You are currently browsing the archives for the Travel category
AirAsia Philippine's First Branded A320
Exciting travel times are ahead for us travelers as Low-cost Carrier giant expands its wings establishing its 13th hub in the Philippines. AirAsia has been in operation in DMIA (Diosdado Macapagal International Airport), Clark for many years now. I even remember having my first international flight via AirAsia to Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia from Clark. The difference now, is that AirAsia Philippines is co-owned and operated by Filipinos this time.
Ifugao Girl Mirrored Innocence (Olympus E-PL2, Lumix 20mm, F1.7, 1/30sec, ISO 1600)
It’s been a while since I traveled on my own. I went to Banaue recently to try to catch the Imbayah Festival and also to arrange things for our upcoming Backpack Photography Banaue Photo Adventure this May 13-15. It’s really hard to work on the logistics of far-off places like Batad and Bangaan so I have to go there personally. I took the Ohayami Bus, an alternative to Flordia, for the first time. Aside from it also being a freezer yet equally comfortable, it was a tad slower and I noticed that most of the passengers are Ifugao since the bus line is owned by one.
Angeles Flagellant (Olympus E-PL2, 40-150mm at 100mm, F5, 1/250, ISO 200)
It was a Bloody Good Friday at Angeles, Pampanga. We were there to witness the Siete Palabras (The Seven Last Words) re-enactment which is a first at Barangay Lourdes, Angeles City. It was chaotically interesting I could say. But alongside there were numerous flagellants. At first I thought I couldn’t handle the gore, the pain of seeing them punish themselves and their blood splattering all over the place but it was interesting to observe their practice of this old Filipino tradition.
Gamet Gatherer (Olympus E-PL1, Lumix 20mm, F1.7, 1/1250sec, ISO 100)
She goes by the name of Che. I saw her along with her friends from afar on my way behind the impressive rock formation of Kapupurawan in Burgos and had to look closely. They were gathering a Gamet (or Nori for Japanese), a red edible seaweed which is part of Ilocano’s diet as they make these into soups, scrambled egg ingredients and other delicacies. It’s also a big industry here as they export them in Japan. Che and her friends thread the sharp coral rocks and the waves in Burgos every morning till noon to gather these Gamet as it is their source of food and income.
Shot with an Olympus PEN E-PL1 and Lumix 20mm pancake, I made sure I have a Circular Polarizer attached to lessen the light coming in so I could shoot wide open at F1.7 here since it’s close to noon already.
It’s the last day of Lakbay Norte 2 and we’re currently waiting for our Cebu Pacific Flight back to Manila. The day is pretty slow and some of the sights are already familiar, like the Paoay Church and lake and empanada In Batac. The new place for me of course is the newly restored Malacanang of the North. It’s been an exciting 6 days up north and as expected, there are always something new to see which I’ll definitely go back to. In the meantime, I’m yearning to go back home and sleep on my own bed.
Like I always said, the north always had a lot in store everyone I go back here. The weather was a lot friendly as we finally saw the chalk like rock-formations of Kapurpuran in Burgos against a blue backdrop of the sky. We also visited a salt making facility and the famous biscocho in Pasuquin. While we did the Sand Dunes last year, doing the sand boarding is still as fun. Our last night up north ended with some songs, drinks and games.
Patches of blue sky and sunlight shone through the clouds today while we were at Adams. It’s a province up north that I’m glad to have finally set foot since I’ve been wanting to visit the place. We had a trek to Anupig Falls, got to taste some ants and ant eggs and sip some local wine. There were uneventful lapses on our way to Laoag but all is well at the end of the day.
