I’ve always thought that the best bulalo in Tagaytay is located at one of the many fancy restaurants fronting the Taal Volcano. Boy, was I ever wrong! I’ve heard about the best bulalo being sold at one of Tagaytay’s many markets, but have no idea where it was. Little did I know that I’ve been passing through it countless of times, it was just at the Mahogany Market all along.
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| CARINDERIA STALLS AT TAGAYTAY'S MAHOGANY MARKET BULALOHAN |
Half a day of walking around the drizzly pathways of Caleruega made some dents on our tummies, immediately turning our mini tour into a Tagaytay food trip. We immediately headed towards the bulalohan area along the Nasugbu Highway to replenish our batteries but were immediately turned off by their prices (PHP380.00 per bowl).
We packed up and boarded another jeepney, this time to Mahogany Market, there’s also a bulalohan strip there that’s much cheaper, although sans the view, my friend says to me.
Taipei City is a bustling metropolis often ignored by travelers and backpackers. The city, Taiwan’s capital, is located on the northern part of the country and boasts of developed infrastructures, organized train and transportation system, unique street foods, and interesting tourist attractions that can appeal to a wide variety of travelers. Within the city, one can explore old districts with distinct Chinese influences, check out temples, wharfs and even a hiking trail that would reward you with a panoramic view of Taipei. Do a quick out of the city excursion and the sceneries gets even more interesting—strange geoparks, old Japanese mining towns, waterfalls, a sparkling lake town—all within easy reach from the city.
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| JIUFEN’S OLD STREET, AN HOUR AWAY FROM TAIPEI |
During our three day tour of Taipei, I made an extensive itinerary that covered important places of interest in Taipei, plus a whole day tour outside the city. We did walking tours along an old district of the city, visited temples and memorial halls, did a short hiking activity, shopped and feasted on street foods.
Like it has always been, it was again drizzling in Jiufen. We waited for it to abate to a fine mist before rushing across the highway and starting the ascent across the glistening stone steps towards its heart. And its heart was beating fast; pumped with people going up and down its arteries, holding colorful umbrellas competing with the red Chinese lanterns lightly bobbing over teahouses, aromas of cooking mingling with the scent of new rain, and mists, magical mist, hovering above everything else, swirling slowly like a daydream.
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| THE STAIRS LEADING TO JIUFEN OLD STREET |
But getting to Jiufen wasn’t really the stuff of dreams. We started off late from the Yehliu Geopark on the second day of our tour, day one being set for our Taipei day tour. The original plan was to take a bus from Yehliu to Keelung City, perhaps visit the Elelphant Rock if we still have time, before proceeding on another bus bound for Jiufen. With daylight slowly getting shorter, we decided to take a cab, haggling hard to bring it down to TWD1,200.00 for the five of us. It was twice more expensive than taking the bus, but was also twice as fast (we checked using our Flytpack). And with our limited time in Taiwan, we’d definitely take time over money.
There were ten times as many people as there were the mushroom-like stones rising out of the geopark. We should’ve expected this, visiting one of Taiwan’s famous tourist spots on a weekend. My friend tried posing in front of the rock formations, waiting for tourists to clear the view, but to no avail. After some minutes of waiting, the view almost cleared, then another group suddenly appeared into the frame. Shoot it! I’ll just clone everyone off in Snapseed, my friend exclaimed in frustration.
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| SHORT WALK FROM THE BUS STATION TO YEHLIU GEOPARK |
Yehliu Geopark is located at the Wanli District of New Taipei. Getting to Yehliu from Taipei is easy enough. Since we were lodged at the Grand Hyatt Taipei, we just took a train to the Taipei Main Station (using the 3-day train pass we used for our Taipei day trip), and from there, took a Yehliu-bound bus for TWD96.00 (PHP148.84). It took about an hour and half to reach the Yehliu Bus Stop. From there we just walked for about ten minutes to the gate of the geopark (good thing we have our Flytpack with us, else we would have taken a cab), passing by a sleepy town fronted by a less than busy wharf.
It was inevitable. We had to do something while in Maligcong. We were on our third day of doing nothing and the pressure was building. Guests at the homestay were coming and going, and us, we’re still sitting our asses off, alternating between cold beer and hot mountain coffee in between meals at the veranda. Our host was already harried, wanting to guide us herself to the peaks of Mount Kupapey for the sunrise and Mount Fato for the sunset. We were unfazed. But yes, we have to at least do something while in Maligcong.
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| MORNING DEW ALONG THE RICE PADDIES |
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| IT’S STILL CLOUDY, BUT WE’RE SET ON MOVING |
And so it was that one morning, as the rain finally abated to a very light drizzle, we donned our cameras, put on our hiking shoes and headed to the rice terraces of Maligcong. The jump-off from Suzette’s Maligcong Homestay was a mere five minutes away and we were there in no time, going down a narrow concrete stairways for the locals and into the stairway of the gods.
MOUNTAIN PROVINCE | Chilling Out at Suzette’s Maligcong Homestay
[HOTELS & RESORTS] Saturday, January 28, 2017
A low rainbow splashed across the verdant rice terraces of Maligcong. It was drizzling on and off the whole day, but as the sun peeked across the thick blanket of clouds capping the mountains for a brief moment, a hue of colors suddenly brightened the view right in front of us. And no, we weren’t tramping on the muddy trails leading to Mount Kupapey. Nor we were traversing Maligcong’s rice terraces. We weren’t even on the track leading to Mount Fato. We were simply at the wide open-aired veranda of ate Suzette’s Maligcong Homestay, chilling it out with Misty the dog and litros of very cold Red Horse beer.
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| BONTOC’S POBLACION, STILL ONE MORE JEEP AWAY FROM MALIGCONG |
It took six hours worth of bus ride from Manila to Baguio, one quick breakfast at our favorite lugaw place in the city of Pines, Goto BP, then a taxi ride to Slaughterhouse bus terminal, another six hours on a non-aircon bus ride across the cliffs of Benguet and Mountain Province, and finally an uphill jeep ride from the town of Bontoc to Maligcong before we reached Suzette’s Maligcong Homestay.
I just read my previous year ender, which, uhh, let me check, is eight days late in posting last year. This year, the Lakad Pilipinas annual report is posted even later! Like twenty-four days later! But better late than never. And yes, I’m recycling my previous year’s title. If you don’t like it, post your own one. Kidding. Lol.
Okay, so I’m about to run down sixteen of my favorite trips this year. But first, let’s see where I’ve travelled the past 2016. Hold on, need to check my image database, which is kinda hard now since it’s now location based, ditching my previous High Fidelity-ish autobiographical arrangement.
Sh*t. This is really hard.
Okay. After some minutes of clicking through folders, here it is.
Monochromatic serenity at Tha Chine River ©
A photo posted by Christian L. Sangoyo (@lakadpilipinas) on
January started in Central Thailand, exploring the lesser known provinces of Samut Songkhram and Nakhon Pathom. Then a quick getaway to my mom’s province in Cabanatuan went into the works. Then to C’s province in Zambales with a quick one-day jaunt to Binmaley in Pangasinan to eat roasted catfish (yep, you read that right). Then before the month ended, I was sent to Bicol for an assignment, revisiting Albay and Sorsogon, and finally setting my foot in cowboy country, Masbate. Then. Then. Then.
A photo posted by Christian L. Sangoyo (@lakadpilipinas) on
February started off in Leyte, my second time in Tacloban (this time with money on hand and friends to laugh with) and my first at Kalanggaman Island. We went further south, Mindanao particularly, a week or so later, checking out the lakes of South Cotabato and the beaches of Saranggani.
March, I was home and working my ass off on backlogs.
La Boracay? Full Moon Party! #BeachHopAsia2016 #teamRHofficial
A photo posted by Christian L. Sangoyo (@lakadpilipinas) on
April to May was summer trip time! Our two-month escapade, dubbed as Beach Hop Asia 2016, kicked off in Malaysia, running through KL, Melaka, Langkawi and Penang. We then took a flight to Thailand to meet up with the then, still complete, Team RH gang to party at Koh Phangan’s infamous Full Moon Party. Right after, we chilled down at Krabi before the gang went their separate ways.
With C, we continued our journey through Koh Phi Phi, followed by Phuket before flying to Sri Lanka. We spent two weeks in the country, taking a loop through Colombo, Sigiriya, Dambulla, Polonnaruwa, Kalkudah, Arugam Bay, Ella and finally, back to Colombo. Hmmm, Sri Lankans seem to love ending their places with the ah sound.
Wasn't just a dream. #BeachHopAsia2016 #HolidayIslandResort
A video posted by Christian L. Sangoyo (@lakadpilipinas) on
The last two legs of the trip involved Maldives and Singapore. I still can’t get over the fact that Maldives has bested the Philippines when it comes to beaches. And Singapore, I appreciated it better this second time around.
June came with another trip to Zambales. July was raining, so I didn’t leave home.
Until next time, Hanoi! #LakadPilipinas x #Vietnam
A video posted by Christian L. Sangoyo (@lakadpilipinas) on
Then August rolled in with a reunion with my favorite city in the PH, Baguio City. Then a Boracay quickie, where we weren’t really able to party that much. Then an even quicker trip to Hanoi in Vietnam, which I absolutely love. I’m giving it a hundred percent more love than Saigon. I can’t wait to get back and spend more time on this crazy place.
A photo posted by Christian L. Sangoyo (@lakadpilipinas) on
September rocked the house with an almost two-week trip across Indonesia. Jakarta. Bandung. Jogjakarta. Lombok. Flores. Bali. Indonesia is amazing. Their beaches can rock and roll with the best the Philippines has to offer too! An assignment landed me in Bacolod and Iloilo right after.
A photo posted by Christian L. Sangoyo (@lakadpilipinas) on
And because there’s just too many going ons during September, my mom didn’t let me out the whole October. Kidding. On the tenth month, I boarded a cruise ship and revisited Singapore and Malaysia, going back to Langkawi and Penang. I don’t mind revisiting Penang over and over and over again. In fact, we’re going back there next year!
A photo posted by Christian L. Sangoyo (@lakadpilipinas) on
Cold November (spawned a monster) found me in Taipei, walking until my feet died, and a long December saw me climbing the mountains of Bontoc. Well, we really didn’t climb that much. We sat at the veranda of the inn we’re staying in most of the time and ended the year with nothing but beer.
...and then, release. #LakadPilipinas #MountainProvince #teamRHwintertrip #teamRHofficial
A video posted by Christian L. Sangoyo (@lakadpilipinas) on
That totals to eight countries outside the Philippines and fourteen provinces within.
Hmmm, and apparently, this article has gone overly long with me forgetting to list sixteen of my favorite trips this year. Oh well, I’ll do it next year.
Ever thought of joining a cruise trip but can’t find one without flying to neighboring countries? Worry no more, Star Cruises, the cruise giant in the Asia Pacific, will now launch cruises from Manila! Their first venture, a six-day cruise that would take you to Laoag City in Ilocos Norte, then to Kaohsiung in Taiwan, and finally, to Hong Kong. Quite exciting!
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| SUPERSTAR VIRGO’S GRAND LOBBY |
I have previously joined tours from Star Cruises. First, their Kota Kinabalu to Puerto Princesa cruise cruise, then a second one from Guangzhou to Hong Kong cruise, and lastly, a few months ago, taking the Singapore to Malaysia cruise. On all these, I had nothing but a good leisurely time, both on my time on the ship and the much-awaited shore excursions.
We were given the chance to dine, free of charge, on one of the fancy restaurants of the Grand Hyatt Taipei, and without hesitation, we politely declined. What we wanted to eat during our entire three-day tour of the city was street food. I’ve been hearing so many good things about the street fares in Taipei that we were more than willing to beg off eating on swanky restaurants for hawkers on the streets. And there’s nowhere better to sample the city’s offerings than at the numerous night markets in Taipei.
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| TYPICAL STREET FOOD HAWKERS ALONG TAIPEI’S NIGHT MARKETS |
The city has around twenty night markets, and the entire Taiwan, over a hundred, opening a few hours before the sun sets and closing at the wee hours of the morning. These are usually set on regular roads that are closed to motorized traffic by night. There are stores on both sides of the streets, on the sidewalks and right in the middle of the road itself. Besides xiaochi (small eats) street food, you can find everything here from shoes, bags, clothing, toys and everything else you can think of. We wanted to visit all the best night markets in Taipei, but were able to check out only three; we simply didn’t have enough evenings during our three-day Taipei trip.
My friend V, who isn’t going with us, was more excited than we were when he heard that we’re visiting Taipei. We rode on his enthusiasm, asking him what we could do there. “A whole lot!” He exclaimed, stamping both his hands down the table. He told us of hiking a mountain within the city for a panoramic evening view of Taipei, about night markets where the best street food can be found, and a whole lot of things we could hardly remember by the time our conversation ended. His passion and love for Taiwan seems to have no bounds. And by the end of our trip, ours became too. We were instant converts.
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| TAIPEI’S CHIANG KAI-SHEK MEMORIAL HALL |
Going to Taiwan is now very easy for Filipino tourists with the new Taiwan visa exemptions for the Philippines. And so it was that a few days before our flight, I jotted down a rough list of places we would visit for our three-day Taipei itinerary. I realized then that it really wouldn’t really be followed, knowing my friends’ waking habits and our very own haphazard way of traveling. It was quite a surprise then that we almost ticked off all the tourist spots I listed down.
Four days has passed and still, we haven’t taken a single photograph of city’s landmark building, the Taipei 101. Hailed as the tallest building in the world in 2004, it has only been topped by Dubai’s Burj Khalifa five years after. It stands right across our hotel and can actually be seen right from our room window. It is, in most probability, the reason why we were taking it for granted.
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| TOUCHDOWN TAIPEI! |
We arrived in Taipei quite late, taking an almost midnight flight from Manila. There were no delays, but the flight time took about an hour and a half, take in the immigration lines and we were out into the nippy Taipei night in the wee hours of the morning, our chauffer from Grand Hyatt Taipei, waiting for us at the arrivals area with a welcoming smile.
My article and photos appeared recently on the September to October 2016 issue of Health and Home, a subscription only magazine. This is my third contribution to the publication and this time, Antique Province took the spotlight.
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| ANTIQUE ATTRACTIONS ON HEALTH AND HOME MAGAZINE |
It’s a summary of a trip I did a couple of years back, visiting Sira-an hot spring, Anini-y church, Antique’s muscovado sugar mill, Nica Rambutan Farm and the Tibiao Fish Spa. I also added the activities we did, like the buri and Patadyong weaving, Antique clay pottery, Tibiao white water kayaking and lambaklad fishing.
MALAYSIA | Star Cruises SuperStar Gemini Cruise Shore Excursion ~ Langkawi
[BEYONDPH] Sunday, November 20, 2016
It was strange, a chilly morning in Malaysia. The only temperature I know when in the country is hot, and hotter. The clouds were low, thinly blanketing the ridges of the karsts surrounding us, overgrown with hardy vegetation. Below, the water was almost green, its color muffled by the gray clouds overhead. Boats zigged and zagged along its placid surface, ferrying early tourists along the mangroves, their faces marveling at the scenery along the geopark.
MALAYSIA | Star Cruises SuperStar Gemini Cruise Shore Excursion ~ Penang
[BEYONDPH] Friday, November 18, 2016
The narrow asphalt-laden streets of Penang sparkled after a particularly heavy downpour. We were just in time, alighting from our van as the rain abated. We walked and found a delighted boy clutching mightily at her sister while riding a bike; a wall painting that is now synonymous with the city. I have seen this boy through the years, his face always the same, still giddy with excitement, his sister, still confidently pedaling the bike several times bigger for her size. I have grown older every time I see them, and they have not.
| STAR CRUISES SUPERSTAR GEMINI SHORE EXCURSION PENANG TABLE OF CONTENTS ~ WHAT’S INSIDE? |
The UNESCO World Heritage City of Georgetown was one of the two, the other being Langkawi, shore excursions that the SuperStar Gemini offers to its cruisers. The ship’s guests can actually choose over several tour packages while on the cruise, each varying in activities to suit any traveler’s taste.
STAR CRUISES REVIEW | SuperStar Gemini Cruise From Singapore To Malaysia
[BEYONDPH] Wednesday, November 16, 2016
Under a thick blanket of clouds, the sun went down in Singapore without even bidding goodbye. Lights started to flicker on the topside of our cruise ship—Star Cruises’ SuperStar Gemini—illuminating the wooden deck and making the central pool glow. We leaned on the railings several storeys up, watching, hypnotized by the frothy waters of the Melaka Strait below, waiting for evening to fully settle, waiting for the lands of Malaysia to come into view.
Last summer, photographs I took for an assignment with Inflight Traveller magazine hit the newstands with a shot of Burubancaso Rock Formation in Masbate taking the front page. The six-day photo assignment took place in Bicol, spending two days each in the provinces of Albay, Masbate and Sorsogon (ALMASOR).
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| ALBAY, MASBATE AND SORSOGON ON INFLIGHT TRAVELLER MAGAZINE |
While it wasn’t my first time to visit Albay and Sorsogon, Masbate was a first for me; a province I have long since wanted to cross off my list of places to visit in the Philippines. I knew Albay and Sorsogon held wonders; but after my trip, I can definitely say that Masbate isn’t lagging behind its more popular neighbors.
Waves crashed on the shore of Seminyak Beach, booming, one after another, unmindful of the people swimming on its waters, unmindful of the big ball of fire, setting poetically behind it. The whole beach was bathed in a fiery orange light, a last hurrah for the day that’s soon gonna end. It mirrored exactly what we were feeling, at the sunset deck of Alila Seminyak, glasses of cocktails in hand. It was a melancholic farewell to the twelve days we’ve spent around Indonesia, with old and new friends alike.
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| SUNSET AT SEMINYAK BEACH |
It was the last day of Indonesia’s Trip of Wonders tour. We started off in Jakarta, passing through Bandung, Lombok, Jogjakarta, Flores and finally, Bali. Unlike our previous stops, we have absolutely no itinerary here. What we were here for was to rest and party, celebrating the adventure-filled days that went by. And our chosen chill-out place, Alila Seminyak.
INDONESIA | Beachin’ Around the Islands of Komodo National Park
[BEYONDPH] Tuesday, November 08, 2016
“That beach can’t really be as pink as that.” I told W, as I was browsing through Komodo Island’s Pink Beach on his Instagram account. A few days later, we docked on that same beach. And I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was bowled over. Its sand was even more pink as the photo I was shown.
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| ABOVE AND BELOW INDONESIA’S KOMODO NATIONAL PARK |
Besides komodo dragons, the largest lizard on the planet and a living Jurassic creature at that, the Komodo National Park also boasts of beautiful beaches and extensive underwater gardens fit for snorkeling and diving. The three we visited, much as I wouldn’t want to admit it, can go head to head with the best that the Philippines has to offer when it comes to beaches.
My throat was parched and my breathing, ragged. I trudged, unwillingly, for a few more steps uphill before I turned my back. The view blossomed like a flower right before my eyes; four coves ringed with white beaches, cradling jade green waters within its embrace. Dividing them, a range of craggy peaks rose into a falsetto, their surfaces a grassland of dried bushes, golden brown against the lively greens of the sea, dotted with notes of green trees here and there. I took in the fresh breeze, breathing it fully, savoring its fresh salty taste before letting Padar Island’s panorama take it all away again.
