La Vida Living Asia: Laoag City

March 2, 2008Noelle De Guzman

Eight days out of Manila is no joke to me. The last time I was away for that long, I was 14 years old and it was a School of Tomorrow student convention. (I just realized that means it was ten years ago. Yikes.) Normally I stick close to home and it’s only been work or vacations that have taken me out of my comfort zone.

Thankfully, work doesn’t seem like work when you’re traveling and experiencing new things. It’s my second trip with Living Asia Channel and I was blessed with the assignment to go to Laoag City and include their yearly Pamulinawen Festival in a “Gone for the Weekend” storyline.

Since the show’s format requires someone host an episode only once, this time around I had to bring my own host. I lucked out with Miche (pronounced “my-SHEE”). We’re both instructors at Fitness First and really great friends, so we filled our idle time in chatter about each other’s personal lives and everyone else we work with. Ü

The main difference between this trip and the last one is that we always had a home base to come back to — Laoag City and our hotel, Java Hotel. So instead of roughing it, we were treated to great accommodations and didn’t have to live out of our suitcases. Every morning we’d be out and about by 7am shooting locations within and outside the city. Writing about each of our eight days takes too much work, so I guess I’ll have to pick out the most interesting parts.

The feast is in honor of the town’s patron saint. But I wonder, why the long face?

Food is always great on a LAC trip. This is an eggplant pizza with a very, ahem, strange-sounding name.

I got to judge the street pageantry, where six contingents tried to outdance and outperform each other for first place. I kept getting billed as “writer and host for Living Asia Channel.” Good times!

I got freaked out about how massive these windmills were — and there were so many of them along a stretch of coastline, their giant blades all turning with the wind. I got a very strong “Lost” vibe.

As always, my favorite part is when I get to try extreme stuff. Miche and I got to go offroading on sand dunes with the members of the P.I.N.A.K.B.E.T. group (that’s short for Province of Ilocos Norte Adventurers Kampers Bikers Eco-tourism). These sand dunes are a natural formation stretching out from the coastline toward inland, and they’re the only such ones in the Philippines. The inclines were steep, the four-wheeler’s engine screamed murder, and every time we rode up and slid down a hill Miche and I hung on for dear life. At one point I was literally just hanging on using my arms because my legs were dangling out from under me. It was great.

It was an eventful trip, but what else can you expect being away for eight days? I’ll save my other stories for another time — going to the Sunday market, or discovering my allergy to ant eggs, or visiting Sarrat Church and the weird stuff that happened after. Or you could just check out the “Gone for the Weekend” episode when it airs. Ü

Visit my Multiply site for more photos of my trip to Laoag. And there’s more! Would you like to read about my first trip with LAC?

Tags: Living Asia Channel, Philippines, Recreation, Travel, Tourism

Laoag Trip Teasers

February 15, 2008Noelle De Guzman

Hello everyone! I got back from Laoag early Wednesday morning, but due to an extremely busy schedule (writing assignments, audition videos, ~~my wedding~~) I can’t write about the trip just yet. But here are some of the things I saw and did in Laoag with my friend Miche. Ü

Kalesa Parade

Paoay Church

sunrise in Pagudpod

Offroading with the PINAKBET Group

posing at the Cape Bojeador Lighthouse

Tags: Living Asia Channel, Travel

Trippin’

February 5, 2008Noelle De Guzman

After what seems like an eternity of missed opportunities, I’m leaving with Living Asia Channel again this week for another adventure! Here’s a clue where I’m going. Ü

See you next week!

Boracay in the New Year, Day 3

January 29, 2008Noelle De Guzman

(This is the third of four planned posts about spending the new year in Boracay, December 29, 2007 to January 1, 2008.)

In preparation for our plan to stay out all night, we decided to laze around on our third day in Boracay. I really do mean lazy; I laid myself out on the sand at 9am and didn’t move except to turn myself over and to get a fruitshake from Jonah’s.

In fact, that day was so lazy the next time we took pics was when our family went out for dinner. It being New Year’s Eve, we all wanted to look extra special.

We clean up nice as a clan, yes?

We had dinner reservations at Jo-Ni’s Resort, which is nicely situated between Station 3 and Station 1. This meant we could stick around in the area until midnight and observe the fireworks from the Station 3 and 1 resorts. Trondz and our other friends from the night before had made reservations at the Seawind, which had its own scheduled entertainment and fireworks show. We were content to leech the sights and sounds for free from our place.

We ended up waiting for midnight at Jonah’s. The fireworks began in earnest from both ends of White Beach and we found ourselves swinging our heads from side to side, much like a tennis game. Only at night. And with hundreds of balls in the air at the same time. It was the longest fireworks show in the history of Boracay, lasting about an hour. And we really felt it; by the end we were just begging for the resorts to run out of rockets to send shooting into the sky.

We bid our parents and family goodbye as Caelli, Marielle and I met up with Trondz and went dancing at Beachcomber, where DJ Manolet Dario was playing some great house and trance music. We were given an unexpected treat as two of the staffers from Beachcomber lit up their poi and did an impromptu firedance show.

The rest of the night got crazy as we went from Beachcomber to Paraw to Ariel’s House, where the proprietor gave us two complimentary bottles of Asti Martini to celebrate the New Year with. Our party got bigger and louder as other people came in to play foosball with us, of all things.

And that was until daybreak, when I got really hungry and asked everyone to come along to breakfast. Where? Jonah’s. (Gosh we never got tired of that place, huh?) Boracay had been cloudy the previous day and made good on its threat to rain that morning. We got a fine stinging spray all over the island.

Then the sky bust out a double rainbow, a glorious sight seen through our sleep-deprived eyes. We dawdled over breakfast, then stumbled home at 9am. It was the best New Year’s celebration we’d ever had, so we were quite bummed that our flight home was already scheduled for the afternoon. Or so we thought.

Tags: Boracay, Travel, New Year’s Celebration

Boracay in the New Year, Day 2

January 22, 2008Noelle De Guzman

(This is the second of four planned posts about spending the new year in Boracay, December 29, 2007 to January 1, 2008.)

Our second day in Boracay dawned sunny and bright, perfect for our planned trip to Puka Beach. Located on the north side of the island at the end of the island’s single highway, it’s just a stretch of sand squished between the jungle and the ocean. No beachfront restaurants with loud music blaring from speakers, no enterprising people pushing banana boat rides on you, no toilets — simply perfect for lazing away an entire morning swimming in stronger currents and looking for puka shells on the beach. Puka Beach isn’t entirely devoid of development, however; we were able to have a picnic lunch delivered from a restaurant on the highway and thus introduced cousin Caelli to her first taste of coconut milk straight out of the nut. Ü

We returned to White Beach the same way we had come (via tricycle) and spent the rest of the afternoon sunning ourselves. Then Trondz came by to introduce his friend Doji to us and invite us to the Tides at D*Mall. There we watched the sun set as we sipped our complimentary mojitos courtesy of the Tides’ owner Stephen, who was on the premises.

We were supposed to have dinner with the family, but all of us agreed we’d meet back up later in the evening for a night out. And oh my, what a night it was. Trondz dragged us (we were very willing, though) and a new friend Sarah from Ariel’s House (a newly-opened establishment fronting the Boracay Beach Club) to Club Paraw to the Tides back to Paraw and then lastly to Hey Jude.

We got the dancing started as we shimmied in the DJ’s booth.

We decided to call it a night around 1am, preferring to save our energy for the next night, which would be New Year’s Eve. I met up with Johnny Z just as we were leaving Hey Jude. It was his last night in Boracay; he was due on air in Manila the next morning and would miss the celebrations.

The thing with meeting people in Boracay is, sure you can become fast friends, but unless you actually are determined to keep in touch (let’s say via phone or Facebook or meeting up back in Manila), you might never see that person again.

Tags: Boracay, Travel, New Year’s Celebration

Boracay in the New Year, Day 1

January 15, 2008Noelle De Guzman

(This is the first of four planned posts about spending the new year in Boracay, December 29, 2007 to January 1, 2008.)

Ever since we first set foot on Boracay, I’ve always wanted to come back at a time when the water’s free of algae and the sand’s less populated with people and beer bottles. That time would be during the dry off-season of October to February. It’s a relative off-season, since in December to January people rush in to experience Boracay during their vacation.

We’d decided to welcome the new year on the island, so months before the trip our flights were already booked and our reservations had been made. Because of that, we arrived on the island without incident and immediately set out to get a tan.

Armed with our bottles of suntan lotion and sunblock, we laid ourselves out on the beach after a light liquid snack at Jonah’s Fruitshakes. Unfortunately, some cloud cover came and put our tanning on hold. Just at that time, some people tried to get a volleyball game going so my cousin Caelli and I joined them. Yes, volleyball. In our bikinis.

The game ended just in time again for my friend Trondz to invite us out to a sunset cruise sponsored by San Miguel Super Dry beer. (Now, Trondz owns the Ice Monster franchise and Glimmer glitter tattoo shop on the island, so I consider him pretty tuned-in to the happenings on Boracay.) He was able to get our names on the invite list, so we got on the last speedboat going to the M/V Vianelle, the largest sailing trimaran in the Philippines. It was a laidback cruise set to a live performance from a very able singer, who serenaded us with renditions of John Legend songs.

The cruise being a promotional event, it was being covered by 103.5 MaxFM’s DJs Johnny Z and Logan. Since we had come in on the last boatload with them and had made introductions all round, when they started broadcasting live from the trimaran (via cellphone call) it was yours truly who got interviewed. Then Caelli, Marielle and I were photographed as part of San Mig’s photo set to be used for advertising in fashion magazines. We qualified because we were wearing what their idea of “Boracay fashion” was. (You know what? We basically had thrown on what we were wearing at the time because that boat ride was so last-minute.)

That night we turned in early, tired from travel. But not before we caught a full show of firedancers facing off. I was fascinated by the lights and the risk involved, but my paranoia finally got the best of me and by the end of the evening I was sitting out on the sand far away from the smell of kerosene and the sight of flaming cans spinning out on strings.

Tags: Boracay, Travel, New Year’s Celebration

Cebu Pacific Sucks

January 10, 2008Noelle De Guzman

Hey all. We had a great New Year’s celebration in Boracay (which I will write about later this week), but at the very end of it all our January 1 flight out of Kalibo got cancelled. Since it was the last flight of the day, we got stuck in Kalibo for one night. That wouldn’t have been so bad, if it weren’t for Cebu Pacific shafting us. Below is an email my mom wrote concerning the poor treatment we got from Cebu Pacific staff and the irregularities concerning the cancellation of our flight.

I am really sorry for sending this very lengthy email to all of you. Please bear with me as I just have to let all of you know a very unpleasant experience I had with Cebu Pacific.

I was one of the passengers of the above-mentioned flight from Kalibo to Manila [Flight 5J344], which was cancelled last Jan. 1, 2008. We were a party of 10 people coming from a vacation in Boracay. There were about 150 passengers for that particular flight, many coming from Boracay, mostly Filipinos, with some foreigners.

The flight was scheduled to leave at 4:30PM. We checked in at about half past 3 and patiently waited for our flight. Boarding was supposed to be at 4:05. However, by that time, there was no sign of our plane. On the ground were 1 Asian Spirit and one PAL plane. Shortly after 4, the Asian Spirit plane took off. An Air Philippines plane landed after that. Still, there was no sign of Cebu Pacific plane. At 4:50, I inquired at the counter why our plane still had not landed. I was told that it could not land because the PAL plane was taking off. 15 minutes after PAL took off, there was still no sign of our plane. The passengers were all quite concerned by this time, but we waited patiently.

At about 5:40PM, an announcement was made that our plane was circling in the air waiting for clearance to land, as it was raining at this time. At a little after 6, another announcement was made that our plane headed back to Manila because it could not land. So, our flight had been cancelled. We immediately proceeded to the counter where we were informed that indeed, our flight had been canceled so we had to find lodging for the night. It was clearly stated by the people manning the counter that our lodging would not be shouldered by Cebu Pacific since it was due to inclement weather. We were given telephone numbers of the different hotels in the area and were made to call these hotels, on our own.

We were ready to accept inclement weather as the reason for the flight cancellation until an Asian Spirit plane landed. We could not believe that a smaller plane could manage to land in spite of the rain, and the Cebu Pacific plane, a bigger plane, could not land. On further questioning, we were told that since our plane was running out of fuel, it headed back to Manila. This angered us even more, because, if indeed fuel was running low, the most logical thing to do was head to the nearest airport with complete facilities – that would be Cebu – gas up, and return to Kalibo. Why on earth would the plane, low on fuel, head back to Manila, a much farther destination, then decide to no longer return to Kalibo?

We were informed that the airline could not give us a special flight. We were told that we would have to be chance passengers in the 3 flights the next day. That was a ridiculous thing to say to about 150 or so angry passengers. Many of us had appointments on Jan. 2. That was precisely the reason we all opted to return to Manila on Jan. 1, New Year’s Day. How on earth could 150 people be accommodated in three fully-booked flights? One other option given to us was to take the Ro Ro.

It was already close to 8 PM, but, not even a drop of water or a single peanut was offered to any of us by the crew. We had been in the airport since about 3PM were tired, hungry, and thirsty. But we had to face a very unsympathetic Cebu Pacific crew. Every time we asked for their manager, we were told that they were trying to reach him/her. What kind of a manager could not be reached for more than 2 hours, in an emergency situation like this?

When we were told that there was definitely nothing else they could do, we finally left to find a hotel so our children could rest. But when we left, we still had no assurance that there would be a special flight for us. We were asked to leave our contact numbers so they could get in touch with us for any developments.

We found room in La Esperanza Hotel. We ordered dinner from Chow King since the hotel had no restaurant. At about 10pm, we got a call informing us that arrangements had been made for a special flight at 10AM the next day. Thankful for the new development, we all went to sleep.

The next day, after settling our hotel bill, we hired a van to take us to the airport (10 people + luggage). We were able to leave Kalibo after 11 am, more than one hour later than the planned 10:05 am departure time. We were so thankful that, at least, we were on our way home to Manila.

Everything was alright until my officemates informed me the next day that our plight found its way to the newsroom. And according to the news in ABS CBN’s Umagang Kay Ganda show, Cebu Pacific shouldered our hotel accommodations in Kalibo. That is an outright lie! Not a single centavo was given to us by the airline. We had to pay for our hotel accommodation, our dinner, and the van rental. I am very sure the other passengers will say the same thing.

I learned a painful lesson the hard way. After this incident, I WILL NEVER FLY CEBU PACIFIC AGAIN. And, I will tell this story to as many people as I can, so that they will see how we were treated by Cebu Pacific.

So there you go. Cebu Pacific sucks! Next time, we’re taking Seair or Asian Spirit or even Philippine Airlines.

Tags: Cebu Pacific, Poor Customer Service

Adventures in Commuting

August 28, 2007Noelle De Guzman

As some of you might be aware, I’m still new to this whole commuting thing, so pretty much every day out there on the roads without my own vehicle is an adventure in itself. I’ve been loving the independence commuting gives me.

However, when it rains, I either get marooned somewhere or have to risk getting wet. Two weeks ago, I was asked to cover a noon class in Greenhills. At 11am, I was going to drive there from Quezon City. Normally the trip would take me 30 minutes when traveling by car. It was, however, not a normal day; the roads were flooded and after 30 minutes and I was still stuck near Quezon Avenue, I had to do something radical.

I ditched the car (actually, just parked it on a side street), ran to Quezon Avenue Station, hopped onto a train and got off at Santolan-Annapolis. From there, I ran the full few kilometers to the Fitness First branch in Greenhills and arrived only three minutes past time. I’d called ahead, so the students and reception staff knew why I was late. A light drizzle sprinkled me after class as I walked back to the station, but it was pouring in earnest by the time I got back to Quezon Avenue, and I got drenched running back to my car from the station.

Most of the time, however, I’ve been blessed with good timing. It rains when I’m already in a station or train, and isn’t raining when I get to my destination.

I was pretty proud of myself the other week too. I was dropping a friend off at North Avenue Station when I decided on the spur of the moment to commute to Makati to pick up my RCBC ATM card from the Fitness First support office (so I could withdraw my salary). While I was there, I was asked to team-teach at the Fitness First branch in Fort Bonifacio (another spur-of-the-moment decision). I took a taxi there, taught, then bummed a ride with my fellow instructor to Boni Station where I took a ride back to North Avenue. That whole thing, no incidents. Not bad, eh?

I’m still leery about taking buses, jeepneys, or FX taxis simply because I have no idea where their respective routes take them. But I’m going to have to learn… eventually.

Anyone up for a commute with me?

Tags: Commuting

La Vida Living Asia: Central Luzon Trip

July 3, 2007June 6, 2019Noelle De Guzman

I took home a lot of things with me last weekend: a tan, a killer back-ache, and some new stories to tell! Ü It was my first production outing with the Living Asia team, and we made the rounds of three provinces in Central Luzon: Pampanga, Zambales, and Bataan. We, meaning my sister and myself. We were doing a show called “Gone for the Weekend” and the format called for two people to go off on a weekend and see places and do things.

I’d never been on a working trip before, so everything was new to me: being on cam not for a family video but for a real show, traveling insane distances in bumpy circumstances just to get a shot of a required location, sleeping in a different place every night and at some point not having a shower to come home to… But it was so much fun!

Our first stop was Bacolor Church in Pampanga. It’s famous for being half-buried in lahar flows, and only the dedication of the Bacolor community saved it from being junked and abandoned. They excavated the gold-leaf encrusted retablos and still use the building for Sunday mass.

In the evening, we found ourselves at Crystal Beach Resort in Zambales, where the staff accommodated us for the night. We took the opportunity to shoot a short segment reading fan mail to Living Asia. I never realized VJ-ing (which is what this was akin to) was hard until I got my own paws on the script and my tongue kept stumbling on the words! I had two more similar opportunities later on the trip and I think I showed some improvement. Ü

The next morning, we took the resort manager’s invitation and learned to surf. I found out that when it comes to surfing stance, I’m a natural footer (right foot behind) and my sister is a goofy footer (left foot behind). We learned the positions on shore, and then they took us out onto the water using long and thick boards so we could have an easier time learning. To our surprise we picked it up quickly. The crew even got a money shot of me surfing — standing on the board!

We had to leave all too soon to head for Bataan, but we kept our spirits up with our own brand of wacky humor.

Abbreviations are a dangerous thing. To the Bat Crime Lab, Robin!

One of the places we went to was an inland resort, so people were running around in their bathing suits. Someone left something on the way out of the change room.

Parting a sea of tuyo (dried fish) at a fish processing plant.

Night fell soon, and before we knew it, another day had gone by.

Our last day on the trip, we headed for an undeveloped spot called Lumutan Falls. We endured a 45-minute ride in a truck over rocky trails, then trekked 30 minutes down to an ice-cold stream and its source, an 18-foot-high waterfall. I took a short dip for the benefit of the camera, then we had to come back the way we came. All I could say about that was “Whew!”

The rest of our last day was tame. We spent a few hours viewing relocated Spanish colonial houses at Ciudad Acuzar. It’s owned by a private businessman and isn’t open to the public, so we were privileged to see what very few people outside Bataan have seen.

Our last stop, like the first one, was a church. It amazes me how much a part of each town’s culture and heritage these buildings are. The townfolk reckoned the eras of their settlement by the age of the church that’s been standing there since the town was built and by the improvements and renovations done to the churches due to time and the whimsy of the town occupants.

I did my last fan mail reading. Then we packed up and started heading for home. I was tired, smelly, but excited for the next trip — wherever it takes me.

Tags: Living Asia Channel, Philippines, Recreation, Travel, Tourism

The Wide-Eyed Traveler

June 20, 2007Noelle De Guzman

It’s been a little over a week since I started at my new job as a writer for Living Asia Channel. Now this is a new thing for me and I’m trying to learn the ropes as I go along. This new job is a change of pace for me from the 9-to-6 office grind. Instead, I’ve been given the freedom to do research on my own time. I just have to make my deadlines. And the biggest perk this job has to offer is that I get to travel.

Yep, that’s right. My first assignment’s coming up next week, and it’s a pretty big one. I’m supposed to host a 24-minute show about a weekend getaway to Bataan. This means beaches and resorts and historical sights, and I’m not just going to see these things as a spectator and tourist. I’m going to have to keep my eyes peeled and my mind sharp because as a host and writer I’ve gotta have interesting things to say about the places we’re going.

The writer part of me just wants to buckle down and get to taking notes already. The beach bunny part of me is just happy she gets to go places in a bikini again. Ü Work is play, and play is play! I think I’m exactly where I want to be right now.

Tags: Beach, Work, Play