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!
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.
My brother is an amazing guitarist. He is one of the well-known guitarist in Zamboanga City. He plays guitar in bars, restaurants, weddings, birthdays, and all other special occasions where live music is needed. He has a band called the New Soul band. Music is his full time career now.
One of Thea's favorite song is Bahay Kubo, a Filipino traditional folk song. The song talks about a small hut (meaning of the title) surrounded with many kinds of vegetables. The song names different kinds of vegetable in Tagalog. The composer must be a vegetable farmer.
Here the English version of the lyrics grabbed from https://rverzola.wordpress.com
My humble hut
may look tiny,
but the veggies around
it, sure are many.
Yam beans and eggplants,
wing’d beans and peanuts,
string, hyacinth and lima beans.
Winter melon and loofah,
bottl’ gourd, squash, et cetera.
There is more, amiga,
radish, mustard, yeah!
Onions, tomatoes
garlic and ginger.
If you look all around,
sesame seeds abound!
Because Thea wouldn's stop from playing, Monray played the song Bahay Kubo ith his guitar while I sing it for Thea.
It is a rare accasion that all of us, family members, are at home. It was a sunday. In most sundays, my Dad is at church, my mom is resting from work, my brother is on his gig, and my sister is at the hospital at work, and I hand out with my friends at the mall. But not today, we're all at home. My dad has no church appointments, my sister is on her rest day, my brother has no gig, and I am too lazy to go out my my friends.
We decided to go out and visit a new mall that has recently opened, CityMall Tetuan, Zamboanga City. It is a small shopping center with fast food restaurants, shopping store, and an indoor playground for kids. It was 3 kilometers from home. It was easy for us to get there. My mom doesn't really like going out but to my surprise, she was fine with going out with the whole family.
This Sunday was a family day out. We went to CityMall. Had dinner in Jollibee and strolled around. It was a small mall so we toured every corner in minutes.
When Thea passed by the playground, her eyes was mesmerized by the colors of the slides. She was excited to see those children having fun with the slides. Thea, hurriedly ran towards the slides and attempted to try it. I assisted her getting up. She was scared when she got on the ramp but she was brave enough to give in to the gravity and slide her was down. We were happy to see Thea having fun. It was Thea's night out.
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.
This is probably the best climbed I have experienced. Wait, let me change my mind: This is the best climb that I have experienced.
Few days after moving to Zamboanga for a new job, I was terribly missing Manila. I missed my friends, my girlfriend, the busy streets, the modern and independent lifestyle, the food, and many more. But most of all, I missed the accessibility of going to new places. In Zamboanga, there are only 4 flights available: Manila, Cebu, Davao, and Tawi-Tawi. Ive, been there already. There are also bus trips from Zamboanga to different provinces but they don't excite me anymore because I've been there too. Manila is a perfect sanctuary for travelers. You can easily go to everywhere in the Philippines and abroad, if you have the the money.
I decided to go to Manila for a vacation. I booked a ticket months before the flight to get the cheap ticket. I saved money to to make my vacation worthwhile. I told my girlfriend that I'll be seeing her. She was so excited knowing that we'll be seeing each other. I was excited, too. She even made my itinerary for my Manila vacation. I had no idea of her plans. I didn't ask her any further. I wanted to be surprised.
When I arrived in Manila, I met my girlfriend and she told me that we are going for a climb in Mt. Maynoba, Tanay Rizal. She told me that we are going to see a sea of clouds. I was skeptic because I didn't know any place that in the Philippines that has Sea of Clouds except in Baguio or Sagada or other high altitude places. But still I was excited.
We left Manila around 10pm in the evening. She said that we have to go to the summit before sunrise so we can witness the presence of the sea of cloud. That means that we are going to climb during the dawn. To me it was strange. Climbing a mountain on a dark dawn was pretty scary.
We arrived at the mountain foot at 3 am in the morning. It was a 2-ride trip for about 4-5 hours: a jeepney from Manila to Tanay, then a tricycle from Tanay to the Mountain foot of Maynoba. It was dark, really dark that you can't climb without bringing a torch or a flashlight. We didn't bring flashlights but the people were kind enough to lend us. We started out ascend minutes after arriving. We had to catch the sunrise to see the perfect view. Getting to the summit also takes 3 hours, so we might miss the sunrise if we go slow.
The climb was exhausting yet we felt full-filled. We reached the summit before sunrise. YEY! We were on time! Sunlight was already leaking from the mountain so the view of the clouds is visible. I couldn't contain my happiness when I saw it. It was so beautiful. It was like a dream. I was like in a psychedelic drug. Double the ecstasy when the sun peeped from the mountain. It was the perfect golden hour. The view was so beautiful that I hugged my girlfriend with gratitude that she brought me in that place.
It was in deed the best climb that I have. Definitely an adventure to remember. :)
