Off to Sugarlandia - Bacolod, Negros

When my sister Chato learned that rocker Kitchie Nadal had a gig in Bacolod, she immediately booked a flight. Kitchie is managed by another sister (Roca) and sometimes lets my 14-year old nephew (Chato's son) play a song or two with the band.
So, for the gig in Bacolod, Chato got the green light to, so to speak, tag along. It's actually a good idea to go and let the kids take the time off their PS2 and PS3s, wii games, war craft etc and explore the provinces. On Dec 29, we - Chato and her three kids, Tita Flor, ninang Gigi and I - flew out of Manila and arrived in the new airport of Negros in Silay, about 15-20 mins from Bacolod City. We managed to book a van a day before we left (c/o Boy Javellana 0928 412-9835). Since we only had three-days, we immediately drove north to Victorias to see the "Church of the Angry Christ" inside the Victoras Milling Corporation (VMC) compound. The mural was painted in 1949 by abstract expressionist Alfonso Osorio, the son of the founder of what was then the largest integrated sugar mill refinery in the world.
Lunch was seafood at Barangay Balaring off the main road in Silay. There were several restaurants to choose from but we opted to go to where there were more people inside and that's Tama Plaza where we enjoyed fresh oysters, squid, marlin, tilapia in gata (coconut sauce), prawns, calamares, pork chop and even sisig!
From the seafood plaza, we headed to see the heritage houses. There are about 31 houses that have been turned into museums and/or pension homes. Balay Negrense was the only one opened (Jalandoni and Hofilena were closed). Built in 1897, the Balay is the restored residence of Victor F. Gaston and is an airy version of the 'balay na bato' architecture.
On the way to Bacolod, we stopped to try the local bibingka (rice cake). It looks more like a star-shaped puto which they serve topped with star margarine and sugar. (Note P5 in Silay vs P24 in Bacolod).
We finally arrived in Bacolod City and checked in the newly rennovated L'fisher Hotel on Lacson St.. The rooms were clean, spacious and fitted with cable TV which the kids enjoyed. Chato and I stepped out to visit black artist Charlie Co's Orange Gallery who had a show "Art of Giving" (contact: Carmela 0920 541-0898). We went up to the bodega and was fascinated by the horse sculpture of Totc Co which was made out of scrap metal. Carmela took us to Charlie's home to see more of his work. We got two of his 2-ft "angels" and later got Jay-r Delleva's painting from the show. We headed back to the hotel to get everyone ready for dinner at Pendy's and dessert at La Calcea (best seller is the white chocolate cheese cake which we brought home and hands-down fav is the chocolate square cake).
The next day was Kitchie's concert at the town of La Castellana, 2-hours drive east from Bacolod. Since the show was at 9pm, we checked out more sites. The first was the ruins in Talisay. The driver took us through a narrow dirt and hence, rough road. It was serendipitous since we witnessed a group of Sacada farmers tilling the land. Iris recently learned about the plight of the Sacada farmers in school. They are mostly transient laborers of about 8-10 who come during harvest season and earn P150-300 per ton. A truckload is about 12-15 tons.
At the end of the 3-km dirt road is the 'ruins'. It is actually a burnt down mansion with the structure still intact. Sugar baron Mariano Ledesma Lacson built the mansion for his Portuguese bride Maria Braga from Macau in the 1920’s. The US Armed Forces of the Far East (USAFE) burned the house down to deter the Japanese from using it as headquarters during World War II. The grand mansion of italian architecture , its sprawling garden with a four-tiered fountain boasts all the opulence of the sugar era.
Lunch was at Bacolod Deli to try the famous chicken inasal (barbeque). Chicken house is another favorite of the locals but we opted to go to Deli, which is located next to the handicraft store so we can shop. A few meters down is Green mart known for its organic piyayas and organic coffee.
After a hearty lunch, we headed to "Bong bong's" piyaya factory (tel # 034 434-2626). There is no set tour. We went inside the store and asked permission to see the factory. They let us in as long as we don't take photos. One of the plant assistant managers, took us around to see where they make piyayas, barquillos, butterscotch, etc.
By 6pm, we drove to La Castellana, a rural town situated at the base of Mt. Kanlaon. There is no hotel in town so Kitchie, Roca and the band were hosted by hacendero and breeder Elik Devino (tel # 034 485-0121). He has an aviary in his home on Gomez St. called Ellinj Aviary which showcases exotic birds about 80 species including the rare black palm cockatoo (right photo), macaus, blue Indian peacocks, golden pheasants, lady Amherst pheasants, silver, reeves, ring neck and melanistic pheasants, Chinese 'silkies' chickens, diamond doves, Nicobar pigeons, eclectus and sunconure parrots, Indian ring neck, plum-headed and red-rumped parakeets, rainbow and chattering lories, cockatiel, African lovebirds, zebra and society finches); turtles (first time to see a long-neck, alligator, pig-nose and white turtle); snakes and the rare spotted deer.
We stepped out to have dinner at the Municipal Hall hosted by Mayor Alberto Nicor, Jr. and his wife (second from left). The town was celebrating its 91st foundation day and annually, they hold a Bailes de Luces parade (before the festival on Jan 5) and "battle of the bands". Kitchie was the culminating number, the show's highlight. The mayor said that the townspeople specifically requested for her. We had to wait until the rain subsided which was around midnight. When we got to the plaza, the townspeople were still there waiting for Kitchie.
The audience was ecstatic as Kitchie sang popular hits Ligaya, telenovela songs Kapalaran (GMA's I Love New York), Majika (GMA), Iniibig kita (ABS-CBN's Rounin), Same Ground, Make a Diifference (song for a DepEd project), Isang Araw (for a Bejing athlete send off used by solar sports), multi-platinum Wag na Wag Mong Sasabihin, Grace and Wide Awake (from Love Letter album), bulong and ended with Isang Mundo (2nd metro pop).
My nephew Clark played' Bulong' and a woman went up to him to take his photo. She said that 'this will inspire my son to play too.' He actually saved Jack since his guitar string snapped. The show ended around 2am and we were back in Bacolod by 3am.
watch video clips:

Road Trip to Pampanga's Best (food!!)

With the global warming coming true to form, there's no longer a wet season here in the Philippines. It should be pouring by now but the weather is hot and sunny and good to take a road trip up North and experience the best of Pampanga, the gastronomical delights of the province.
We headed off to “Abe’s Farm” in Pampanga. It is located at the foot of Mt. Arayat, a 3,000-ft inactive volcano. Some friends dared to climb the mountain under the sweltering heat and left Manila at 5am. Its a good way to work up an apetite though and dip in the hot springs. While moi, decided to drive with Clang late in the afternoon to make it in time for dinner.
The farm is a private resthouse of Larry Cruz, famously known as “LJC” of the LJC restaurant chain. According to Evita (Quiambao), this is the first time he opened his farm to ‘non-friends’. He named the farm after his bon vivant and gastronome father Emilio Aguilar "Abe" Cruz (1915-1991).
The dinner was set up in the lower garden, surrounded by three ifugao houses. The blue and green colors reminded me of Provence. Must be from the father's influence since he was also the first pinoy francophile, being the UNSESCO ambassador based in Paris back in the 1970s.
I was expecting something more exotic and exciting dishes like betute (frog), kamaru (mole crickets) or burong talangka (crablets). We were served instead the usual fare – for starters, sisig (Pampanga after all is where Sisig was born!), crispy shrimps and fermented shrimp buro wrapped in mustard leaves.; then fiddlehead fern pako salad, crispy pata, a yummy chicken dish (everybody’s favorite), seafood kare kare and a stewed vegetabled dish; for desert, we had maja blanca, suman in sweet condensed milk and fresh fruits. The cost is P1750 per person for the meal (plus tip). Drinks were water and buko juice. Glen brought the red and white wine.
Another must-EAT reco in Pampanga is Claude Tayag’s Bale Dutung in Angeles City. I’ve been there twice and I assure you its worth the trip. Claude is truly a renaissance man - he is an artist/scupltor, writer and with his resto, he has proven that he can also cook! The place is actually his private home, gallery and studio located inside a subdivision. His wife Mary Ann manages the place and is in charge of setting up lunches and retailing “Claude 9” products –bottled products such as buro, taba ng talangka (crab fat), hot sauce, etc..
Lunch costs P1800 per head and is served buffet style (minimum of 12 persons). The dining area is filled with Claude’s sculptural furniture. His menu is more nouvelle cuisine. For appetizers, a platter of Kapampangan sushi, taba ng talangka (crab fat), fried catfish with fermented rice and shrimps, pindang balaw-balaw (carabeef meet);. The main course is quite a spread : sari-saring pruts (seasonal fruits in a light Thai dressing), sorbets sa dayap and champagne (sherbet), pako salad, lumpiang ubod, seafood kare-kare, 4-way lechon (i.e. crispy skin, fried lechon with soft tortilla, inihaw, sinigang; chiken wrapped in banana leaf and inasal pugo quail egg with mushrooms; and for desert his signature dish called ‘paradiso’ (macapuno, ube and kamote balls with cream of carabao’s milk). Free flowing water, soft drinks, buko juice, beer and wine.
Both places need prior reservations. Book in advance! Contact Merle (LJC) at 0917 899-7731 and Mary Ann (Claude) at (045) 888-5163. Happy road trip!!

Salam Malaykum from Egypt

Bettina, Clang, Rae and moi at King Tut's tomb

That's Bettina Go, Clang Garcia, Raeanna Cranbourne and moi outside the tomb of King Tut in Luxor's Valley of the Kings, a vast funerary complex at the West Bank. We finally made it after much visa hullabaloo in Manila. Thanks to Kim Harrington who not only helped us get our 'visa upon arrival' but also hosted us at her place in the hippest Cairo-hood in Zamalek, helped us with our tours and even got us an affable taxi driver, Abdul Amin!

We've seen most of Egypt in a week. First stop was Cairo's Citadel (1176) and An-Nasir Mohammed mosque (1318). It wasn't hazy that day and got a clear view of Giza's pyramids from the terrace. From the citadel, we drove through traffic (the city has 15 million population) to visit one of the seven wonders of the world - the pyramids! There are three structures: the Great Pyramid of Khufu (2750 BC) at 146m high, his son's called Khafre (136m) and his wife's Mankaure (62m). It is indeed amazing to be at the foot of a monstrous mountain life-like size tomb and it makes me wonder if there is any truth to its extra teresstial origin.

the Red Sea

The next day we flew East to Hurgada and drove down the coast to dive the Red Sea. It was a toss up with Sharm el-Sheikh but we were warned that it was very crowded and most of the corals are damaged so we opted for Marsa Alam, a newly built city with relatively less divers. Brrr! It was freezing at 22 degrees! I felt like a 'Michelin' man in a 5mm full suit plus a 5mm shortie! The dive operator at our hotel (Iberotel), Coraya Divers was run by Germans. They were very organized. I'm referred to #164 - for my locker box number, gear, etc. It was quite expensive at 20 euros for full gear rental per day (without computer) and 30 euros per dive (its an extra 3 euros for the guide). The best dive sites require a full day boat trip to "Elephinstone' and "Sataya".

We did another dive (in Sha'ab Marsa Alam) the next day before heading out to Safaga to cross the Red Sea mountains with a police convoy to Luxor. I've never felt secured with checkpoints every 500 meters or so and a police escort. I guess after the bombing incident at Sinai in 2005, the government is trying to protect its US$6B tourism industry. The drive took almost five hours, 2 hours to Safaga and 3 hours to Luxor.

At Luxor, we went first to the West Bank's Colossi of Memnon where we were welcomed by a pair of massive statues (18m high). Then drove to Deir al-Bahri to climb the steps up to visit the mortiuary complex of the first female 'male' pharoah, Queen Hapsheshut (very difficult to pronounce, just say hot chiken soup). Its a limestone monument carved out of a mountain! First sign of vandalism here with coptic graffiti and also where her stepson Tuthmosis III scratched out her face. Then drove to the Valley of the Kings to visit the tombs of Rameses I, IV and VI. There are 700 tombs and only 15 tombs are open for public viewing. Our ticket allowed us to visit 3 tombs. The highlight here would be the colorful painted walls depicting the life of the pharaoh, scenes to help guide his journey through his afterlife, heiroglyphics and the sacrophogaus at the end of the tomb (the contents - mummy, gold masks, etc - are at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo).

Luxor

ancient hieroglyphs

After, we drove through the Tomb of the Nobles and stopped at Deir al-Medina named after a coptic temple built by christian monks. Here we visited two tombs of the workers where for 5-20 egyptian pounds, the guards allowed us to take photos! It was extremely hot in Luxor at 40 degrees, so we decided to break for lunch at a resto along the Nile River. After lunch, we spent the whole afternoon in the temple complex of Karnak and Luxor and in the evening, did the Sound and Light show. (note: we bought tickets through our travel agent only to find out its cheaper and easier to do it on your own).

at the foot of the Step Pyramid of Zoser

After Luxor, we flew back to Cairo and Abdul picked us up and drove straight to Saqqara, a huge cemetery of ancient Memphis where the oldest pyramid is located called Step Pyramid of Zoser. For 5 pounds, we were able to take photos inside the tombs. After visiting the pyramids and the newly built museum, we drove 10 kms away to Dashur where we climbed the 125 steep stone steps of the Red Pyramid and down the 63m long claustrophic passageway down the tomb.

Dashur

The next day Kim drove us to Alexandria, the city founded by Alexander the Great. We walked down the Corniche to Bibliotheca Alexandrina, designed by Norwegian architect Snøhetta, it houses millions of books, 3 museums and a planetarium. Then a seafood feast down at the seafood market and walked down to Fort Qaitbey (1480 AD). Back in Zamalek, we were too exhausted to eat out and decided to watch DVD of "The Yacoubian Building", film adapted from Alaa El Aswany's novel.

The next day, Kim booked us to Wadi El-Hatin (western dessert) on a 4WD with driver Moustafa and his side kick Mohamed, to visit the UNESCO world heritage site for the first recorded fossilised skeletons of primitive whales. The site used to be a vast ocean some 35 million years ago. The topography is likened to the Grand Canyon in the United States. We had a picnic lunch at the nearby dessert Waddi Rayyan. Then before heading back to Cairo, a stopover at Tunis a plush domain-secondaire type village to view pottery. (note: town not recorded in Lonely Planet).

A sea in the desert between 250 million and 35 million years ago

For our last night in Egypt, Kim took us to a walking tour of Islamic Cairo. Our first stop was to a bazaar where locals go to (opposite Khan al-Khalili) and then crossed the street to the famous touristy Khan and visited several shops including the famous Fishawi's Coffeehouse. The nobel peace prize author Nagib Mafouz (Cairo Trilogy) grew up in this neighborhood in Sharia al-Gamaliyya.

I enjoyed my trip and luckily, despite warnings by friends, we didn't get harrassed at all by street hawkers or for 'baksheesh' (tips). The magic word is 'la' shukran' which means "no thank you". Also most earn pathetic monthly salaries of 40-50 pounds (tomb guards) or 78 pounds (military solider). That's why they end up harrassing toursits for tips. I'm quite tolerant and in fact, ended giving tips to everybody!

Goa break and 'openings'

Goa was a good break - sun, saltwater, beach and skin exposure! We're all clad up in Mysore so its great to be in tank tops in this sweltering heat. Our travel agent booked us at a very touristy place though up North called Calangute. We should've listened to Gai who warned us that Goa is huge and recommended Palolem beach!

The province is divided into three areas - the North, Central and South. It would take more than a week to explore the beaches. Since Goa was a Portugues colony and half the population are Catholics, we opted to visit the churhces (also we're temple-fatigued already). Interesting to note that the body of St. Francis de Asisi is in the Basilica in Old Goa.

Most of the Yogis at Mysore go to either Purple Valley (South) or to Vagator (North). In Vagator, they stay at a vegan resort called "Beam me Up". We went there for dinner last Fri night and enjoyed quattro formagi pizza. Actually, our trip to Goa was a culinary delight since we took a break and indulged mostly in non-Indian fare.

Now we're back in Mysore. We have a WEEK left. My knee is acting up again. Maybe for being crammed up in the car in Goa and the 3-hour transfer to the airport (travel time to Mysore to Bangalore). Most of the yoga students here refer to aches and pains as 'openings'. Even the 'experts' experience pain and do some kind of therapy. It seems like there is a thriving therapeutic or healing business here - from intuitive healer (Francis), rolfer (Ken), traditional thai massage (Enzo), chiropractor, accupuncture (Sean), ayurveda (dr Kumar), wholistic (dr Jag). Dr. Jag is half the year in Mysore and the other half in Brunei. Fellow Philippine-yogini Joelle Goudsmit is currently apprenticing with him.