It's June now, and I'm flying to the US in a few hours: primarily for work, but it's easy to enjoy anywhere. If anyone is interested in watching our concert tour of the west coast, go to Music Arts Events for the details.
Showing posts with label tourism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tourism. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 14, 2017
Fly, Work, Fly, Work
I am terrible at this. I missed all of May (my birth month!) when I wanted to share about the trips leading to my birthday. I went to Camiguin and Ilocos Norte in a span of two weeks, and I was exhausted but so, so content.
It's June now, and I'm flying to the US in a few hours: primarily for work, but it's easy to enjoy anywhere. If anyone is interested in watching our concert tour of the west coast, go to Music Arts Events for the details.
It's June now, and I'm flying to the US in a few hours: primarily for work, but it's easy to enjoy anywhere. If anyone is interested in watching our concert tour of the west coast, go to Music Arts Events for the details.
Monday, April 17, 2017
Old Manila, New Eyes
On palm Sunday, I was a tourist in my country's own capital upon the invitation of one of my best girls, Clarissa. She wanted to show her Romanian friend around, who was in town for the weekend; so through a simple Google search, she found Old Manila Walks and easily booked and paid online. I didn't know which tour outfit she picked, but when I arrived at the meeting place, I was told to look for a certain Ivan. When I saw the man holding the telltale blue umbrella, I recognized him from a few years ago, when I did the Big Binondo Food Wok that his group also offers.
The Walls of This Content! was a walking tour around Intramuros that took us through some of the more important landmarks of this "walled city." I'd been to Intramuros several times before, but nothing beats having someone narrating your journey with stories from 400 years of history. We started at Plaza Roma, and worked our way through the Manila Cathedral, the Intramuros Walls, and the San Agustin Church and monastery. Each stop highlighted different periods and events, which added value to all the physical structures we were surrounded with.
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| Gates to the Walled City |
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| At the Manila Cathedral, captioned Our Lady of the Philippines |
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| Replica of Michelangelo's Pieta made from the same mold |
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| The streets to ourselves |
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| Handless saints - the ivory appendages are stored elsewhere for safekeeping |
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| At San Agustin's courtyard |
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| 2-year old Alessi, enjoying the cold marble in San Agustin's museum |
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| Brick facade |
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| A baby Bambike (bamboo bike) from the thoughtful owner |
The tour ended with a visit to Casa Manila, one of the reconstructed colonial dwellings in Barrio San Luis. As we entered the complex, we bumped into the Bambike Intramuros Experience; and while the tourists were returning their wheels, the owner lent our little girl a tiny version! After allowing her to play for a few minutes, we proceeded inside the casa.
This was my favorite part of the tour for two reasons: 1) it was my first time there, unlike the other places we visited, and 2) there were so many unique items in the house that let me imagine what it was like to live in the start of the century, like betel nut spit bowls, a literal ice-box for refrigeration, and a manually-operated ceiling fan (see in video below).
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| Turn of the century kitchen with molds, irons, oven |
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| Biscuit molds with religious themes |
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| Love toilet?? Apparently for gossiping in the bathroom! |
It was an afternoon well-spent, educational for our foreign guests and a reintroduction for me. Our package cost P7,920 for a maximum of 6 people (and P1,320 for every additional person) and it was worth it.
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| Twirling in this exuberant candle dance |
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| In traditional Filipino fiesta garb |
We capped the day at Barbara's, an iconic restaurant on the cobbled road of Plaza San Luis. The dinner buffet was P699, which already included a cultural show. We arrived at the perfect time, with dinner service starting at 6:30, and the show at 7:15. The menu included squash soup, buttered fresh beans and corn, steamed fish with mushroom, callos madrileños, chicken with peanut sauce, roast beef, baked mashed potato, fried heart of palm lumpia, pasta, paella, and dessert of sesame banana, sweet potato fritters, and fresh tropical fruits. My favorites were the soup, fish, callos, chicken, lumpia, and all the dessert. I came in very hungry, so I managed to eat a lot. I wasn't expecting much, as with many buffets, but I give it many happy thumbs up!
On top of that, the performers at the show were young but well-trained. It started with an excellent rondalla ensemble that played Filipino folk songs and Spanish-inspired pieces (like the Prelude to Act I of Carmen), and later the same musicians traded in their strings for gongs and other native instruments. They accompanied the dancers in numbers like the Pandanggo sa Ilaw, Maglalatik, Singkil, and the most popular Tinikling. I was entertained from start to finish, even for someone familiar with the craft. I'm adding the place to my go-to balikbayan and foreign visitor musts the next time I need to play tourism ambassador.
What places do you usually bring your guests to? I'd love to have more suggestions.
Wednesday, April 5, 2017
Masungi Georeserve: Benchmark of Conservation
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| The iconic giant spiderweb made of steel wires |
Since Masungi opened its gates to the public in December of 2015, I've been intrigued by the photos on my social media feeds. Visits are by reservation only, so after two foiled plans of going, I was invited by fellow Mabuhaykers with only two days notice and finally went. Lately, spontaneous has always worked out the best for me, despite my propensity for thorough research and detailed itineraries.
Located in Baras, Rizal, it was just a surprising hour and a half away from my part of the city, even on a Wednesday morning. We left at roughly 6:30 am, and arrived at San Andres, Tanay by 8:30 am -- we had apparently gone past it on the highway for several kilometers at that point. With time to kill until our 12:40 pm tour, we decided to look for Kinabuan Falls, which was said to be nearby.
Entering through the same arch as I did a month ago en route to Mt. Batolusong, we asked around for Kinabuan on Mt. Ibid, but received mixed information. To cut this part of the story short, it turned out it was at least 10 km away from the highway on very rough roads, and the hike a good 14 hours to and from the falls, so we knew it was an adventure for another day. Even the alternative Mt. Maynuba and Mt. Cayabu with its "8 Wonder Falls" would've had us pressed for time, even if it was much closer to where we were.
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| Idyllic landscapes and cool, crisp air |
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| Crispy Talong & Calamari at Cafe Katerina: delicious food, beautiful view, and golden retrievers |
We killed time at Cafe Katerina, a restaurant by the highway further down, and apparently frequented by cross-country bikers. Our al fresco table had a killer view of the mountain ranges, the winding road below, Laguna de Bay in the horizon, and even the windmills of Pililla to the far right. It was cool enough for my companions to sport their jackets and leg warmers.
We were greeted by a friendly Golden Retriever, and as it led me in, I saw that they were a pack of about 6 dogs! Anyone who knows me can guess what happened after that... I played with all of them, except a black retriever, who was chained up, looking moody. The staff warned that he was known to snap at people on "off days." Oh yeah, we were talking about the restaurant, count on me to get sidetracked by dogs.
Ate Isay ordered longganisa with garlic rice and a side of crispy eggplant, Kuya Robert got some sort of beef stew, and I got the calamari and crispy talong pictured above. All the food were well seasoned and prepared, with hefty servings good for sharing, and prices ranged between ~P90-200 only. Certain value for money, and I'd definitely eat there again next time.
Ate Isay ordered longganisa with garlic rice and a side of crispy eggplant, Kuya Robert got some sort of beef stew, and I got the calamari and crispy talong pictured above. All the food were well seasoned and prepared, with hefty servings good for sharing, and prices ranged between ~P90-200 only. Certain value for money, and I'd definitely eat there again next time.
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| Photo grabbed from https://elmoresylvan.wordpress.com |
I was introduced to the rest of the group when they caught up with us there for lunch, and then we convoyed to Masungi. The entrance to the place is easy to miss with its classy minimalist sign bearing its logo and the words "KM47 Baras, Rizal." From the highway, only a small parking lot is in view; and it's not until you take a short walk down a path past a tower with buzzing power lines that you will see the receiving area. They had tables to gather people for the welcome orientation, shelves for bags and helmets, and clay pots to refill bottles with mineral water. The paths were lined with colorful flowers and marked with sketched wooden signs.
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| Wild tomatoes by the path that a caretaker gave me to plant |
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| Labeled as Suotan, loosely translated as pathway or somewhere you can squeeze into |
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| One of several hanging bridges |
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| Could this be the biggest hammock in the world? |
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| Swings inside a hut: unusual but fun |
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| Mosaics that feature some of the endemic animals found in those mountains: this one is the mouse deer |
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| After descending a rope section, it extends to the other side of the forest |
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| I took this from the highest point of Tatay, my companions on the way up |
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| Sunset of a really good day |
Monday, March 6, 2017
The Catch-Up Storybook: Half a Year
I've been away. I didn't realize that 6, almost 7, months had passed since my last entry. Since the last one was written at a sad time for me, some of you might've wondered if I had given this up altogether; but no, I'm still here. Just taking it one day at a time.
Let's see, I was sick for half of August, but still managed a trip to my favorite island, Coron.
Kayaking in the mangroves
Caught in a storm at sea
I kicked off September with the launch of our third album, Sa Panaginip Lang (Only In Dreams,) and spent most of the month promoting it on TV, radio, and other platforms.
Come October, we were off on our US concert tour, spanning New York, New Jersey, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Honolulu. At every stop, I managed to escape work to roam in and out of cities for a few hours, and I'm grateful for all the friends who shared their time to be with me.
Watchung Reservation, New Jersey
Park Avenue, New York
Muir Woods Redwood Forest, San Francisco
Lake Hollywood Park, Los Angeles
Topanga State Park, Los Angeles
Waikiki, Honolulu
Halei'wa, North Shore
Koko Head, Oahu
Stairway to Heaven, Oahu
Ka'iwi Coast, Oahu
Golden Gate Bridge view from the residence of the Philippine Consul General
Lulumahu Falls, Oahu
Osmeña Peak, Dalaguete, Cebu
Kawasan Falls, Moalboal, Cebu
Night by night, I was glad to have the time to attend get-togethers with friends, and appreciate how we'd all grown, yet again, as adults through the year. We celebrated quite early, because I was going to be spending the holidays out of the country for the first time in my life. Since my sister is currently based in Sydney, we decided to travel to her, so we can all experience a different kind of Christmas and New Year's Eve. I'll post separately on it, but for now, here are some shots from when we visited the beach and the Blue Mountains.
Manly to Shelly Beach, NSW Australia
Blue Mountains, NSW Australia
Since we were already in the region, we went even further south and spent a couple of days in New Zealand. That deserves its own post as well, because I was so happy to be back after 10 years; and perhaps because of how much I've changed since then, it seemed even more beautiful.
Hobbiton, Matamata, New Zealand
I dedicated all of January to work, and started writing my friends' second book. The process was slow because I was whisked away on all weekends of February. We had gigs with a foundation, for a baptism, and I got the opportunity to sing with one of my favorite local artists. Sometime in and around that period, I took a friend's fiancé to see the clouds, and I hiked through some canyons and visited several shores
Duhatan Ridge, Mt. Batolusong, Tanay, Rizal
Mt. Isarog, Naga, Bicol
Panicuason Hot and Cold Springs, Naga, Bicol
Canyoneering adventure, Badian, Cebu
Hermit's Cove, Aloguinsan, Cebu
Thunderbird, Poro Point, La Union
Flotsam and Jetsam, San Juan, La Union
Whew! It's March now, and I'm renewing my passport in April. Let's see where else this year takes me. I'm, more than ever, encouraged to keep exploring and finding wherever happiness leads me... and I wish everyone could have a piece of that. So, I'll put it out there for commitment: I'll be sharing my travel itineraries! If I help even one person put together an enjoyable trip, it'll all be worth it. Bye for now, and MABUHAY!
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