Cagayan-Davao-Manila-Davao-Cagayan de Oro

Okay so I haven't written anything in a span of 4 months or so. Lots of things has happened. Lots of things that I want to happen, didn't happen. 


I'm dividing my time between Davao and Cagayan de Oro now.  But most of the time I am here in Cagayan de Oro.  My father has decided to open a store here and I'm gonna be the one manning the site.  I don't think I will be able to travel a lot now.  On the other hand, that is fine too because well, it STILL does feel that I'm travelling mainly because of the fact that, I haven't really explored Cagayan de Oro that much.  And Bukidnon is another part of Mindanao that I want to be familiar with. It is the next town after Cagayan de Oro.  I do miss Manila sometimes.  I have friends back home that I miss a lot, cafes like Pan de Americana and Qizia, and just our house in Marikina which is near to everything! Now, I live in this small apartment, just right across this tower of a cellphone network provider.I thought at first it is a good thing. But living near a tower doesn't necessarily guarantee a fast connection/signal.  Anyway, I get chat hiccups a lot of times but that's fine.  There's nothing that I can do about it.



My Bisaya is getting better. I can say that I can pretty much comprehend what the locals say to me and I can already advise the cab driver the best route to use when I'm going home.  I think that's really important.  I'm working on my Bisaya accent like saying EKING for IKENG. I love how they change the I to E. And how they say tricyKOL for tricycle, peanut BRITOL when they mean peanut brittle, goGGOLS for goggles. You get the drift.  It sounds funny at first but I love the exaggeration.


My favorite word, I think I have mentioned this before, is LIBOG. Libog means "confused" in Bisaya.

But Libog in Tagalog, means totally different. It means HORNY. I love saying it most of the time without getting in trouble. Nalibog ko just means I'm confused but if you say that in Manila, I think people would really stare at me. Or maybe they think I have Tourette's.


This year Shao went back to Malaysia. But I met two new friends, Hans from Davao and Lester from Manila. I'm really happy to meet them! Hans told me that I should come and visit him in Seoul. I really want to try the Bunjee jumping there and ride the biggest rollercoaster in South Korea!


The last trip to Manila is hella tiring for me.  I think I might have abused my body too much, this will definitely haunt me when I'm 50.  Hans and Yong, his friend homestayed for two days. I wish I could've cooked them a nice Filipino meal.

Hans told me that Yong looks like a bear. I don't know why he said that...I don't know if it's because he had limited English. I wonder how he would described Yong if his English has gotten better. Actually for me, Yong looked like a hamster. Maybe the bear hamster.

I've been reading a lot. I have tons of books to finish.  I really should have make list.  I got a new Murakami book that I'm itching to read. But I'm trying to do a delayed gratification thing hee hee. One thing that I'm happy about--I think I will be getting my hands on Geek Love soon which is an awesome book about carnivals and freaks. The dark humour is a big come-on for me. My friend Les has agreed that I can ship it to his house in Alaska, same with what I've done with Pinball 1973 by Murakami when I asked Tom if I can have it shipped to Fukuoka. But Tom, being a good friend that he is, still hasn't asked his mom to mail it. But that's fine, as long as I know it's not lost or anything.

Very excited. Will be doing a lot of snail mails from now until the the end of November.  Not so excited about Christmas though.



 

Davao foodtrip third part: Italian restaurants

La Toscana Restaurant

Salutti

 

   

   

  

Davao foodtrip second part: The Sutokil Experience

EDCIL's SUTOKIL

After the great day we had at Isla Reta, Talicud Beach, Karla decided to have our dinner at a Sutokil Restaurant.  This is really my first time to have Sutokil. For some Bisdak or Bisayans, Sutokil is similar to Tapsilog in a sense that Sutokil actually means a combination of Sugba, Tola, and Kinilaw whereas Tapsilog is Tapa, Sinangag and Itlog. I had Imbao Tola, Tuna Belly Sugba and Kinilaw! So yummy! The price was only 179 pesos and it was good for two persons! WOW!

Laguna Food trip with Tom

My friend Tom studies in UP Los Banos. I visited him to go on a Laguna foodtrip! All the way from Marikina yo!  I really can't pass this up.  We rode on his motorbike and literally hopped from one cool restaurant to another.


Mio Cusina, Los Banos, Laguna

First stop is in Mio Cucina which is a classy small Italian restaurant.  Most of their clientele are professors from UPLB or probably researchers from IRRI.  The interiors are sort of Asian. The whole area used to be a bodega so you can imagine how small the space is.  They did a pretty good job though, maximizing the space.

                                           Tom playing with the flowers while waiting for our meal.

I ordered Pasta with Brocolli. I think Tom ordered Beef Stroganoff.  We also had Pako salad and 2 tall glasses of apple iced tea. Yummy.

We started off with Pako Salad which is extremely fresh. The salad also has sweet turnips and the pako, which are fern shoots, are so soft.  I like how the salad is topped with kesong  puti too. The vinaigrette is also great---not too sweet, not too sour.

 The pasta was great! I loved it. I am a fan of olives and this pasta has generous amounts of it.

After I finished my pasta, I went around the room outside so I can take pictures of it.

                                                                 This is a nice spot for two

                                                      The flowers seem to invite you in.

New Malaya Restaurant (Malaysian Restaurant)

It is extremely hot and we would have liked it if they had airconditioning.  This place serves the best Malaysian authentic cuisine. I really want to try this despite the warm weather. Chilis in summer? Why not. 

We ordered Beef Rendang and Mango and Apple Kerabu. We washed it all down with yummy milk tea.  

 Tom said we had to order something sweet to balance the spicyness of the Beef Rendang. He was right. For every bite of beef rendang, I had about a mouthful of rice and a spoonful of the kerabu. The Kerabu by the way is sort of a salad.

 

 I know this is a poor image by my camera phone but this is the Beef Rendang.

 

 Mango and Apple Kerabu!

 

 Milk tea to wash all the chili down.

Tom said that a woman cooks for this restaurant but I think she was not there when I visited.  I liked the food but I wish we had gone there in the evening.  I was drenched in sweat after we ate due to the weather. Every bite was like throwing another log in the fire! Nice time with my friend though. Thanks tom!

Okay, all in all, my Laguna food trip was really great because I get to sample authentic Asian cuisines. There is one restaurant that we went to, Baan Thai, which is my favorite. However, my camera battery went dead on me so I didnt have pictures of what we ate. I loved the Sotanghon Salad! Great Thai cuisine :) People from Los Banos are really lucky because they have wide selection of cuisines, like you can go for Italian then Asian the next. The price are okay too. But well, my friend treated me so.... hehehe. Anyway, try these restaurants when you're in LB.

Cafes

Roxas Avenue, Davao is  peppered with cafes and grills.  This is Chicco di Cafe and inside you can see nice comfy chairs for lounging. I'm not a big fan of coffee but I like chilling in airconditioned cafes.

They have a wide selection of cakes and pastries. They also have free wifi!

Davao foodtrip first part: Pastillan sa Ponce

I asked my friend Kim if she can go with me on a foodtrip around Davao.
Our first stop is Pastillan sa Ponce which is near Ateneo de Davao.
Of course, UP's Mang Larry still comes to my mind when we're talking about Isaw.

But I have to try this Pastel!  Nooo, this isn't the yummy buns from Camiguin. These are in fact, chicken innards that are cooked pretty much like adobo which you have as a rice topping.

There are tables and chairs that are set up outside and inside. We stayed inside the Pastillan though boy, it was extremely hot!


The Pastel is great, it's goes perfect with rice.  The isaw however, is just okay. I guess having the tastebuds of a UP isaw eater makes it difficult for me to forget Mang Larry's goodies.  There is one isaw that I really like though which is from Marikina. It is 10 pesos per stick, a bit pricey. I'll tell you more about it next time.

35th Bamboo Organ Festival Las Pinas: A concert for all music lovers

These are the pics I took with my camera phone during the 2010 Bamboo Organ Festival.
This was a magical night for me.  I just love the whole program. I will definitely come back next year!
Hopefully, next time, I would bring a group.  It is sad to see that more foreigners came to see the show than Filipinos.

                                                          The facade of Las Pinas Church
If you notice, there's an entrance on the right side of the Church which will lead you to a small room that holds memorabilias of Bamboo organ festival of the previous years.

   The Festival is held annually around the 3rd or 4th week of February.

                                              This is the view from where we are seated.

The lighting was extremely romantic. And it adds to the ambience of the place. I love what the usherettes are wearing.

Note to myself: dress more formally next time you watch a classical concert. Off shoulders--big no no.

The pillars inside made it difficult to see the stage especially if you are in my row, but at least I get to see the pianist. Some people do prefer sitting in my row.


See you next year!

My new flip flops by Flojos

My favorite flip flops by Ipanema was ripped apart by Luncheon, one of the Gloria's puppies.
So last week, I went out to look for a perfect pair of flip flops.  I never really liked Havaianas. I just don't like the feel of it... I was inlove with Ipanema's Anatomica and I got 2 pairs of those. However, I wore them too much...so they look old after a week's use.

Because it was on sale, I got one of those flipflops from Flojos. I absolutely adore them. They are so comfy and they look good on my feet.  I think it used to retail for 1500 but since they're on sale, I got them 1/3 of the price. Not bad, so I got them. It was a nice surprise! It has padded soles that feels really comfortable even after hours of walking.

I'm gonna try the other styles, hope they are on sale too.



 I got this pic from Flojos website http://store.flojos.com/pgcart.pga?product=151

WOOT!

Aha! Meron na akong bagong second hand na keyboard! Woot!

Bisaya Bisaya Bisaya---Libog moments

Tomorrow I will be heading to Davao to help in my dad's business. I am really really excited to go to Mindanao again and to finally see people who speak Bisaya! I'm so happy because I have friends who are patient enough to teach me this wonderful dialect.

If there's gonna be one person whom I'll be missing when I leave Luzon, it's gonna be Boy Silingan.  Masarap lang talaga na gawan siya ng kanta. Ewan ko ba kung bakit. Pati nga ako minsan na nalilito. Sa Bisaya, "Nalibog ko!" *guffaw*  Minsan may mga pagkakataong na may nakikilala kang mga tao na nagiging inspirasyon mo, kahit alam mo sa sarili mo na wala namang talagang kahahantungan ito. Pero dahil sa realidad na ito, mas lalo mong naiisip na shit, buhay pa pala ako, iba itong experience na to...hindi pa ito nangyayari sakin. Tapos araw-araw naiisip mo na sana mapansin niya. Pero minsan nahihiya ka lang talaga.  Nagawa ko ang kantang iyon dahil nakaka amaze siyang nilalang. Kahit hindi naman talaga uubra, kahit pa wala ka namang pag-asa para dun, kahit shit ang baduy, ang cheesy, kahit leche, ginagawa mo ng gago ang sarili mo...okay lang kasi, yun ang totoo mong naramdaman. Tapos isang araw, matatawa ka na lang kasi naging ganun ka, pero hindi ka magsisisi kasi, ang taong ito ay ispesyal. Parang ensaymada na may cheese. Cheesy talaga--- shemay.

Hahaha, sana yung nanay ko di mabasa tong blog na to.

Yesterday I went to the wedding of one of my closest friends at the college, Ate Joyce.
It was a very beautiful wedding and during the service, I read an inspiring passage in the Bible about love.  I wish them the best of luck in entering this new and wonderful journey.

After the wedding, I headed to SM North, The Block to claim the prize that I got from Freebies.  Freebies is a fan page in Facebook where you can win stuff from the Bratpack store. I actually got a Kangol hat, similar to what Manny Pacquiao is wearing and it retails for 2300PHP. It was the first that I've won from that page. The administrator is Caloy Libosada, who is the Ecotourism Guru of the Philippines. I don't know how he gets those stuff. But if you're reading this, please please join and become  a fan of Freebies!

So I got a new Sanuk tube flops and it retails for 1290 PHP. The best thing is, I get to share the prize with my sister! She also won but of course, I got her a different design. Dressing up like we're twins is so old school hehe.

 This is me with my Sanuk Tube flops in Silver. Sweet! I love freebies! I tried to pair it with my skirt and dresses and it looked terrific. Can't wait to wear it.

This is the design that my sister chose. But I think that the socks are way too warm to wear for summer.
The fabric of my tube flops is similar to a stocking. But I guess the socks are more durable. I think mine will run easily.

While I was on my way home, I texted my good friend Donnie if he can do some percussions for the my new composition.

Me when I was 20. Joe drew this picture for me.  I don't know really if I should meet him in Thailand. First, I don't have money to spend there. Second, I don't know what to say to him when we meet.

Kaamulan 2010

Two days after I got back from my Mindanao trip, I am feeling a little tense.

This is my second trip to CDO with a side trip to Bukidnon. For this trip, I experienced taking a shower at the public toilet. I also had the chance to ride the motorcycle to go around Bukidnon which is really far out! Shao and I got used to the futons on the cold, cold bamboo floor to sleep in. It was all together my favorite trip to Mindanao at the moment. This is gonna be a day by day account and some of the places I may not remember anymore but I will do my best to name them. 

Let's rough it up!

Feb 25

I left Manila around 7pm and I got to Davao around 9pm. I was supposed to ride with RJ since Lonie and I practically have the same flight schedule, only we were on different airlines. But since I brought Pacman and I needed to go to the cargo section,  I asked them not to wait for me.  My parents picked me up from the airport. I still saw my sister Mae at my house in the evening and we chatted a bit about make up.

Feb 26

I can't think of anything that made this day memorable. I think I went to SM Davao to pay for Jack’s ticket but wasn’t able to do so since the bank was closed when I got there. Too bad.

Feb 27

This is the D-Day. I am booked for a flight to Cagayan de Oro from Davao around 6pm in the evening. I asked my mom if we can give some of our plates and some glasses to the Artisans. It took a lot of convincing and crying and even more drama to actually persuade my mom that I HAVE to go to CDO.  The thing is, the Dire Husi artisans and the organization itself, made me feel alive.  After my depression, Dire Husi was ultimately, my light at the end of the tunnel.  In a way, I didn't want my mom to know how passionate I am because she might not understand and she might just feel that I'm doing more favors for other people than our family.  But in all honesty, ever since I stepped out of the art house, I felt that I really needed to go back. I've said this to a friend... I like to bask in the positive energy of all the people living in there. The first trip to CDO was the pinnacle of my healing process.  In here, everyone has their own stories to share, about broken dreams, unsupportive parents, dark past about drug addiction… but still I find solace in this commonality.  Amidst this organized chaos we have in the art house, everyone seems to be a catalyst for change.  Of course, we have different problems, different crosses to bear. I can never tell that some had it bad as I have because comparing yourself to other people’s life or misfortunes can leave you quite conceited or worse, lazy.  But I got drawn to each and everyone of them like a moth to a flame. 

Anyway, so I finally got to the airport and I first tried my Bisaya to the cab driver. He charged me 150 pesos for a twin sharing ride to Nazareth. I was ripped off but I think I did make myself sound as if I was from there so hehehe, that’s fine.

I can’t remember who I saw first but I remember Lance with her guitar and Tyrone was there too.  Gat Ems was also there with them. I was jumping and I was so happy just to see them. I was so excited to see everyone and I also am excited to see Shao!  The night was perfect; it was the full moon (or was it a new moon?).  I can’t help but say to Shao, “You look lovely under the moonlight”.

I had my dinner there at the art house. One of the persons I really looked forward in seeing is Orwille who is like a brother to me! I was so surprised to see him and I was jumping and playing with him like how you see those little cubs in National Geographic channel.  After our dinner, I showed him my paper crane but I really think mine looked better than he did haha.  Finally I showed him my book about Billy Collins and also my journal.  After a month of just talking online, it was nice to see him in person and just hang out and chill!

We went out to Divisoria for the night Café.  I also met one of the newest guys in the art house who is Ian. Haven’t really talked to him much but he’s sweet and he’s funny. I also met Shane, his cousin. 

Feb 28

This is a Sunday. Ate Nimfa visited us in the art house. The agenda for this day is to go around CDO with Solomon and Ian.  

We went first to Opol.  I took down some notes on how to get there.

Took a motorela to RE Uy. Then rode a jeepney to IPONAN, then dropped off at Terminal then rode another jeepney going to Gitagum. 

If I didn’t point outside the jeepney and see the waves, we would have gotten farther from Opol than we would have wanted to. But anyway, it was a perfect Sunday. We stepped on the sturdy planks of the wooden bridge and the pathway was according to the sign “the most child friendly boardwalk”.  I was quite hungry despite the great lunch we had at the art house so I decided to treat the guys to Panagatan. The ambience was really nice there and we have a chosen a table nearest to the sea. 

We rode a jeepney to Opol Aviary which was for 5 pesos only. It was a short ride, didn’t even last for 5 minutes. At the Opol Aviary, I felt really sorry for the birds.  If I had a choice I didn’t want to see how the birds are treated at the aviary. However, Solomon wanted to see if he can buy some birds that he can use for his magic.  I didn’t want to tell him that because he was excited to take me there. 

I forgot how to we got back but I saw lots of jeepney going to Cogon Market from Opol so we just rode one and paid 14 each, I think.  We went to Gaston Park then beside it is the Cathedral. We headed to McArthur Park next then went back to the Art house.

March 1

From Molly, I wrote something about how this day is so important for me because I have met one of the most amazing individuals ever. Although I have seen David before at the Art house in January, I never really exchanged any word from him. I think he’s a conservative and reserved guy but funny as well. A walking contradiction perhaps but ahh, the art house is full of that. I think it’s super.

Shao and I went to Kaamulan Park just to get the feel of Bukidnon. We had some lanzones and Jojo took a climbing test at the wall.  We wanted to ride a pony but suddenly we felt lazy.

We also got the chance to meet Jojo’s aunt who at first was extremely suspicious why Jojo brought two girls at their house.  Shao did a great job in building up the confidence of Jojo’s aunt again, that he is a changed man and is still quite religious despite the fact that he turned away from being a Seventh Day Adventist.  We had dinner at her aunt’s house and it was terrific.

The day ended with ukay-ukay shopping with Jojo and Shao since the three of us forgot to bring jackets.  The cold was terrible. I got a maroon sweater with a hoodie for 50 pesos. It was cheap but we felt ripped off when we got to the next stall, they sold the jackets for 30 even 25 pesos. But at least it kept us warm for that night.

March 2

Ahh, this is my great Bukidnon day. 

Jojo woke up early to rent a motorbike. At 12:40, we went to Cedar Center at Impalutao and we took pictures of the waterfalls there. We saw Gantungan falls and Dila falls. There is another one but we missed it, it is Natigbasan falls. It was a great day to be around trees and the air was sweet. 

When we were about to go to Nasuli Spring Resort, our trip was halted by a police checkpoint. Mind you, we have neither license nor helmet so if those guys see us, we are definitely in big trouble. I played it cool and I just asked Jojo if we can use an off beaten track to dodge those guys.  I got what I wished for. I have never seen such a large barren land full of wilted corn hobs. It was really a bumpy ride but I really enjoyed every minute of it.  But an unexpected turn of event came when Jojo realized that the motorcycle key had fallen off during the ride. Ugh! To add it more craziness to our already crazy day, we realized that we have no more gas.

Despite what happened, we went ahead to Nasuli but only stayed for 5 minutes. It was just for photo op. We kept the motor running because we were afraid that it won’t start again if we turned it off. After that we went to Valencia and asked his brother on what to do. He directed us to NVM which is a mall in Valencia and fortunately there was a guy who could make us a key.  I wanted to take it easy and not worry so much so I ordered a halo halo from Chowking.

I think around 3 pm we were back on the road again and headed off to see Jojo’s friend and went to Pulangi river. It was a beautiful river. We stayed for about an hour just hanging out with Piyong and his girlfriend, Rein who is painfully shy. She didn’t even want to have her picture taken with me.

Around 4: 40 we went headed to Malaybalay and Jojo told me that we can make it back around 5:10. And we did much to my amusement.  He went so fast I felt like crying.

March 3

Just went around Bukidnon and in the evening Jojo and I saw the dancers practicing their routine at the highway. It was fantastic!

March 4

The Rodeo Day

We had so much food trip on this day it was like a marathon eating contest. We had quail eggs, boiled mani, puto, mangoes, ice cream, roasted mani, ice salad.  The commentator was so fun and I actually understood what he was saying. Although of course, it helps that I got someone who can translate some words for me.


 


 


 

 

Ate at Mindy’s for dinner.

It was a great meal! I had squid, Jojo some spare ribs and Shao had some pork something.

Mar 5

I went to the ukay ukay with Shao from 9-11am. We shopped so much that day. For lunch we had a big pizza for the two of us. It was superb. We went to Gaisano and looked for other stuff like toiletries and other girly things.  In the evening, we watched Jojo performed at Mindy’s only for 1 set.  Shao and I wanted to go back because we spent so much time with Jojo and we haven’t even gotten the chance to talk with the others.

 

  This was also the first night when most of the kids came from Cagayan de Oro.

March 6

Spent half day only at Bukidnon since our flight from CDO is at 5pm.  Everyone was there and having fun. I remember Kuya Rhyan doing the face paint. Almost all of the artisans are applying henna on their clients. What a great day!  Then before we left, Migs and Solomon did their number while Jojo and his friends were drumming away. Fantastic! Didn’t want to leave but we really have to.  This Bukidnon trip was stretched so much….we originally planned to spend just two days maximum here but we stayed for 6 days. Kaamulan festival was utterly colorful and tribal. I didn’t get to see the rest of the street dancing though but I saw the grand floats of each tribe and their parade towards the Capitol Grounds.  

 

 

 

I bought Rusty a small penguin balloon which he named Frenchskin. It was hilarious seeing them together. Rusty told me that after 2 days, Frenchskin can already do a henna tattoo. I believe him.

 

We left around 11:30 and Jojo saw us off at the terminal.  We arrived about 2pm at CDO and I told Shao that we better get something to eat. The motorela driver charged us 20 each from Agorra Terminal to Nazareth.

I really wanted to go to Thai Me Up so I asked the driver to drop us off at Capistrano instead. But even if we were dropped off at Capistrano, the rate was the same. I think Shao and I looked funny because our face paint was wearing off. But the staff from Thai Me Up were amazing and accommodating. I even asked the waiter to make it fast since we were chasing our flights. I went to the restroom to freshen up and when I got back, Shao was already drinking the cooler something. It was a watermelon juice with bits of watermelon and mangoes. It was refreshing and perfect drink after the 2 hour ride from Bukidnon.

Our bill came to 700 pesos though.  I was so full I thought I was gonna hurl.  

I guess this ends my entry for now. I really want to go back to Bukidnon. I will definitely go back next year for Kaamulan! Won’t miss it for the world.  I miss the cool weather, the great ukay ukay finds, going to the toilet near the orchids. I even miss waking up to the sound of the tambols practicing at the Capitol Grounds! Ultimately, I genuinely miss the warmth of the friendship from the Dire Husi artisans plus of course, my new friend, Shao Liew.

All pics are from Shao Liew.