Byaheng Pilipino

orville.ece@gmail.com (Orville del Rosario) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 13:14:00 +0000

Please vote for our very own Puerto Princesa Underground River in the New 7 Wonders of Nature. This is really a wonder of nature and we thank God for blessing our country, the Philippines, with such beautiful and magnificent work of nature.

How to vote:
1. Via text message:
Text PPUR to 2861
2. Visit the link below:
http://www.new7wonders.com/archives/wonder/puerto-princesa-underground-river

Expectations

orville.ece@gmail.com (Orville del Rosario) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 04:21:00 +0000

We live in a world full of expectations, from the moment of conception, our parents already had expectations from us – boy or girl; a few months in, and they expect us to mumble words or walk a step or two; growing up, they expect us to be on the top of the class where keeping the colors inside of the line is the hardest thing to do. Life is full of expectations, some of them are met, but mostly are not.

The thing about expectations is that we set them, we set them high, we set them high enough that we need another pair of long arms to reach them, and then forget to consider that maybe it is unfair to put it that far above. We can try and reach them, but the reality of it is, we really can’t.

I once heard in a class an interesting philosophy, the instructor said, “Aim to pass, and you’ll fail. Aim to top, then you’ll pass.” It was a few years back when I was reviewing for the board examinations; at that moment, I agreed on the instructor’s words of wisdom, that if I aim to top but failed to do so, I will at least fall on the next lower rating which is a passing grade. I know that I can’t top, I know it for a fact; but, I do know that I can pass, just pass. So I aimed to “just pass”…and I did.

People tend to set very high expectations even though they know that it’s impossible to be met. People set very high expectations not because they want maximum potentials to burst out of nowhere, but because they know that something will screw up along the way. Expectations, they are not there to be set high above the tallest mountain just so people will come tumbling down in a giant avalanche. I am not saying that it is wrong to set expectations very high; just be more realistic, so when one tripped and was not able to plant the flag on the summit, it won’t be a very deep fall. Sometimes, expectations only add up to the pressure, and when expectations are not met, come the disappointments and the thinking that the person who failed to meet the expectations is less than what he is capable of.

Great Escape - Kota Kinabalu

orville.ece@gmail.com (Orville del Rosario) — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 17:31:00 +0000

18-21 February 2011

Mt. Kinabalu

My college friends and I love to escape from the fast paced life in the city every once in a while. A few years back, we went to Boracay and Ilocos provinces and spent a fortune on those trips, but more on that later. So, we went for another trip, but this time it is out of the country. We wanted to go to Bali or Phuket for the summer but there are no direct flights to Bali (from Manila) and Phuket is, well, a bit pricey with the airfares and hotels and whatnot. Thus, we end up booking a flight to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.

Pacific Sutera

Kota Kinabalu or KK as me and my friends call it, is not really a top tourist destination, in my opinion. For starters, it's not very famous, at least not to us, I mean we haven't heard of it until we decided to go there. We just thought, we need to have a getaway, since the last one was our Batangas trip, and that was a year before this one. So we booked the on-sale flight and started planning the trip. I booked the hotels and organized our itinerary. Because we want this great escape from our busy worklife, we all agreed to check-in into this very fancy hotel, The Pacific Sutera, and man this hotel is fancy - it got it's own shuttle bus to lift it's guests to the city and back to the hotel, we have daily buffet breakfast which is pretty good, and our room is overlooking the hotel's own golf course and its bathroom has a sliding window that you can open so you can watch the TV while enjoying hot bath in the tub..pretty cool huh!

Rafflesia

Aside from our posh hotel accommodations, there's really not much to see in KK that you haven't seen here in the Philippines, and our white sand beaches are way better than theirs, we have white water rafting in CDO (Cagayan de Oro), and we also have the Rafflesia, the largest flower in the world. There are also lots of Filipinos down there, they sorta live and work there already, after all, the island of Borneo is one boat away from the province of Zamboanga, so they come home here just to visit their family for vacation, and most of them doesn't know how to speak Tagalog anymore. But if you are into the wilderness, there is the Mt. Kinabalu, the highest peak in all Southeast Asia. You can climb that tall mountain up to its peak and back to the foot for no less than three days. Well, that's it for KK, nothing really exciting for us, I mean as a group, my friends aren't really the outdoorsy type of people, so climbing to the summit of Mt. Kinabalu would be the last on our itinerary. But if you would ask me, I would love to climb that old mountain and watch the sunrise on either of it's summits...maybe I will, one day.

After all the island hopping and the tours at the foot of Mt. Kinabalu, we just enjoyed hanging out at the pool and in our room, sleeping. KK is really just a small city in the big island of Borneo, so there's not much to explore, specially downtown. I mean we enjoyed authentic Malaysian dishes on our first night and had a few drinks at a local bar, but that's about it. There is one thing I admire the most in KK - the island hopping; not because of it's white sand beaches or the wild animals like giant lizards mingling among tourists, but because of the boat docks on their islands. They have docks on each island where the speedboats can take turns into loading/unloading the tourists on/off the island and long boardwalks that leads to the entrance where you will pay for the entrance ticket, which is good for all the islands already, there are six of them. Unlike here where boats dock on the shoreline, where people are swimming and snorkeling..it's pathetic. I wish the local tourism departments of our famous beaches here in the country could implement the same.

In totality, KK is a destination for sun, sands, beaches, mountains, and flora and fauna, and everything about nature; basically a tourist spot where you can both enjoy the relaxing backdrop of the sea and the wildlife of the mountains. In KK, there's always something that you can do!

Weekend Getaway - Cebu City

orville.ece@gmail.com (Orville del Rosario) — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 15:19:00 +0000

07 - 09 March 2009

Ever since I was a little boy, I always wanted to see all the beautiful places here in the Philippines. I see them in books, postcards, newspapers, and magazines. And this trip started it all, my dream of exploring my beloved Philippines, and later, the world.

Cebu City, the oldest city in the Philippines, assumed the title of The Queen City of the South, and true to its name, it is very rich in culture, tradition, delicacies, language, and people , clearly the mother queen of all cities . My trip to the country of the Cebuanos - as the natives there call themselves - was rather short, just over the weekend. Around fifteen of my officemates, including myself, went to Cebu just for fun, and because there was a "seat sale" at that time, this one local airline company is always selling airplane tickets for a very cheap price, so we grabbed the chance and booked our flights, roundtrip, Manila-Cebu-Manila.

Magellan's Cross

Taoist Temple

Our flight was around five in the morning, Saturday, it is that early that one of our colleague failed to check-in on time and unfortunately, were left behind. We arrived at Mactan International Airport in Cebu City and immediately got into the van that we rented for the city tour and went to our hotel to leave our bags and then hit it off for the city tour. Since we have only two days for the whole trip, we had to start the tour right away and headed to the tourist attractions inside the metro. We went to a Taoist temple, an old and small walled city - Fort San Pedro, Lapu-Lapu Shrine (Lapu-Lapu is a Filipino hero who fought the Spaniards when they tried to conquer his land, and he killed their general, General Ferdinand Magellan), and the Basilica del Sto. Niño - the shrine of the image of a Sto. Niño, which they believe to be miraculous, and who's feast day is sometime in the first or second week of January, they call it the Sinulog Festival where they do street parades and street dance while holding the image of Sto. Niño; also, just outside the Basilica, is the famous Magellan's Cross where the actual cross that Ferdinand Magellan himself planted on that very site where the shrine is erected. Being in a historical place, a very significant part of the Philippine history, it overwhelmed me. I can't believe that I am actually on the site where the history of my country began, that this place, I only see it in books and postcards before, that I was actually inside it and was able to touch the cross. It felt awesome! Then it hit me, I am actually loving what I was going on, that I could do this and explore the Philippines. So right there and then, I said to myself that I will visit all the attractions in the Philippines , that they will be no longer be just an image in a book or postcards or newspapers or magazines, I will be there myself and take the pictures using my own camera.

The city tour was very tiring, so we went back to the hotel, rest for a few hours, freshen up, then we hit the road again, this time to explore the night life and buy some stuff to bring back home. After we were finished buying the danggits, dried mangoes, etc. We then went to this baby back ribs house that is, according to one of our officemate who lived in Cebu way back when, the best baby back ribs in town and probably in the entire country. The place is called Casa Verde, which is located in The Walk - a place similar to Eastwood or Metrowalk in Manila - which is inside the IT hub of Cebu; also, it is the cheapest baby back ribs in the country, I think, considering the taste and all, you are definitely getting the value for your money. So that's it for the first day, cause I never went to the bars actually and party because I was too tired and was having a terrible headache, I just went back to the hotel and sleep.

On the second day, we went to the Mactan island, on the southern part of the city, and rent a boat for supposedly an "island hopping" but turned out to be an island-sight-seeing-swim-sonrkle-in-the-middle-of-the-sea thing. Not much happenings, but the water is so clear and blue and just very, very amazing. I love how I can see the corals underneath because the water is so clear, and there not much current, so you can really see the bottom of the sea.

On our last day, Monday, we woke up super early because we had to catch our flight that is around five in the morning for us to be able to make it in the office on time. Yes, we went straight to the office after our weekend getaway, well some of us did, some of us did not as they were able to file a vacation leave. You see, we were kind of in one team, so we can't be all our of the office, so some of us who were not that quick enough to file for a vacation leave, had to go to work that day, too bad...

The Trippers

The Outdoors - Conquer Sagada

orville.ece@gmail.com (Orville del Rosario) — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 16:47:00 +0000

Sagada, Mountain Province, Philippines

22-24 January 2011

Hanging Coffins of Sagada

Day 0

It has been raining for the past days. The monsoon has hit the metro very bad and caused floods on almost every street of every city and Taguig and Mandaluyong is no exception. The day is about to end, I didn't get to finish the final exercise of the Application Engine training, much excited for the Sagada trip. We leave for Sagada at 1000H, the bus station is in Sampaloc, Manila.

It was a fine Friday afternoon as I entered the mall beside our office in Pioneer, people are busy walking around the mall, and I sat on a bench waiting for the time to pass. I called Gen to check on her, asked her what time will she be leaving the office coz we're supposed to meet at the mall, buy some food for the trip and together go to the bus station. Then the worst news you'd wanna hear if you have plans to go to the Mountain Province - MONSOON! 1900H, it was raining cats and dogs. People are soaking wet as they enter and find shelter inside the mall. With that kind of rain, am pretty sure there's already flood in streets of Sampaloc, I should know, I went to a university in that area and even a little precipitation causes flood there. I begin to worry because I don't want this trip to be cancelled because of the monsoon, even though my mom begged me not to push with it because she's worried about landslides and stuff. So after a few hours of heavy rain, it finally stopped. 2100H, Gen was stuck in Taguig looking for a cab. Then we decided that we'd just meet in the bus station because if I wait for her in the mall, we won't make it on time before the bus leaves. And good decision, we we're able to get to the station at least half an hour before our scheduled departure. So Sagada trip is a go, I, Gen, Cata, Beth, and Cata's officemate and our new found friend Lawrence, who is Singaporean, got in the bus and the 10-hour ride began - good thing the bus has it's own bathroom, we didn't have a problem when we have to go for a leak. LOL.

Day 1

After a freezing cold bus ride across and on the side of the mountains, we arrive at Banaue at around 0800H, had our breakfast, go for a leak or potty, and just relaxed for about an hour. After all, a 10-hour bus ride is no joke, we were maybe asleep the entire trip, but still, it was exhausting. So after a little breather, we began our 4-hour jeepney ride through the mountains. The view was just amazing, trees everywhere, clouds at the palm of your hands, everything is like a fresh of breath air, both literally and figuratively. We stopped at a viewing point and was caught in awe. It is the world-famous Banaue Rice Terraces. I can't believe I am actually there, staring at the very spectacular work of art done by the Ifugaos on the side of the mountains. It is just amazing to know that all those rice terraces were carved into the sides of the mountains a thousand years back, and there we were, taking pictures of it. Awesome! Moving on, the roads on the way to Sagada are a bit of challenge. Some parts are concrete so the drive is smooth and relaxed. But for the most part, there are landslides everywhere, like every 100 meters you'd come across a landslide. Not cool! So not cool! Scared the hello out of me. Not to mention it's been drizzling that time, I mean it always does, because that's the weather up there on a day-to-day basis. So landslides are really part of the lives of the locals there. We arrive at Sagada a lil pass noon, checked in our respective hostels, we stayed at George guest House, it has WiFi in every room, which is I think is super cool considering we're in the middle of nowhere on a province called Mountain Province, had our lunch at Alibama Inn chicken adobo, stir fried fresh Sagada vegetables and red rice which is actually color purple, and rest for a few minutes.

First stop of our Sagada escapade - Bomod-ok Falls a.k.a. the Big Falls . We arrived at this covered court uptown where there are kids, about almost a hundred of them, lined accordingly, dancing their native dance. I think it's for a school presentation because there is one teacher in front who is doing the drum beat and looking over everyone. We kinda danced a little too because our guide said that it's part of the ritual before we go trekking on the Banga-an Rice Terraces going to the falls. Of course we knew that he was just joking but we danced anyway just for fun. The trek to the falls is about a little over an hour. The good thing about it is that the walk is very easy because we are walking on the pathway of terraces, which I think is pretty awesome. I mean, it's not everyday you get to walk on a side of a mountain where the mountain is carved into terraces to become rice paddies. It's crazy! After a long trek, we arrive at the falls. It was spectacular! The falls is about, well I dunno how high it is, but it's pretty high, and it is on the side of the mountain, and is between two mountains. The water is freezing. As much as I wanted to "take the plunge", the cool breeze and the even cooler water gave me enough reason not to. So, I did what I think is best to do at that time, take photographs! We also met two local kids along the trek and they joined us to the falls. I talked to these two little strangers and they have pretty interesting stories. Andrew, 9, and Jay, 11, were both in the 3rd grade. I asked them what they're doing there, they said they offer massage - hand massage or back massage or foot massage - to tourists for 20 Pesos. When I said I don’t have money, they said any amount will do, said it's my call, they even agreed to give me a massage for food. I offered them a chocolate-covered cookie but I did not get the massage, I just took their pictures.

I am going to have a portfolio of portraits of strangers that I met in my trips or anywhere, and those two youngsters will be the first ones to be included in that portfolio. Andrew was the quiet one and Jay was the not so quiet one. Eric, our travel consultant from Travel Factor - the travel agency where we get the Sagada trip package - asked me if I asked about the father of Jay. And Jay told the saddest story ever. Jay said he was 9 when his father died in that waterfall. He said that his father fell from the top of the waterfall while fixing the water pipe that is connected to the village. It was sad but Jay didn't look sad while he was retelling the story. I just gave them cookies and take their pictures, and we had fun doing that. After the picture taking, we headed back to our jeepney. We're supposed to go to Lake Danum for the sunset, but it's getting dark and cold already so we drove our way back downtown, grabbed some dinner in this place called Yogurt House. We had the most delicious carbonara I ever tasted and some other pasta dishes and roasted chicken and salad, and freshly made yogurt topped with banana and granola. Yum! We called it a day and went back to the hostels.

Day 2

Call time - 0400H! Soooo early! Well we had to be early because our next activity is to watch the sunrise. We may not be able to see the sunset, but we definitely saw the sunrise. It was still dark when we arrived at the Kiltepan Viewpoint. When you look into the horizon you will not see anything but millions of starts and a sea of clouds covering the entire mountains of Sagada. It was nothing I've ever seen before. Knowing that your that high above the sea level and clouds are literally under your feet is just amazing! Definitely worth waking up early. We endured the cold breeze as we wait for the sun to give light. And minutes before the darkness was eaten by the light, I was able to take pictures of the night sky with all the stars and the sea of clouds, breath taking, really. Then the sun started to rise from behind the mountains and the sky is beginning to burn with colors of yellow and orange, we clicked the shutters of our cameras and enjoyed the wonderful scene we were witnessing. Top load! We decided to go on to the top of the jeepney and take the ride of our life that time, as we headed back to the hostel. It was freezing and our breath is smoking. Cool! When we arrived, we get to fix ourselves, prepared our things, and eat our heavy breakfast, because the next stop will be a 5 to 6-hour spelunking in the cave connection of Sumaging and Lumiang.

At the mouth of the first cave - Sumaging - where we entered, were wooden hanging coffins. Inside them are mummifiedremains of the elders of Sagada. Then we started our adventure. We have about 9 guides with us, the head guide said that it is mandatory to have 1 guide per 2 tourists, this is for strict compliance mandated by the local government of Sagada. Inside the caves, it was pitch black if not for the lamps that gave us ample lighting, and was very very very cold, our breath was smoking. Inside Sumaging caves, there are lots of rocks, not rock formations, rather huge boulder rocks the size of a house, piled on top of each other, side by side, and scattered all over the place. Because of these rocks that we had to walk, climb and rappel up and down, and crawl inside the tiniest of holes that only one man can fit at a time. It was the most adventurous thing I've done so far, far more adventurous than white water rafting. Why, you may ask? Because the some of the rocks are slippery and some paths are just crazy, as in almost a 90 degrees incline, one wrong step and you'll find yourself falling into the deep dark part of the cave and probably die when you hit the ground, or water, coz you'll drown..if you're not a good swimmer that is. The point being, I had more adrenaline rush doing spelunking than white water rafting. 3hrs in, and we started seeing stalactites and stalagmites, and hearing water flowing downstream. It gets even colder because of the water. Deeping into the water as cold as ice, 4ft deep, was really a challenge. All the walking, climbing, rappelling, crawling, and cold water didn't really take a toll on us, at least not on me, at that time because the view inside the cave is just spectacular that our minds are too busy processing all the beauty of nature than think of how tired we were. Adrenaline rush! Mushroom-like stalactites are everywhere, there are some that looked like curtains, some like in the form of animals, etc. The cave was so old that columns were already formed; when stalactites and stalagmites meet, they form a rock formation called 'column'. Simply put, everything inside the Sumaging caves, all the rock formations and waters, they are all spectacular. I would go back in there in a heartbeat, but I want to skip all the slippery rocks and the 90 degrees inclined paths please. LOL. And after almost 6 hours of cave connection adventure, we went out of the other mouth of the caves, the Lumiang side, covered with bat poop. We small like crap and we looked like we need a shower, because we're all a mess.

All cleaned up, we were getting ready to go to Lake Danum to try to see the sunset. But the weather were not just cooperating. It was cloudy and raining. Naturally, the activity was cancelled. So we decided to go around the town and explore what's happening around. We found this old lady selling pies, orange and lemon pies. We bought a box of orange pie because it was new to us. We went to a restaurant called Masfere, ordered frozen yogurt even thought it's freezing called that time, and ate the pie and the frozen yogurt. It's like eating dessert before dinner because after an hour, we headed to yet another restaurant called Log Cabin, where we ate a buffet dinner. The place was very cozy, love the fireplace, and the whole interior which was made all in logs. Reggae and country music playing in the background, well almost everywhere in Sagada they play reggae or country music, while we eat our healthy dinner composed of baked eggplant in tomato, roast beef and chicken, salad greens, baked potato, and some European bread. After dinner we decided to go to another place, the Lemon Pie House, to have some coffee. Unfortunately, it was closed when we get there. Heartbroken, we went back to our penthouse, and Gen and I just sat on the chairs grabbed a blanket, and stared on the starry night sky.

Day 3

Because we did not get to try the coffee in Lemon Pie House the night before, Gen and I decided that we will have coffee there in the morning. So we went, we were the first customers. The place, as some of our fellow trippers told us, was very cozy, they have this little tables and chairs, and tables on the ground and cushions to sit on, and their egg pie was to die for. Their coffe is good as well, and they are very affordable. So we enjoyed our egg pie and coffee and headed back to the hostel to grab some real breakfast before we go to the last part of the itinerary - Sagada Walking tour. We kicked off our tour to the lone Christian church in Sagada, the St. Mary's Episcopal church.

Now am not sure if it's really a Christian church. LOL. Then we walk through the Calvary Hills, where their Christian cemetery is situated, to get to the Echo Valley where the famous Hanging Coffins of Sagada are located. We did not get close to the hanging coffins because it will be time consuming and we're already in a hurry, also there is one coffin that was just hanged a few days back so the smell down there is really not that pleasant, not to mention hazardous to health. FYI, Echo Valley was named "echo valley" because..yes! You guessed it right, the valley produces echo. Pretty cool huh?! Then after that, we went to Sagada Weaving and then Sagada Pottery where one local demonstrated to us how to make a simple pitcher. And she did it the old fashion way because the power went out as she was about to use the spinning round table, so she used the more primitive spinning table where you have to use your feet to make the table spin. After the walking tour, it was time to go for souvenir shopping then went back to hostel to pack our things. Then we went to Salt and Pepper Diner and had our lunch. So we bid goodbye to Sagada, hoping to come back next year. It was around 1600H when we arrived at Banaue, had our dinner and ride the bus back to Manila.

Day 4

We arrive at Cubao station at around 0300H. Tired, still slee py, and carrying lots of stuff, we went home hoping to get more sleep because we had to go to the office later that day. Unfortunately for me, I was too exhausted that I wasn't able to go to work. Wait, that's not unfortunate, that is very fortunate! I got to rest all day! LOL

Pilipinas!

orville.ece@gmail.com (Orville del Rosario) — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 11:22:00 +0000

7107 islands, more than a thousand reason to visit my home country, my beloved The Philippines. I’ve been to a few, the island province of Camiguin is one of them. This breath taking island volcano is one of my favorite, with the white island beach that appears only when the tide is low, hot and cold springs, magnificent waterfalls, and their famous pastry called Pastel that is very scrumptious, not to mention the kind and hospitable locals. There are more than enough reasons to always come back here and I definitely will.

And here are some more reasons why I love my country. Up north, the Province of Ilocos Norte andIlocos Suris among the best, if not the best, tourist destinations in the region. Kapurpurawan (an Ilocano word meaning White) Rock formation, Bangui Windmills, Pagudpud, and Vigan Heritage Village –Ilocos Region’s more popular tourist attractions. They are also famous for their local delicacies and treats like the Vigan Longganisa, Chichacorn, Kalamay, Bagnet (crispy deep-fried pork belly), Empanada, and Pinakbet Pizza of Herencia Café. A bit of history and trivia,the remains of former President of the Republic of the Philippines for 20 years, Ferdinand Marcos, lie in a house turned into a museum/mausoleum in the hometown of the Marcoses in Batac, Ilocos Norte.

In the southern part of the Philippines, the island province of Cebu where you can find the oldest city in the country, attracts tourists both local and international. With its rich history and lovely people, Cebu is definitely an attraction you don’t wanna miss. The Magellan’s Cross, Basilica del Sto. Niño, and downtown Cebu City itself, among others are the reasons why tourists come and visit the province, not to mention their famous white beaches and crystal blue sea water.

These are just some of the attractions in my beloved Philippines that you shouldn’t really miss. I’ve been to the 3 major islands Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao. I’ve traveled from North to South, from Laoag City to Davao City. Puerto Galera, Anawangin, Bukidnon, Cagayan de Oro, Zambales, Bataan, Laoag..I explored! But there are still lots to see and I plan to see them all.

Travel on a Shoestring

orville.ece@gmail.com (Orville del Rosario) — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 11:18:00 +0000

I am no billionare. I can't just go to anywhere in the world whenever I want to. I travel at my own cost. I travel on a budget without compromising fun and adventures. I explore places with my friends most of the time. If I am not in the metro, I probably am somewhere in the Philippines or across the globe.