Knowing Moises Padilla

May 29, 2007 at 7:29 am | In Philippines, travel | Leave a Comment
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“When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” -Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
Paulo Coelho is a genius.  I wanted to write and write…and I want to write about my experiences, especially in my travels.  I haven’t thought yet of my next topic when the topic presented itself to me…once again.  Yes, all the universe is conspiring for me to go on with my travel journals. :-) I was reading today’s Philippine Daily Inquirer and found one of its opinion columnists, Conrado de Quiros, mentioning Moises Padilla in his article.

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That got my mind reeling and it never left my thoughts even as business hours come to a close.  Moises Padilla was a political figure in Negros who have been murdered by his political opponents.  He was a staunch Ramon Magsaysay supporter.  His bravery has awed the people of his time that his name was immortalized when Magsaysay named a town after him.  Sad to say that Filipinos today don’t have any inkling who this person was or even the town that bears his name.

How should I not know when my mother’s family grew up in Moises Padilla, more commonly known as Magallon.  My grandfather was once a mayor of the town and during his reign had one of the barangays named after his father, Quintin Remo.  I grew up with an image of Moises Padilla as a sluggish town.  After my lolo’s reign, my mom and her siblings moved to Bacolod and other towns in Negros.  We would only go to Moises Padilla during All Saint’s Day to visit my maternal grandmother’s grave.

That was until my uncle came back to Moises Padilla to settle his family there and to try his hand to…what else but politics!  Since then, I have spent weeks and months in Moises Padilla for vacation, campaign period or not.  My uncle’s house in Barrio Guinpana-an was built on a hill between two rivers, and right by the highway.  During their first year there, they had no television and had a few furnitures.  The only past time we can have at night was to chat and laugh and to listen to the sound of the river.
At daytime, when not at the river, we would be picking fruits from trees around the lot.  It is the rural life for me — caraboas, rice paddies, mountains, dusty roads, trees and serenity.  The last time I went there was when I was still in college.  We would visit the small falls or the springs that are not commercially developed.  Swimming beneath the trees in the coolness of spring water was one of my closest brush to nature in it’s raw and pure form.  I’m proud to say that I have experienced it and cherished it.

Boracay Madness

May 28, 2007 at 5:29 am | In Philippines, travel | Leave a Comment
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Boracay never fails to amaze tourists.  I’ve been trying to avoid writing about Bora but a friend just sent a link to his blog and lo and behold the first article I read was about the beautiful paradise island in the Visayas.  Oh, well, paradise could mean a lot of things to a lot of people.

Don’t get me wrong here.  As an Ilongga, I’m proud of Bora and the status it has achieved.  I’m still hoping whenever I watch “Beach Breaks” at the Discovery Travel and Living Channel that I would see Boracay among the lists of world’s best beaches.  It is…with its pristine beach, white sand, clear waters, and all its natural beauty and glory.  I was pretty excited to get to Boracay on my first time to visit this island.

So when I first stepped on the island, I was amazed by the soft touch of fine sand that tickled my feet.  D’Mall and the bars around it were impressive and they could make you forget about boredom and being stranded in an island.  You can shop till you drop and eat a feast till you grow full.  The rustic life of the province and the dynamic social swirl of the city joined forces in this small dot in the map.

Going there just a year after I visited it, Boracay has lost its mystique to me.  The flirtatious aura of the paradise has gone amok and showed its libertine self.  A party one night and getting drunk till the wee hours of the morning got me satisfied yet not wanting more.  Sadly, it was more of the shopping, the body watching and the partying that took most of my time.  And for three days, I got to dip for just 30 minutes in the water.  In fact, you can see so few people swimming.  They were all out having fun in the sand or in the bars.  I couldn’t seem to reconcile the idea of a relaxing, undisturbed day by the beach with the noisy, crowded parties with neon lights.

On my last day there during my second visit, I had to take the boat from the very end of station one.  All I saw was a beautiful cliff, families swimming, cool breeze of air, the beauty of seclusion… the endless beauty of a shy maiden not wanting to be discovered.  That’s the other side of Bora, the other side that I have come to admire.  I got a free accommodation in one of the resorts there.  I’m contemplating of coming back.  If ever I do, I’ll definitely wander at the rocks off the edge of the cove and get intoxicated by the hidden beauty of Boracay.  Burp!

Spotting spotted whale sharks

May 24, 2007 at 5:01 am | In Philippines, travel | Leave a Comment
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I was watching the evening news the other night and I heard the story on environment groups worldwide doing something to protect marine animals like dolphins, whales and sharks. On the local front, the Butandings, or whale sharks, of Donsol, Sorsogon was cited.

Straight from a four-day escapade in Palawan, memories of our Donsol trip started rushing back to my mind. With the overnight land trip going there (and another night on the road going back), our Donsol trip wasn’t that easy. We were there in time for the Butanding Festival although we never purposely planned for the festival. We weren’t the only visitors in Donsol. Entertainment and games were available at the town’s basketball court every night where people flock to enjoy themselves. The place where we stayed, which was like an ancestral home, was just a few steps away so we couldn’t resist the temptation to try our hand at the perya. We lost a few pesos but, what the heck, just for the fun of it.

Back to our under-the-sea adventure. We road a pump boat that brought us to the middle of the sea along with three hired hands: one manning the boat, a guide and a spotter. I found the Butandings were scary at first but after several jumps after, I got used to the vision of the gigantic whale sharks. Watching them swim was just the most amazing sight I have ever held. That’s why news of them being slaughtered really brings my blood to a boil.

But Donsol is not just about Butandings. Another interesting and, I might say, off-the-beaten-path pursuit in this small town are the fireflies along the river. At night, beneath the full moon and dancing nipa plants, these fireflies glow in the dark like tiny Christmas lights. They were just lovely to look at.

Next time you and your friends plan a trip, try to put Donsol in the list. Go there between March and April to avoid the rainy season. And go there not just to appreciate the whale sharks but also to advocate for their protection. Let’s all save our whale sharks. It’s one of the greatest beauty our country ever has. It would be a pity if they would be gone before you could even lay your eyes on them. But that reason is just mediocrity. We need to save them because like you and me, they are gifted with life from above. Have a great weekend everyone!

Offline and on-air

May 21, 2007 at 5:56 am | In Philippines, travel | Leave a Comment
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I’ve been offline from my travel journal all because I did some travelling…to Puerto Princesa, Palawan! Yup, that took me out from my laptop as I’ve gone on the air to fly to this widely-acclaimed tourist destination in the country. I was supposed to tell you more about Negros but I’ll do it some other time. While I still burn (figuratively and literally…my back is red from sunburn) for Palawan, let me excite you about our journey.

We stayed in Puerto Princesa, a quiet and simple city. But I’ll not bore you on the details of Puerto Princesa. There’s nothing much to say about the resort where we spent our four-day vacation. It was in a secluded area and even the locals didn’t know it existed. The one running the resort treats the place as Puerto Princesa’s classified top secret so I guess I shouldn’t reveal the name of the place. I’ll just call it the “Giant Pot” because of the giant flower pots scattered in the area; or “Solar Light” because of the garden lights that is run by solar energy; or…okay, let’s stick to the first alias before I think of other weird names.

We were a big group–14 in all!–and my companions were just outrageous and funny. The first batch arrived Thursday at 10 a.m. We proceeded to have our brunch in Chicken Inato. With the scorching sun, everyone just decided to take a nap at high noon right after eating.

Picture-frenzy that we are, we went to the beachfront to check out if we can already take a dip but the beach has lots of mangrove that we found it not-so-ideal for swimming. So, we decided to head to our first destination, the Iwahig Penal Colony. With just a single male and the rest of us were ladies, we were assured of a “captive” market for guys in this prison without bars (just kidding there!!!). But hey, I didn’t expect Iwahig to have a picnic ground, a small stream where visitors can swim, a souvenir shop and even a viewing deck! We also stopped at the Butterfly Garden on our way back where butterflies are held captive (there goes that word again!) in a small and simple garden.

The day after, the Aguila family joined us and off we went to Honda Bay for some island hopping, swimming and snorkeling. Ever heard of Loli Island? (that’s how the locals pronounced it) It stood for Lolobog-Lilitaw! We enjoyed the white sand beach at Snake Island and the colorful corals the whole day. The rest of the afternoon was spent on some cold desserts at Bakers Hilll where we met a wonderful couple, Homer and Marge, the famous ostriches at the hill.

Okay, now for the most exciting part. It’s the day for the Underground River exploration! After two-and-a-half hour drive through smooth and rough roads and a few stops for picture-taking, we finally made it to Sabang. We met Michel (French guy) and Michelle (Canadian woman). They weren’t together but both of them were looking for a group which they can join in the Underground River adventure.

The Underground River was both creepy and fascinating. What with all the rock formations, you can sharpen your imagination out of the images you see inside the cave. But don’t let your imagination wander too far or you’ll end up entertaining not-so-beautiful thoughts when inside the Underground River stretch.

Four days seem not enough for Palawan. Before we knew it, the trip was over and I’m back tapping on my keyboards. Okay, so there’s still El Nido…and Coron…and Tubattaha…and the northern and southern ends of the island. Watch out for the photos…they’ll be coming out soon. I’ll post them in multiply or try checking my webshots (writeonthespot) site for new albums. I usually upload most of my photos there. I’m parking my pen to make way for my next online journey adventure.

A sock called Negros

May 15, 2007 at 6:34 am | In Philippines, travel | Leave a Comment
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It’s difficult to start off a travel blog. Every place has its own unique points and every place has something to offer. But to get this ball rolling, let’s get to the point of my origin. Don’t you worry guys, I won’t be doing a chronology or I’ll end up doing an autobiography. We’ll be jumping from one place to another and hopping from one decade to another (uh-oh!). So, let’s throw aside some form of system here and just grab a free and easy tour package in my travel blog.

Okay, so I’d be bragging about Negros Occidental and its capital city, Bacolod. You gotta grant me that because I owe this place a lot. I wouldn’t understand what “Tinubuang Lupa” means without the travels I’ve done around my own province and the life I’ve spent there.

If Italy is shaped like a boot, Negros, on the other hand, is shaped like a sock. I want to believe that Negros got the perfect spot geographically because whenever I look at the Philippine map, it is right smack at the center and it looks aesthetically beautiful.

Since my parents’ relatives are from various parts of the province, I always had the opportunity to travel to both north and south of Negros, although I’d say that I frequented the southern part more. Negros was known to be the sugar capital of the country and many haciendas are found in every town and municipality. In fact, it has the most number of cities, apart from NCR. Yet no skyscrapers could be found in this island. Although it has many cities, these cities are still vastly sugarcane plantations along with a plaza, a municipal hall, a market and other establishments and insitutions.

Bacolod is fast developing with the entry of the malls but it has kept a culture of fun that I have grown fond of. Oh, well, Bacolod wouldn’t be called the “City of Smiles” for nothing. Everything seemed sweet there — the food, the scenery, the people. The aroma of chicken barbeque always fills the air and, at night, the stars bring luster to the city scene.

But the rustic life in Negros is what lures tourists to this province. By just looking back, I can almost taste the delicious breeze of the seaside and the mountains. The foods are always fresh and delicious and you can eat a feast at a cheap price. To top all of these, Negros’ selling point are the “malambing Ilonggos” who talk in a sing-song and friendly manner.

Come to Negros and you will still enjoy the simplicity of life. It has a charm that no real estate or commercial development can top. Just the sound of the river at Moises Padilla, or the exciting trek at Mambukal or the heritage of Silay or the morning mist in Kabankalan brings so much memories and joy to me.

The beginning of my travel sojourns

May 14, 2007 at 9:24 pm | In travel | Leave a Comment
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I am born to travel. I breathe enthusiasm and traveling has always been a passion. My friends have been asking me to post my travel journals on Multiply but I told them that I have them in my Travel Channel online community (my pen name there is “writeonthespot”). Well, my writing bug is itching and I couldn’t pass up this clamor so I’m starting a series of articles on my travels.

 

To start off, I’d give you a little background how my traveling affection came to be. As far as I recall, I don’t have a mole on my heel (old folks believe that travelers move a lot because of a supposed freaking mole on that part of the body). But my aunts and uncles, as well as great aunts and great uncles, got fascinated by me while I was a toddler that they would always borrow me and take me home with them. Since then, I’ve become a little companion to adult relatives. Every time summer vacation would arrive, there I would go pack my things, list down the number of clothes I had to bring (uh-huh, my mom taught me to organize) and I would wait for any relative to come by our doorstep then off I would go with that relative.

 

Sounds simple but it wasn’t. There’s always the pain of packing and unpacking and waiting in bus stations or ports. But I wouldn’t mind. Once the vehicle gets going, I would soar high with glee. Every sight, even the endless water in the ocean or the dusty plants by the road side, would bring interest to my curious eyes. I once passed by a grassy hill and I suddenly exclaimed to my companions, “It’s like the hill in the Sound of Music!” and I just got mixed reactions from them.

 

With that, I expect I’d be getting mixed reviews on my travel blogs. I’d be telling you of traveling experiences I had, my perceptions (take note of the word, so don’t take offense if I don’t get a good impression of the place I write), some anecdotes, tips for first time travelers and other tourists, and probably just some ramblings about the place.

 

Now, buckle up, take a deep breath and let’s go for a ride!

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