Philippine Travel Notes

We were driving back to Tacloban from some activity in Quinapondan. I was (as usual) bored sitting on a long trip with nothing to do since I cannot always be sleeping, right? And they started appearing in front of me... Like this manong contentedly perched on that motorbike facing towards the back! I've seen this done by kids in some of my sightings, but for a manong, I wondered ano bang trip yan! Good my driver readily educated me: it's harder to sit facing front because those boxes will get in the way of his thighs. Then he will have to curl up with his feet on top of those boxes. Oo nga naman ano? Then I saw these cute little piglets being transported going somewhere in Basey (lechonan?!) It's a similar contraption as the first picture above, but the manong is not facing backwards! Without me asking, my driver readily pointed to me that the rider was seated on top of the box, so high up than the motorbike driver. True, I could see that motorbike driver's left kne...

Just six days ago, I said I would come back to this place. But I did not expect it would be this soon! Anyway, I do not have much to say other than, the Lolas were friendlier today, not so busy since we there are (ate lunch) at 11AM. I took pics of the "aparador" where they put/keep their food on display! Oh okay, Mano Sepring, my driver today, says this is called a "lansena" (lancena?), not "aparador"! While I seem to have "expertly" avoided the glares and reflections on this shot, let me clarify that the cabinet (okay fine, lansena) is glass all over. So, no langaw or other insects whatsoever. Hygienic!!! The lowest shelf (lower than my knee) contains mostly sweets (desserts) like "torta", "bukayo", "biko" - although there is also "tableya" for sale (right front corner). Second level shelf (about the height of my stomach) are mostly the yummy fare for the day! Top shelf are Carigara delicacies like ...

I have been curious about this place for some time now. And I said last June I really want to see what this place is all about, right? So, today was my chance as I was going back to Tacloban from Kananga! Oops, lampas! Haha, this picture I took as we turned back because my driver missed that corner! We were facing back at Capoocan this time and took a left turn to where the arrow points to! Wha! We joked we were already in Iraq! Then again, this zone may have been named after another place as the capital of Iraq is Baghdad. Whoa again... a gated compound in a wide farm... mala-hacienda! Like anywhere, this gate does not really exclude outsiders. It's more of just a status symbol art (arte)! Chadaaan! And I said to my self, parang hacienda nga... This compound is in the middle of vast ricefields, about a kilometer away for the highway (pic above). The café / bar area. Inviting... It connects to a spacious outside dining area - can be good for meetings even parties a...

We were just halfway on a trip from Basey to Kananga. This was a long drive, even if via Barugo. And lunchtime caught us at the town of Carigara. So I requested the driver to find us a nice cozy place that does not teem with people (like fastfoods) but with good food! Without hesitation he brought us here! Driver says he had been eating in this place even during his previous stint as delivery truck driver. But he cautioned me, that food here is a bit pricier than the usual turo-turo. Hmmn, 1965, I was intrigued! Their food is nothing fancy nor gourmet. Just simple and usual daily family fare. But yes, marasa! This one on foreground is a big fried fish, that whitish thing on the right is "kinilaw", and the other fish is "bulad" (yummy, not salty)! Of course paired with "hinatukan nga karubasa" (squash with cocomilk)! Burp! Yes, very "tastes like home" food. But did you know those are not the bestsellers in this place? Ah the thing that almost ...

Here's another amazing intriguing perplexing sighting I had today. I was traveling from Basey to Kananga via the Barugo-Carigara road. Ah, while traversing the normal way (via Tacloban, Palo, Alang-alang and so on down to Carigara) is just about the same in kilometer distance, passing via Babatngon-Barugo-Carigara is quicker as there's no traffic - virtually no vehicles! About an hour and a half into this road trip as we were passing by Cabarasan Barugo, I saw this... I quickly snapped that pic as we were overtaking the motorbike - loaded with a squad of children! All I could think was: "OMG Manong, if they are all your family and something untoward happens"... OMG! The other reason I wanted to snap this pic was: so I could have an exact count of all of them hahaha! So alright, let's do a headcount accounting! There are 8 passengers, therefore there are a total of nine human beings on board, and not one has a helmet. I am not sure if that female with a whi...

It's more than a month after I first told you about these boats, and that I was very happy seeing them, that this at the very least is proof that the government is helping some of the Yolanda/Haiyan victims. However, something is bothering me... these boats do not seem to be moving. It seems distribution is not really happening since I keep passing by this place and they're just still there. Has it started yet? And being made of plywood, they have started to deteriorate. Well, I think "rot" is a better word for it... Look, we can readily see some "bubbles" on the plywood. In some, they're even already peeling off! It is not as if the decay is an "isolated incident" (authorities are fond of using that expression)... It's happening to many boats. We can see them daily as they're just stacked by the roadside. Sira na! OMG speaking of "sira"... I just wanted a closer look of those other boats (yellow and red arrows) on the ...

See this video... Oh ha?! Nice attempt and nice try di ba? This is the very last frame of that video again... That building (shack!) is THE Catbalogan Airport Building. 'Wag choosy, that's all they have for now. Somewhere near the middle of that picture, you can see the road going out of this place (and also to Juvie's Resort), then out unto the national highway. There is a kind of signage on that corner. See it? Eto yung signage o, mwahaha! Pasagdi la. Who knows, something good might come out of this (as of now) lonely airport & runway.

I have never heard about this place until I learned that this was to be the venue of a meeting I needed to attend. Well, maybe I heard this being mentioned in passing by a friend or two, but no descriptions or anything beyond just being mentioned. I'll be honest, this resort changed how I look at Catbalogan! It is not great nor is it the best I have seen/been. But for/in Catbalogan, this is something like, WOW! Juvie's is far from the city. It's about 11 kms out going north (to Calbayog). From the national highway in "Sulangan" (formally Brgy. Silanga) you turn left going to the airport. 50 meters short of the runway, you veer left on a narrow downward road to Brgy San Roque, AND, diagonally cross their 'basketbolan'! Those are the red roofs that the arrow points to. Just follow this narrow road, it's a sharp left at that bend, then you have no choice but to cross the entire length of a basketball court - a barangay plaza! And then you see this... ...