced, the face, the eyes and every bit of it are almost real. But of course it is made of stone or cement or whatever material it is (probably even brass or copper). Now the disgrace! The authorities (whoever they are), probably in an effort to make what is beautiful even more grand, did something that they should have not bothered to do. In fact, the effort must have been expensive. Oh what did they do? They just painted the whole statue...

SUTUKIL is a contraction of three cooking terms, SU gba, TU wa and KIL aw. Each term is in verb form so it does not refer to the cooked food (or dish) but rather to the way the food is cooked. All three terms are in the Cebuano dialect. I am not great at kitchen or dining terminologies but let us give this a try! Sugba means grill and if your fish is sinugba it is grilled! That’s easy! Tuwa is ah.. well… Stew! Sometimes Cebuanos themselves spell this as Towa or even the Tagalog term Tola . Further, the term refers only to fish and/or chicken. And the soup is always clear. So if your fish or chicken is Tinuwa / Tinowa , that is stewed. Now Kilaw is hmm… even harder! It is raw fish(usually), cooked in just vinegar with a lot of other ingredients like ginger, onions, pepper, peppercorn, garlic, etc., and usually for people in the visayas, coconut milk! More like of a salad really. No heat or fire. In fact, it’s even more delectable if served chilled. So if your food is kinilaw … well...

If you have been to Cebu, you will not have missed the famous Magellan’s Marker and the equally well-known Sto. Niño Church. Let us do some qualifiers first. I say, Magellan’s Marker because of so many names so many people use to call it. Many call the place Magellan’s Cross. Some call it Magellan’s Monument, Magellan Shrine, Magellan Memorial – ahhh whatever. Just remember, it is a little “building” that enshrines the cross purportedly brought by Magellan in the 1520‘s. The Church right beside it is not spared! It also has many names that the lowly traveler like me gets confused! Sometimes it is called a shrine, a basilica, a cathedral, a chapel, a museum – sometimes even a combination of two words like “The Sto. Niño Cathedral and Museum”. Let us talk about the marker and the church AND candle-making instead, okay? These two “edifices” – if we can call them that, are probably the most famous tourist landmarks in Cebu and located right smack in the busiest of its districts. Or we can ...

This log is dedicated to a friend who hails from the great city of Pasay! While we were in our hotel about 9AM trying to catch some rest, this friend suddenly found out that he needed toiletries and other things. Since there was no nearby store, I told him to go to Ayala Center or Fuente Osmeña and buy his needs from any of the supermarkets. Hesitating to go alone, he asked me: “ ano sasabihin ko sa taxi? ” As I was busy watching a live tennis tournament on ESPN, my answer was: “ pucha naman, e di magsalita ka in the manner and language that you know! You are still in the Philippines and people here talk the same Pilipino and English that you know. Okay, medyo pagtatawanan ka lang if they hear you pronounce tabe instead of tabi or lalake instead of lalaki or hende instead of hindi , but just the same they will understand you and you won’t get lost because of language barriers ”! My litany did not end there and I capped it with this: “ buti pa, go take a jeep dyan sa baba, sabihin ...

This airport, being relatively new is still good – meaning clean and functional. On arrival via a domestic flight, you walk down to the baggage claim area. In many of my visits to Cebu, I have not yet encountered any malfunctioning or dead escalator leading down to the arrival area - even if it was during the wee hours! This is not so at the “new” Centennial Airport in Manila. And thankfully, the baggage carts are also free. The comfort rooms are clean. Being the premier airport of a heavily visited destination in the country however, the information booth or Tourist Information Counter should always be manned from the first airline arrival at dawn up until the last arrivals in the evening. Not that I realy want to get any information from that booth since I fairly know my way around Cebu! I have been frequenting this city since 1989. My concern is for those visitors who may need assistance. Not only foreign visitors but even the local folks who are not very familiar with Cebu. In this...

First the pronunciations: Taytay is always pronounced as “tie-tie” while Majayjay is pronounced as “ma-high-high”. Clear? Okay, let’s proceed! The waterfalls is named Taytay, sometimes it is also referred to as Imelda Falls and at other times, by others as just Majayjay Falls, it being in Majayjay! Let’s repeat that, this is in the town of Majayjay, Laguna and not the town of Taytay in Rizal near Pasig! How’d I end up being there anyway? Well, was doing some official work at Majayjay, community service in fact, but care of or in behalf of the company. Towards the afternoon, when we were just baut wrapping up, discussion flowed into how different the air they breathe in Majayjay, since the place is cool and breezy and really, the air has a different “taste” if I might call it that. We were of course unanimous in recognizing that it was because the town is still forested with a lot of trees and greens all over. Until one of the locals mentioned that we should have visited the waterfa...

This for me is a vibrant region of half greats and half nots! Region 6 (sometimes written with the Roman numeral as (REGION VI) or Western Visayas is an interesting mix of "wow" and "huh" places! I love roaming around here. This for me is the number 1 place in the Philippines that will demonstrate to everyone the true meaning of “if they have it, we’ll do too! (It’s just my view and am not open to debate this time. Okay?) If you extensively read on Philippine history, you might actually start to get teary-eyed reflecting on the past and present of this area in the country. Yes, this is Ilonggo country – even if people from Bacolod want to be called Negrense! The Ilonggos had been through various cycles of the fabled “gulong ng palad” and they always emerge with chins high up ready to show that they won’t easily give to even the most trying of life’s challenges. I consider this region as home not only to the sing-song dialect but also home of the most social an...