Bicol is Cool
Last weekend, I was sent by my office to Bicol to participate in a Franchise Business Seminar in Naga City. I’m not an ordinary participant there… speaker po ako! Oh hah, laban ka dun?! Hehehe! Actually, nauto lang talaga nung isang Business Development Officer namin to do the product presentation to the businessmen and aspiring entrepreneurs of Naga. Paminsan-minsan eh hinuhukay ko sa baul ang aking presentation skills at nanghihiram ng sangkatutak na english kay Mr. Webster. Hehehe! We were joined by 3 other marketing officers and their department head. Oh well, maganda naman ang feedback ni Madamme Vice President slash department head. Very fun and lively daw ang presentation ko. Whew, buti na lang na-impress! Hehehe!
Actually, di talaga yan ang kwnto ko. As always, pasakalye lang yan. Hehehe!
It was my first time to visit Bicol. I have been been invited by my past beau a couple of times some years back to celebrate the feast of Penafrancia. Kaso naman busy-busyhan ako sa work that time. (As if naman ngayon hindi na busy, hehehe!)
Via land lang kami so travelling to Naga was so freaking tiring. (Side comment muna: natutuwa akong gamitin itong “so freaking” term na ito ha! Hehehe!). Manila to Naga took us 11 hours. Eh kasi naman, may sunduan pang naganap sa Laguna, Batangas at Lucena. Anyway highway, along the way naman sila.
Grabe talaga! Ang daming pasakalye. Di pa rin yan ang kwento ko. Eto na po, promise…
As mentioned, I went to Naga to do a product presentation while my colleagues did some mapping of the place to identify prospective clients and get a feel of the community. We drove around the city. I noticed that Bicolanos have a way of mixing business and humour. A lot of establishments caught my attention as they have some catchy and playful names. I have seen some of these circulated via email but seeing them in person is really something else. Nakatuwa talaga. Too bad, I was only able to capture a couple of establishments. Bagal ko kasi humugot ng camera eh! Hehehe!
Anyways, the first one that caught my attention was from a menu at a famous restaurant called Lolo’s. Eto po ung menu. I zoomed it in to the desserts portion. Check out their halo-halo special…
Too bad, we didn’t order that. Di tuloy namin natikman kung masarap si Halo Berry! Hehehe!
Two nights lang kami sa Naga. Pero syempre, di namin pinaglas ang chance to have some fun gimmick on our first night. We went to this club called ‘Chili Peps’. Sayang lang talaga di ko nakita yung signage so I wasn’t able to get a snap shot.
Fast forward na tayo to our second night. Before we head back home, we did some last minute shopping in the downtown area. Since it was a bit late already, most of the shops were already closed. So we scanned each and every street. And while driving in an alley, we saw this barber shop. Kakatuwa ang pangalan. Eto po…
We just don’t know if that’s the official barbershop of all US Presidents. Actually, nasa left side ito nung van namin. Tapos, when we looked at the right side naman, eto nakita namin. Say nyo, super magkatapat talaga sila ah!
Si Nicolas Cage naman yata ang endorser nito! Hahaha!
Grabe, ang kulit ng mga Bicolano noh?! Sayang talaga, yan lang napikchuran ko. Promise, I’ll take more snapshots next time. Hehehe!
This is all for now. Til next post!
Cebu Side Trip
(Feb 1 to 2, 2008) So, tuloy ang biyahe from Bohol. We took Supercat to take us to Cebu. It was just a 2-hour trip. Di talaga ako naiinip kasi naman palabas sa plasma TV eh Night at the Museum. I really like this movie. Very amazing story line. Not to mention, it’s jammed-pack with big-named actors.
Anyhow, we arrived at the Cebu seaport at around 4 p.m. Nikki was able to contact an officemate (yep, our office has a branch in there) and have requested to arrange a room for our overnight stay in Cebu.
I have been in Cebu some 5 years ago and learned that the place is not so far from the Manila atmosphere. Very urbanized and people are almost the same. Oh well, except for the accent huh?! I just don’t know if this similarity between Manilans and Cebuanos is something of a compliment or an insult! Hehehe!
We were approached by a taxi driver and agreed to take us to our branch in Mango Street, not too far from the seaport. The driver immediately said priced his “hatid” service at P200. Since pagod na ako sa aking mga bagella, I wanted to give in. Good thing, Nikki was still in her proper state of mind, called our officemate and asked for a standard rate for that short trip. Hala, P60 lang daw kasi sobrang lapit nga! See, very Manilans di ba? Hehehe! And so, Nikki hailed another taxi and arranged for a much lower taxi fare. Hayan, nakasakay na rin kami sa wakas.
We never planned to make our Cebu trip/stay extravagant… para naman yung Bohol trip eh extravagant noh?! Hehehe! We just checked in to this very affordable inn located in uptown Cebu. Wa na tell ng name ng inn, di talaga cya ganda-gandahan! Hehehe!
We really don’t have any itenarary for this side trip, so we just spent the entire afternoon strolling. Syempre we went to places and did things that we don’t usually go to and do in Manila or Makati. We went to Robinson’s Galleria and ate at Mang Inasal. We also went to Ayala Center to do some window-shopping and spent some coffee moments at Starbucks. Oh di ba naman, di namin ito madalas gawain sa Manila. *Over-sarcasm* Hahaha!
But there’s one special store that really made my day… Bisaya Ispisyal! This is a simple store that sells statement shirts… in the Visayan language huh?! Actually, nakabili na ako dito dati. Pero it was just a simple shirt that said “I got this shirt in Cebu”. Small size yun, so obviously di na sya kasya sa akin. I really had fun browsing each and every merchandise. Read each one of them and asked the saleslady to transalate every bit of it. Hehehe! Eto namang saleslady, super offer ng shirt that said “Maldita”… back-to-back ah! Grabe, nagulat ako at kilala nya ako! Hahaha! Pero syempre gusto ko yung mas subtle so I opted to get this shirt (actually, si Nikki ang nakakita nito)…
Tagalog translation: Okay lang suplada, basta maganda!
Oh di vah?! It’s so me! Hehehe! Kapal!!! Actually, yung suplada portion eh tama. Pero yung, maganda? I’m sure, kelangan ko pa kayo i-bribe para lang pumayag! Hehehe!
Si Nikki, maganda rin yung nabili for Danny and her brother. It said “F.B.I.”… acronym yata for Fulltime Babe Inspector. (Nikki, please confirm! Hehehe!) This shirt store is really awesome. Don’t miss visiting Bisaya Ispisyal when you get to visit Cebu huh?! Hmmmnnn, kelangan ata bayaran ako ng Bisaya Ispisyal for this PR huh?! Hehehe!
So, that was our day 1.
Day 2 was kinda long, hot, tiring and overly irritating with some dash of fun and kilig on the side. Mind-tickling statement noh?! Hehehe!
As I said, we don’t have anything much planned for the day. Ang main agenda lang namin eh Sto. Nino Minor Basilica and Magellan’s Cross. Since these sites are both located in downtown Cebu, mejo di maganda ang kapaligiran. Think of Tondo, Binondo, Divisoria, Sta. Cruz and Quiapo. Do you now get the picture? Five years ago, I was warned by my then-officemates to guard all my valuables as pickpockets are all over the place. Pareho pa rin ang warning sa amin after 5 years. Kaya etong si Nikki, naparanoid yata at super kapit talaga sa bag nya. Anyways, nothing bad happened to us naman. Thank God!
We all enjoyed our visit at Sto. Nino Church. Maayos talaga maintenance ng church. Ang galing nila magpreserve history. Similar to that of Baclayon Church, the Sto. Nino Minor Basilica has so much history to tell. And not just history huh?! Doon lang naman nagsimula ang history ng Pilipinas. At syempre, ang all-original image ng Mahal na Poon na galing pa kay Master Magellan ay nandoon. Etong si Mudra, wish talaga pumila at humapos sa Mahal na Poon. Kaso naman, kahaba ng pila na tila bagang aabutin kami ng limang oras para maihaplusan ang Mahal na Sto. Nino. Mabuti at pumayag si Mudra na ipagpaliban ang pagpila. Sabi ko sa susunod na balik na lang namin. Eh kelan kaya yun?! Hahaha! So, head na lang kami sa Sto. Nino Museum.
Bawal magpicture sa loob kaya sorry, walang proof na nakapasok kami. Hehehe! The museum stores more of the Cebu history. But there’s one particular thing that caught my attention. A standard looking cabinet filled with toys. Yep, you read it right… TOYS! As in lots of toy cars, different kinds of robots (Voltes V and Mazinger Z included!), pati trolls meron huh?! Sobrang dami talaga. There’s an article posted at the side. Gifts pala yun ng mga little kids sa Mahal na Poon. Yun iba naman, gifts ng couples na biniyayaan ni Sto. Nino ng anak. Nakakatuwa talaga. And I guess, each of those toy has a story to tell as well. And each of them is now a part of Sto. Nino’s history.
Matapos ng museum, we spent some solemn moments sa prayer-wth-matching-tirik-ng-kandila area. Ano ba kasi tawag dito? Katulad din nung sa Baclaran at St. Jude 😉 Sympre, silent moments ito. In deep prayers kaming tatlo nila Mommy at Nikki. After saying my ardent prayers, naglikot na naman ang mga kamay ko. Picture-picture na naman! Here’s one of my shots…
Ssshhhhh… wag ka muna maingay, in deep prayer si Mudra. Actually, eto ang lagi nyang dasal, “Lord, sana po bigyan nyo na ng boyfriend ang anak ko.” Mudra, sindi ka ng kandila! Baka di effective pag walang candle! Hahaha!
Next stop, the Magellan’s Cross. So lakad na kami. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 steps… and wallah! Magellan’s Cross! Ang layo, grabe! Hahaha! Gulat talaga sila Mudra at Nikki dahil sa labas lang ng Sto. Nino Church yung Magellan’s Cross. Akala pala nila sa ibang lugar. Hahaha!
So, picture-picture na naman. Haller??? Wala naman ibang pwdeng gawin dito aside from pictorial noh?! Ay meron pala! Pwede pala padasal at pasayaw sa mga locals para mag-anak. Kaso naman baka batukan ako ni Manang prayer warrior slash dancer at hanapan ako ng asawa! Hahaha! In fairness, ang hirap pala pikchuran nitong Magellan’s Cross. Kelangan pang gumapang sa floor just to get one good shot. Anyhow, I was able to get this one pwede-na shot. Here po…
Ayan, wala na ako sa picture ha! Alam ko, by this time eh sukang-suka na kayo sa itsura ko! Hehehe! Tsaka, moment ito ng mahiwang krus ni Magellan noh?! Hehehe!
Around 12 noon na, so back to home base na ang drama namin. Syempre, kumain kami sa isang resto na wala sa Manila. What else? Eh di Jollibee! Chicken joy… Visayan version! In fairness, kalasa din ng sa Manila! Hahaha!
Nothing much happened the entire afternoon. We just killed time (Oo, mamamatay oras kami! Hahaha!) kasi 5:45 p.m. ang flight namin. Ikot-ikot sa Robinsons. Bili ng pasalubong sa Shamrock. Nangulit sa Watsons. Balik sa hotel. Nood ng movie at Americal Idol sa cable. Then, grab ng bagahe. Ready to go to the airport.
We opted to go to the airport early. Ayaw na namin mapagalitan noh?! Besides, nagpromise kasi itong si Nikki na maaga kami sa next flight namin.
4:00 p.m. airport na kami. Derecho sa check-in counter. Tila bagang may konting commotion. May naulinagan ako na delayed ang flight. Nakichika sa nakapila. Hala, delayed nga! Ang first tsismis baka daw ma-move ng 10:50 p.m. So, pila pa rin ako. Pero syempre namumuo na ang init ng ulo ko. Lapit na ko sa counter. Tama nga! Our flight was tentatively moved to 10:50 p.m. That’s a 5-freaking-hour delay!!! At sabi pa, earliest daw ung 10:50 p.m. Tama ba un? Ano ‘to? The Terminal Part 2?
So, when it was my turn to check in, buo na ang init ng ulo. Hay, nailabas ko tuloy ang pagkabwisit ko. Eto ang statment ng mahaderang Winkie, “Nung 5 minutes akong late, pinagalitan nyo ako at halos ayaw ipa-board! Tapos ngayong, 5 hours kayong late, ang sasabhin nyo lang eh sorry?!” Kawawang staff, di naman nya kasalanan yung delay di ba? Pero tuloy pa rin ang pagsusungit ng, “So, ganito na lang ito? Five hours is five hours, Miss! Dapat yata eh magpa-dinner kayo!” May sumagot na tinig sa tabi ko at sabi, “Magpapa-dinner naman sila, Miss.” Lumingon ako sa lalaking pakialamero. Hala, cute! Tapos sabi pa, “Tsaka bibigyan daw tayo ng travel voucher.” So pa-girl na ako and replied back, “Ah ok. Sabi ko nga ok lang na ma-delay eh!”
In fairness, cute talaga yung guy. Maliit lang cya (sa height huh?!) pero cute. Akala pala nito nina Mommy at Nikki eh nakakita ako ng friend kasi chika galore na kami nung guy nung pinuntahan ko sila sa upuan. Gulat sila at nakausap ko lang yung guy sa counter. Oh well, Nikki saw the actual flirty-side of Winkie. Hahaha! Sayang lang, nawala itong si Cutie. Bibigay ko pa naman sana sa kanya cellphone number ko kahit hindi nya hingiin. Hehehe!
So sabi ko nga, five hours is five hours (and not ten hours! hahaha!). Excruciating experience talaga ito. Since very creative kami, nakagawa kami ng paraan para libangin ang mga sarili sa loob ng limang oras. Here are the top ten things we did to kill that 5-freaking-hours inside the airport:
1. Magcharge ng lahat ng gadgets (i.e. cellphones, iPod and digicam).
2. Magmasid sa paligid.
3. Suriin ang suot ng lahat ng taong dumadaan.
4. Laitin ang mga taong dumadaan (actually, mas nakakalibang ito! hahaha!).
5. Kumausap ng di kilala.
6. Makinig sa usapan ng iba.
7. Pag-usapan ang pinag-usapan ng iba (tapos, laitin din! hahaha!).
8. Manood ng National Geographic na parang silent movie.
9. Magdamot ng charger sa mga nanghihiram, pero ipahiram din.
10. Sungitan ng naghiram ng charger dahil ang agenda pala nila eh i-full charge ang cellphone. Eh weirdo pala nun, 1 oras yata ang magcharge ng cellphone eh 20 minutes before boarding na yun! Kaasar talaga!
Anyhow, to cut the long story short (hindi pa ba long story ito??? hahaha!), we surpassed that 5-hour delay. Matiwasay naman kaming nakabalik ng Manila.
Si Danny, sinundo si Nikki sa airport and they both offered us hatid.
1 a.m. of February 3, back to house na kami ni Mudra. Back to reality. Back to our usual life.
The end na po. Thanks for staying with me and bearing with my blog series. I hope I was able to take you to a colorful trip to Bohol and Cebu.
==============================================================
To Nikki and Danny, thank you as well! I really enjoyed our trip. You two are the best! You both rock! Til our next trip! San nga next pitstop? Out-of-the-country na ba? Wish ko lang, magpa-renew na kayo ng passport! Hehehe!
Bohol Trip (Day 3)
(02.01.08) 7 a.m. na ako nagising. It’s our last day in Bohol. I planned to wake up early so I could again take shots of the rising sun. Kaso we are in “tamad” mode so we all woke up late. Not that late though as I was still able to spend some quality morning moments in the all-white shore of Alona Beach. Despite its famous white fine sand, I have to admit that I did not completely fell in love with Alona Beach. It was an ordinary beach for me. Sorry for this disappointment huh?! I just feel na pang-Boracay ang byuti ko as I wanted a more lively and yet relaxing time at the beach. (Hmp, wala talagang henna tattoo!!! Hehehe!)
Anyhow, back to the story…
Nikki and Danny were still savoring their “higa” moments, so I dragged Mommy for a walk along the shore. They all got a bit confused why I packed my 3rd pair of Havaianas. Well, obviously, I have this dark agenda… pictorial with my Havs. Sayang naman kung hindi ko man lang sila mapikchuran sa beach noh?!
So, lakad na kami ni Mudra. Tingin-tingin… tila bagang naghahanap ng magandang location para sa photo shoot! Actually, naghanap lang talaga ako ng mejo konti lang ang tao kasi I’m sure I would look weird taking pics of my precious flip-flops. And so, I found a spot! Grabe talaga itong pagkaadik ko. Super hukay pa talaga ako to properly position my Havs. There’s one big problem pala… walang magpipicture! Hmp, so I took some solo shots of them muna. Then, inuto si Inay na magpicture. Kahit hirap na siyang tingnan ang LCD ng digicam eh in all fairness, nakakuha ng magandang shot. Here it is…
Ssshhh… sa tin lang ‘to ha, 10 shots yan bago kami makakuha ng isang maayos na shot! Hahaha!)
Since I was already done with my dark hidden agenda, we went back to our resort. Danny and Nikki were already at the resto taking orders for breakfast. And so, we joined them.
Parang nabayaran na namin yung 2nd floor ng resto at palagi na lang kami dun kumakain. It’s a very nice place kasi. Very nice view. Over-looking the beach. At sa kalagintaan ng aming masarap na agahan ay may napansin ako. Nakita ko si Santa Claus lying down on the shore. Siguro trying to get a perfect tan in the beautiful beach of Panglao. Please refer to my previous post entitled “The Paparazzi in Me” for the full details and supporting pics of this funny kwento. Hehehe!
The rest of the morning was spent for some (actaully,the right term is “lots and lots and lots”) pictorials and a quick dip in the swimming pool. Ke-laki ng dagat at sa swimming pool kami naligo noh?! Well actually, yung area namin is a bit malumot kaya we passed on taking a dip in the sea. Mali lang siguro talaga ang season ng punta namin… I guess the water is much clearer during summer. 🙂
Our 3rd day was a bit short as we needed to leave at 11 a.m. to do some last minute shopping. Our sundo, Mang Bert, was so kind enough to take us to BQ Mart for pasalubong shopping. Department store pala sya, so akyat kami sa 2nd floor. Hala, dami maganda! As always, I would get attached to browsing native bags… at syempre, buy ako! Nagdagdagan na naman ang mga ikakalat kong bags sa kwarto ko! Hehehe!
At around 1 p.m., we parted ways with Danny. Uwi ka kasi sya ng Manila. So we dropped him off to the airport. While Nikki, Mommy and I were dropped off to the seaport. Oh well, kasi rarampa pa muna kami sa Cebu.
To be continued pa rin…
Bohol Trip (Day 2)
(01.31.08) 5:30 a.m. ang call time ng aming dolphin watching adventure. Since mejo tired from the Day 1 tour, tanghali kami nagising. Manong Boatman had to wake us up for our next adventure in Panglao. Bihis ng mabilis. Mumog/Toothbrush. Suklay ng konti. Then, off we go. Syempre, super bring ng most important gadget of all… the digicam! Kelangan talaga ma-capture ang mga picture moments.
Honestly, I wasn’t that amazed with the sunrise view in Panglao. I just don’t know if Panglao is not a perfect place to take sunrise shots. Or sadyang jologs lang ako kumuha ng picture? Hehehe!
Anyhoo, dolphin watching ang unang drama namin. They said that it’s much better to visit Panglao during summertime as Australian whales also take part in this fun activity. Kaso nga January kami nagpunta, so no whales around. Mejo natagalan bago kami nakakita ng dolphins. Sabi nga ni Danny, dapat ata “Dolphin Waiting” ang tawag and not “Dolphin Watching”! Hehehe! Pero sadyang nakakatuwa talaga whenever the dolphins do their tricks. Mapapa-“woah!” ka talaga everytime na lumalabas sila from the sea. Well, may boring moments din. Kasi ang hirap habulin ng mga dolphins. Saglit lang kung magpakitang gilas. Kaya naman Nikki and I opted to watch a “different” dolphin. Itong “dolphin” na ito eh nakasakay sa ibang boat. Makisig at caucasian-looking. So, mas nag-enjoy kami sa nakita namin! Hehehe!
Mga 30 minutes din ang igunugol namin sa dolphin waiting, este watching pala! Then, Manong Boatman took us to Balicasag Island. But before we docked to Balicasag, may major event pa uli kami. It’s snorkeling time!!!
Snorkeling is not an new thing for me. I’ve done this a couple of times already. Haller??? Bitch person kaya ako noh?! Este beach person pala! Hahaha!
This snorkeling experience is a bit different though. We were asked to transfer to a “baruto”. Ito lang daw kasi ang allowed na bumaybay sa Snorkel Sanctuary at bawal ang big boats dun. “Baruto” is a much smaller boat na 2 persons lang ang capacity. That means, 1 boatman and 1 snorkeling enthusiast lang per boat. Si Mudra, wiz na join sa snorkeling. Nagpahatid na lang agad sa Balicasag Island at kelangan na daw nya mag-coffee session. So tatlo lang kami nina Nikki and Danny ang nagsnorkel.
So snorkel-snorkel na ang byuti ko.
Ok din naman. Kasi si Manong Baruto Boatman a.k.a Kuya Rey eh also served as my snorkeling guide and partner. Wiz na ko rent ng flippers kasi kaya naman ng Havaianas kong suungin ang mga corals. Ewan kasi kung bakit nakalimutan ko isuot ang aking ever reliable snorkeling sandals eh nadala ko naman sya!. Pero in fairness, wiz ako nagalusan. Second time na ito in the entire history of my beach and snorkeling life na hindi ako umuwi ng duguan. Madalas kasi eh sugatan ako! Hehehe!
So ayan na, feeling sirena (not shokoy huh?!) na ang byuti ko. Feeling among the fish and underwater creatures na naman ako. I felt privileged pa kasi nakapiling ko sina Nemo and Dory. Pati nga si Scarface eh kasama underwater experience ko. Hehehe! Grabe, very serene talaga under the sea. I really love this activity. Di kaya sirena talaga ako nung past life ko? Hehehe!
After an hour, stop na kami ng snorkeling. Nalimutan ko pala si Mudra. Ilang tasa ng kape na kaya nainom nya? Hehehe!
Next stop… the Virgin Island.
Virgin Island is a bit far. Siguro we travelled for like 20 minutes from Balicasag. Pero naman, it’s really worth the travel! Kaganda pala ng island na yun. There’s this long stretch of white sand that serves a pathway to the island. Wala daw tao dun kaya it’s called Virgin Island. Syempre, di ko papalampasin ang chance na ito… pictorial muna!
So we opted to end the tour. Nang makausad na bangka, hala, umaraw na! Sumikat ang matinding araw! Tila bagang nag-aasar! Ano ba? Para namang may sumpa itong Virgin Island! Nadedetect kaya nya kung virgin ang mga pumupunta. Malamang na-sense nya na di na virgin… ang Nanay ko! Hahaha!
So back to home base na kami. Back to Lost Horizon Resort. Gutom na ang mga galema sa tiyan kaya derecho sa kainan… brunch time!!!
We don’t have other itenarary lined up so we again opted to explore the shore. Resort hopping na lang ang drama namin. Kunwari hingi ng mga rates and borchures pero ang main agenda talaga eh magpictorial. In fairness, daming good pictorial locations.
Well, super relax mode lang kami the entire afternoon. Walk along the shore. Upo moments sa nipa hut. Men watching. Pictorial to the max.
Alona Beach is way too serene as compared to Boracay. Not much of a nightlife. No disco on the shore. No henna tattoo stations (I really feel sad about this). Nothing much to do. Bar hopping lang yata ang pwedeng drama eh! Hehehe!
Pero syempre, di ko pinalampas ang massage on the shore experience. Haaay, addictus talaga ako dito. Ang sarap talaga ng massage session under the stars and the pale moonlight with the sound of sea whispering in my ears. Very serene, refreshing and relaxing talaga!
After an hour of a good shiatzu massage, I felt so overly recharged!
Ganyan ang Day 2 namin. Simple and very relaxing.
To be continued…
Bohol Trip (Day 1)
Oh well, brace yourselves. Eto na ang full blast story of my recent trip in one of the provinces in Visayas. By now, you already know na naglamyerda na naman ang mga malilikot kong paa. Kung di ba naman nalunod kayo sa sangkatutak ng pics na pinagpopost kayo last weekend eh! Tsaka, I already gave you an initial glimpse of my Santa Claus encounter in Panglao. Kung naguguluhan kayo, well, better check out my photos or read my previous post first! Hehehe!
Anyways, simulan ko na ang kwento. Make sure you have merienda beside you, this will be long! Hehehe! Here goes…
(01.30.08) 5:45 a.m. ang flight namin to Tagbilaran City via Cebu Pacific. Oh well, late ako by 5 minutes on check-in time. Nikki (my officemate) and Danny (Nikki’s hubby) were already at the airport waiting for me and my mom. In fairness, wiz nagalit ang magjowa sa aking pagiging fashionably late. Wa na chika, go straight agad sa check-in area. To my surprise, walang Tagbilaran sign anywhere in my sight!!! So approach agad ang byuti ko ng Cebu Pacific staff. Ayaw na kami ipa-board kasi daw late na kami. Eh syempre, di pwede yun as 10 a.m. ang next flight. So warla-warla ang drama ko sa check-in area. I thought, basta we need to be in that flight! Effective naman ang taray effect dahil pinaboard naman kami. Super sermon lang ang mahaderang Cebu Pacific staff and said, “Ma’am, next time agahan nyo po ah!” Etong Nikki sumagot at sabi, “Sige Miss, tomorrow maaga kami!” Hah! Jetsetter na jetsetter ang dating! Syempre sungit factor ako and said, “Yes Miss, next time di ako kukuha ng 5 a.m. flight!”
So, tuloy ang mga byuti namin. Board sa 747 aircraft. Si Danny, mukhang kinakabog. Hala, first time pala sumakay sa airplane. May I advice naman si Mudra, “Ok lang yan. Para ka lang nakasakay sa bus.” Hmnn, feeling jetsetter din! Hehehe!
Around 7am, landing kami sa Tagbilaran airport. In fairness, pangit ang landing. Di smooth. Jologs ng pilot! Hehehe!
Sa airport, hanap agad ng placard (tama ba spelling?) under my name. May nakita ako saying, “Ms. Winkie and party”. And so we approached the girl. Her name is Lenel. Sya pala ang tour guide namin. May welcome garland pa ang drama. Feeling tourist talaga kami! Hehehe!
Pag sakay sa van, start agad ang drama ng tour. Biglang kumanta si Lenel… something like “Welcome to Bohol” ang theme. Gusto kong tumawa kaso nakakahiya. Kaya smile galore na lang emote ko.
First stop, the most important spot… McDonalds! Hahaha! Totoo yan. Baka daw kasi di pa kami kumain. Pero sabi namin, ok lang. Next location na! Hehehe!
And so, start na ang tour.
The real first stop is the Blood Compact Site. In fairness, di ko sya agad napansin. Kung hindi pa itinuro at inexplain eh di ako maa-amaze. Oh well, para syang re-enactment ng blood compact in rebulto format.
Ang Nikki, intelligent! May phone in question agad na, “Is this the real site? Bakit parang walang marker?” Oh hah! Ibang level! In fairness, tama nga. Nasa ibang lugar ang actual Blood Compact Site. Pero di naman kalayuan from the rebulto format. Eto po, ang actual site…
Tuloy ang tour.
Visit ng sangkatutak na old churches. Sorry, di ako nakapagtake-down notes so wiz na details ng mga kasimbahanan. Loboc, Albur and San Joaquin Churches ang routine namin… not in chronological order though. Hehehe! Eto ang mga pictorial moments.
Matapos ang photo op sa mga old churches, go na kami sa superstar ng Bohol. Sabi ni Lenel, hindi raw si Cesar Montano ang celebrity sa province nila. Meron daw mas sikat kay Cesar. Who else?! But the smallest primate on earth… the Bohol Tarsiers!
Etong si Danny, excited to see the Tarsiers… kasi naman, may munting family reunion palang magaganap!
O di ba naman?! May resemblance talaga! Hahaha! (Peace Dan! In fairness, mas guapo ka sa tarsier! Hehehe!)
Then, tuloy na naman ang tour. Punta na daw kami sa Carmel. It’s a town 30 to 40 minutes away from the city. Guess nyo, kung ano matatagpuan dito? Well, ito lang naman ang highlight ng tour. We are off to see Bohol’s greatest pride… the Chocolate Hills. According to Lenel, it was used to be called Carmel Hills. Green daw sila pag ordinary months. But if it’s summer time, nagiging brown sila. Super chocolate daw talaga yung color.
Actually, may story daw yan. Long time ago, there was this foreign traveller who visited Carmel Hills in summertime. He was so amazed with the place. And when he got back home, he was inspired to write about the place. Since he forgot the town’s name, he instead named it Chocolate Hills. And from that day on, the majestic 1,268 mountains of Carmel town were called Chocolate Hills.
Oh
Oh hah! Trivia noh?! 🙂
There’s a cute gimmick at the viewing deck of Carmel town. May mga amateur photog dun offering photo op service. Ang drama… jumpshot! In fairness, cute yung mga sample pics. Etong Nanay ko, super pilit sa akin na magpapicture. Bagay daw sa akin yung may broomstick… para daw maging full-fledged witch na ako! Grabe, my mom knows me too well! Here is a sample shot… witch na witch ang dating!
Syempre di ko naman pinalampas ang opportunity for my mom to try that jumpshot. Kaya request galore ako ke Manong Photographer for a couple of shots with my mom. Hala, ang Nanay ko, naging instant celebrity dun at pinagkaguluhan ng local tourists. One middle-aged lady said, “Ay, pati si Lola mag-ju-jump!” Eh proud daughter ako, reply agad ng, “Of course! Say nyo 72 years old na yan!” So every jumpshot ni Inay, naghihiwayan ang mga fans nya. Eto naman ang jumpshot namin ni Mudra…
Ang saya nitong experience na ito!
Then, go to the next pit stop kami… the Hanging Bridge! It’s just a simple hanging wooden bridge. Pero since love ko ang mga wooden bridge, excited ako to see it. We need to pass the bridge daw so we can see Buko King on the other side of the bridge. Si Buko King daw can peel a buko with his teeth in 13 seconds. So tawid galore kami. Akala ko, si Mommy lang ang may fear of heights. Hala, pati pala si Danny! Pero in fairness to both of them, they braved the Hanging Bridge. At may picture moments pa! Kaso naman, itong si Buko King, absent that time. Sumakit daw ang ngipin at nagpunta muna sa dentista! Hehehe!
Since it’s a bit past 12nn, next pit stop na naman kami… cruise at the Loboc River with matching buffet lunch. O di vah, very MTV moments ang dating! Ganda ng view, in freshness! At may live background music pa! Kaso puro oldies and folk songs type ni Manong Vocalist. Nagrerequest ako ng Umbrella ni Rihanna or London Bridge ni Fergie, di daw nya alam! Hahaha! We travelled something like 2 kilometers (yes, nasukat ko ang nilakbay namin! hehehe!) and were taken to an Ati Tribe. Ang cute! The Ati youngsters played some instruments while the older ones danced the traditional Ati groove. Sandali lang kami dito as we were called back to the cruise ship (pasosyal! hahaha! sorry, di ko alam yung tawag dun eh! hehehe!). The Loboc cruise-con-lunch and Ati people encounter was truly a very nice experience.
And now, the last pit stops… the Baclayon Church and museum. Actually, nalapasan na namin ito. We opted to make this as the last pit stop as it was still close nung dumaan kami the first time.
The Baclayon Church and museum have so much of Bohol’s treasure and history. The church is preserved so well. Feeling ko na-timewarp ako back to 1800s. Sobrang old ng mga gamit and each one has a story to tell. Sayang lang, bawal ang picture-picture sa museum eh!
And so, that was the end of our tour. Nalakbay namin ang lahat ng yan from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m… kaya napagod ang seksing katawan namin.
Hatiran blues na sa resort. We were booked at Lost Horizon Resort in Alona Beach, Panglao Island. Akala namin tapos na ang drama ng tour, sing-galore uli si Lenel ng kanyang ending hymn. Visayan language sya so wiz ko understand. Basta “Balik Bohol” ang theme… in fairness, the tune is in my head now! Hehehe!
So check-in na sa resort. Nice naman ang room. Simple and clean. The bathroom is ok as well (mejo particular ako dito! hehehe!). And the staff were very friendly and accommodating.
We don’t have any plans of heading the beach yet as we got a bit tired sa tour. So idlip moments muna.
Nang maka-regain ng energy, go na to explore the shore. It’s nearing dinner na so we opted to find a place to eat. We saw this nice sounding resto, Oooops Bar! along the shore. Yung word na “Oooops!” is written upside-down which got us a bit more interested to dine in. Order ng food to chow. Tagal ng service in fairness. Pinigilan ko ang mainip at maasar. I instead asked for a glass of tap water kasi I was too thristy already. When the food arrived, galit-galit na kami. Kain to the max muna, later na kwentuhan. After we’re done eating, kwento-kwento. Picture-picture. Asaran. Then we asked for the bill. I scanned the bill. Lech!!! May bayad ang tap water! Bwisit na serbidora, di agad sinabi eh di sana nilunod ko na lang sa softdrinks ang sarili ko! Hehehe! Lech na Oooops Bar yan! Di na kami muling kumain dun!
So basically, yan ang aming Day 1 in the beautiful province of Bohol.
To be continued…
The Paparazzi In Me
I just want to share some funny photos I took from my most recent trip in Bohol. On our third day in the beautiful island of Panglao, I saw this strange foreigner lying on the shore, savoring Bohol’s tropical surroundings and perfect-for-tan sunlight.
I instantly associated the guy to a person so very familiar to most of us. Caucasian-looking. White beard. Big tummy. Do they ring a bell? Too bad, he wasn’t wearing his famous red suit. Anyways, it’s not Christmas season so he’s allowed to wear anything he likes.
I really had fun looking at the guy. Para talaga siyang si Santa. Check out my cute photos of Panglao’s St. Nicolas…
Feeling paparazzi talaga ako from the second floor of the resto. Kaso di ko na talaga matiis. I had to take a better shot of him since I really plan to write an entry about this funny experience.
So I dragged my Mom to the shore. Nagdrama pa ako na kunwari pipicture-picture in front of him. And when he smiled at me and Mommy, I didn’t think twice to ask for a photo with him.
Eto statement ng lola nyo, “Hi there! Can I have a picture with you? You look like Santa Claus.”
Sumagot naman at sabi, “Yeah, I know. Sure.”
At sagot na naman ang lola nyo, “I just want to post you in my blogsite. I’ll tell my friends, I saw Santa in Bohol.”
And then, nag-collapse ako. Di lang ako nagnosebleed… naubos ang dugo ko! Hahaha! Joke! Di yan naganap ha! Hehehe!
Kaya, heto po. Here’s my pic with Santa Claus in Panglao Island…
Katuwa noh?! Parang Santa Claus talaga! Kakandong sana ako… kaso baka di ako bigyan ng gift! Hehehe!
Oh well, this is just an initial glimpse of my Bohol trip. Watch out for the full kwento in my next entries (as in plural ah! hehehe!)
February Calendar
As promised, here’s the monthly doze of Joey Velasco’s art piece. This is our February painting.
Pagkasubsob
This painting is more than just about falling down. Picture a humble God who draws strength from a heavy fall; he allows a powerless and insignificant child to nurse his would, to love Him. This painting is about being humbled and awed at the same time. It is about alowing others to giv us a lift when we fall and feel weak. And as the paint dries and hardness on my canvas, it teaches me how to soften my stance and tenderdize the soul. Sometimes, all I need is a good cry.
==============================================================
Happy February to all! May this month bring you more of God’s gracious blessings.
Ang Maldita Mo, Neng!
10:05 p.m. Kauwi ko lang from office. Oh well, from Glorietta pala! Di po ako nag-mall tour, sadyang kelangan ko lang pumunta dun to buy some stuff for the office. Kinaladkad ko pa si Quennie, my officemate, para may kasama naman akong mapagod! Hahaha! Joke! (I’m sure, super maasar na naman nito si Quennie! Hehehe!) Actually, printer cable lang ang bibilhin namin. Ewan ko ba kung bakit napadaan kami sa Nothing But Water at napabili pa ako ng turquoise-colored 2-pc swimsuit! 😛
Ang haba ng pasakalye eh hindi naman yan ang kwento ko. This entry is about a girl seated next to our table at McDonalds. So, here goes my kwento…
Before Quennie and I had our separate ways, eh nag-feeling patay-gutom muna kami sa McDo. Order galore ako ng 1-pc chicken with rice… kelangan talaga ikwento ang kinain noh?! Hehehe! Well, since I got served first eh ako ang naghanap ng table namin. And so I found one!
While waiting for Quennie, I overheard this young girl, looked like in her early 20s, talking to someone over her cellphone. Di naman sa nakikinig ako but her voice was too loud that I mistakenly thought she was talking to me. LOL!
I then heard her say, "Oo nga, kelangan ko nga ng affidavit tsaka NBI clearance! Ikuha mo na kasi ako!" Ke-tapang yan sinabi nung girl.
Nung dumating itong si Quennie, my attention shifted back to our table and to my food, of course! At sa kalagitnaan ng aming kwentuhan, natamik kami when we heard the girl said, "Ano ba kasi Mommy! Makinig ka nga sa akin! Sundin mo na lang yung inuutos ko! Kelangan ko nga ng affidavit at NBI clearance!"
Siguro sumagot yung kausap nya sa kabilang line and she responded back, "So, anong sabi ni Daddy! Hay naku, kilala nyo ako kung paano ako magalit ah!"
More words were thrown to her mom while her voice became louder and sounded more rude. And then, BANG! Binagsakan nya ng phone ang nanay nya. She immediately told her male companion, "O wag kang magtanong ah! Di ako magkukwento! Kita mo naman binagsakan ko ng phone ang nanay ko!" Parang BF nya yung guy.
I jokingly whispered to Quennie, "Sana tumahimik na sya. Malapit ko na syang upakan at i-ngudngod sa pader!" 😛
Grabe, this simple eavesdropping-while-eating-dinner-at-McDonalds experience made me realize a lot of things. Firstly, may mas maldita pa pala sa akin! Hahaha! I have my share of I-have-the-right-to-talk-back-to-Mommy moments but not in this rude kind of way. That girl was overy disrespectful to her mom (or parents, I suppose!). She looked like an educated young lady but her rudeness was way over-the-top!
Then I thought, siguro fault na rin nung mommy… kung kinuha nya agad ng affidavit at NBI clearance yung anak nya, malamang di sya na sigawan nun! Hahaha! Seriously, I really think it was the mom’s fault. She shouldn’t have raised her child na nasasagot sya ng ganon. Mukhang di napitik ang labi ng batang yung when she was still a child. O kaya naman eh nasipilyo with detergent soap for every bad word that came out of her mouth. Oh yes, I experienced those when I was a child… kaya alam ko po lasa ng Tide at Ajax! Hehehe! It made me stop talking back to parents and refrain from saying foul words though.
I further thought, kung ang nanay nya ay ang Mommy ko, malamang sa malamang, nasa labas na ng bahay ang mga gamit nya. Automatically evicted sya sa Bahay ni Mommy! Hehehe! Oh well, lucky girl, di sya anak ng nanay ko! Kung sabagay, kung anak sya ng nanay ko, not in a million years will she have the chance to talk back that way!
Well, I pity that girl’s Mom. I can’t imagine how she felt after her daughter hung up on her.
And to that young girl, all I can say to her is, "ANG MALDITA MO, NENG!"
January Calendar
Note: This entry is a bit late as I planned to post this on the first day of January.
I love paintings a lot. I really admire (I think, envy is a more appropriate term for this :-)) people who can paint really well.
I was overly amazed with the special calendar I bought in the office in support to our company’s fund raising activities for Don Bosco. The calendar showcases the paintings of Joey Velasco, a Don Bosco alumni. It’s a collection of extra-ordinary artworks that depict Jesus in a very different way. Each of the painting has a story to tell… a story about Jesus in the lives of the marginalized.
I’d like to share to you the January painting and the story behind the artwork.
Hapag ng Pag-asa
Ten-year-old Emong is the boy drinking juice and sitting next to Jesus. I showed him a Hapag reproduction. Excitedly, he pointed at the man breaking bread and said, “Uy si Jesus! Nakita namin sa kalsada yan, pagod at gutom kaya niyaya naming kumain… minasahe at pinatulog.”. Such a cunningly powerful message from a boy. This is a banquet of poor kids who invited Jesus to dine with them.
===========================================================
I initially planned to post all 12 paintings but some of my friends with dial-up connections (hey, you know who you are! hahaha!) might have troubles loading this entry, so I opted to give everyone a monthly doze of Artist Joey Velasco’s painting. I will try my best to post each painting on the first day of the month for the rest of the year.
BTW, I googled Joey Velasco’s site. For greater appreciation of his other artworks, you may click on this link: http://joeyvelasco.com/.
Happy viewing! God bless y’all!
A Valuable Comment
Just this afternoon, I received an email from my good friend Jopet. It was his first email for this year. It contained comments on one of my entries entitled "Christmas Lowdown". His comments are really worth posting so I asked his permission if I could make it as an entry. I really find it interesting and thought that there might be other readers out there who share the same sentiments and comments about that one specific entry. Here’s Jopet’s email in verbatim:
"Hi bes, happy new year! I was in friendster yesterday and I was able to read your recent post. I just would like to tell you how I felt after reading your Christmas Lowdown posts… well, frankly, I was very disappointed and sad. Bes, I will not tell you this if I wasn’t your friend, let my say that first. To start with, I was disappointed on how you view the Christmas celebration in general. As I was reading your post, I was hoping to read something in the lines of something spiritual, you know, like something past the gift wrappers, decorations and shopping and more toward the real reason for the season. I know that with all the commercialization of the holiday season, the real reason for Christmas gets bured in all that, and we became cynical and everything becomes routine and just ordinary. It really made me sad. It was the "low" in lowdown. I kept reading until the continuation still hoping to find a turn in your outlook. Unfortunately, I did not find it.
My hopes were raised a bit on the next post titled My Best Christmas Gift. I thing somebody up there was reminding you who it was that the season was named after. I’m gald that it was this gift that you considered the bes that you received.
I’m sure you know what I’m talking about and that they are all in your heart, they just didn’t make it on your posts. Just like all the highlights of your entire 2007, all those blessings and the friendships brought closer by frienster, may God continue to shower you with His grace and love all throughout this new year and the years to come. God bless you Frances :-)"
Such note-worthy comment and analysis! Honestly, I agree with Jopet. I am completely aware that there was really something missing in my entry. So, I emailed him back with this reply:
"Ei bes! Thanks for the comments. Sorry to have disappointed you but I really did not dwell on the spiritual aspect of Christmas. I wanted to post that as another entry but I didn’t have much time na. When I re-read my entry after posting, I really wanted to edit and inject the real reason for the season kaso I felt na sobrang hahaba na sya so I just concentrated on my simple observations and how other people celebrate Christmas in our community. I just wanted to write about the things I miss about Christmas. Bes, very much intact pa rin po ang aking idea on the real essense of Christmas. As a matter of fact, I wanted to write about things from the advent recollection I recently attended here at the office. It was not just another advent recollection as there are a lot of new things I learned from that simple session. I wanted to share them through my blog as well kaso I know it will take me forever to compose that special entry as I need to keep it in a much serious mood. I have my notes on my cell pa nga kaso I dont’ think I’m suited to discuss serious topics like that.
I feel sad for myself as well for having such feeling about Christmas. I feel sal to see how Christmas is celebrated in our place. I feel sad to see the decreasing number of churchgoers whenever we sing for the Misa de Gallo. I feel sad to see young teeners attending Simbang Gabi as I know they only do it out of yayaan ng barkada. There are a lot more Christmas lowdowns that I wanted to write about. There’s a lot going on in my mind but I can’t write them all down.
Fr. Manoling’s CD was really the best gift I received. It’s not the CD per se, but the dedication written on it. His words "God bless you" was the best part of my Christmas this year.
Happy New Year to you, Bes! I hope my entries about Christmas will not keep you from reading my blogs."
I hope I didn’t sound overly defensive with this reply. But Jopet’s comments were rather constuctive and made me further realize that it was my mistake not to mention the real esssence of that special day. We all know that Christmas should be about the boy born in a manger and that Christmas should be celebrated with HIM through the Holy Eucharist. Probably, this is the reason why the season is called CHRIST-MASS.
These things were already on my mind when I was writing those entries, but still, I concentrated on the lowdowns and other superficial things we do on Christmas day.
A Quick Peek into Winkie's World 
