The glittering yellows worn by the dancers shimmered, reflecting the hot afternoon sun. Drumbeats rumbled across the asphalt road fronting the natively dressed capitol building as Zambaleños cheer the festival queen holding a basketful of ripe golden mangoes. Her contingent, intricately dressed in gold and greens, gyrated and jumped as they parted the crowd—the queen twirling, her unwavering smile beholden to her audience.

GETTING READY FOR THIS YEAR’S DINAMULAG FESTIVAL IN ZAMBALES

Zambales is a province I've visited countless of times, but witnessing the Zambales Dinamulag Festival was a first for me. And what a first it was.

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Part of our weeklong Zamboanga City tour includes a visit to the neighboring province of Zamboanga Sibugay to join the first ever World Migratory Bird Day in the Philippines. The celebration is set at the town of Siay where the Siay-Kabasalan Wetlands is located, one of the major flyways for migratory birds in the region.

CELEBRATING THE FIRST WORLD MIGRATORY BIRD DAY IN SIAY

Siay is about four hours away from Zamboanga City and we witnessed how they celebrated the World Migratory Bird Day through art and photo exhibitions, dance competitions, bird costume contest, and even a bird mascot showdown. The festival, being a first, isn’t really as grand as say the Zamboanga Hermosa Festival and lasted only from October 12 to 13. One of the things I really liked about it though was the group of Subanen elders who played their gongs, dancing along the beat with their traditional clothes on. Legit.

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Colors everywhere! That’s the first thing that struck me as we arrived at Zamboanga City for the annual Zamboanga Hermosa Festival. The almost hundred-year old festival is celebrated during the whole month of October and is one of the oldest festivals in the Philippines. And at the center of the fiesta, the miraculous image of the Nuestra Señora del Pilar, which was originally brought to the city’s fort by the Spaniards in 1734.

This year’s Zamboanga Hermosa kicked off early, starting during the last days of September with Smoke Out Zamboanga, a grilled food fest along R.T. Lim Boulevard, and rolled with no less than sixty activities running all through October in and around the center of the city. We stayed for a week in Zamboanga City and it still wasn’t enough to see everything!

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Lights glittered at the gates leading to the Sai Van Lake Square as the iconic Macau Tower loomed overhead. We just came from the City of Dreams, reserving our tickets for the next day’s showing of the House of Dancing Water. With no meals yet, except those we had when we crossed Hong Kong to Macau via TurboJET, we decided to drop by at the Macau Food Festival where a feast undoubtedly awaited us.

THE MACAU TOWER, ON OUR WAY TO THE CITY OF DREAMS AND DURING THE FOOD FESTIVAL

We actually have no idea about the event until the concierge from Metropole Hotel told us about it as we were about to leave. Don’t forget to drop by the food festival, he said. What food festival? We stopped on our tracks and asked a few more questions before walking out to the nearby stop where our free bus ride to the City of Dreams awaited.

A pirate ship rose from the stage—a stage made of water—and clinging like spiders from its masts, pirates, diving with abandon several meters from the surface. My jaw dropped in sync with their every jump. I haven’t seen a theatrical show anything remotely like this. It was marvelous. It was astounding. It was (insert more superfluous adjectives).

THE FISHERMAN AMIDST A MAGICAL BACKDROP

Initially, I wasn’t really that keen on watching The House of Dancing Water. Although I’ve seen a couple of grand theatrical productions before, like Thailand’s highly-acclaimed Siam Niramit, and heck, even enjoyed it, I was more drawn to exploring Macau’s side-streets than attending a stage show.

► SEE: MACAU UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE TOUR

I've been to Thailand several times but have never been to Lumphini Park. The sprawling 142-acre park right in the heart of Bangkok is a lush oasis built by King Rama VI during the 1920’s. Being the city’s first park, it is probably the equivalent of Manila's Rizal Park. It is one if Bangkok's go-to places, and yes, I've never set foot on it. Until now.

VIEW OF BANGKOK FROM MY ROOM AT CROWNE PLAZA

CROWNE PLAZA’S UPPER FLOOR LOBBY

From the province of Nakhon Pathom, from the peace and quiet of Sampram Riverside Resort, we headed to the bustling metropolis that is Bangkok. We went straight to Crowne Plaza Hotel, checked in to our posh King Bed Superior Rooms overlooking the modern skyline of the city, and surrendered our weary selves to the soft comfort of our beds.

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I was buying something from a sari-sari store somewhere in Bataan, a quick stop before we go to the site of this year’s Pawikan Festival, when the proprietor suddenly pulled up a basketful of pawikan eggs. Do I want some, he asked. I didn’t know what to say. I was shocked, to say the least. We were, after all, celebrating these gentle creatures' existence and promoting their welfare. The exchange was a total opposite of why we were here.

A SEA TURTLE HATCHLING, OFF TO THE SEA

But this is not new to me. I actually know someone close who used to eat pawikan eggs as if it were the norm. Well, to be fair, it was something natural to them, his uncles and aunts, heck, the whole town, was doing the same until it was banned. They really didn’t know that the practice wasn’t good until someone told them so. Now, they know otherwise.

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After Spain, Canada, Ireland, and Mexico, the much anticipated event for travel bloggers around the globe has finally arrived in Asia. Thailand was slated to be the gracious host for the event, quite fitting since most globetrotters generally fly in to Thailand to start off their Asian adventures.

TBEX ASIA 2015 AT THE QUEEN SIRIKIT CONVENTION CENTER IN BANGKOK

THANK YOU TOURISM AUTHORITY OF THAILAND FOR INVITING ME!

TBEX has been around since 2012. This is not your usual boring event though, it doesn’t start and end with talks and conferences, in fact, if you attend one, the admission price is also inclusive of travel tours before and after the TBEX event itself.

MASSIVE WOOD SCULPTURE AT THE QUEEN SIRIKIT CENTER

Loads of Pre-BEX and Post-BEX tours are available for participants; one simply has to log in at Blogger Bridge, sign up for tours, and you’re good to go. They have everything from walking, food, cultural, adventure, and even bar tours! And it’s not just in Bangkok too, but all over Thailand! I personally picked the Pad Thai Route tour which drove us all the way to the quiet and relatively undiscovered area of Rayong and Chanthaburi Provinces.

 

I will write an extensive article about those two provinces, they certainly deserve it.

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LOCALS SHOWING OFF THEIR HANDICRAFTS DURING TBEX ASIA

TBEX DELEGATES CAN EVEN JOIN IN THE FUN!

The main TBEX event was held at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center and was set on three plenary halls and four meeting rooms. Along the lobby, works by local artisans were on display, showcasing Thailand’s diverse culture. It was attended by more than six hundred travel bloggers around the world and has more than thirty conferences and workshops spread over three days. Every talk looks interesting but you only get to choose a few since six of them happens simultaneously.

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TBEX ASIA PRESS CONFERENCE

SPEED NETWORKING, WHERE BLOGGERS CONNECT WITH BRANDS

DON GEORGE’S INSPIRING TALK

While there are a lot of programs about monetizing our blogs, the talks that impressed me the most were not about money, but about the soul of what we really are doing. The ones by renowned Lonely Planet travel editor Don George (The Art & Heart of Storytelling) and Legal Nomads’ Jodi Ettenberg (Storytellers) were really, really, really inspiring.

TBEX ASIA 2015 OPENING PARTY

THAI FOOD BEING SERVED AT THE OPENING PARTY

WALKING AT BENJAKITI PARK DURING TBEX BREAKS

And after all the talks, there is course a party. Besides being on the road, nothing gets a traveler excited that having glasses of beer with fellow jetsetters. The opening party was at the outdoor café of the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center where overflowing beer complete with local Thai food was set. There were also cultural performances and we even got to float our own Loi Krathong at the nearby Benjakiti Park’s lagoon.

ASIATIQUE THE RIVERFRONT IN BANGKOK

The farewell party was held at Asiatique the Riverfront where we witnessed a stunning show by Muay Thai Live and soon after, local bands and fireworks by the Chao Phraya River; a very memorable way to end TBEX’s first time in Asia.

 ► CHECK OUT: CHAO PHRAYA RIVER TOUR

ENDING TBEX ASIA WITH A BANG!

I learned so much, met so many friends and new contacts at TBEX that I wouldn’t hesitate attending the next one which is gonna be held in the Philippines, no less! The Travel Blog Exchange is indeed the future of travel media.

Now, let’s explore Thailand!

 

~ THIS TRIP IS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE TOURISM AUTHORITY OF THAILAND

 

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On an open plaza somewhere in San Fernando City, a twenty-foot freestanding structure mysteriously covered by a tarpaulin stands at the center of the square. It was almost Christmas time, and like a giant gift, a massive Christmas lantern, one of Pampanga’s famous giant parols, was slowly being unwrapped right before our eyes.

I have never attended Pampanga’s famous Ligligan Parul Festival where barangays from all over San Fernando City proudly showcase their giant lanterns, but I do have a somewhat hazy memory of seeing them when I was a kid at the now defunct Paskuhan Village.

Now, decades later, I’m back at Pampanga to witness how these giants are made.

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It was almost a year ago to this date that I attended Makati City’s Caracol Festival. I’ve been hearing about this event for quite a while now, but have always been out of the metro due to some trips or whatever. This time around, with nothing better to do one Sunday afternoon, I decided to head out to Makati City to see what the fuss was all about.

Since the festival was going to be held to a place familiar to me, I didn’t bother researching about it. I simply boarded a bus and waited at the Ayala Triangle where I thought the Caracol Festival would commence. It was a surprise then that the city seemed too dead for a festival to be happening.

There was absolutely nobody around. Was I in the wrong place?

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Garbed in a velvety maroon dress and embroidered with glittering gold flourishes, the dark-skinned Poong Itim na Nazareno of Quiapo is currently making its rounds across the streets of the country’s capital, Manila. Surrounding the caroza where the venerated icon with its black cross is precariously perched, is a roiling sea of devotees in maroons and yellows chanting Viva Senor! Viva! Viva!

The morning was just starting as I arrived at Quiapo Church in the heart of Manila. The historic Plaza Miranda was already filled by people from all walks of life; barefooted devotees, street vendors hawking shirts and white towels, media outfits covering the event, religious cults, and the usual bystanders curious about the biggest religious festival this side of the Philippines.

►NEAR HERE: MA MON LUK

The crowd moved like the ocean, waves upon waves of people swept by the fervor of moving the image of the Virgin back to the Roxas City Cathedral. It was sweltering hot but I swayed slowly along with the Capiznons—from the historic Roxas Bridge, where the statue of the Immaculate Conception rose, around the now barely seen rotunda fountain, and all the way to the city’s old graceful cathedral.

It was almost evening as we alighted from our van back at Roxas City, our group has just visited the nearby town of Panay to see the largest Catholic bell in Asia. We arrived to a city filled with people. The roads have been closed and swarms of people were milling about the town hall area in anticipation of the fluvial procession that would cap this year’s Sinadya sa Halaran festival.

Colorful scarves painted in blooming flowers sailed through the scorching air of Capiz Province as contingents of the annual Sinadya sa Halaran showed their flair to the throngs of Capiznons eagerly watching the festivities. Gals dressed in traditional Filipiniana and guys garbed in barongs marched and danced at the avenues of Roxas City, totally unmindful of the sweltering heat of the midmorning sun.

I was taking photographs inside the Roxas City Cathedral when drum beats boomed and horns suddenly blared from bands accompanying the Sinadya sa Halaran Festival. I immediately went out, swam through the gathering crowd and looked for a good vantage for the festival.

I was supposed to eat breakfast first and join my companions, but all plans were thrown out the window as the contingents of the Capiz Festival started to mobilize.

Three! Two! One! The countdown ended and the lights dimmed. Christmas carols softly chimed from hidden speakers and the mall’s garden atrium filled with fog. All at once, colorful Christmas lights started to sparkle, filling the whole place with that fuzzy holiday feeling. TriNoma Mall officially starts their Christmas Season with their Merry Musical Lights.

It was a Saturday and mall day started with scouring bookstores for bargain reads—National Bookstore, Powerbooks, Fully Booked, and not to forget, Books and Mags (₱29.00 books FTW!). A couple of dusty books later and we’re off to an early dinner at the Mercato of the north, Mezza Norte.

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Every September, the streets of Iligan City transform into one huge stage of merrymaking as Iliganons celebrate the colorful Diyandi Festival. Honoring their patron, St. Michael the Archangel—food festivals, trade fairs, beauty contests, art exhibits, sports fests, and street dancing fill every street corner of the city.

I was lucky enough to be invited by the Iligan Bloggers Society to witness the Diyandi Festival which coincided with their Iligan Waterfalling Adventure Tour. While I’m really not the festival-going kind, especially after experiencing the suffocating crowd of Baguio City’s Panagbenga Festival, I still said yes since it’s really not everyday that I get to witness a festival from Mindanao.

►SEE: BAGUIO TRAVEL GUIDE

The day was a scorcher. The heat was oozing out from the concrete and into San Carlos City’s streets; chasing us like shadows, haunting us like ghosts. It was the day of Pintaflores Festival and we were not about to be dissuaded by such trivial things as heat strokes and what nots.

This is what we came all the way from Bacolod City for, the colors of the Pintaflores. But fate it seemed was not with us. Due to some planning oversight, the scheduled flight back to Manila was set on the very same day of the festival. It would’ve been alright if there’s an airport at San Carlos City itself, but alas, we have to go all the way back to Bacolod for our plane ride.

It was the last day of Baguio City’s annual Panagbenga Festival. Yesterday’s street dancing frenzy still left me tired even after a restful night at the Azalea Residences. Still, I wouldn’t really want to miss the Float Parade, it’s not everyday that I’ll get to see a whole carload of flowers made up to look like anything but flowers.

Since I was denied access to the media area yesterday along Session Road, I decided to make my way through to the Athletic Bowl and simply wait for the culmination of the parade there. It was however easier said than done. The crowd was so thick and even the once expansive parks are replete with tourists camping for the festival.