Philippine Travel Notes

"Ay kalabaw may 'gerapee' sa taas" , so shrieked the panicky jolly lady when she tried to reach for her bag from the adjacent overhead bin. And passengers laughed at her boisterously loud surprise. Remember the white bear in Butuan ? Maybe I spoke too soon! I mused then, what else will I encounter next. Here it was, in barely 3 months, encountering another animal on a flight to Mindanao! That, when we landed at General Santos City! This one, a "tiger" and not a "gerapee"(giraffe) has a lovelier story than the bear. S/He stole everybody's smiling attention as s/he silently curled up there. I learned that its owner was seated in the last rows. But, there was no more available space in the area, so cabin crews took cutee tiger to a vacant bin above row 7, while the rest of us " walang kamalay-malay passengers " boarded. I was row 11 (emergency exit) , but I didn't see an animal earlier hehehe. Maybe "it" boarded wa...

Like many spectators, I silently wondered why they were selected , picked , singled-out , elected , voted , whatever ah ... to be the handsome and beautiful pair for this lovely heavenly float... Scroll down for the probable reason… ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ Try reading the company name written on the truck's door. Click it to enlarge if you still can't see the name. Uhuh, your guess will always be as good as mine - ayokong sabihin - ay hihihi! This was at the Dinagyang's Float Parade. Ever heard of the expression " Model Ng Funeraria "? Ayan na, there you have it. Authentic sample. Literally and figuratively. And without a doubt! Oh well, the 'eternal' signs of our times...! #WesternVisayas #TravelPhilippines #Dinagyang

Still on the Iloilo Dinagyang. See the notes that the drummers must play! What a creative memory enhancer hehehe! Talagang isinulat sa face ng drum nya! Bakit naman hindi di ba?! Cool pa nga eh, di bala?! Oh well, festival music in these our times... #WesternVisayas #TravelPhilippines #Dinagyang

This is THE reason why I'm not that crazy taking so many pictures and/or videos at festivals in the Western Visayas region. This was at the famous " Dinagyang Festival " of Iloilo City. Oh yes, tribes usually paint their bodies black or dark brown for that native effect. Effort ba! However, directly painting brands or logos (of the sponsoring companies) on every dancer's body, comes out 'too desperately aggressive'. They make the rituals tasteless & classless. Nag-effort ka pa magpa-native look kunohay. Perhaps baka nag-research ka pa nyan on our native ancestors' dress and movements. Only for the total look of your "tribe" to look stupid! Anyway, if you look closely, the back of that one dancer says “Cup Needles” instead of a “Cup Noodles”. Meron palang Joke Category? If so, why does it have to be assciated with a celebration of the Sto Nino, tribes and rituals? Cheap. Kahuluya. Kung wala naman palang 'Comedy ...

A common sight: rolling carts selling fishball, kikiam, french fries, siomai, siopao, betamax, & just about anything, right? How about this? Well yep, it’s a cart, in the middle of the street, selling fruit shakes in various flavors. See the osterizers? They have four, no less! Eh, did I say “in the middle of the street” ? Yes palangga, in da midol gid sa tunga sang dalan! This was Dinagyang day and the streets were closed to vehicular traffic - it became a lively place to roam around with many folks selling everything. Those fruit shakes were a hit. How did that husband-and-wife team make their blenders churn when they were in the middle of the street? Scroll down to see… ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ Here here, look at this picture! Its actually a trike! And the ingenious manong loaded his generator set along, to provide the needed electricity for him an his wife to make those blenders whirr! No wonder, as I approached, I could hear that as if a ‘...

I kept glancing at this decorative wood carving. I just knew there was something that caught me, though I could not make out what it was. Finally stood in front of it and took this photo. The lady asked “you like the spelling sir?”. Then I said “aw ah, amo na gali, kaina pa ko gapaminsar ano may-ara sini nga carving man”. With a light whack on my arm the lady said “ahahay Pilipino ka gali, sir?” She then confided that the piece I was looking at was the 4th of such. Previous 3 pieces were purchased by 3 separate visitors because of the spelling. ‘Te man! This is at that the Roxas City Display Center. Yep, near the capitol, just before you go up the bridge.

“EconoLight” fares as we all know is Philippine Airlines' attempt to compete head-on with the Zero or Low or whatever fares that Cebu Pacific has pioneered via internet bookings. Sadly, “EconoLight” does not only fail but even puts its reputation in a bad light. “EconoLight” looks like a product of old (no, make that aged) and backward thinking folks who probably have not heard about market research and market behaviours. Thus, I can boldly predict that this facility will fizzle any time soon or they’ll be forced to change it into something else. Hey, you might be surprised to find that at times, your “Econolight” from PAL is way cheaper than Cebu Pacific’s “GO Fare” even with “GO Lite”. But that is talking about money matters – only. And for those of you who think your flight isn't all about the money, then you might want to consider the rest of this article. A first hand experience! When I heard about this “EconoLight” thing – which is not really that widespread a news – I bo...

I 'experienced' this new airport two times each (arrive, transit, depart) in a matter of 3 days, and I must say now, part of me likes it and another version of me does not! Well, if looks were to be my basis, its beautiful. That is, if compared to the old airport at Manduriao, abaaw ah, this new airport is clearly more 'fantastically fantastic'! However, it's not in Iloilo City anymore. This airport sits (more than 20kms from the city), between the towns of Sta. Barbara and Cabatuan. Thus, going to or coming from it, is quite a ‘travel’ in itself. Meaning "extra time" and "extra expense" for us travelers - kay layo-layo gid! But what else can you and I do? It's already there. Let us live with it (hipos na lang kag enjoy) , until authorities decide to make another one, who knows where heheh! Anyway, happy I was able to experience this airport, at almost 2 years after inauguration by that little woman ! Saturday Arrival I flew int...