Joseph Bautista
Taking a 34-hour ferry to Cagayan de Oro and enjoying it
November 02, 2023 4:05 pm
Thirty-four hours! That’s what the ticket said how long it takes to travel by sea from Manila to Cagayan de Oro. Most people would rather take a two-hour Manila-CDO plane, but not me. I am a senior who enjoys unconventional travel and I got plenty of time to enjoy a long voyage by sea, something that I had been itching to do for such a long time.
Celebrating over 400 years of embroidery in Lumban
October 05, 2023 9:23 pm
I have been to Lumban, Laguna several times in the past to have a Barong Tagalog made. Social events like weddings, product launchings, and even Filipiniana-themed parties require that I have a Barong Tagalog made for the occasion, and driving 105 kilometers south is worth all the efforts because I get an intricately-embroidered attire at less than the price of buying those generically-made one from the department stores. Of course, as a traveler, I also get to see the heritage attractions of Laguna and to try some of the province’s famous delicacies along the way.
It’s more fun to be a senior traveler in the Philippines
September 28, 2023 4:01 pm
It’s more fun in the Philippines. Especially if you’re a senior citizen who loves traveling by public transportation. Under Republic Act No. 9994 or the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010, senior citizens which the law defines as any resident citizens of the Philippines at least 60 years old are entitled to privileges such as in the grant of 20 percent and exemption from the value-added tax (VAT), if applicable, in the actual fare for land transportation travel, and in actual transportation fare for domestic air transport services and sea shipping vessels and the like, based on the actual fare and advanced booking.
A Sunday walk at an old airport runway
September 21, 2023 4:02 pm
The news that Ayala Avenue and portions of Paseo de Roxas and Makati Avenue in Makati commercial district shall be made car-free every Sunday morning for the month of September got me excited. More than opportunity to explore the busiest streets of the country leisurely on foot, it was a chance to finally walk through history on the Philippine first ever international airport runway.
Lapulapu and the new National Museum Complex
September 14, 2023 4:14 pm
I recently went on a tour of the National Museum of Natural History at Agrifina Circle at Rizal Park. Not many people know how the name came about. It’s actually a combination of the word “agriculture” and “finance” since the two neoclassical buildings located opposite each other were the former Agriculture and Finance buildings built in 1940 based on the design of Filipino architect Antonio Toledo in the late 1930s. Both the Agriculture and Finance buildings were heavily damaged during the Battle of Manila during World War II. Both were reconstructed according to original plans after the war.