So what do you bring home after spending a day or two in Vigan City? Well, prepare an extra bag or two for pasalubongs, you just might need it.

Calle Crisologo is where the action is when it comes to shopping in the city. Granted, there are a few other places to get your souvenirs, like at the Vigan Pagburnayan, but the wares being sold there pales in comparison to the variety found in the former.

Craving for a home-cooked pork binagoongan and a plateful of pancit malabon? How about a classic afternoon merienda of lugaw and lumpia? If you happen to pass by Quezon City, I have just the place for you. Neatly tucked in a quiet street, an eatery called Lola Idang’s Bahay Pancitan.

The place is not that big, with only about ten tables set on a 35-square meter eating space. The restaurant is so unassuming that you’ll hardly take a second look at it; plain white tiles flooring, simple decors, plastic Orocan chairs, and tables laid with generic plaid table clothes. What distinguishes this small diner from the throngs of eating places in Quezon City though is their food.

In between visiting the giant lantern makers of San Fernando City, we also went to numerous restaurants where we lunched, snacked, and snacked some more. And yes, we do have an excuse for our food binge—Pampanga’s title of being the Culinary Capital of the Philippines. We’re uncovering the province’s little gems, one plate (or two) at a time.

SUSIE’S CUISINE’S AIRCONDITIONED INTERIORS

One of the interesting places we visited was Susie’s Cuisine in San Fernando. Located at an air-conditioned building along MacArthur highway, you wouldn’t really think much of it. At first glance, it looks like any ordinary restaurant, that is until servings of their famous pancit luglug and tibok-tibok were plunked right in front of us.

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An islet within a volcanic lake within a natural lake, all within another island—Luzon Island, that is. It took me a while to figure out what the island within a lake that is on an island within a lake that is on an island phrase that kept coming up whenever Taal Volcano is mentioned, totally forgetting that Luzon is an island too, lol!

VULCAN POINT, AN ISLET IN THE MIDDLE OF TAAL VOLCANO’S CRATER

I visited this conundrum of a volcano a couple of years back, remembering it after a failed hike from our Taal Vista Hotel staycation. Tired from always looking at that volcano in the middle of Taal Lake from the many restaurants lining the Tagaytay ridge, I, together with a few companions decided to finally take that ride down to the town of Talisay and see the volcano up close.

The sun was quickly retreating down horizon as we alighted from our van. I hurried towards Patar White Beach, Bolinao’s renowned public beach, my feet dragging on its golden sand. I plodded on, knowing full well that the window for the day’s most beautiful light would soon come to pass.

PATAR WHITE BEACH DURING WEEKDAYS

Patar White Beach’s cream-colored sand, sidely lit by the sinking sun, mimicked the gentle lapping waves of the shore. I took my sandals off and my toes promptly sank beneath the soft yellow granules. I set up my gear, surveyed the seemingly endless beach and saw that besides the locals enjoying the sunset, we were almost the only tourist in the area.

Last November, I was able to contribute a few photos to Mabuhay Magazine for their Puerto Princesa issue. Alrighty, not last November, but last last November. As in November 2014, haha. I know this is quite late, but it’s only now that I was able to get ahold of the actual magazine (thanks Z Hostel lobby!), Mabuhay being unavailable on bookstores.

ARTICLE WRITTEN BY S.A. PONTILLAS, PHOTOS BY YOURS TRULY

The article, written by S.A. Pontillas, was about the Underground River in Palawan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was actually quite easy to photograph the cave from the outside, but inside, it’s a different story.

Balance is not with me. I trip without cause. I fall off bicycles. I wobble on wooden planks. My body simply isn’t too keen on being too stable. So when my companions all boarded a traditional four-person canoe docked on murky brown waters along one of the distributaries of the Mekong River, I recoiled back. One step on that small rickety thing would send me plunging down the river, along with my cameras. I just know it in my heart. But I seem to have no choice. Either I come with them or I commute back all the way to the city. Which I have no idea how to. Darn it.

A TRADITIONAL BOAT ALONG THE MEKONG RIVER DELTA

It was another day of adventure for us. Since we were based in Ho Chi Minh, and the city doesn’t really look that interesting, we booked another out of town tour from our hostel. We already tried the Cu Chi Tunnel tour the day before, this time we’re doing the Mekong Delta Full Day Tour.

We rode a speedboat to get to our dinner. Yes, we did. After our Cu Chi Tunnels tour, from the mad bedlam of downtown Ho Chi Minh, we took a cab to the Cau Mong Pier, sauntered over to the boardwalk, and plunked our bottoms on the plush seats of a fancy speedboat. We roared across the calm waters of Saigon River, holding on to the railings at the sides while enjoying the afternoon scenery. It was over too soon, our boat slowing down on what looks like a grand white mansion facing the waters.

VILLA SONG SAIGON’S ELEGANT FACADE

WHILE WAITING AT THE LOBBY

Located at the District Two of Ho Chi Minh, the vibe at Villa Song Saigon was as far away as can be from the bustle of the city (they have complimentary boat rides to the city). The place is very romantic and serene. The main structure, a Victorian-esque building, holds twenty three unique rooms for guests wanting some quiet and privacy.

With full hesitation, I went down with my friends to the tunnels. It was dark. It was cramped. It was hot. The tunnel went narrower and narrower as we went along. I had to crouch. And it’s not easy to walk in that position. We were told we could exit on some junctions of the tunnel, as it would only get more constricted as we go further. I’m not claustrophobic, but I just had to get out of there.

BOUGHT VIETNAMESE CONICAL STRAW HATS FOR THE TOUR

Visiting Ho Chi Minh for the first time, we knew we just had to go to the Cu Chi Tunnels. It’s one of the more famous tours in the city and it would be a shame if we didn’t see it. So, off we went, booking ourselves a Cu Chi Tunnel half-day tour on our hostel which, surprisingly, was very cheap at USD5.00 per person, inclusive of roundtrip bus transfers from our lodging [BOOK THE TOUR ONLINE].

Angkor Wat, the name evokes a combination of Indiana Jones, Lara Croft, and books. I have read and heard about this temple during my History of Architecture classes way back in college, have memorized its name for exams. And now finally, years after, I’m gonna see it with my own two eyes and feel its rough stone columns with my own bare hands.

MORNING AT ANGKOR WAT

The first time I laid my eyes on Angkor Wat was on a late Sunday morning. It was during the early month of February, it was a holiday. Instead of stopping and walking along its 190-meter long sandstone bridge and crossing over its mighty moat, I instructed our tuk-tuk driver to speed on and proceed to our next temple. There were just too many people. Hordes and hordes of visitors making some sort of pilgrimage to a tourist Mecca.

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A man carrying a twisted wooden staff and wearing a shiny golden dress emerged from one of the stone towers of Prasat Bayon. I doubled back, are we on a movie set?

We were on our last leg of our Angkor Thom tour. Having previously visited three out of its eight major sites, we were dead tired. That weariness, however, quickly wore off as we emerged on the upper deck of the Bayon temple where massive, serene stone faces greeted us.

LOK LEK FOR LUNCH AT ANGKOR THOM

The sun was at its brightest as we went out from the makeshift eateries near the Leper King Terrace inside Angkor Thom’s enormous complex. We’ve had our fix of lok lek for lunch and were rarin’ to do the daunting Angkor Thom tour. The complex covers an area of 145.8 hectares; it was simply impossible to do this on just one afternoon.

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It was our third straight day of temple hopping and to be honest, we were quite templed out. We’ve really had enough of temples dedicated to Shiva and the millions of Hindu gods out there. But this was a special day. Today we get to visit Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom. Two temples I’ve read with wonder on my History of Architecture book back in college. Today we get to see them in real life.

TA PROHM TEMPLE, AMAZINGLY DEVOID OF TOURISTS

Together with our ever reliable tuk-tuk driver from Happy Guesthouse, Nga, we again zipped through the forest roads of Siem Reap. Our target, five temples—Angkor Wat, Banteay Kdei, Ta Prohm. and Angkor Thom’s Phimeanakas, Baphuon and Bayon temples. Our tour is actually a combination of two tours, the Angkor and Little Circuit Tour. We left out some of the temples on the Small Circuit tour—Prasat Kravan, Srah Srang, and Ta Keo—to accommodate the massive Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom temples of the Angkor Tour.

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The salt water pool at Sokha Angkor Resort was heaven. It almost made us forget the Little Circuit Temple Tour that we’re supposed to be doing that day—spending too much time swimming and goofing around the hotel’s huge pool after breakfast. It was our second time in Siem Reap and this time, we decided to splurge a bit.

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SOKHA ANGKOR RESORT GRAND LOBBY

Coming from an overnight bus ride from Thailand, we arrived at Siem Reap at quarter past nine. We hailed a tuk-tuk and were dropped off at the Sokha Angkor Resort’s driveway in a few minutes. We knew, as we entered its expansive lobby, that we’re gonna be in for a treat.

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The music pumped. No more temples. They danced. No more temples. I drank my beer. No more temples. We don’t want any more temples! What we wanted was beer. More beer. More beer. And the city has just the place for us—the ubiquitously named Siem Reap Pub Street.

THE FLAMBOYANT PUB STREET IN SIEM REAP

Tucked on a not-so-quiet street in the Old Market Area of Siem Reap, far from the ancient Angkor temples, is Pub Street. It’s where tourists go after a whole day of temple hopping. It’s where the backpackers go after a day of biking. It’s where it’s happening.

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A face—eyes closed, chiseled on a rough stone, faded by time. A wall—carved with unreadable inscriptions, strange reliefs running hundreds of feet on both ends. A fig tree—sacred, towering several meters high, roots clinging like a spindly spider legs on a cracked ruin.

A KID PLAYING ALONG THE GROUNDS OF BANTEAY SREI

Siem Reap is like leaping into a real life Tomb Raider game, only we’re not sprinting ahead with Colt 45’s a blazin’, but with Canon and Nikons a clickin’—dodging no tigers nor thugs, but tourists clad in bright, colorful garbs

Welcome to Siem Reap. It was a good day for a run, a temple run.

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Our trip to Siem Reap wouldn’t have been as much fun if not for Happy Guesthouse, its owner Chhorpoan and our tuk-tuk driver, Nga. We really weren’t able to stay at their place, having previously booked at the Angkor Tropical Resort, but our tour and most of our meals were from this lodging.

WELCOME TO HAPPY GUESTHOUSE! ~ PHOTO BY NALYN ACASIO

Happy Guesthouse is located at the backpacking district of Wat Bo Village in Siem Reap. It’s on a little, unpaved side street right before the stately Siem Reap River and is walking distance away from the flamboyant Pub Street and the Old Market area. It’s a family run business, and we felt that right away as we entered its gates.

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Steadily, our canoe started to dock at a floating platform at Kompong Phluk’s Flooded Forest. We just finished a magical ride along the gnarled trees, flooded by the nearby Tonlé Sap Lake. And it was such a wonderful encounter that we absolutely didn’t mind paying a relatively hefty amount just to experience it.

BOAT RIDE THROUGH SIEM REAP’S FLOODED FOREST

My buddy jumped off the canoe on to the ledge, and as I was about to follow her when a motorboat suddenly roared across the other side of the river. Our canoe started to drift away from the platform exactly as my right foot planted itself on its wooden boards.

Everything started to play in slow motion as the distance between the boat I was on and the platform, where my other foot was now planted on, started to widen. I can’t freakin’ believe this is happening.

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The sun was hanging low over the ancient temple of Preah Ko as we alighted for the last time from our tuk-tuk. We have just visited two other temples at Roluos, a sleepy town about thirteen kilometers away from downtown Siem Reap, and we were discovering for the first time what Cambodia has to offer to tourists like us.

DETAILS OF A CARVING AT PREAH KO

Siem Reap Temple Pass

Earlier, we availed of Siem Reap’s temple pass at the APSARA (Authority for the Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region of Siem Reap). One cannot simply saunter his way off to any Siem Reap temples without waving a pass to the guards in the area.

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There’s this really pretty lady right out at the Leu Market selling cheap breakfast fares, you should definitely eat there. That’s Dave, our host from Angkor Tropical Resort telling us where we can eat in Siem Reap right after arriving in Cambodia after our early morning flight from Kuala Lumpur.

SIEM REAP INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

It was my first time in Siem Reap. It was my first time in Cambodia.

I know how to pronounce Cambodia, but I have no idea how to enunciate Siem Reap. Sim Rrip, I heard a local say. Sim Rrip it is. A few said that it means Siam Defeated, while others say it is Siam Destroyer; both referring to the old clash between the Khmer (Cambodians) and the Siamese people (Thai).

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If you focus hard enough, you will see the Bangkok metropolis swirl into light trails.

The ground beneath our feet was moving. That ground though was set 84 floors above the city. It was spinning—showing off the city’s magnificence at almost a thousand feet. And I thought, having a tremendous buffet dinner just before going to this revolving view deck ain’t such a good idea.

YOU THINK WE HAVE IT BAD IN MANILA, BANGKOK HAS CRAZIER TRAFFIC JAMS

We were rooted in one of the city’s nasty traffic jams a couple of hours before we arrived at the Baiyoke Tower II for dinner. From Sofitel So Bangkok, where we were staying, we can easily see the tower. We thought it would be a quick cab ride from our place to our rendezvous.

We thought wrong. Very wrong.