Philippine Travel Notes

We're still talking bayanihan like my previous posts here and here . An articulation, if you may, of my fascination at many entities now helping Yolanada-torn Region VIII. Maybe let's call this "my fascination and gratitude"! UKaid and ACF This afternoon, on my way to Ormoc from Tacloban, I saw this white pickup truck. As usual, pls forgive my Fuji Finepix JX500, it is not at all good in dark, gloomy, rainy, especially in moving (umaandar/tumatakbo) situations. I've tried 'all' kinds of settings. Istorbo! Yun tipong imbis na magkwento ka about what you saw, nauubos ang oras mo with a pesky point-and-shoot camera. [pero magaling sya sa beach pag maaraw]. Anyway, back to that white pickup truck in the picture. The markings on the driver's side say " UK aid " (kinopya ko ang colors, o ha!) that is the international aid arm of UK. At the back, on the right side is that same logo, but on the left is ACF . That is a logo (yes t...

Just an FYI note for me, and for you dear people like me, who keep traveling around Samar & Leyte, I finally got to ride on a VS Grand Tours bus. The mini version , that is! I say mini version , for indeed it's a mini-bus. Bus enough, and bigger than the vans! They have been around for some time now. I think, even before Yolanda struck. But I have just seen them on the road, no idea yet about their destinations or schedules. Today... After lunch, I was at the Grand Tours Terminal in Catbalogan, waiting for the ride to Tacloban, paired with another van to Ormoc. Been there done that. Then I saw this: Not the van. The bigger thing behind it! I said to my royal self... hmm, puyde gad ada! So I went to the "tiketera" and asked about that bus. She told me it was also going to Tacloban, etc., etc. I asked if: 1] I can still transfer to that bus; 2] if I would still catch my van reservation from Tacloban to Ormoc. She said yes to both. So, I transferred! The t...

In the previous story , we asked where the parents were. And here is the answer... They were 'at work'. Some did attend mass at a distance (from the shades of trees) . Why did they keep a distance? Why were they in uniform? Working? On a Saturday? They told me they have to let their children be. Whatever the kids were doing, it was school activity (Saturday make-up class) . Kids can't skip (escape actually!) when they see their parents nearby - especially the little ones in Grade 1. Oo nga naman. ano?! But why were they in that blue uniform? CFW. Ano yan? Bayanihan pa rin! What is Cash-For-Work (CFW) Ever heard about Cash-For-Work Program ? It is a 'disaster recovery' mechanism of NGO s ( N on- G overnment O rganizations) - even NGA s ( N ational G overnment A gencies) . One of many, I must say. It generally aims to help disaster victims help themselves ! How does that work? Aw, disaster victims (like farmers, fishermen, housewives, other mea...

What Is Bayanihan? Helping others they don't even know , and for no apparent reason , other than " because helping feels good ". It still happens. I still see it here & there. May it be forever & ever . I'm encountering these mainly at the Yolanda/Haiyan-devastated areas of Region 8, with the help that keeps pouring in from everywhere, from all walks of life, in all forms . Bayanihan Misnomer ! I just realized, many of us (yes, me included) thought/thinks that bayanihan is about "lipat-bahay" or heavy manual labor things associated with constructing or building. All because, we saw in our school textbooks; we saw on broadsheet editorials; that bayanihan was always portrayed like this: mga taong pasan-pasang ang isang bahay! In reality, it's not only on houses or tangible physical assets ! At times, it can be about "makeup" or "barkada nyong bigo sa pag-ibig" - mag-bayanihan nang pasayahin yan! Very often, it ...

Another lovely experience!. I took the ' slow boat ' (in the past this was called ' barko ', nowadays it's called ' RORO ') from Cebu City to Catbalogan City - if only for another feel of "how it was" traveling inter-island, in the good old days of our forebears. Aba oy, malapit nang mawala ito! Mawawala? Ah eh, I'm just predicting, due to the advent of the "fastcrafts"! Why Ride A Ship? Actually, I was carrying a lot of "baggage" - books, references, handouts and printed materials of many kinds - too delicate if I checked them in on a plane to TAC or CYP. Also too heavy and cumbersome to handle, if I took them on a fastcraft, connecting to a series of UV Express rides with no luggage space . Thus, a ship was my best bet. Buti nalang, at salamat naman, meron pang ganito these days! How Long Is This Trip? I was told this was going to be an 11 to 12 hour night ride, departing at 7PM, where I supposedly ...