It’s only fitting we visit one of the biggest tea producing companies when we were in Cameron Highlands. After our visit to the Rose Center, we headed to one of the large tea gardens from BOH Tea Company, the first tea company that set up a highland tea garden in Malaysia in 1929. We were supposed to visit this garden near Rose Center but it was closed so we had to drive a little longer south to where their BOH Tea Factory is located.

“I’m gonna torture you guys first before we eat” Marie told us with an evil grin on her face while we were looking at the steps heading up hill where she said we could see a nice 360 degree view of the Tea Garden. We just climbed the Rose Center and she’s letting us climb again. Haha. But seriously she’s just joking. Nina just decided she’ll have Tea with Marie so Martin and I climbed the steps up the hill near the BOH Tea Factory.

It wasn’t really that high a climb. Up on the hill is a communications tower. I could see why Marie wanted us to climb the hill. We could see patterns on all the mountain slopes as far as the eye can see. I can just imagine how big the Tea Garden is.

We got down just in time for the regular tour of the Factory. See how they process their teas from harvest to package-ready goods. I never really did understand what our guide was saying from the hard English and the factory noise. But I did get the picture seeing how they are sorted out through machine, filtered then on the final stages looked-in by people if there are a few unfiltered items that got through the machine filtering process.

Before we headed out of BOH Tea Factory and Cameron Highlands we decided to have a few snacks at their cafe in preparation for the long drive back to Kuala Lumpur. We tried the English Scones which were highly recommended, I found out why. Served warm, it was really delicious compared to the brick of a scone I had at Equatorial that morning. I spread over the butter and enjoyed its scent steamed off from the pastry. I also had a Teh Tarik ( a pulled tea for mixture of black tea and milk) to go with it and it was a splendid pair.

While I would have wished to linger longer sipping tea up there on the highlands, we just have to go. We bought a few BOH Tea products to take home with us then drove back to the City. Making a brief stop for a late lunch, we reached our hotel, Concorde KLIA Hotel, late in the afternoon. Concorde is more like a resort type hotel, ideally for passengers in transit. It has a basic design but has complete amenities especially the much missed internet access to catch up on lost internet hours at the highlands.

We spent our last night at the Concorde. Nothing much to say but the food was good and we had our well deserved rest there before we headed back to the airport and flew out to Manila. It was a great 11 days stay in Malaysia as I found there were a lot more to discover. This Megafam tour courtesy of Tourism Malaysia made me appreciate Malaysia more, not just it’s uniqueness but similarity as well to my country Philippines. With this I end the chronicles and will sum them up on the next Malaysia post.

Tourism Malaysia is current holding a contest where you could win tickets to Malaysia every week and an ASEAN Pass as the grand prize. Check out the details at the Tara na sa Malaysia Facebook Page.

Often battered and in the front-line of incoming storms, Catanduanes has often been out of the radar of most travelers in the Philippines. But this island province, unbeknown to many, holds a lot of natural wonders and activities that would keep adventure travelers occupied. Staying there for 4 days and 3 nights led us to discover wonderful beaches, nice waterfalls and old churches. Here’s a handy summary of the trip.

Route: Catanduanes is fairly a large island. While the whole distance can be covered in a couple of days or less, the rough road conditions once out of Virac and Bato can increase the travel time. We only had time to visit the east side to south western side of Catanduanes. Coming from Manila we headed to Puraran. From Puraran we went back to Virac as base then explored the southern parts which are Igang and Lictin.

Itinerary:
Day 1

• Transit: Manila to Puraran Beach Baras Catanduanes
• The Puraran Beach and its Majestic Surf
• Meeting the Colorful People of Puraran

Day 2

• Rainy Day in Virac

Day 3

• From Igang’s Twin Rock to Lictin’s Luyang Cave
• Bato’s Old Church and Charming Cascades

Day 4

• Fly back to Manila

Happy Foodies Post

• Enjoying the Sea Breeze in Virac

Budget: The total cost of the trip 4days and 3 night’s trip in Catanduanes is roughly P6000. The P2000 goes for the round-trip air fare via Cebu Pacific. The remaining P4000 covered the terminal tax, transportation fare, food and accommodations. It is possible to still bring this down as we tried some restaurant food and mid-range accommodations but there are cheaper alternatives.

Often mistaken as being part of Cavite or Tagaytay than Batangas because of its name, Taal Town is a heritage town, much like Vigan that showcases heritage houses and structures dating as far back as the 1800s. I’ve been to this town south-west of the Taal Lake before but have never really explored the place yet. So when an invite came to tour Taal Town again with Nokia and test out its latest Nokia N86 8MP on field, I thought it would a great time to explore further. It’s a full afternoon of exploration and all photos and video here are taken with Nokia N86’s 8mp camera-phone with a whopping 28mm wide angle Carl Zeiss Tessar lens.

Leaving Manila a little past 7 in the morning, our guide Ino started his lecture on board the Van on our way to Taal. We learned from Ino that Taal came from the word which means “True or Original” and that the town is formerly the capital of Batangas. Communities used to live near the lake but after the great eruption of Taal Volcano in 1754, a lot of the communities were devastated and there began the Exodus of Batangas towns.

Taal Town’s main capital used to be in San Nicolas where the massive Basilica de San Martin de Tours or commonly known as Taal Basilica, the largest Catholic Church in South East Asia, can be found, but moved to Caysasay after the eruption. Picking themselves up from the ruins, the people showed their perseverance and rose from the ashes rebuilding each towns strengthening their faith and refining their culture.

We had an unexpected delay on our way to Taal town as there were sudden roads closed to large vehicles. We were supposed to go through the Laurel and Agoncillo road but heard a bridge there was damaged so we had to make a detour and use the road on the other side. It took longer but it was enough for us to tinker around with the N86 handset and checkout its features. It got this Panorama Mode which is cool aside from its wide angle lens.

Arriving past noon, we know we had to make each of our stop quick. We were welcomed at Escuala Pia just in front of the Taal Basilica. It’s a school founded by the church in 1839 and now serves as the Historical Center of the town. Our host prepared a showcase and demonstrations of cultures and objects which Taal is known for. A group of ladies doing some fine embroidery famous in Taal. There’s a display of different types of balisong (butterfly knife) and a brief demonstration of its handling.

Outside there’s also a demo on panutsa (a sweet delicacy of peanut and brown sugar) making, sawali weaving and broom making. Ino sneaked in a few lectures again about the Taal Basilica. I remember visiting this Basilica before and I had trouble fitting the whole church in the picture. It’s a good thing the N86 has a 28mm lens that it was able to put the whole church in from the steps. Like the first time I went there, the size of this Basilica still impresses.

We went inside the church but there was a line of funeral processions so we had to keep quiet and moderate our movements inside the church. The interior is huge but a lot of the designs were no longer original because of the damage caused by an earthquake. The only original structure that remained is the half dome ceiling at the altar.

We sneaked out of the church and took a very quick ride to Villavicencio House which I think we can actually walk to from the church. Also known as the “Goldilocks” house because of its yellow and blue paint on the facade, the well preserved house sports a Nouveau design and yellow walls inside making it bright and pleasant. Ino explained the trait of “Transparency” among Filipinos, a trait of not being black and white but being on the gray and transparent side of things. It shows in the transparency of the barongs, the way the capiz windows and also the house dividers don’t really offer privacy and would let the air circulate around the home.

Another treasure the Villavicencio house holds is the rare Mesa De Altar in the master bedroom. There are only 15 pieces of this furniture and the one in the house is the Mesa De Altar One. This piece is highly priced by collectors and is said to worth more than a million.

We had a very delicious Filipino lunch there then started burning them as we walked through the streets of Taal Town and started descending the ancient steps leading to the Sanctuary of Caysasay, Home to the Virgin of Caysasay. The exterior isn’t much but the interiors were beautifully painted. Awaiting there is the popular group known for performing the Subli.

The Subli is a Philippine folk dance originating from Batangas. It’s a ceremonial devotion dance in honor of the Holy Cross or Mahal na Poong Sta Cruz. The word Subli actually means salisi or exchange which explains the characteristic of the dance. I’m actually impressed by the performance of the group. The male footwork while doing palm claps where very dynamic while in contrast, the ladies were very graceful and were gliding elegantly on the floor. Ino told us there were times these dances could go on for days. I did not have a chance to capture their still motion so I used the video since the N86 can record videos VGA at 30fps.

We made a little side trek from the church to the Sta Lucia Arch where the miraculous Sacred Well of the Virgin can be found. They were selling empty water bottles there so you could fill in the miraculous waters which said to have healing properties. My faith wasn’t that strong when I saw how dirty the stream beside it looks like after the storm. Maybe next time.

Our last stop was the Casa Tortuga. We were hesitant to go down the van and check out the ancestral house since we were running late already but after smelling the special palabok prepared for us with the Spanish Tsokolate E, we just had to stay for a while. It’s a nice old house, a bit dark compared to the Villavicencio but still with character. It got its name from turtles which usually play by the river beside the house.

It was a jam packed afternoon albeit short in time. It was fun discovering new things here in Taal, I’ll surely be back here for a more in depth and slow pace exploration. Thank you very much for Nokia for bringing us there and letting us use their excellent camera phone, the Nokia N86 8mp.

More Photos at my Flickr and also my Nokia Ovi site.

The much awaited annual sky spectacle is back, the World Pyro Olympics 2009, officially launches and will be shown on November 21, 28, December 5, 12, and 19. The event has a new bigger venue at the Open Grounds of the Fort Bonifacio Global City, exciting first full Pyro-Musical performance from the top pyro-teams from 8 countries. There are also day activities at the venue to keep spectators occupied while waiting for the main events.

What to Expect. We were all thinking that the bay was a good venueefore b with the sea breeze and ocean foreground. But organizers explained that with the preparations done inland with a bigger area available, the participants were able to play around with their set up unlike the limited space on a floating barge. So expect spectacular low-level effects as well as synchronized music each characterized by the performing countries. Speakers would be positioned around the area for the full experience unlike if it were on the bay the winds and waves would have dampened the sound. Also expect much controlled traffic with shuttle services available at key points to and fro the venue.

World Pyro Olympics 2009 Official Schedule and Participants

Gates open at 3pm, fireworks display starts at 6.30pm

November 21, 2009, Saturday

• NICO-Lünig Event GmbH of Germany is one of the leading sellers and producers of display fireworks in Germany.
• Glorious Entertainment Production Limited of China was founded in 1920. Some of its stellar credits include fireworks at Bjork’s concert in 2008.

November 28, 2009, Saturday

• Pyro Studios of Canada has won multiple awards all over the world.
• Explosive Productions Pty Ltd of Australia has more than 20 years of experience in the fireworks and pyrotechnic industry.

December 5, 2009, Saturday

• Marutayama of Japan started manufacturing its ornamental fireworks at the end of the Edo era in 1864.
• Parente Fireworks of Italy’s history dates back at least 100 years, with tradition and secrets handed down to several generations later.

December 12, 2009, Saturday

• Hanwha Corporation of Korea was founded in 1952. It has performed fireworks in big events including the 3rd Busan Multimedia Fireworks Show in 2007.
• Remote Effects Systems (RES) Specialty Pyrotechnics of U.S.A began operations in 1983 and provides fireworks for sporting, corporate, theatrical and touring musical productions.

December 19, 2009, Saturday

Highlights from the participants — La Mancha Group International (closing display)

La Mancha Group International of the Philippines is the only company from South East Asia that has bagged honors from prestigious contests in .

Ticket Details: General admission tickets available at Ticketworld outlets, Ayala Cinemas, Robinsons Department Stores and National Bookstores

VIP (P1,500 incl. Via Mare dinner)
Special Viewing Area – P500
General Viewing Area – P200

It’s basically our last full day in Malaysia. We arrived in Cameron Highlands late in the afternoon the day before so this day would be our only time for exploration and at the same time we’ll be on our way back to Kuala Lumpur in the afternoon. It’s a tight schedule honestly but I must remind myself that this is a familiarization tour and if I ever like the places, I should just go back and explore further.

If I could snug under the sheets that cool morning in Cameron Highlands I would. But the phone rang as a wake-up call and I realized I need to pack my bags again since we’re checking out by 9am. There was no direct view of sunrise on my window but it was half pleasant seeing the mountainscapes amidst the lands being quarried that meant more development happening in the land.

Breakfast at Equatorial was so-so. We missed the breakfast at Impiana KLCC badly. There was nothing really special about that hotel for us since we just slept through it one night. We packed in our bags in the van and moved on to explore the sights at Cameron Highlands.

If you’ve ever wondered how an English sounding name came about for an 8-town region a in an Asian country like Malaysia, blame it on William Cameron. This British government surveyor discovered the mountain slopes in 1885 during a mapping expedition. Finding the temperature and soil as a fertile ground for growing tea, which as a big thing at that time, they developed the place as a tea plantation. Until now, Cameron Highlands has the largest tea industry in Malaysia.

But the place has grown more as well with vegetable and fruit farms that supply not only Malaysia but the Singapore region as well. A visit to their market made me salivate on the numerous dried fruit products they are selling there. I love dried fruits and plums and they have unique ones here like Strawberries and Ampalaya (Bitter Gourd). Looking at it, I realized how our local Baguio could also capitalize on this and make dried strawberries as well. They were real good but I also love the Dried Ampalaya which I surprisingly liked. I wish I had brought more.

Marie brought us to the Rose Center, a popular tourist destination at the Kea Farms in Cameron Highlands. It’s a big 4 hectare land up to more than ten terraces leading to the highest point in Cameron Highlands. The place is a gardener’s haven and would be paradise for all the green thumbs out there. I’ve never seen a place filled with hundreds (or probably thousands) of varieties of plants and flowers.

Each terrace also has some interesting sculptures and designs. The architecture is largely a fusion of east and west. There’s a nice shoe house at the upper terrace and some zodiac representations on the lower terraces. Kids would probably enjoy playing here. Just put on a good set of shoes because there are a series of stairs there to climb until you reach the top.

My GPS reads we’re already 1640 meters above sea level. The view of the mountains and the cool breeze was soothing. It would have been great to stay there for a while but Marie was waiting for us below. There are a few more stops before we head back to Kuala Lumpur.

Rose Centre Sdn. Bhd.
P.O. Box 3, Post Office Brinchang,
39100 Cameron Highlands, Pahang, West Malaysia.
TEL / FAX : 605-4962989 E-mail: rosectr[at]po.jaring.my
Business Hour: From 8.00a.m. – 6.00p.m.
Entrance Fees: Adult – RM4.00 / Child – RM2.00

So last weekend, we were strolling around the streets of Manila headed to Roxas Boulevard when we chanced upon a calesa parked by the road and the full moon looking down upon us above the skyscrapers. The scene was just too inviting we took out our cameras to shoot this night scene. None of us brought tripods so this was a challenge. I took out my sleek grey Sony Cybershot TX1, slid open the lid, punched in some buttons to set to Handheld Twilight Mode and composed this shot above. Pretty impressive low-light performance for a point-and-shoot camera. And here’s your chance to win your own Sony Cybershot TX1.

Sony Cybershot TX1 is one of the top of the line compact point-and-shoot from Sony and is one of the first digital cameras to boast a back-illuminated CMOS sensor which Sony called “EXMOR R”. So what’s so special about this sensor? To make it short and easy, most sensors are designed with wiring at the front of the sensor photodiodes cutting off light passing through. With back-illuminated sensors, the wires are behind the photodiodes which makes them more sensitive in capturing light. With this increased light sensitivity the Cybershot TX1 boast impressive low-light and ISO performance for a compact point and shoot.

I’ve been using the Sony Cybershot TX1 for a couple of weeks now and it’s quite handy and useful. It’s not a photographer’s P&S camera since it doesn’t have manual controls for Shutter and Aperture and it starts at 35mm on the wide end. But for a point and shoot compact, I love its sleek design, intuitive and responsive touch screen and image quality that could rival other compact point and shoot in the market. Not to mention its Handheld Twilight mode, easy Sweep Panorama, 780p HD video and 10fps full resolution are fun to use.

So Sony Philippines is giving you a chance to win a Sony Cybershot TX1 in 3 easy steps:

1. Take a photo using any point and shoot camera (any brand) with the theme “Love the Night” under the following category: Fashion, Food, Travel and/or Technology.

2. Share the story behind the photo.

3. Email your entry to cybershottx1@gmail.com

For Sending entries, use the Sample format below:

Subject: Manila Night Baywalk Lights

Category: Travel

Name: Nina Lumabas

Contact No.: 9122233 (not a real number)

Address: 38 Firefly St. West Triangle Quezon City

Photo: manila-night-lights.jpg

Blog/Story:

Night Lights as Roxas

We were walking along Roxas Boulevard enjoying the breeze at the Bay in the afternoon until night when the lollipop lights are finally lit. Those colorful lights and the warm glow from the buildings were captivating. Adding color to the nightscape of Manila

*incomplete info will not be considered as an entry

Mechanics

* File format: JPEG only
* Max size per JPEG image: 5 x 7 in. (300 dpi)
* You can submit one photo per category
* For multiple entries please send only one photo per e-mail
* Submission of entries is from Monday to Friday only. The top entries per category will be featured online at www.cybershotonline.sony.com.ph every Monday.
* The grand winner will be notified via phone by Sony Philippines. Deadline of claiming grand prize will be on March 15, 2010. Prize will be claimed at Sony Philippines head office. Unclaimed prize after deadline will be forfeited.
* No professional editing allowed

Contest Duration is from October 15 to December 31 2009.

And while you’re at it, don’t forget to join Sony Cybershot TX1 Fan Page on Facebook and follow updates on Twitter.

Disclosure: Ironwulf.net is one of the 4 blogs (with niches on Travel, Food, Fashion and Technology) which is part of Sony’s Love the Night Campaign for Sony Cybershot TX1.

We continued on the road to Pahang after our brief stop at the Batu Caves. The ride to Cameron Highlands from Kuala Lumpur was said to take around 6 hours. Somehow it reminded me of the trip to Baguio. But thank god we were comfortable on the van with each of us having our own rows and could sleep off in between talks and in-ear happy music. But the road to Cameron itself has some interesting stops as all of us, Nina, Martin and I would be visiting for the first time.

By lunch time we stopped by Bidor, a town somewhat half-way between Kuala Lumpur to Cameron Highlands. Aside from being a popular stopover to and from mentioned places, it’s famous for its roast specialties. For lunch we had some roast duck, roast pork, wonton mee and horlicks on the side. They were all good. Marie also let us sample a fruit called waterapple, a larger version of macopa and also the Petay beans with its sour tasting beans. Marie bought a bag of waterapple which we snacked through our ride.

I was half dozed when the van suddenly stopped on the road. Are we there already? No, we have another stop and it’s a waterfall just along the main road. The waterfall is called Lata Iskandar and has been turned into a mini-park for stopovers. We took our time there taking photos. And since Ivan already went home that morning, we missed his company that we started mimicking his signature poses. (Peace Ivan )

The road this time started to ascend on a zigzag path up the mountains. “We’ll stop by again on the road to meet Michael Jackson” said Marie. But isn’t he dead? And he’s here in Malaysia? Then Marie told us that he’s one of the Orang Asli tribe members who look like MJ in his early years. So we stopped by this hut which is a typical Orang Asli dwelling.

Orang Asli are indigenous people of Malaysia. They have about 18 sub tribes scattered throughout the peninsula of Malaysia. They’re quite creative as seen from the native crafts they were selling at the place. The head tribesman was quite familiar with tourist and was too eager to have photos taken with him on his native garb and also to demonstrate his blow-pipe precision skills.

We moved on again on the road and I was wide awake this time to see the several upland towns there we were passing by before we reach our hotel. We were more than 1000 meters above sea level now and the mountain slopes filled with tea plantations was scenic. We then stopped by this old Tudor house the called The Old Smokehouse. Said to be the oldest structure in Cameron Highlands dating back to 1937. We got a quick tour of this old English house which has become a fancy hotel.

Less than an hour more we finally reached the Equatorial Hotel where we would be staying for the night. It’s a large Tudor styled hotel perched 1600+ meters above sea level. It’s out of the way from nearby towns but has a good location. Unfortunately we didn’t get to have wifi there. Yes they have internet access but it cost an arm and a leg. We took our much deserved rest under new the new bed sheets of our room.

For dinner we had to drive back to town which is a 10-15 minutes drive. The town is your typical rural setting, a little cold due to elevation but not much happening in town that night. We had a steamboat for dinner and Marie, being more like a mom of the group helped prepare and cook the meal. It was really a satisfying fill and enough to energize us for next day’s exploration.

It has been a tradition in the Philippines that during Halloween All Saint’s Day, people would visit the graves of their departed love ones in the cemetery. Candles are lit in remembrance of their souls. The cemetery becomes the focal point of the season were people flock to. But there is one other cemetery in the country where people visit not for their late relatives or friends but for the negative traits people buried in this hill. It’s the Cemetery of Negativism also called the Lost Cemetery found near the historical core of Camp John Hay, Baguio.

Written on the entrance of the Cemetery of Negativism:

“Negativism is man’s greatest self imposed infliction, his most limiting factor, his heaviest burden. 



Have a good day! – Treat today like it’s your last – though it’s the first of the rest… “ – CJH

It was said that way back in the 80’s, soldiers at Camp John Hay were thought that negative thoughts can be unproductive and limit their potentials. So they were asked to gather all these thoughts and bury them on that little hill which they call the Cemetery of Negativism. While the cemetery is only a symbolical representation, it was told that way back they actually do a mock funeral to seal the act.

The graveyard looks more like a pet cemetery with small tombstones and figures on them. There are about 15 of them there with each epitaph has a dash of witticism written on it. The cemetery is the brainchild of Base Commander Major John Hightower who served at Camp John Hay from 1979 to 1982. The commander was known to have unorthodox yet creative methods in leadership. He thought it would be great to infuse some humor in the camp by putting up this cemetery.

The cemetery only has a small area and it’s a nice stroll especially with Baguio’s cool and crisp air to go along. The tombstones seem to have been repainted recently but dome of the figures had already been damaged probably by age. The written words on the epitaph and the figures are witty but at the same time something to ponder on.

Words like “Why Dident I?” evokes feelings of regret of having not decided to live or chose to do something before and plagued by these thoughts till the very end. “Letz study it” tells of a trait engrossed on theoretical thinking instead of actual doing. Something like an Analysis Paralysis.

The 20 Pesos entrance at Camp John Hay Historical Core, also gives access to the Cemetery of Negativism. When there, I would suggest a quick stroll on this little hill and try to ponder on the phrases written on epitaphs and their accompanying figures. With negativity all around this little hill would remind us to bury all our negative thoughts and focus on the positive things in life.

Happy Halloween! All Saint’s Day! All Soul’s Day!

We had to say good bye to Impiana Hotel the day after our Genting Highlands and Zouk visit. We were headed to the Cameron Highlands found at the northern part of Kuala Lumpur. It is on the upper tip region of Pahang. And since the road to Cameron Highlands was on the same way as going to Ipoh, Marie suggested that we should make a stop-over at Batu Caves since it’s already on the way even if it wasn’t in our itinerary. Since Nina and I haven’t been there yet, were gladly obliged.

While inside the van on our way to Batu Caves, Marie shared some info about the cave. The cave is a popular Hindu shrine dedicated to Lord Murugan. According to divine legends, Shiva and Parvati had two divine sons, the stout and younger Genesha and the fitter and older Murugan. The parents held a contest for the brothers. The first one who could go around the world thrice would win the Divine Mango of Knowledge.

The younger Genesha circumnavigated around his parents and said “I don’t have to go around the globe since both of you are my world” while Murugan sped through around the globe three times. The parents were touched by Genesha’s words and decided to give him the Divine Mango. This however made Murugan upset and decided to leave and hide inside a cave forever.

The limestone hills and caves of Batu Caves are said to be the home of Lord Murugan. That’s why during the Hindu Festival of Thaipusam in Malaysia, it becomes the central point of worship where devotees do a pilgrimage to the cave. Batu Caves has become one the most popular Hindu shrines outside India. And in 2006, after three years of work, Malaysia unveiled the highest Lord Murugan statue in the world. The gigantic golden figure stands at the height of 42.7m (130 feet high) in front of the Batu Cave entrance.

We were dropped off near the plaza jump off point towards the cave. We had to climb a steep 272 steps stairs until we reach the actual cave mouth. We weren’t really dressed for the climb at that time since this was an unexpected detour. But since we’re there we might as well explore and enjoy the place. The climb wasn’t really that hard. We only had to stop climbing the stairs on a few occasions to breathe and cautiously avoid the numerous macaque monkeys scattered at the place.

We got into the first huge cave chamber. A few stalls there selling souvenir items while playing some Hindu music. Cave walls have a few temples and lit up sculptures of the divine family. There’s more stairs leading to the open cave cavity and seems to be the main temple with an impressive and detailed gopura. A smaller cave on the side holds more sculptures inside. There are still more monkeys roaming around here freely.

The cave isn’t really for nature seekers as it has been developed to hold hundreds of people inside. I could just imagine the huge crowd as devotees flock the area during the Thaipusam season. We didn’t stay long in the area and was contented on seeing this famous religious Hindu cave and the gigantic sentinel statue of Lord Murugan.

The morning exploration down south of Catanduanes in Igang and Lictin, made us real hungry when mid-day came. Out tricycle drove us back. Jun, our driver decided to drive along the coastal road so we could see the sights and communities on those part. It took almost an hour for us to reach Virac Town proper and stopped by One Two Sawa Eatery for lunch.

One Two Sawa is an interesting eatery. It’s not just your carinderia-type eatery as the rice and soup is unlimited thus the name of the eatery “One to Sawa” which in English is similar to “From one until you get tired of eating”. I know it may not look appealing on the outside but there’s in-room air conditioning which is convenient since the place is packed during peak hours of lunch and dinner. Food is reasonably priced and they got a really tasty fried chicken as well.

We headed northward this time to visit Bato, which is the town next to Virac. Our first stop was the magnificent Bato Church. Situated by the river, its beautiful old edifice welcomes visitors to Bato coming from the south. This massive structure took 53 years to build from 1830 to 1883 under six different parish administrations.

Bato Church retained its exteriors made of mortar and coral lime stones despite the test of time. It’s one of the dominant structures in the island with thick and massive walls. The interiors are a bit of contrast however as there were alterations done on the ceiling as well as the altar. It looks new but I did like the altar with renaissance style paintings on the wall and ceiling.

I think it’s just a few hundred meters drive from Bato Church until we reached the jump-off point to Balombong falls. The falls was inaccessible for some time since it stands on a privately owned ground. Now the large house built with a pool has been part of the lush surrounding as foliage started growing around the ruins of this old house. Jun remembered when he was young how he used the visit the places and also saw how a flood devastated the house that is now abandoned.

The good news is that the miniature falls is still charming. I can completely understand the previous owners on how they made their home revolve around this falls. It’s gentle and mild cascades is relaxing to look at. We took time to take pictures of the fools then moved out to visit another falls.

Maribina Falls is just on the border of Bato near Virac. It’s close to the main highway and walk able from our lodging at Monte Karlo Resort. The falls has been developed into a local park and has an entrance fee of Php 5 per person. There are concrete gazebos heading toward the falls.

The falls itself is tall and has segmented levels. The main pour has its own pool. I heard it is real deep that someone drowned there recently after an unsuspected flash flood of water poured through. So care should be taken when swimming on its waters. Nevertheless, it’s a lovely falls which I’m sure locals are enjoying.

The Maribina Falls was our last sight to see in Catanduanes as we would be leaving the next day. There was a storm approaching at that time as we were worried that we might get stuck here if it reaches the island before we left. Fortunately for us, even with the windy and rainy conditions, the CEB flight pushed through and we got out there in time, not that we wanted to leave early. In fact there are still some interesting places up north of the island that we would want to explore. Maybe a reason to go back to in the future.

THANK YOU! Merci! Maraming Salamat! Selamat! Muchos Gracias! How many words more can I express my gratitude to all the people who read this blog and inspired me to go on writing chronicles of my journeys? At the First Nuffnang Asia-Pacific Regional Blog Awards held recently on October 23, 2009 in Pan Pacific Grand Ballroom in Singapore, Ironwulf.net :En Route bagged the award as the Best Travel Blog in Asia-Pacific.

Wow! I still can’t believe that Ironwulf.net bagged the Best Travel Blog since I wasn’t really expecting it. In fact we were asked to prepare a speech a few days before but I didn’t really bother to write since I don’t want to expect anything. Competition was really stiff with Malaysian Travel Bloggers like Akademi Fantasia and Nicole Kiss and Singaporean Travel bloggers like Eunice of TravelerFolio and the tandem of Zhiqiang and Tingyi of Passportchop. I think among the finalist I’m the only one who hasn’t really broken through Asia and really gone around the globe.

But it was great to meet these guys at the dinner table. Eunice is a common friend of DongHo. Zhiqiang and Tingyi were great to talk with along with Akademi Fantasia. Nicole is fab and fashionable as I saw her in her blog. It was a pleasure to dine with them and I share this award with each of them who are winners in their own right.

I was damn nervous at the stage that I wasn’t able to thank formally the people I wanted to thank. So let this be my “thank you speech”. Thank you to my family who supports me on all my travels, my friends for the support and believing in my capabilities, and travel buddies who share stories of my travel. The fellow Filipino finalist and the other bloggers present at the awards night for rooting for us. Thanks god there are two Filipinos who made it. Kudos to Arnold of Mr Gadget as well for bagging the Best Gadget Blog Awards. He’s also a Filipino based in Australia. Too bad I wasn’t able to shake your hands personally. And of course to Nuffnang for bringing more than 300 bloggers across Asia together in one event, Pringles, Canon and Uniquely Singapore for being the host country this year. Of course big thanks to the duo Ming and Tim for founding Nuffnang and escalating blogging to this scale.

I never really expected this event to be so big until I saw all of the bloggers in all their glitz and glamour in one setting. Being a black tie event and walking on red carpet made this event really elegant. We learned that there were around 10,000 nominated blogs and it’s such a feat to be able to trim them down to 60 in number. The food at Pan Pacific was also good, I loved the Tartare and the dessert. The awarding ceremony was straightforward and entertaining. Allan Wu was a great host. I liked how they we spread out the dinner across the awarding announcement with a few entertainment in between.

XiaXue and Kenny Sia were a real riot. But I think the grand winner of the night was XiaXue as she got 3 awards – The Most Influential, Best Blog Design and the main award Region’s Best Blog. Everyone was so busy after the awards that I didn’t get to have my picture taken with XiaXue.

Not to extend this speech any longer. Let me cap off this post with one big grand THANK YOU!