Photo from here The arts were not a huge part of my growing-up years. I stared at paintings without a vague sense of its depth, I saw ballet performances on TV and switched channels, I never tried to scrutinize minute details of sculptures, and the only theater play I thought to watch live was The Sound of Music (only because I loved the movie as a child).  The first play I watched was Nick Joaquin’s The Portrait of the Artist as Filipino

Read More

There is absolutely nothing that could go wrong with a 12-hour bus ride. Or so I thought. Earlier this year I took a smooth 13-hour bus ride to Tuguegarao. I boarded the bus and slept all the hours away. This time around, it was a different story. It all started with a plan to go to Kalinga with a new friend we’ve met at Batad. I called Victory Liner a day prior to the long weekend and the representative said

Read More

This post is the result of Thursday night’s thoughts on cooking. Photo from  http://www.zazzle.com You see, cooking, next to dancing well, is at the bottom, of my skillset. I have cooked a few dishes in my life but I would rather eat it by myself than share, except for some some occasions when I prepared something more than a bowl of instant noodles for others.  Yesterday, in an attempt to lessen dining out and make my food intake a little bit

Read More

Dear Dumaguete, Sometimes things don’t go your way. This video sums up what turned out to be a day’s stay in your place. Forgive the disheveled, almost dying look.  I was frustrated. But really, there’s no arguing with the screaming human body. We had plans laid out for a 2-day stay– go straight to the Twin Lakes of Danao and Balinsasayao on the first day, roam around your streets at night, and visit Bais for dolphin watching on the second

Read More

Choosing Cagayan Valley was a hasty decision for a Holy Week destination. I can no longer remember what convinced us to choose the province of Cagayan but I’m certain we almost did not push through because of the long lines at the terminal. Luckily, Victory Liner now has an online booking and reservation system for trips to Tuguegarao. Several airlines offer flights to Tuguegarao with a travel time of 1hour but if you plan to take the bus, prepare your

Read More