Category: Philippines
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A South Cotabato Road Trip
IT’S JUST AFTER EIGHT on a Tuesday morning, and I’m riding on a motorbike with Kind. We’re two hours into our journey through the national highway going to Lake Sebu, and we’ve passed through the towns of Polomolok, Tupi and Koronadal, where we’ve taken refuge in a roadside shed as rains poured after heavy clouds ominously hovered…
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General Santos: Convergent
HIGHLY URBANIZED General Santos City – the Philippines’ southernmost city, and the political and economic center of the SOCCSKSARGEN region – is considered mainly a gateway to other nearby destinations, and is thus lacking in traditional sights. For the determined traveler, though, GenSan’s undersung sights can fill up half a day of exploring. The last time I was here…
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A Quick Escape to Taytay Falls in Majayjay, Laguna
Having our fill of the decorated houses in Lucban, we set off for a quick side trip to Taytay Falls at the foothills of Mount Banahaw. Located in Majayjay, Laguna, this natural wonder is just a 15-minute jeepney ride northwest of Lucban, making it an ideal retreat for festival-goers looking to cool off. From the…
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Lucban: Pahiyas Festival 2016
Houses are adorned with multicolored leaf-shaped rice wafers and every conceivable vegetable found in the residents’ kitchens. At almost every door, vendors are selling habhab, stir-fried noodles served on banana leaves and supposed to be eaten without any utensils or hands. And at the town church, throngs of crowd flock for the day’s mass. It’s…
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Buenavista, Marinduque: Bottom of the Heart
ABOUT FIVE MINUTES out of Buenavista’s center, and the houses have already given way to the jungle. The highway first runs flat through rice fields and wide grasslands before slowly turning into an inclined road as it snakes through the mountainsides. The tricycle I’m on easily takes on the smooth course, and as it zooms on with me…
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Mogpog: Moriones’ Birthplace
A WAVE OF MORIONES sweeps around the town of Mogpog as trumpets accompanied by steady drumbeats pierce the otherwise quiet place. The parade goes through the streets with the men marching under the blistering sun. They reach the covered basketball court in the town center and the music falls into silence. The crowd gathered at the venue…
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Gasan: Unexpected Trek
A LONE NIPA HUT stands on a sweltering clearing, then the man by the fence greets the two men walking through the nearby trail. The man and the older of the two passersby momentarily converse in a deep southern Tagalog accent before going about their respective businesses. The scene is unfolding in the trails I’m…
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Boac: Warm Welcome
IT ALL STARTED with an invitation to see the Moriones. So for five days I find myself in the “Heart of the Philippines.” That’s what the residents of Marinduque call their province, a heart-shaped island separated from the coast of Quezon province by the Tayabas Bay, and is just about located in the center of the…
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40 Days of Veganism: 2016 Edition
I have become a vegan again for 40 days as part of our church’s prayer and fasting every Lenten season. This period marks a time of reflection to prepare for Christ’s Resurrection on Easter Sunday. The tradition of fasting started with the Catholics a symbol of sacrifice in their lives and is now practiced by some Protestant groups. In…
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San Juan, La Union: Thirty-First
Five hours after a heavy dinner in a restaurant in Makati, I’m in a van that has passed through the North Luzon Expressway, then the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway. The roads have become narrower since we entered the Ilocos Region, where I’ve been a couple of times in the past year. A few hours more and the familiar sign pops up, saying we…
The Tourist Gaze 