conversations et al

wrote this last sept pa.

these past few days i have met a whole bunch of entirely different persona, some famous, the others, just like anybody else. we may have conversed long enough to cover passing hours or just a little chit chat just to make 'tawid' some idle time. one way or another i have learned something from them. indeed we humans are so very complex.

Fr. Tito Caluwag (my apologies if the spelling of his last name is wrong)

if your fond of watching y-speak over studio 23 and other relevant talk shows in 'channel 2' as i may quote him, then he is that jesuit priest who sits at the panel and tries to assess the whole discussion in the perspective of the youth and the church. He is famous. And he's from the Ateneo de Manila.

It was a good, quite bumpy 1 hour-15min flight from manila to cebu and we were seatmates. Despite Henry Sy's (yup you read it right, but hes not the one who owns SM though, hes my officemate haha!) kakulitan, the bumpiness of the ride made him fall asleep so i got the chance to exhange some thoughts w/ Fr. It was casual, we just talked about his trip to Cebu, his mobile phone w/c enables him to set his sms messages better, the iphone w/c he didnt really like to have, about the Ateneo and most of all about television...quite an enriching conversation, and an honour on my part at that.

Ryan and Melissa - PAL flight attendants

in one of my few flights i was able to be seatmates w/ 2 passenger f.a.'s. and for those who know me, i can pass as an interviewer because i ask alot of questions, and im also friendly. haha! ok i admit, it has been a life long dream fro me to either be a pilot or a flight attendant, having been living a few meters away from an airport for 4 years would have been the culprit for this 'wish'. A barkada from highschool recently told me that she was accepted as a flight attendant in cebu pacific, so that triggered the whole conversation. the perks are great, and i can sense they'r loving the job, the travelling, the fame etc. the pay is huge! so as the risk though...namumukhaan na nga daw nila ako eh...sabi ni ryan! oh well, i deserve a discount! bottom line is, 'if only i was qualified'...

the man in the streets of pioneer claiming to be a chinese imigrant who came from the philippines who was asking for political asylum but was rejected...

he wrote some things on bondpapers and posted it in the walkway, tried reading it and i learned he was from china who illegally got into the philippines because he was seeking for political asylum, but he was denied so by the phil. government and he didnt want to go back to china, so he ended up literally on philippine soil. i would have wanted to believe him, kaya lang i almost forgot that i'm in manila. things happen here, gimic, lokohan, etc etc. he might be just some random pinoy who poses as a chinese guy. we can never tell. so idecide to just leave him. harsh but hey, kesa naman sa ako ang maloko.

Mark - Manila counterpart ko

addict sa work, he starts working at 8 am and ends at around 11pm, nakitulog sa hotel room ko since he doesnt have time to go home na, i fell asleep close to midnight and bumalik sya sa office, didnt notice what time na sya bumalik sa room and before i woke up he was already gone again. when i asked what time sya nagising, 6am daw. the next day iniwanan ko sya sa office at arond 1245am, the next day, papunta nako sa work at around 9am, nagkasalubong kami magtututbrush lang daw sya. by lunch time na sya pumasok...nagsorry pa sakin kasi nakatulog daw sya...kinausap ko sabi ko kung anumang klaseng katol ang sinisimhut nya, sana tigilan na nya, hindi healthy for him and hindi rin healthy sa kumpanya...adik nga.

Bisayang Taxi driver

there are lot of bisaya in manila, and they come in baranggays, the taxi driver told me that in fairview daw sa lugar nila tatlong baranggay na magkatabi bisaya lahat. he was from leyte (palompon to be exact) and if only there's an opportunity there, then mas gusto nyang umuwi sa probinsya. the metro is hell for them. inoman lang daw ang pass time. oh well typical hang ups and rants lang narinig ko sa kanya, and pacquiao's 200 taxi units na bisya lang daw hinahire as drivers...

scalper sa araneta coliseum during the dlsu-admu finals game 1

lang hiya! gen ad ticket for 1,500P wa mo kuyapi?!?!?!? heller.....didtn bother to argue w/ the man coz i know im out of his league kahit anong sabihin ko. nagtour na lang kami around araneta center then mrt-lrt roadtrip haha! definitely next season manonood ako. i was that close but it wasnt just meant to be. the scalper even said kahit 1 week before pa daw ako naghanap, i wouldnt find any tickets at all...willing pang ibigay cellphone no. nya sakin for game 2 daw...aba!

if only he knows how precious it was for me to see that game, and i was willing to spend 1,500P just for a gen ad ticket, just for me to get in...but then i realized, i just allow this people na gulangan ako, nananamanatala eh...and i guess i dont tolerate those kinds of creatures na pati ang dream ko eh kelangan muna mag seat back and will have to wait for the next season...hahay.

i still have lets say 79,000,000 filipinos to converse with, and i dont think i can cover them all in one lifetime...

just me.

Travel essentials 101 – packing up can be challenging (but not all the time!)

I have this on the go traveling backpack w/c is ready 24/7 for any planned (but mostly unplanned) ‘lakwatsa’ and I took some photos of the stuff that are usually in it when I travel. I seem to find them necessary and would make my backpacker life a little easier even during on travels which require me to do the ‘kinowboy’ style.

So here’s basically whats inside it:

Malong – its an instant ‘kumot’ that i can use anytime from sleeping to protecting myself from the heat of the sun to etc.

Towel – hotels in our country do have towels, even those cheap inns or pension houses BUT not from other countries. I experienced it in Malaysia and in Hong Kong that I had to do w/ tissue paper after taking a bath because the backpacker’s hostel didn’t provide me w/ complimentary towels. Seesh.

Map – this is a must to bring especially if traveling abroad. Here in our country though, especially here in Manila, i don’t really recommend opening and analyzing maps in the streets as it might jeopardize one’s safety but during road trips where one can be safe in the confines of one’s car, then having a map is very handy.

First aid kit – safety first. I don’t really have to elaborate on this. It’s a must to have one (and update it from time to time so as not to take expired med)

Zipper Bags – I was inspired to bring this one from my fellow travel freak Rovisa when we went to mt. Pinatubo. I didn’t know that we were going to go on swimming. Good thing though she brought a couple of zipper bags so I get to ask one for my wet clothes.

Don’t neglect your hygiene even when on traveling. – Please. Deodorant, lotion and toothbrush will do. And yes, with the recent dengue outbreak in our country, an anti mosquito lotion should be in the list too.

Clothes – traveling in fashion is still possible without necessarily packing in the whole cabinet. A comfy t-shirt (probably light colored), jeans and a fashion worthy sneaks is just fine. (Well im basing this in Philippine climate. Its different if it’s in some other cold country)

Wired stuff – im talking about phone chargers, mp3 chargers and headsets. Self explanatory for the call and text freak and to the music buff in me.

Cellphones (and mp3 players) – even when not traveling we should have these.

Everything keys – house and car keys. It’s a no brainer why we bring them

Book – I always bring a book when I travel but I don’t really get to read them most of the time. Even if I’m on a relaxed traveling mode, I prefer to have my mp3 player instead of a book.

A small notebook – I do write notes during my travel. Really. As in.

Modem – so much for internet connection and facebook even when traveling. Good thing I work in a telecoms company that I get to have ALL kinds of internet providing machines (modem gud) such as tattoo, wimax etc.

Laptop – pls refer to the description above. But I don’t really feel like bringing one because when I travel as much as possible I want to detach from everything and just enjoy the moment. Having a laptop keeps you half hearted and torn in between. But ah, uh, read na lang the description above lol)

Tissue – my stomach always play tricks on me so I kind of need this all the time

So do we have similar essentials in our bags? and yeah by the way, the camera isnt included in the list because it has its own bag. LOL.

The Big Binondo Food WOK

The Big Binondo Food WOK

400 hundred years of history rolled up into 4 hours of gastronomic treat and burning extra calories was the highlight to this ultimate food and oriental culture guide to Manila’s most vibrant and colorful historic quarter – Binondo, Manilla’s own China town.

Old Manila Walks, one of Manila’s walking tour outfits brought me, Bokz and Rixie to this amazing walking tour into one of Manila’s ‘a must-visit’ tourist attraction. Special thanks to Ivan Dy, the earnest tour guide for this rich in historical learning (and very busugful) experience.

The 4 hour walking tour started at the Binondo Church or the San Lorenzo Ruiz church with the introduction of the colorful Chinese influence in the country. After learning so much in just a 30 min talk by the tour guide (lahat pala ng Chinoys nag originate from Fujian province including our taipans today), we then proceeded to the Plaza Calderon dea Barca ( Hue Heng Khao ) one of old Manila’s important commercial squares. After taking photos we immediately embarked on a few seconds of walking and stopped at an old slippers store w/c manufacture and sell authentic Chinese slippers including those worn by the ‘lotus feet’ (Kris Aquino dead ringer anyone? I’m referring to one of her horror flicks darn it). Ivan told us that the store could be the last remaining store selling that kind of slippers. After, we went on to the fire man’s café to have our very first food tasting. We had salted rice (but it wasn’t salty) and a fish ball soup, of course they had Chinese names but I was not able to note it so pardon me on that.

After a few minutes of eating, we then went on with the walking tour to one of yet another old Chinese store in Ongpin St. selling Chinese paper money that is used by the Chinese to burn during festivals. We then proceeded to our next food tasting segment. We went to this small dumpling eatery where they serve almost all kinds of dumplings including the ever famous ‘siao mai’. While eating we also were able to absorb lots and lots of China’s past and the Chinese people’s adventures in their quest for a better living in the Philippines (trust me andami kong natutunan).

We then went on walking and we stopped at Rosario St., (Chiu Wah Hua) the southern entrance to Chinatown where the ever famous Chinatown Arc can be seen. We then advanced to China town’s main business district and went on towards this small siopao factory. And yes, the siopao there was authentically Chinese made, something that doesn’t necessarily taste like asado or bola bola (the Filipino siopao that is). We were also able to taste an authentic Chinese ‘shakoy’ or ‘pitso2x’. (I can say the pinoy shakoy tastes a lot better though hehe).

The walking went on and we ended up in Carvajal St. China towns small wet market alley. We first barge into a specialty shop (our first taste of airconditioning in this trip) to buy some pasalubongs. And in this store we were able to taste a wide array of hopia flavours – 7 to be exact (monggo,pandan,ube,baboy etc etc). it was here in this area that I gave up on eating since I am more than full already. Then we coursed our way to the wet market alley and it felt like I was really in hong kong since it really looked foreign for me. We went on to our last destination, an authentic Chinese lumpia house named New Po-Heng lumpia house where we were treated to yet another authentic Chinese prepared fresh lumpia. I just had a few bite and no offense meant I really wasn’t able to finish the whole slice given to me. After a few more minutes of indulgence, countless picture taking w/ the group and 5 more new friends added in my ‘walks of life’ friend’s list, the tour was finished w/ our stomach full and our minds rich in history and appreciation of not only Manila’s but most probably the world’s most colorful and most intricate cultural ethnicity. Now I wanna learn some mandarin and foukien.

Damage: 950P inclusive of everything (food, map and the tour itself)

Its the great Northern Mindanao get away!

photo credits: Claudinne Esperanza, Elmer Lagumbay, Joanne Gimena, Toffee Yurong

Cagayan de Oro and Iligan Cities and the Province of Bukidnon

cant be any prouder w/ my hometown (erg home province or home region if demographically speaking).

last february 2010, I together w/ 2 of my fellow backstage boys barkada (jb and mackoy) and 3 of my equally 'laagan' officemates (joann,porky and ladz) went on a 4-day adventure in one of the more progressive yet still ecologically charming regions in the country - Northern Mindanao.

armed w/ our back packs, travel essentials, 200P back and forth cebu pacific and pal express tickets, our parents' nods, and the urge to laag, we braced ourselves for one heck of an adventure and preface to a unique but still very much filipino culture of mindanao. may have spent more than half of my life here but it still never fails to amaze me. tuly indeed, this place is 'The Land of Promise'.

Day 1 ILIGAN CITY

after arriving in Cagayan de Oro City from our early morning flight, we immediatley checked in on one of the city's cheap pension house the Willshire Inn. a room that is good for 4 persons only cost us 1,200P a day. such a bargain.

after about an hour of power nap and frehsening up we immediatly hopped on a bus that was bound for Iligan City (my place babeh!). airconditioned buses ply between these two cities every 30 mins thats why travelling in between them isnt much of a problem. the fare was cheap at around 80P one way. about an hour and 45mins we were in the city terminal of iligan! we were welcomed by my uncle who owns a jeep. we rented it for an amount ( i totally forgot sorry, parente ra an gud haha) so that we have some transportation around the city. we wasted no time and visited the ever famous TIMOGA swimming pools. had our lunch of a few kilos of lechon baboy and manok. if manila has la loma and cebu is known for its lechon, Iligan too is a lechon city! after that oily lunch we just spent a few more hours in the really cold waters of Timoga. whew. they loved it. and me too! we then went to one of the city's 24 water falls - Tinago falls. and all of us fell inlove w/ the place. it was worth the severl hundreds of steep climb to the place. before leaving we went to CHEDING's, home to the world famous Iligan's peanuts to buy pasalubong. the day ended up w/ a trip back to CDO. we met up w/ Mackoy and had some drinks till the not so wee hours of the morning at one of the city's tabayan.

DAY 2 CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY

its again another wet day for all of us as we had our white water rafting in Cagayan river. for 700P (1,000P if food is included. we opt to just buy skyfakes insead haha) we had the intermediate course which took us about 4-5 hours of rafting in the rough waters of the river. this experience i should say was one of the most unforgettable ever. i will let the photos do the talking. and yeah bring tons and tons of sun block since 4 hours exposure in the sun isnt really noticeable in this trip.

after the rafting we were all dead tired but THE SITE, CDO's equivalent of Manila's the Fort and Cebu's IT park was just so loud that we couldnt resist it and finally gave in to the temptation for a couple of san mig lights before we actually called it a day.

DAY 3 BUKIDNON

the next day, we went on towards the central part of mindanao - in bukidnon to try what they claim as Asia's longest zip line at the Dahilayan Adventure Park. we opt to rent a taxi for 1000P for the whole day to bring us to the place. on our way to the place, we stopped at the famous pine apple plantaion in Camp Philips wherein what you would see are just a see of pineapples. something that my companions went gaga over. we also tour around camp philips and appreciated the beuty of the american-country side setting of the residences there. when we arrived in Dahilayan, yet again, i was surprised to know, i was up to one of the exhilarating experience ever! 1 minute of ziplining in indeed Asia's longest zipline was well worth the 1,200P payment (there were actually 4 zip lines in the area and the last one was the longest). again let the photos do the talking.

the day ended again in CDO's nightlife and brought us to PULSE (CDO's Penthouse version) and had a blast while dancing the night away.

DAY 4 CDO City tour

since our flight is still at around 5pm, we decided to sepnd our last hours strolling in the city. we went to Basilica del San Agustin to pray, went t Limketkai Mall to see the place, and stayed in SM Cdo and watched Valentine's day to kill time. after we bought pasalubongs. predictably its the ever famous Camiguin Pastel. we bought all the flavors available.

this has got to be the saddest day since nobody wanted to leave actually. it was just a very happy and nice experience that me myself didt want it t end. hahay.

I conquered and survived Mt. Pinatubo

and the saga continues...

indeed a site to behold. simply breath taking. i could not believe that 20 years ago this has caused the catastrophe that would forever change the lives of the people in central luzon.

truly a haven for those looking for 'rough' tripping. i especially love the 4x4 ride...lumbaaa!

how to get there:

we took the earliest trip to the crater at 6am, so we had to leave manila by around 2AM (since the next bus trip will be at 4am already). there are dozens of bus lines plying the route. we took the Philippine Rabbit bus line via NLEX and STEX. 2 and a half hours later we were already in Capas, Tarlac the jump off point for the trip.

you may have your breakfast at Mc Do Capas junction ( this is easily located since ang karatula ra sa mc do maoy nagsiga sa tibuok STEX, also all buses pass by this area.

after breakfast, you may take a tricycle ride from the junction to brgy sta. juliana where you will meet your tour guides and the 4x4 driver. it takes 45mins to get there and 300P for the whole tricycle ride (good for 4 persons).

it is better to have a packaged tour so that you wont have difficulty in producing permits and other documents needed for the trip (the mt. pinatubo trek is being guarded by some military organization since it is also used for the balikatan excercises thus the need for such permits).

price for the tour is 1750P inclusive of the following:
tour guide
tour permits
4x4 driver
lunch

optional fee: 350P boating

after a short briefing and permit processing, you are now ready for the 1 and a half hour 'ride of your life' w/ the 4x4 (one thing i loved about this trip).

you will then pass by this small aeta village and you can have their pictures taken (dude they know how to pose, and they know what's 'long press'...lmao!) for no fees, just put somthing into their 'photo donation box'

you will then reach the final station wherein you will have to do the trekking on foot for about 20-30 mins (the water you pass on the trek is sooo cold, and you can actually drink it)

when you reach the topmost part of the trekk you'll have to walk down a few more steps and there she lies in front of you, ready for your 'awe'...

activies:
4x4 ride
trekking in the woods
boating (across the crater lake)
swimming in the sulfuric water
egg cooking (if naa mo itlog dala)
endless picture taking
jejemoning w/ the aeta villagers


p.s.
the price they had to pay for relocating me...lelz...
next stop: bokz wants alaminos, i want puerto gale...laiz? rovz? rix? bujix? asa man jud? lolz magtanga na lang bitaw mi kay wa na wawart lelz...

the Island Fortress Corregidor

banzai!!!

if only my lolo's were alive. it would have been a not so good trip down memory lane. another worthwile trip. alot of realizations about how our grandparents fought for freedom not so llong ago. something that us now just take for granted.

How to get there:

since the island is a national shrine, there are actually no public settlement in Corregidor. there are only about 160++ people living in the island and all of them are employees of the hotel ad other areas being managed by the government. because of this there is no public transportation to and from the island.

Sun Cruises Inc. provided guided tours in the island. (basically they are the only ones who have guided tours there). they have both day tour and overnight packages. we got the day tour.

price: P1,999
inclusive of:

fast craft fare to and from the island
buffet lunch
guided tour of your choice(english or japanese)

we left manila harbour by around 11am and we got to Corregidor at alittle over 12NN. we headed straight to the south beach area to have our lunch and at around 2PM the tour started.

it was really educational and very worth it. manimbawok imo balahibo.

the tour ended at around 530PM and by around 6PM were already off to Manila.

added attraction is the sunset and the fireworks display by SM around 7PM w/c is very visible from the fast craft's view point.

btw
befriended a japanese who happens to have the same birthday as i am haha..were both 26 years old now. lousy shishido! hehe...see you around in our next journeys to come.


banzai!!!

Boracay Spells - FAVE!

dexter, makoy, jb and tof

monsoon rains and boracay sand - makes a good combo!

before anything else let me offer my sincere condolences to the 3 koreans and dennis trillo's friend who perished in boracay at almost the same time we were their (it was indeed a shock.)

last may 2008, when i went to bora with my scammers inc friends, i told myself that it'll take some time for me to go back to this island...maybe 3-4 years, then again i'll have the opportunity to experience boracay once more...roughly 10 months after i was infront of the cebupacific website and w/ my phone on my right ear - i was talking to dexter and fixing my itinerary for my next boracay trip in september. i was going to boracay again after a year. i didnt expect my fourth time in this beautiful island will come really soon (in just a year and 4 months). no ifs no buts, i booked the ticket and yes the trip was confirmed.

september came swiftly and i dindt feel the need to get into so much excitement w/ the trip. for one, it was off peak (my first time to experience bora at this season) and the other one was bagyong labuyo was just around the corner. i was pretty sure i was not expecting the usual boracay that i know. bora by this time should be different. i thought bora then will have to show us something new and something worth the experience.

DAY 1
on september 4, at around 11am dex and me (jb and mckoy were on zestair) off on a cebu pacific flight to kalibo (they had to redirect all caticlan flights due to some runway restrictions). it was quite a bumpy ride. i got a bit scared even if i've been into a plane for countless times this year. when we arrived we were ushered to a van that would bring us to caticlan. quite hungry and a bit frustrated w/ the 1 and a half hour land trip, we didnt fell asleep, worse the whole time it was raining! now add that to our frustrations. we arrived at the jetty port and transfered to the boat that would bring us to the island. 20 mins and we were on boracay sand - and it rained hard...the best way to welcome toruists in boracay!

we arrived in la carmela de boracay (boy abunda's very famous greetings anyone?). special thanks to jb alvarez, who booked us to this place because he knew the manager. we got 1 night free and all the breakfast and dinner too! more than worth it i may say! we wasted no time and strolled around station 2 and the beach front.


'unsa man ni SIARGAO or BORA?!' - this was the only thing we can think of when we saw how rough the water was in the beach. it was also very mahangin! we immediately went to jonah's the makers of the ever famous boracay shake and chilled for quite a time until it rained hard. we opted to go back to the hotel to SLEEP. yes we slept for about two hours while waiting for makoy and jb - this was for the reason that we were preparing for the 'bora night life' haha!


by around dinner time the two boys arrived and we immediately had dinner,some chatting w/ yong the manager then we were off to another strolling in boracay. station 1 to 3 and back. we ended up in juice bar at around 11pm to start off the 'bora nightlife' after about 2 hours it was time to go back to station 1 and go to guilly's to party the night away.



DAY 2



day 2 started with lunch in Andok's (wa na kay lain makan-an didto nga barato kundi andoks ...branch here there everywhere haha). after lunch we were off to the watersports that jb and makoy was earlier in the day able to haggle and cut the price to more than half the package.

ATV, underwater helmet, banan boat, flyfish and parasailing all at Px,xxx only! what a bargain! ukay ukay ang watersports during off peak mga kaigsuunan ko! haha!





we started at around 2pm w/ the banana boat, the underwater helmet and the flyfish. unfortunately we werent able to continue w/ the parasailing because of the bad weather and the accident that happened to the koreans. i must say we were so blessed and our guardian angels were with us all the time. praise God!

by around 430pm we were done. jb, makoy and i decided to stroll in the beach front and take a dip in the really rough waters while dexter went back to the hotel to sleep (such a sleepy head, kabalo man lagi ka matug dex?). now besides the flyfish, the ligo2x in the dagat was by far one of the best experience i had ever! i must say when its typhooning in bora and the waves were like the biggest, its the best time to go and just ligo ug dagat!.(this was what dennis trillo and his friends did, at the same place as ours only a day after). we had a blast! we went back to the hotel at around 545pm and took a dip in the hotel's pool (nanghunawnaw bitaw to)...took a few mins to dress up for the night and had dinner again courtesy of yong. bora night life during off peak is a bit lousy bit nevertheless still its in a party mood. started our bar hopping at hey jude had some cocktails there and when we were a bit tipsy we went back to guill'ys to dance the morning away. went back to the hotel at 4am.



DAY 3











the 3rd day started off later than lunch (as expected). after lunch we strolled around talipapa and d mall to look for pasalubongs and then we were off again to finish the remaining watersport and the atv. again, never in my dreams i would be able to ride a parasail, not even in my plans. thanks to jb for a superb bargaining expertise haha. after we were now ready to take on the ATV...but my slr wasnt. it died on our way back to the shore. we had to let do w/ mackoys mobile phone for pictures...watda. this was another fun yet very exhausting experience. we were done by around 330pm. went back to the hotel to freshen up but we ended up sleeping until dinner time (kapy na bitaw kaau). we decided to not kill ourselves by partying hard again. instead we chose to go to this reggae bar to chill and just drink. we cant consume too much alcohol now because me and dexter's flight is early morning the next day. it was very evident that we were all dead tired.



saw doi mariano a highschool batchmatewho happens to work as a chef in shang bora. he let me try the 'ricky ocho' (jb where's my video?), it tasted like caramel somthing with little alcohol presence but when i stood up...wala na zigzag...payter kaau to doi haha! the reggae music was really appropriate that night that up to now it makes me miss bora (the whole trip actually). by 2am we were back in our room and passed out.

DAY 4
woke up at 630 am prepared ourselves and we left jb and makoy since their flight is still after lunch. painful realizzation that in roughly two hours time were back to reality....

it was indeed a blast! i had the best of fun! thank you very much for the nicest, coolest, awesomest, kickass companions of jb,makoy and dexter - you guys rock! nalingaw ko...inamaw kung inamaw! haha...


badtrip lang kay daghang boring and walay gwapa kung off peak haha!