While temples and museums are alright with us, visiting a slew of them in one go is simply too much. We’ve had our fair share of temple runs in Siem Reap, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Ayutthaya, Penang, and Yogyakarta, and we always felt, well, ran out, afterwards. It was too much of a sensory overload. This time, we’re having it at, of all places, Vietnam. I’d never thought there’d be that many temples (and museums) in a single area on a socialist country like Vietnam.

INSIDE ONE OF THE MANY MUSEUMS IN HOI AN

We never really signed up for this, it was totally forced on us. While entering the Hoi An Ancient Town, we were stopped by a guard and was asked to buy a ticket containing five entrance stubs to any temples, museums, or workshops we would like to go for VND120,000.00 (USD5.30 | PHP270.00). They didn’t tell us we don’t really need this to enter old town. And should they have, we would have entirely forgone this part of our Hoi An tour.

A sperm whale graciously broke free from the concrete ground—cold, dark and metallic—reaching for the ocean of leaves above; its tail, a few meters away from its head, still above ground, frozen in time as it waited its turn to dive beneath the solid floor.

After a scenic four-hour train from Jakarta to Bandung, I was pleasantly surprised to find art and culture awaiting us at Bandung, our second destination in Indonesia.

I’ve always wondered what’s inside the Ifugao-inspired building at the corner of Harrison and Governor Pack Road in Baguio every time I pass it by. I know it’s a museum, but for the life of me, I can’t seem to find the time to visit it, considering how frequent I go up to the City of Pines.

This last time, I made sure I get to enter its doors.

CARVED WOODEN SPOONS DISPLAYED IN BAGUIO MUSEUM

Baguio City has always fascinated me and whenever I meet someone who actually lives here, I always make it a point to ask a few questions about its history. Like how the Americans discovered it, what it looked like before it became the Summer Capital of the Philippines, and even, how life was during the American Period.

SEE: BAGUIO TRAVEL GUIDE

“What’s the plan?” I asked C as we broke our fast on a creamy laksa noodle at a hawker stall near our lodging, the Beary Best! Hostel. “Well, we’ll meet with R and see where he takes us.” It’s inevitable that you meet friends on trips abroad. Filipinos are just everywhere.

THE NATIONAL GALLERY SINGAPORE

After a train ride, meet ups with R and C, a Burmese lunch, and some chit chat, the plan emerged. Unlike the previous day of checking out free attractions around Singapore, the plan today was somewhat more sophisticated. Like museum sophisticated. And we’re not visiting just any museum, we’d be heading over to the National Gallery Singapore to check out artworks all the way from our very own Juan Luna to international masters like Pablo Picasso.

APPARENTLY, TODAY IS MUSEUM DAY

We’re really not into museums, but with R around, you just know you’re gonna enjoy viewing artwork after artwork. He’s quite the brain when it comes to art, especially the juicy bits about the life of the hands that painted them.

From our lunch place, we walked towards Singapore’s Civic District where the gallery is located.

Welcome to the grand ballroom, our guide announced as he flicked a switch open, lighting the cavernous hall at the second floor of Tacloban City’s Sto. Niño Shrine. Five massive wooden chandeliers carved by Betis artisans all the way from Pampanga illuminated the space where lavish balls were once held by deposed president Ferdinand Marcos and his first lady, Imelda Romualdez Marcos.

We were all bowled over. It was grand. It was luxurious. And it was almost vulgar in its excesses.

THE FIREFLY RECEIVING ROOM, DUBBED SO DUE TO ITS CURIOUS CEILING LIGHTS

Forgive me, but when my companions said we were visiting the Sto. Niño Shrine, I thought we’d be going to the Sto. Niño Church in Tacloban. Well, could you really blame me? Whoever would have thought that a presidential guesthouse would have a chapel for its foyer? Blame Imelda for that one.

► SEE: KALANGGAMAN ISLAND

Bataan is one of those places history geeks go nuts over. It became the last hold-out for the American forces during the Japanese invasion, a jump-off point for a Corregidor tour, and is the location of the infamous Death March—enough reasons for those interested in knowing more about World War II to visit. During our three-day tour of the province for the Pawikan Festival, we were able to touch base with a few of these.

I know one place here in Penang you’d be extremely happy to visit, C told me as we rested under the shade of a tree in Georgetown. The heat in Penang was extremely draining, and after walking around the historic quarters of the city, we took a quick soda break before continuing our tour. Where? I asked. She told me it’s a surprise and trotted off, asking me to follow. We took a turn at Lebuh Chulia and onto a narrow unnamed alley, a sign greeted us; The Camera Museum.

BACK ENTRANCE OF THE CAMERA MUSEUM

Indeed, I was brimming with excitement as we entered its darkened hallways and bought our tickets. I’ve never been to any museum catering to nothing but cameras and photography—the old stores at Quiapo’s Hidalgo Street, excluded, of course. To drive home the point, we saw a sign exclaiming that Penang’s Camera Museum is the first of its kind in South East Asia. That figures.

► DISCOUNTED TICKETS FOR PENANG CAMERA MUSEUM

I gazed, lost and fascinated at the mural painted on one of the walls of the Lanna Folklife Museum. It tells of lives past in the northern region of Thailand, all colorfully done with a few unfinished ones. It’s almost like hieroglyphs, although you won’t need an Egyptologist to translate it for you. Somehow, you can discern what’s going on throughout the massive painting—that is if you have the time to see to its every detail.

It was the last day of the Thailand Connect: Hip & Heritage Business Events tour, and for this day, we were free to choose where we want to go. We visited the Bo Sang Umbrella Village and a small temple, Wat Buak Krok Luang, earlier and after having one of the best Hainanese chicken at the Kiet Ocha Khao Man Gai, we requested if we could see a museum to complete our cultural experience.

For a nineties kid, the Crisologo family name still rings a bell to me. The thing that actually pops into my mind is not related to Vigan City at all, but of actor Rudy Fernandez playing Bingbong Crisologo, a former Ilocano congressman turned charismatic preacher, who’s father, Floro was gunned down inside a church.

It was only a decade later that I realized that the said church is actually the Vigan Cathedral and the museum I’m stepping into now, his actual home.

►MORE MUSEUM: VIGAN TRAVEL GUIDE

Welcome to the Crisologo Museum, an ancestral house owned by the clan which Vigan’s famous Calle Crisologo is named after. Err, actually, there was no guide to welcome our group. That might be easily explained though, since there was no entrance fee to be paid when we arrived.

After being greeted at the door, we were left to our own devices inside the cavernous ground floor of the ancestral house where Bingbong probably once played as a kid.

►CHECK FOR CHEAP HOTELS IN VIGAN

Along with my love for old churches is my relatively new-found passion for ancestral houses. I used to dismiss such houses, being more fascinated with European minimalism and American organic architecture. But once the travel bug hit me some years back, I started to really see why Filipinos should start to care more and appreciate these houses that once dotted the roads of pre-war Philippines.

And there’s probably no better place to rekindle that passion for bygone architecture than in Iloilo City. The city is a history buff’s dream with its numerous Spanish-era churches and grand old mansions. On my third visit to Iloilo, I finally got to enter an ancestral house within the city, the Camiña Balay Nga Bato.

►NEARBY: GUIMARAS TRAVEL BLOG

Literally just a few hop away from Microtel Luisita, our home for two nights in Tarlac, is the first destination for the Tara Quin Tarlac tour, the Aquino Center and Museum. I had no idea there’s a museum dedicated to the Aquino’s, one of the most prominent and loved—or hated, depending on where you stand—political names in the Philippines.

THE AQUINO MUSUEM AT TARLAC’S HACIENDA LUISITA COMPLEX

The Aquino Museum is housed in a spartan modern structure inside the Hacienda Luisita Complex. The center is not government owned nor government run, as was made clear to us before the tour started. Funding from it comes from the Ninoy and Cory Aquino Foundation.

►EXPLORE MORE: TARLAC TRAVEL GUIDE

Everyone of course knows who GMA is. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo—former Senator of the Philippines, former Vice President, twice President of the country, and now Pampanga Congresswoman. Her political stint had left a bitter aftertaste to the Filipino people which led to her confinement to the wheelchair, neck braces and all.

But before all those political controversies, Gloria also used to be a kid—probably not as ordinary as you and me, but perhaps like the rich kid around the block. And during Iligan City’s Waterfalling Adventure Tour 1.0, I got to see a little bit of that side from the place she once played around in, the Macapagal-Macaraeg Ancestral House.

►CHECK FOR AFFORDABLE HOTELS IN ILIGAN CITY

History nuts and art lovers know that Leonardo Da Vinci is a genius. But this brilliance is lost among the multitudes of ordinary people who probably only knew the famed renaissance artist only by his cryptic masterpieces, the Last Supper and Mona Lisa.

Enter Dan Brown’s controversial bestselling book, The Da Vinci Code, and the genius of Da Vinci is once again brought back to the masses. And through the month of September to the last day of November, BGC’s The Mind Museum in cooperation with France’s Grande Exhibitions and The Anthropos Associ is peeling off more of the mysteries surrounding the wonders behind Da Vinci’s brilliant mind by bringing in a world renowned exhibit; Da Vinci The Genius.

The distinctive facade of the Silliman Museum usually represents Dumaguete City on postcards and pamphlets. Sad to say, it’s now my third time to visit the City of Gentle People but I haven’t stepped on this iconic structure even once. Being a museum guy, I’m elated that the Silliman University Anthropology Museum was gonna be our first stop on this particular trip.

I’ve always loved Silliman University’s laid back atmosphere; it’s tree-lined boulevards, its grassy fields and its very American architecture. I’ve actually written about a walk I did years prior along its arcades, searching for a fried ice cream. I still haven’t found that said dessert but the university hasn’t changed one bit from what I remembered it to be.

I’ve been restlessly waiting for an invite to visit BGC’s Mind Museum ever since it opened a few years ago. I mean, a real world-class science museum right here in the metro! Any geek worth his salt would’ve probably camped outside its doors on opening day. Unfortunately, traveling extensively has its price; I’m always broke. So there goes my ticket to the museum.

BenCab’s Museum, while really not part of Baguio City, can be considered as one of the city’s nicer tourist attractions. The museum appeals not only to art aficionados but for nature and food lovers as well.

It’s my third time to visit this famous museum located on the back roads of Tuba, Benguet. After shooting the Panagbenga Festival, I bumped into the guys from Pinoy Travel Bloggers group. They were touring Baguio City with the people from Azalea Residences and invited me to join them. With really no fixed itinerary, I said okay without hesitation.

The night was young and the stars were barely visible across the darkening sky. Two tricycles ripped across the dark streets, careening through deserted lamp-lit roads towards some good times; Dipolog City’s Goodtimes Café that is.

An aging ancestral house surrounded by a thousand-square of overgrown garden was our destination. Galeria Indelecio its archway scrawled. An empty wrought iron chair stood guard across the portal, but I suspect an invisible sentinel protecting it, for the world beyond seemed so much different from ours.

How many times in your lifetime can you say that you’re gonna have breakfast at a Former President’s house? I know presidents have multiple mansions built all over the place, but this one’s different; the Lakbay Norte 3 crew’s gonna have its first meal of the day at the seat of the Philippine Government in the North.
The Malacañang of the North or Malacañang ti Amianan in Ilocano is one of the 29 summer residences built by Former Philippine President Fernando Marcos. A 60th birthday gift by his wife, Former First Lady Imelda Marcos, this is the place where the deposed president used to stay when visiting his hometown.

I’ve been passing by the Bamboo Organ Church in Las Piñas City for the longest time when I was still staying there and had never bothered to check out its museum for some reason. It took an appointment with my bank for me to revisit the place, and this time, finally enter its museum.

A huge bell, the original one that was used by the parish centuries ago, greeted me at its entrance. I was looking for the museum guide but was unable to find the guy so I lingered about the gift shop first, looking for ref magnets, taking photos and whatnots before the he finally showed up.

Entrance to the museum was Php50.00 and includes a postcard and a guided tour. After paying for my fee and keychain (which I would convert to a ref magnet since they ran out of stock, haha), my guide started unlocking the barred iron doors of the museum.

Like its mother structure, the Bamboo Organ Church, the museum is finished in adobe stones with red brick highlights and exposed ceiling. The huge sliding windows are made of Capiz shells and the floors of red clay tiles; giving the place a very Katipunero-era feel.The place was not that large but is chockfull of artifacts relating to the famed Bamboo Organ of Las Piñas. My guide related the parishes’ history, its humble beginnings, to the making of the organ by Padre Diego Cera, its retrofitting in Germany, and finally its reinstallation at the church. They have a mini mock-up of the bamboo organ (also made of bamboo) in the museum which you can actually play.  Its inner workings were patiently explained by my guide too.

Pictures also abound on the walls showing the various stages of the church as time passed. There were busts, priestly chairs, giant bellows (the original one that was used in the organ), old broken bamboo pipes, and paintings. Everything Bamboo Organ is packed in this place.

The highlight of the tour is the world famous Bamboo Organ itself. We entered a cavernous stone hall, up into an old stairwell and finally to the loft of the church where the organ is located. I’ve never seen the Bamboo Organ this close and it looked as ancient as I thought it would be.
I was surprised that there are a lot more pipes at its back than what’s seen upfront. Too bad the pipe repository at the back is off limits to visitors so I was unable to take photos.

I’ve actually heard the organ play during one of the annual Bamboo Organ festival and I was totally blown away at how it sounded. I was expecting something soft and organic but if my memory serves me right, it actually sounded strong and almost jarring, not the sound you’d expect to come out of bamboo poles. The fifty-peso entrance fee was totally worth every cent just to get up close to this National Treasure, the museum tour itself was just an icing on the cake. This inexpensive mini-museum tour is totally recommended to anyone passing through the city of Las Piñas.

Bamboo Organ Museum
St. Joseph Parish, P.Diego Cera Avenue, Brgy. Daniel Fajardo, Las Pinas City
(02) 825-7190 | (02) 820-0795 | http://www.bambooorgan.org/
Museum Hours: Tuesdays to Sundays, 8AM-12PM, 2PM-6PM
Entrance Fee: Php50.00

BenCab Museum is the house that art built as one writer puts it. And indeed it is, it has everything an art lover wants, paintings, sketches, prints, sculptures, installations, carvings, and everything else in between.

The museum is divided into nine galleries, an outdoor space for sculpture exhibit and a function room for film showings and meetings.

The BenCab Gallery is where BenCab houses his four decades of work that earned him a National Artist award in 2006. The Cordillera Gallery on the other hand has his collection of everything Northern Highlands; Cordillera carvings, furniture, baskets, tools, weapons and what-nots.