Bunguiao, Zamboanga City Philippines

Bunguiao is one of the 98 baranggay in Zamboanga City Philippine. It is located on the east coast of Zamboanga. People here speak pure Chavacano (Philippines' Broken Spanish dialect) Bunguiao is a love place. It is a place that teaches you that a simple life would more likely bring you to happines.

I fell in love with this place. My job sent me here and this place has become my second home. This is a small 'barrio' is surrounded by forest. The air always feel fresh. The water is always cold, straight from springs and it is always free! Electric wires and posts are built but the electric company has not provided the electricity yet. So there are no TVs, internet, or any electronic entertainment. There isn't and mobile phone signal either. But people still find ways to have fun by playing cards and drinking alcohol, which is not-so-cool. 

I met many beautiful people and made friends. Life in this place is a bit harder than in the "pueblo" or downtown. Farming is the main source of money nd that is quite difficult. I hope to leave my imprint into the people in this place before I leave. 

Here are some videos I shot in this place :)

Enjoy! 

Mi Goreng Street Food in Zamboanga City Philippines

Travelling isn't only about going and exploring new places. It is also about savoring the best food that a new place has to offer. 

In Zamboanga city, one of the important things that a traveler or a city visitor should do is to indulge one's self in food. Zamboanga has so many food that can not be found anywhere else, at least in the Philippines. We have Satti, Pianggang, Daral, Pastil, Curacha and more. Most of these food are influenced by the Spaniards when we were once a colony of Spain. The Indian and Malaysian influence are also evident in these food where curry is common in some of these 'Zamboagna only' food. The indigenous Muslim Filipino tribes, (Yakan, Samal, Tausug, Maranao and more) also has their own unique taste in desserts which was further enhanced when their food where introduced in Zambonga City.  

One of the food that I really like is the Mi Goreng. I didn't know what the name meant until I googled it. It means "Fried Noodles". A simple and sensible name. The noodles is being fried in oil and mixed with their 'magic' soy sauce and served with fried egg topping.

Mi Goreng just sprouted in the streets of Zamboanga City recently. I don't remember seeing this food in the streets of my hometown few years ago. Now I'm wondering how it flourished here. Hmmm That would be interesting. 

Drool over this video and enjoy watching :) 

Shot with my Smartphone: Cloudfone Excite Prime 

Venice Piazza Mall, McKinley Hill Philippines

It has always been my dream to be in Europe. Who wouldn't want to go there? It is such an amazing place. Although I haven't been there, I know it is an amazing place. I have watched it on TV and internet. It is truly mesmerizing. The mixture of the old buildings and modern lifestyle fascinates me a lot. Everytime I see Europe, I always wonder and ask myself, "Is there a chance for me to get there?"

Getting to Europe is very expensive especially for a Filipino like me. I only earn 12,000 PHP pesos per month and getting there might require me to gather at least 400,000 pesos. That's like years of work! So, I ask myself, "What are the chances for me to get there?" Still, I cant find an answer. Or shall I say, it is impossible for me to get there, yet.

Few days after I decided to leave Manila, the Venice Piazza Mall in Taguig Manila just opened. Although the whole construction isn't 100% completed, they allowed visitors and shopper to get into this Venice-like place in the Philippines. Just like most malls in the Philippines, it has the same stalls as you would see in SM and Ayala Malls, especially the expensive stalls that only upper class Filipinos can afford. Thankfully, getting in the canal area is free!

I came here with my girlfriend. It was around noon time when we got here. It was scorching, just usual tropical summer noon time, hot and humid. there were few people around. We walked and took pictures. I was impressed by the details of the walls and the corners. A lot of effort was put in trying to replicate Venice. However, it is nothing like the Europe that I see in TV and internet. There was no rustic feels and no vintage aroma. Since this place was fairly new, I could smell the fresh paint from the wall and hear the construction ongoing. As if they were rushing to meet the deadline of the completion of the mall's construction. 

With all this, still I'm planing to get back to this place. Maybe at night time so I could also experience the beautiful night light that it has to offer. Still, I'm grateful I have stepped on a Venice replica. A part of a dream has been "fulfilled" already. 

Pililla Wind MIlls, Tanay Rizal Travel Photos

CAGAYAN DE ORO, CAMIGUIN, BUKIDNON and ZAMBOANGA

It wasn’t a good start. Everything was messed up. Three of us had the same flight to Cagayan de oro city. I was able to catch my flight but unfortunately, two of us didn’t make it. They were late. So I flew to Cagayan all alone. The rain was pouring hard. I am soaked. The rain water embraced my as I stepped out of the plane. It was my first time in this big city in the south and it wasn’t a warm welcome. I was about to inform them about me situation but, WTF! My phone was not with me. I was lost in CDO without a phone. Not to worry because there's the power of the internet. I went to the nearest mall, in SM and went online. Bang! Rescue is on its way. I contacted my friends in Facebook and told them about my situation. Then, met me in SM and LET THE FUN BEGIN. 

DAY1

We woke and got ready for our trip to Camiguin Island. It was a long ride so we got up at 4:30am. We reached the island at 7am. We hired a small jeepney for 1500pesos, that's for 1 whole day. It wasn’t that much because there were 6 of us. First stop, Katibawasn falls. 2nd stop, White island, 3rd, sunken cemetery and the volcano ruins, 4th stop, soda pool, 5th stop. Niño cold spring. Then back to CDO.

We went to many places in one day. I felt like we spent a week long in the Camiguin. FUN!

DAY 2

White water rafting- it was an awesome experience. My skin got burnt from the sun. We were rafting along the river for almost 5 hours under the heat of the sun. It was scary, especially for a person like me who has a fear of water. I was so scared yet confident because I trusted our guide. I also felt my life vest was secured in place. 2 hours after the ride, we were asking for bigger rapids. We enjoyed whenever the water splashed against us, pushing us away from the raft. We met new friends during the ride. For sure ill try do again. 

DAY 3

Dahilayan park adventure- it wasn’t really an adventure. It was more like a relaxing experience. The scenery was great. The mountains were marvelous. The landscape was so temperate-like. It felt like we were in Twilight (the movies).  The air was cool. We have experienced the longest zip line in Asia. It was “ahhh ok”. It wasn’t like “WHOAHHH!!!”. It was similar to Eden’s Park in Davao City. Although the nature felt nice, I still didn’t find it amazing because it was man-made. It kept popping in my mind that I was man-made. (of course, it’s a park). the most awesome part in this trip was our visit to Camp Philips in Bukidnon. The pineapple plantation. It was like "pineapple as fer as the eyes can see". It a lot of photos in the pineapple filed. The place was so peaceful and the people were friendly. I loved it.

LAST DAY 

Last trip- we were headed to Zamboanga City, my hometown. It was twelve hours away from Cagayan de Oro City. We ran out of time and we didn’t get the chance to roam around the beautiful spots in the city. But atleast we were able to visit the popular place in Zamboanga, Fort Pilar, Paseo del Mar, Boulevard. We ate yummy food too.

This is one of hte best trip that i had so far. I have experienced a lot of things for the first time, i ate great tasting food, got lost in a city with no cellphone, tried zipline line and white water rafting. and most of all, the friendship the was built!

PUFF

The poor fish. He was catching his breath when we took him out of the water. I could hear his loud inhale and exhale. Poor him. But he doesnt have to worry. He's in good hands. Im an animal lover. And just so you know, We took this cute fish back to where it was, ofcourse. He was with his sea turtle friends. Now im sure he is swimming with the sea tutles.

This is in Guimaras, Philippines. It is a small island town in the Visayas near Ilo-ilo city. We were island hopping. You see that guy in orange? He seemed disgusted with what Im doing. Well, he is our tour guide. He brought us here in a sea turtle hospital. This is where they keep sick sea turtles, wounded turtles that were hit by careless pump boat.