Booked.

Went a little crazy yesterday messing about the online booking facilities of Cebu Pacific and AirAsia, since both have ongoing free flights promos. This is not the first time I’ve done this; when I hear that there’s a promo I always go a little crazy - think of places to go, pester possible travel buddies; try out a couple of hundred booking possibilities, get frustrated when I learn that all the long weekend/holiday free flights have already been taken - the whole thing is really an exercise in frustration.

Not this time though.

This time, after a few hours of nitpicking, Don and I were booked for a Cebu Pacific Manila-Hanoi trip in early December. Ticket cost per person: PhP4,834, plus PhP250 travel insurance. Thanks Abby for letting us hitch on your credit card. Yeah, I know, I really should get my own, if only for times like this, he he).

Plenty of time to read up on Vietnam. Yey! For those who’ve been there, travel tips are welcome

 

Batanes overload

What better way to test WordPress’ great new gallery feature than a gallery of my Batanes pictures? I’ve been indulging my Batanes high by posting five Multiply albums (yes, five), but for this blog I have selected my favorite photos (I’ve spared you all the grinning photos of myself, he he).

Ten Best Reasons to go to Batanes (and I have to point out the list is by no means exhaustive):

1. The place is so beautiful it’s almost impossible to take an ugly photo. People say that they feel that they’re in another country, because Batanes is so unique and so unlike the rest of the Philippines. Get over it, people. It’s the Philippines, and it’s beautiful. You have to go there at least once in your life, and put it way up in your list, before other foreign destinations like Hong Kong or Singapore or what-have-you.
2. Ivatan culture is a distinct and rich heritage, and the people of Batanes are also pretty protective of it. However, heritage conservation is also hard, not to mention costly, work, and I hope that the province gets more support on this endeavor.
3. The people are very friendly everywhere you go. I know that the phrase “friendly people” can be applied to a lot of places, but nowhere else have I encountered it to such as degree as in Batanes. Everywhere you go, people smile at you, the kids eagerly pose for pictures, and they humor your newly-learned Ivatan greeting of “Kapian ka pa nu Dios!” with the requisite reply “Kan imu pa” ever if your accent is pretty atrocious.
4. The islands offer an interesting mix of adventurous and leisurely activities. One day you’re sitting on the ground and silently contemplating the majestic green hills and cliffs, or maybe taking photos of old houses, and the next you’re hiking up the hills in search of an ancient burial site, or crossing the open seas and trying to fight sea-sickness.
5. You get to explore your deepest roots. Some of the country’s earliest settlers, originating from the eastern cost of Taiwan, entered the archipelago by way of Batanes and worked their way downwards. Numerous unexplored archaeological treasure troves are scattered around the islands, and you can literally stumble upon some piece of pottery dating back around 4,000 years ago.
6. Equitable sharing of resources; sense of community. Everyone owns land in Batanes, and even if you have to sell, the practice is to sell to relatives or at least fellow Ivatans, not to outsiders. This has been a huge factor (aside from, no doubt, the remote location) why Batanes has largely succeeded in preserving its environment, heritage and way of life. Under the National Integrated Protected Areas System, the province is classified as a “Protected Landscape and Seascape.” This is defined as under the law as “areas of national significance which are characterized by the harmonious interaction of man and land while providing opportunities for public enjoyment through recreation and tourism within the normal lifestyle and economic activity of these areas.” Really, it’s a pretty accurate (albeit unwieldy) way to describe Batanes.
7. Garlic. I’ve never seen as much garlic in my entire life. Batanes garlic is much more flavorful than the cheap imports from China or wherever, and it’s also organically grown.
8. The distinct culture and surroundings also inspire great artistic sensibilities. Check out this link for samples of modern Batanes art. Let me know if you want to buy paintings and I’ll hook you up with someone
9. The pleasure of the topload. I rode topload on our rented jeepney for much of our tours around the islands, and I must say that it’s definitely the best way to enjoy the beautiful sights – an unrestricted 360-degree view, with the wind blowing on your face, your camera at the ready. Just be careful and hang on; the roads are long and definitely winding. A windbreaker won’t be a bad idea, too
10. Once you’ve been there, I kid you not, you’d want to come back.

More Batanes photos and chronicles (Multiply):

Batan Island
Brgy. Diura, Batan
Itbayat Island
Sabtang Island

 

10th Tour of the Fireflies

Presenting the cutest participant to this year’s Tour of the Fireflies, held last April 20 in observance of Earth Day:

We had fun running around taking pictures. At least two of my friends are promising to join next year’s tour, so that should be even more fun. More biker pictures here.

 

The Other Side of Boracay

I’ve never been too crazy about Boracay to begin with; while the white sand beach is admittedly beautiful, I find the place too congested. As it turns out, there’s another possible reason for not being too crazy about the place. This story, posted by Dondon Marquez of Hands On Manila, is a real eye-opener about what goes on on the other side of the island, about what the real cost has been of the fast-track tourism development that is Boracay.

I urge you to read the article. Think about it the next you go to Boracay, tell the story to your friends who are going to Boracay. Responsible tourism does not necessarily have to be confined to the maxim “Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, kill nothing but time.”

Boracay, An Island Paradise?

by Dondon Marquez

Just got back from Boracay! My second time in 3 months. The first one was a pleasure trip but because I need to get familiarized with the so called “island paradise” for a future project called Hands On Volunteer Vacations of Hands On manila, I managed to touch base with the locals and the chamber of commerce. I spent most of the time interviewing people in the area, from bangkero to a policeman, from a waiter to resort manager…I did some bonding with the bookers ( eto yung mga naka ID na nag o-offer o namimilit ng bangka ride at iba pang raket), firedancers, entertainers…I needed to do all these things to know the reality of life among the workers in the island and to establish contacts for future deployment of volunteers. This time, I was there for four days to explore possibilities of partnership with some of the non-government orgs and community-based organizations...

Bago ako pumunta sa island, I only have one thing in mind…to close and finalize a partnership with organizations where volunteers can help and do community service while vacationing… Nagawa ko yun! Dapat masaya ako, mission accomplished, BUT I was so depressed after I visited the tiny ATI community in the island.

Ati tribe, were the original settlers in Boracay, they were nomads. Boracay was a real paradise for these black people because living there was so easy for them with its natural wonders and resources such as the white sand beach, vast varieties of fruits, veggies, fishes and a lot of animals… they were living harmoniously with mother nature. Until people started to develop it…and everything went on very quickly, DOT and the province of Aklan made the place so famous that all investors, tourists and businesses were erected in the area…and..they were successful… very successful that all of them were overwhelmed of the money that the “island paradise” is generating.

Sa likod ng pagunlad na ito ng Boracay, may naiwan, may nakalimutan at yun ay ang mga Ati na na ngayon nakakubli sa isang maliit na pamayanan sa likod ng isla, sa Bolabog, Mayroong 36 households (220 individuals) na nakatira dito. Sinadya ng mga tao, na ngayon ang nag mamayari ng mga lupa doon, na sila ay ilagay sa isang tagong lugar, naka-pader, sa gitna ng bahayan, dahil makakasira daw sa Turismo ang pamamalagi (existence) nila doon.

 

ready for more mcdreamy

I have a ton of stuff to do today, but when I saw this Grey’s Anatomy quiz link I just had to click away at it. The show resumes tomorrow after about a five-month break caused by the writers’ strike, and the quiz became a sort of fun refresher on the stuff that went down.

My score: 33 out of 50, described as “Pretty impressive score, for an intern…”

Fine, so the quiz included questions like where did Ellen Pompeo grow up (how the heck should I know?) or what’s Derek’s favorite flavor of ice cream (that was mentioned way back in the first season, and just a passing reference at that!), so I didn’t do too well. But, I did nail the fun questions like who was the first one to call Derek McDreamy, or what is considered to be Dr. Burke’s lucky charm.

All this, of course, just made me all the more eager to see the new episode, which means I have to go back to work so I’ll time to dawdle tomorrow. Well, good luck with that.

 

huh?

This is what you call a stressful situation:

Seriously, I don’t get it.

 

The mountain and I are not one (Sablayan Adventure Part II)

Let me tell you something about climbing mountains, and this is coming from someone who has tried it and, well, failed spectacularly. Climbing mountains does not just involve strength and endurance, as I initially supposed. It involves skill as well. It takes skill to walk on steep slopes, put your foot on loose ground, and not come tumbling down. It takes skill to haul yourself up walls of rock and find spaces for your feet among the crags. Skill, and a certain kind of courage, or maybe faith, that gravity will not take you down the mountain as it has every right to do.

My third day in Sablayan was spent in the company of a group of NGO workers, volunteers and local government staff participating in the Global Positioning System (GPS) training that Don was conducting. The training was organized by the Samahan ng Sablayenyong Mapagkalinga sa Kalikasan (SASAMAKA), a local environment NGO. The first of the two-day training was spent on lectures and basic lessons on handling a GPS unit. The second day gets the trainees to apply what they learned under real field conditions, and so we hied off to Sitio Pandurukan, a Mangyan community in Brgy. Pag-asa, Sablayan, the site of one of the rainforestation projects being supported by SASAMAKA and the local government.

The idea was that the trainees, divided into four groups, would take coordinates of the boundaries of the different forest plots the Mangyan farmers were taking care of, so appropriate maps can be developed. Indigenous tree seedlings have been planted in the sites a few months before, and they seemed to be growing nicely, with one of the Mangyan farmers boasting that in his plot, only 3 out of some 100 seedlings died.

So there we were, gingerly making our way up the steep slopes. We weren’t even on a mountain, it was basically just a clump of hills so the elevation isn’t that high, but the slopes were steep. You plant the trees partly to help prevent erosion, after all, so you plant them in steep, landslide-prone areas. And it’s not like there were well-laid out trails to follow, we were basically just following the Mangyan guides because they were the ones who knew where one farmer’s little plot of forest ends and another one begins.

 

the happy list

In compliance to a tag from Beng. As I told her in my reply to her post, I’m usually pasaway when it comes to tags, but wouldn’t you be like the ultimate killjoy to resist a tag called “The Happy List?”

Rule: Post 10 things that recently made you happy

1. the weight of a baby’s head as he fell asleep on my shoulder
2. the delight of using my new coffee press for the first time (and every time after that, for that matter)
3. finishing an assignment on schedule, in spite of all the dilly-dallying along the way, which obviously should not happen next time
4. counting down to our Batanes trip (4 days, wohoo!)
5. the freedom of being able to sleep late almost every day and work at home (yes, enjoy it while you can, never mind the slashed income for a while)
6. getting a funny text message from a loved one
7. going home to the province, enjoying my mom’s cooking and sleeping in my old bed
8. completing all 12 levels of Tumblebugs (see item 3)
9. testing out my new snorkeling gear and fins, which I got as a gift (thanks, Don!)
10. rain that fell right after I got home

I’m not tagging anybody in particular. If you feel you have a lot to be happy about, go ahead, knock yourself out. If you feel otherwise, well, all the more reason to do the list. Really, there ought to be something.

 

chicken tinola for the soul

The other day I saw a friend I haven’t seen in a while. We tried to catch up on things; I would have wanted to have proper talk over dinner because I knew she’s through some tough times right now, but something came up and she had to go.  When she got home later that night, she sent me a text message apologizing for not being able to stay.

“Na-share ko sa nanay ko mga happenings over a bowl of chicken tinola.  Yummy. Things didn’t look bad afterwards,” she said.

Somehow, that also made me feel better.

You see, I’m pretty sure that my friend is not the sort of person who is stupid enough to think that her problems will be solved by papaya and chicken broth, but she is the kind of person who can have a comfortable chat with her mother over a hot, home-cooked meal and afterwards say, “Well, things don’t look so bad now.  I can take this.”  I just found it so inspiring.  My friend can be sometimes be too nice and too naïve for her own good that we give her a lot of ribbing for it, and she gives off this fragile appearance; but behind all that, I realize that she’s a tower of strength.   Quiet strength, is the phrase that comes to mind. In a world where everyone thinks that his/her problems are bigger than everyone else’s, where the situation is always “complicated,” the power of my friend’s naiveté and chicken tinola can never be underestimated.

 

Pandan Island, Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro

Around 6:30 AM last Friday, six and a half hours after my journey’s start, I woke up, took off my hot pink eye mask that allowed me a few hours of relatively peaceful sleep (kailangan hot pink pa talaga no? bigay lang yun), sat up and groggily looked outside. Our boat was approaching the Abra de Ilog pier, and the weather was not looking good. I groaned. Is this going to be another rainy Sablayan adventure? What can this island possibly have against me?

My fears were unfounded, however. Barely an hour after our van left the pier (tama ka Harvey, may vans na nga! At isang beses lang sya nagka-flat tire, ha ha), the sun came out, and chased us all the way to Sablayan. As it turned out, the heavy rains were confined to the northern tip of Mindoro island. A friend called us up when we were nearing Sablayan, asking how we were doing because she heard in the news there was already flooding in Victoria, Oriental Mindoro. The next boat trip after the one we took was apparently canceled. In Sablayan, however, the weather was great. Clearly, things went my way this time around.

Anyway, the major implication of the good weather was that we were able to go on a day tip to Pandan Island.

Pandan is a beautiful tiny strip of an island only about 20 minutes by boat from the Sablayan town proper. The website of the island’s lone resort describes it as a “private island.” No such thing, of course, as far as I know, no one can legally own an entire island. But it is definitely “private,” in the non-legal sense of the word. An antidote to the crowded and chaotic atmosphere of Boracay, Pandan is just good, clean beach fun. It’s basically a stretch of fine white sand, good snorkeling/diving areas, a single resort, and beach forest. Should you wish to get intoxicated, the resort’s bar will happily set you up with your beverage of choice wrapped in its very own Pandan Island cloth bottle holder. For a different kind of activity, a trail that starts behind the resort takes you through a half hour’s walk through the woods and out to the lagoon on the other side of the island, where you’ll go, ooohh, so this is where all the rocks are hiding!

The resort is owned by a Frenchman, which explains the fact that the guests were mostly, if not all, French. We were the only local tourists that day, and we couldn’t care less, of course, because we only had a few hours there, and had two spanking new sets of snorkeling gear and fins to test out. I didn’t see the pawikan that Don encountered on a previous visit to Pandan, but there are plenty of other fish to make up for it, and to make me forget the fact that my swimming skills are actually pretty pathetic.

Pandan can also be your base in getting to Apo Reef, one of the country’s top dive sites. For now, I was content with a day trip and a few hours of snorkeling in Pandan, but next time, next time…

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More pictures in Multiply