Category: Luzon

A Trip to The Mind Museum

When we were kids, my sister and I always looked forward to visiting museums and science exhibits. I remember family outings to the old planetarium in Rizal Park, the Dinosaurs Exhibit and Ripley’s Believe It or Not in Shangri-la (anyone remember this?). I also got to visit the Science Center in Singapore during a trip there a few years ago.  I’ve been wanting to check out The Mind Museum in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig, the first wold-class Science museum in the Philippines, ever since it opened to the public in March 2012. It’s only appropriate that the trip was a family affair, this time with the next generation.

A couple of weekends ago, I invited my sister Lorie and her son Eli (age, almost 4), cousin Roxy and daughter Annie (age 7) for a kid’s playdate. We’ve been looking for fun places to take the kids, especially during this rainy season when parks and outdoor areas are not ideal, so the visit to Mind Museum on a stormy Saturday afternoon was perfect.  Continue reading “A Trip to The Mind Museum”

Around Bicol in 30 Plates – Day 2: Iriga City

After our action-packed day in Naga City, we checked out early and headed to Iriga City, with a stopover for breakfast at Bigg’s Pili in Camarines Sur. This branch is frequented by a lot of motorists because of its location along the National Highway.

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Ride to an Exotic Restaurant in Laguna

If you’re looking for a decent place to have a bite to eat and relax in the Laguna area, one option is Sierra Hills Exotik Restaurant. Like Balaw-Balaw in Angono, and Everybody’s Cafe in Pampanga, the restaurant has gained fame primarily for serving “exotic” fare, attracting curious foodies and tourists interested in trying out something unusual for novelty’s sake.

Fair warning for those who want to check out the place for themselves – the place is a bit of a tourist trap. Its location along the National Highway in Longos, Kalayaan makes it a perfect catch basin for road trippers, especially those doing a Visita Iglesia tour to churches in Rizal area during Holy Week. Continue reading “Ride to an Exotic Restaurant in Laguna”

Around Bicol in 30 Plates – Day 1: Naga City

While cousins from Manila grew up with McDonald’s, my sister and I often boasted that we had our own burgers and fries place – Mang Donald’s. Back in the 80’s, this was the original name of Bicol’s beloved food chain, an American retro diner, which is better known as Bigg’s today.

The Bigg’s vibe is all about vintage memorabilia, retro music and a cozy ambiance. Dining here offers a taste of nostalgia – a step back in time to the good old days.

I have a lot of fond memories of Bigg’s growing up in Naga City. My childhood barkada and I would often eat merienda here after watching a double feature at Advent Cinema back when the movie ticket prices and popcorn cost about 20 pesos each. If you missed the start of the movie, you had to sit through whatever was its “ka-double” to catch the start, so we would always be extra hungry. Continue reading “Around Bicol in 30 Plates – Day 1: Naga City”

Kawil Tours: A Meaningful Journey Awaits

I have long been intrigued by the island of Culion. I’ve heard of stories from intrepid travelers who have gone there of how amazingly beautiful the islands and the waters are and how warmly the people welcome them wherever they go. It’s not a surprise, since many of its inhabitants were cast off by their own families onto the island. Visitors are rare so they are warmly welcomed by all the locals.

Unlike more well-known destinations in Palawan like Puerto Princesa, Coron, and El Nido, Culion, on the northernmost tip of Palawan in the Calamian Archipelago, is mostly known for being a former leper colony. While the cure for leprosy was developed in the 1980’s and the island has been declared leprosy-free by the World Health Organization (WHO), the stigma has somewhat remained. Its isolation for more than a century has kept the island understandably off the tourist radar.   Continue reading “Kawil Tours: A Meaningful Journey Awaits”

Paragliding Lessons in Rizal

In retrospect, driving a motorcycle to take paragliding lessons wasn’t such a good idea. The steep, dusty, gravel-riddled mess of a dirt road leading up to Antenna Hill in Binangonan, Rizal, was not exactly ideal terrain for my scooter.

I muttered silent prayers to myself as I drove by the different stations of the cross perched on the edge of the cliffside roads. It took a lot of focus to maneuver my scooter while balancing an ice cooler with drinks strapped to the front of my bike near my feet. Art’s cruiser sputtered as he drove up with our paragliding guide Habu riding pillion, who himself was carrying a huge bag of paragliding gear. And by huge, I mean a full grown person could easily curl up in the bag and hide there.

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Chill out at The Circle Hostel, La Union

It’s always refreshing to stay in a place that makes you feel like a kid again. A place where you can find wooden treehouses and swings instead of the usual cold steel, leather couches and glass windows in most hotels. A place where anyone can take a nap in a hammock any time you want and the only walls dividing your bunk bed from your neighbors’ are see-through mosquito nets. A place that’s just walking distance from the beach, where you can just fall asleep on the sand while stargazing if the electricity unexpectedly goes out.

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5 Weird Pinoy Fiestas

Most festivals in the Philippines take inspiration from a distinct product or industry of the town. This product usually dictates the theme for the activities, decor and street-dancing costumes, which seem to be a staple of every Pinoy fiesta. In the official Tourism AVP, it’s pointed out that, “we have rice fiestas, flower fiestas, giant fiestas, mask fiestas. We have one every day of the year. And everyone’s invited.” And because the country is blessed with so many products and industries, this has resulted in some rather out-of-the-ordinary fiestas as well. Here are five of the weirder inspirations for Pinoy festivals I’ve come across.

BAGOONG (SHRIMP PASTE)
Where: Lingayen, Pangasinan Continue reading “5 Weird Pinoy Fiestas”

Sunsets and Stargazing in Ilocos Norte

Sometimes trips don’t always go as planned. A cancelled boat trip meant time to kill, and I unexpectedly found myself shooting a serene sunset and stargazing in Ilocos Norte. While waiting for a boat to Calayan in Cagayan during our trip last April, we exhausted the tourist spots in the jump-off point Claveria, got wasted on Red Horse Beer, and even got to go sightseeing around beaches and waterfalls in Pagudpud. Our last two stops were to the towns of Burgos and Bangui in Ilocos Norte for some sunset/night photography.

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