Habagat practically introduced itself (repost from my previous page)

August 13, 2012

One of the most destructive Philippine Typhoon that has been recorded was “Ondoy” (international name: Ketsana).  According to "Situation report no.50 on Typhoon Ondoy (Ketsana) and Typhoon Pepeng (Parma)"  the 2-day storm last September 2009 had a cost of destruction amounting to Php 11 billion (USD 244 million).  Moreso, this left trauma to many Filipinos. 

For the past week, heavy rain and flood was experienced and state of calamity was declared in Bataan, Zambales, Pampanga, Bulacan, Laguna; Culion, El Nido, Linacapan, all of Palawan and in the cities of Marikina, Muntinlupa, Pateros, Malabon, Navotas, Valenzuela, San Juan, Pasig, Caloocan and Pasay, according to The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).  Unusual it may seem but this was not brought about by a storm.  The heavy and continuous pouring of rain was due to “Habagat” (southwest monsoon).   

With the several decades of my life, I never really paid attention to those who deliver weather news, from Armando Pineda of GMA news, Kim Atienza of ABS-CBN and former PAGASA director Nathaniel Cruz  (even when he was still with PAGASA and until Mang Tani recently went back to the Philippines to be GMA NEWS’ regular meteorologist) talk about rain until it becomes a Typhoon. I never cared about southwest monsoon or Habagat (I bet most of us did not) until Habagat introduced itself this past week.  

Red vehicle "drowned" by "Habagat's" flood

"Ang basurang itinapon mo, babalik sa yo" -- When will we learn?

 We keep on asking God to spare us from calamities,

Yet it never dawned on us that it is our individual responsibility

to throw away wastes properly.

Now an UNLUCKY store

We should realize that this will never stop until we start caring for our environment.  It should serve as a reminder that it can happen again if we can't start being responsible.  Calamities may not cease or lessen overnight but it will over sometime if we think of tomorrow's children - our actions today are their future.

one of the children that Pater Benedictus Movement Inc  fed during the relief operations at Brgy Bambang, Pasig City 

An Artist from the South

July 20, 2012

At the southeastern tip of Negros Island, me and my travel buddies found one remarkable artist.  I say he is remarkable since most of the materials he uses are those logs which are found scattered along their Barangay.

      

Confessing that he wasn’t able to finish his studies, he wants to make sure that he will be able to sustain the education of his kids with his craft / business. It is just unfortunate, that his customers are limited to those within their vicinity or those going to and from Apo Island. You will barely notice his store if you are not the type of person who looks around while walking. We did not even notice it the first time we passed by it. We just found his place on our way out from the Maluay – Malatapay Terminal (the terminal where we took a ride going to Apo Island).

This was just a piece of log before,  now it is a masterpiece

This artist has many to offer if he could only be given a chance to create and share his artworks to other people not just within Maluay but probably as a start off—within Negros… This could probably aid his family's finances and help him reach his dreams – his dreams to sustain his kids' education until they finish a degree.

Sinangag Express

Sinangag Express has always been one of our favorite eateries.  Though it does not offer a wide variety of food it still captured the “stomach” of many Filipinos.  It is like an upgraded “tapsihan” with better arrangements of its chairs and tables.

For some, they would probably choose other Fastfood restaurants since the serving in Sinangag Express is really not enough for those who eat more than one cup of rice or who are “viand lovers”.  But the good thing about this eatery is that most of their foods are really appetizing.  I, for example, could eat two servings or order two meals.

This is why my friends and I would always make it a point to treat ourselves with the good taste of their meals whenever there is a chance to. We ride a jeepney or take a cab even on rainy days just to eat their “tapsis”. Just like this weekend, it was really raining so hard but it never stopped us in coming over to Sinangag Express.  We saw that there were also other people who did not saw the rain as a hindrance in going to this place. We have already finished dining but the shower never stopped.  The guard was helpful to hail a taxi for us.  He did not care if he is already getting wet (though he had an umbrella with him).  This is one of the good things about this place – most of the crews are accommodating.

Though it is not air-conditioned (I am not sure about the other branches) it is still a relaxing place to dine in.  It has good ventilation since it is an open door restaurant but “smokes” from vehicles are manageable since it is not located in the main street (what difference would it make if you are used to eating in carinderias and “fishball-ans”?).

For me and my friends, Sinangag Express would always remain as our “City Weekend Getaway” - away from our office, away from burgers and “fast food chickens”.

Marang - one of Davao's exotic fruit

For my several visits in Davao, it was just recently that I got introduced to Marang.  No, it is not a person J it is a fruit. Madang to some, the tree is native to Mindanao and Palawan as well as to our Asian neighbor  - Borneo. 

Artocarpus odoratissimus (scientific name of Marang) has a strong scent like that of Durian (the fruit which I never attempted to eat because of its smell) but is less intense and nose-friendly J. Although, it is recommended that this should be part of your check-in luggage when transporting from Davao to your destination.  But my friends advised me to pull out the edible part of the fruit from its rind and packed it in a plastic container so it won’t also add too much weight to my check-in luggage. Marang has a thick rind and is covered with spines.  The spines are soft so it won’t actually hurt you.  Its appearance and taste resemble Jackfruit (Langka in Filipino), though I like it better than Jackfruit.

More than its delicious taste, it is also a very healthy fruit since it has the following Vitamins: A, C, B.  It also contains Iron, carbohydrates, calcium, and phosphorus.

In Agdao, the fruit is being sold at 50 Pesos per kilo but you can also have a free taste before buying it.  Though, of course, it is not so nice if you taste it without actually buying at least one.

I am looking forward to buying more Marangs on my next visit to Davao.  Burp! (Yup, my burp has the exotic “Marang aroma”). See you soon Davao!

Photos from The 2012, 17th Philippine Annual Clark Freeport Hot Air Balloon Festival

My college friends asked me last year to come with them to the see the Hot Air Balloon Festival.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to come with them due to the loads of work I had to finish. Since then, it has never left my mind that I will come and see this Festival once my schedule permits. 

This Fiesta started here in the country in 1994 to help the economy after the Mount Pinatubo eruption. Year after year, there is an increase in visitors and participants. This means that there are more colorful things to view which would make me more relaxed, the reason why I need to watch this event.

A week prior to the 17^th Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta, I heard one of our officemate, Mommy Cherry as we call her, asking us who would want to buy tickets for this event.  In an instant, I advised her that I would want to and have asked my team if they want to come with me. 

To cut the long story short, I grabbed some tickets for this event and there! I am already excited to come to the event.

My office friends and I have set to watch the fourth day of the event since it falls on a Sunday.  Since the show is scheduled to start at 5:30 in the morning, we agreed that Liezel and Butch will fetch Mel before 3am.  Butch left his car at our house and we were supposed to meet Olive and her boyfriend.  Sadly, they had an emergency so we left Manila without them.

Isko drove us to the site -  Airforce City, Clark Freeport, Angeles City, Pampanga and it took us less than 2 hours to reach the destination but it took us quite awhile to find a parking space.

So I suggest that for those interested in coming over to watch this exciting event, that it is either you find a room in the nearest hotel to have an overnight stay and just wake up early in time for the first take-off of the balloons or wake up earlier and drive/commute to Clark.

Though we already had a few bites before we drove to the Hot Air Balloon Fiesta, we were already hungry by the time we got there.  But that wasn’t quite a probably since there are about 50 concessionaires in site. 

The entrance fee was 200 Pesos and you would need to fall in a long line if you have not bought your tickets in advance. However, a fee of about $150 - $200 dollar is needed if you want to take a balloon ride which is a first come first serve basis. Viewing the balloons nearer would also mean a different fee, If I remember it right it is about a hundred pesos.

The event took place on February 9 – 12 this year, in the Philippines but is also an annual event in the rest of the word.

Activities you can watch/do while you are in the event

As one of the biggest aviation sports events in the Philippines, there are so many things to watch if you are staying there for the day:

Aerobatic Exhibition

AOPA Light Airplane Ballon Bursting Finals

AOPA Light Airplane Balloon Bursting Competition

Choreographed Kite Flying Exhibition

Helicopter Flying Exhibition

Hot Air Balloon Flights

Paragliding Exhibition

R/C Helicopter Show

RC Airplane Flying Demonstration

Skydiving Exhibition

Ultralight Flying Display

Children will also enjoy being there since they can also fly kites while you are enjoying the shows (just make sure that someone is attending to them). 

We also enjoyed the Drift Demo sponsored by Goodyear.  There were some who got lucky to enjoy the drift ride. 

Demos on Rescues were also shown in this event.

View other photos:

Photos of Hot Air Balloon (Part 1)

Photos of Hot Air Balloon (Part 2)

Lunch with Deanne at New Orleans Cafe

August 24, 2012

Rendering almost the 12^th hour of my shift, I was really looking forward to eating in a place I have not yet visited in Davao.

I let Deanne decide where she would like to take lunch and she suggested that we eat at New Orleans Café located at RNC Bldg, Bajada.

We just had a few orders but we left the café really full. 

Here are what we ate:

and these were happily consumed in this very relaxing ambiance:

I will definitely dine again in New Orleans to experience the other food that they are offering.  

See you again in Davao!