Of Vans and Good Food - Our Samar Experience Day 3

SEPTEMBER 7, 2012, FRIDAY

Borongan City, Eastern Samar

September 7 is a big and busy day for Boronganons. It's the bispera or the eve of the fiesta. A lot of activities are lined up for this day.


We had to wake up early because the parade of different school bands and government offices will pass by Tatay's house at around 8 a.m. When we left Virech, people already lined up the streets, eagerly waiting for the parade to pass by.

Fortunately for us, we still had the chance to grab some quick breakfast before the parade passed by. After eating, we went to our puwestos across Tatay's house. It was my first time to be in the province during the fiesta so I was really excited.

In the past, my cousins used to watch the parade from the terrace of Tatay's house. But we can't do that now because they already placed grills on the terrace which would make it difficult to take pictures. Nanay and Tatay, however, still chose to watch the parade from the terrace.

It was quite difficult to watch the parade because it was drizzling. But we still had time to take some group shots. Asam also enjoyed posing with young and pretty girls who were part of the parade, hehe.

The parade was soooo long. And the gap between some of the participants were so huge. There were times when we thought that the parade was over but we'd be surprised to see another group arriving from a distance. But I enjoyed it nonetheless. I loved the school bands with their drums, bugles and lyres. Gotta give it to the participants who walked a loooonggg way.

After the parade was finished, we proceeded to the plaza where the Padul-ong Festival will be held. A number of groups will perform and compete to get the top prize.

The place was already cordoned off when we got there. But Toto assured us that we'll be able to go inside because we had cameras. Well, Barney and I didn't have cameras so we had to pose as assistants, hehe. True enough, the guards didn't confront us. We were able to go inside the plaza freely and stay in front of the stage. We had a very good view of the performers. Those watching outside must have hated us, hihi.

Unfortunately, only 3 groups were performing this year. In the past years, I think there were around 5 performers.

The first performers were boring. But in fairness to them, I think they were only saling ket-ket. I don't think they were competing. But since there were only 3 performers, they also got a prize. I think the group was composed of DepEd personnel. Not sure if they were all teachers.

The second group was my favorite. It was composed of high school students from the Eastern Samar National Comprehensive High School, one of the best high schools in the province. Their costumes were so colorful and their presentation was so lively. You could really feel the fiesta fever.

The final group was okay. The participants were college students from the Eastern Samar State University Maydolong. They picked a pretty girl to play the role of Mama Mary but their moves were not as perky, coordinated and synchronized as the second group.

First prize went to the third group (boo). The second group got the second prize and the first group bagged the third prize.

While the judges were computing the scores, the winner of the band competition which took place the day before performed. It was the Comprehensive band and I was proud to watch Mau-Mau perform.

The Padul-Ong festival was fun and if they polish it even more, it can be at par with other festivals in the country. I just hope they can keep it free from politics. It was disgusting to listen to our "beloved" congressman brag about the "donations" that he will give for next year's piyesta. First of all, I don't think he'll be donating money from his own pocket so he should have acknowledged that part of the province's budget will be allotted for that "donation." Second, maybe he can fix the roads first before prioritizing these events. Finally, will he still do it if he loses in the 2013 elections? Hohum.

Afterwards, it was time for lunch. We were invited by Uncle Pepio and Auntie Amy to have lunch at their house. We dropped by Tatay's house first to check if Nanay was still there. When Uncle Dong-Dong saw us, he told us to have some soup first. They were able to buy some shrimps and he asked the cook in-charge of cooking the handa for the fiesta to prepare sinigang na hipon. Ay grabe, that has got to be the best sinigang na hipon I've ever tasted in my entire life. Swear! Tamang-tama ang anghang (and that's saying a lot because I'm not into spicy food) at asim! We were supposed to just have soup but it was sooo good we decided to eat rice as well, hehe.

After finishing our "appetizer", we headed to Uncle Pepio's house. Aba, ang dami na ring handa. The lechon was so tasty and crunchy. Yun nga lang ata kinain ko eh, hehe. We enjoyed Auntie Amy's version of the black sambo which was placed in tiny shot glasses.

Siesta time na. We decided to head back to Virech to get some sleep to make up for the almost sleepless night we had, thanks to our noisy neighbors.

When we woke up, we decided to check out some of the local shops. I needed to buy a blazer and Rhuel needed some shorts. We went to Novo and other boutiques but we were not able to get the stuff we needed. We also dropped by Rose Pharmacy to buy some chicha.

We went back to Tatay's house. We munched on our chicha while waiting for dinner to be served, hihi. We were invited to Auntie Jojo's house for dinner. But the sinigang na hipon from lunch was so inviting so we ended up having dinner at Tatay's house instead.

After dinner, it was back to Virech for me, Rhuel and Barn-Barn. Toto and Trish went to some sort of party with Toto's friends.

Sleeping time na because we had a very long and tiring day.

P.S. I only learned during this trip that even plan subscribers of Smart can get unlimited Internet access. You just need to text Unli 50 or Unli 300 to 211. You get 24 hours of unlimited access with Unli 50 and a 30-day unli connection with Unli 300. Coolness. Thanks to Toto for teaching me that. :)

Of Vans and Good Food - Our Samar Experience Day 2

SEPTEMBER 6, THURSDAY

We had salukara, my super favorite local hotcake, for breakfast. It's actually better than hotcake because its thickness and consistency are not nakakasawa.


After breakfast, we headed to Daddy Lolo's house to pick up Nanay (she slept there) and to say our goodbyes. We went around Sulat to visit some places we used to frequent as kids.

The Municipal Hall near the plaza where many love stories are made

The Church

Luyang Beach

Sulat Elementary School (more popularly known as Cogon)

At around 10 a.m., it was time to go back to Kalaniyugan because Uncle Dong-Dong (Tatay's younger brother who's a priest) was already waiting for us. We were hitching a ride with him to Borongan. After saying goodbye and thanking our hosts, it was time to ride another van (well, not really, Mitsubishi Adventure actually).

Borongan City, Eastern Samar

After about an hour of traveling, we arrived in Borongan, Tatay's hometown. We went straight to the ancestral home of Tatay's family where a yummy lunch was waiting for us (with crabs again, of course). I love staying there because it brings back so many happy childhood and teenage memories. :)

Everyone was busy and the mood was very festive because the fiesta was just a few days away. Tatay and Auntie Madge (Tatay's sister-in-law) were out with their batchmates. Their batch was the honoree batch for their school's alumni homecoming since they were the golden jubilarians.

After lunch, Rhuel and I went to Auntie Amy and Uncle Pepio's (Tatay's brother) house. It was nice to see some of my cousins there because normally, only Uncle and Auntie are left in the house with most of their kids working in Manila and Dubai. They tried to serve us lunch (again!). We politely declined but had dessert instead. We loved Auntie's fruit salad and Rhuel couldn't stop eating the mazapan de pili.

Nanay and the gang followed us at Auntie Amy's house and we decided to go relative house hopping. First stop was at Lola Sayong's (my paternal grandma's sister). She's 90 and has poor eyesight. She mostly stays in bed but she can still get up. She can still recognize us through our voices.

Next, we visited the Quadrangle where some aunties and another lola, Lola Asyon (my paternal grandma's sister-in-law), were staying.

After the introductions, we proceeded to the house of Auntie Marijo and Uncle Lionel. I have not visited their place in a long time so I didn't know that they had a very nice garden in their backyard. They even had a little pond.

Afterwards, we decided to drop by Buddy's Place, a pretty popular fastfood place near Tatay's house. We wanted to grab some dessert. It was also some sort of treat for my youngest cousins on both sides of the family, Mau-Mau on Nanay's side and Dang-Dang on Tatay's side. Almost everyone had halo-halo while Rhuel and I chose to order ube and capuccino shakes. The shakes were actually good and they were not expensive. Good deal. :)

Rhuel was so excited to get a freebie because he tricked the sales girl into rounding off our bill to make it appear that we ordered Php500 worth of food. Actual bill was only around Php485. Unfortunately for him, the freebie had to be claimed in another place and nobody wanted to accompany him (yey, hehe). I think he still has the claim stub today. Baka daw makabalik pa siya. :D

After dessert, we went to the house of Tatay's bestfriend, Tatay Dondoy. Said hello to some titos and titas there. We met a 30-something cousin from the States who's looking for a girlfriend. Must check out my friends to see if anyone of them will do, hehe.

Then it was time to head back to Tatay's house. We bonded with some cousins and nieces and nephews while waiting for dinner to be served. Yep, we must have gained several pounds after this trip because we did nothing but eat! It was our first time to see our new nephew, Top, who is so adorable. His elder sister, Erienne, was scared we'll take his baby brother away, hehe.

After dinner, it was time to go to our sleeping place, Virech Pension House. It's owned by Tatay Dondoy. He was so generous for allowing us to stay there for free. It was just unfortunate that some of the guests were so noisy which made it difficult to get a good night's sleep.

We were supposed to watch Tatay's alumni homecoming because he was part of the rigodon and he was going to play the guitar for their batch's song number. But I was just too tired (and smelly). So we decided to skip the event. Even Nanay was unable to attend.

We opted to rest and prepare for the bispera.

Of Vans and Good Food - Our Samar Experience Day 1

Last week, Rhuel and I embarked on a Samar vacation. My family's from Eastern Samar so it was really nothing new to me. But since it was Rhuel's first visit, there was something new to look forward to.

SEPTEMBER 5, 2012, WEDNESDAY

Manila 

We left Manila on Wednesday, September 5. We took the earliest Cebu Pacific flight to Tacloban. Nanay, Barn and Asam (Tatay's younger brother) were with us. Tatay left the day before and Toto and Trish were leaving the following day.

Surprise, we had a hassle-free overnight parking experience. Meaning, there were no kotong guards this time. It was raining so they probably didn't want to go outside their guard house.

Check-in process was fast for me and Rhuel because we were not checking in any luggage. Nanay, Barney and Asam exceeded the baggage limit so they had to pay extra. They even encountered a rude airport official who insisted on counting their money out in the open. The person was insisting that anything beyond Php10k had to be declared. Mmm, last time I checked the limit was at USD10k. Good thing they made it just in time for boarding.

There were several familiar faces on our flight who were probably attending the Borongan fiesta like us. :)

Unfortunately for us, we were seated beside a noisy and crying kid. I usually have high tolerance for such things but not at 4 in the morning.

Tacloban City, Leyte

We arrived in Tacloban at almost 6 in the morning. Tita Mayette, Nanay's former officemate, picked us up from the airport. She and her husband were kind enough to tour us around the city before we left for Samar.

First stop was at Mc Donald's for breakfast. Rhuel stopped over the nearby market to buy a Php100 belt because he left his at home. :D

After breakfast, we headed to the MacArthur Park in Palo, Leyte. It's the famous site where MacArthur landed when he returned to the Philippines after World War II. It was my first time to visit the place.

The place reminded me of Corregidor. It was nice because it was near the sea and the surroundings were landscaped. But there was nothing to do there after the usual picture taking.

Tita Mayette showed us a hotel built near the landing site. I think it's called The Oriental Hotel. The amenities looked nice. It has a swimming pool and it's facing the sea. However, I don't think the sea is ideal for swimming. I think one of the staff informed Rhuel that the water fronting the hotel is deep.

Afterwards, we went around Tacloban to buy some stuff we need. We were able to buy some very crispy and tasty lechon that's way cheaper than what they sell in Cebu. We dropped by Goldilocks to buy a cake for Daddy Lolo (Nanay's father) who's turning 91 on September 28. We decided to have an early celebration for him to coincide with our vacation. We also got some groceries from Gaisano.

After the last minute shopping, we transferred to our hired van that will take us to Sulat, Nanay's hometown. (It's the first of numerous van rides we had to take throughout our trip.)

On the Way to Sulat, Eastern Samar

Rhuel was kinda excited to pass by the San Juanico Bridge. Kuya Nonilon, our driver, said that we can stop over the bridge but we had to do it fast. I guess we were tired already so Rhuel just took pictures of the bridge from the van.

After about 2 hours of traveling, we stopped over Buray in Western Samar. Trips from Tacloban to Samar are never complete without visiting this place for a quick meal or merienda. It's a very busy place because it's the intersection for the roads that lead to Western and Northern Samar and Eastern Samar. You can find a lot of vendors there selling pasalubongs of local delicacies.

I have vague memories of sleeping there as a kid when Nanay and our other relatives were stranded due to a typhoon. We were going to attend the wake of one lola but we had a hard time traveling because of the bad weather. We had to sleep on top of the tables but I was happy because we always had seafood for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Buray used to serve good food. The servings used to be very generous. But not this time. One order of pork chop means half of a pork chop cut. The chicken cuts are so small. And the bulalo was not chewable at all. Rhuel even said jokingly that, "Siguro naman hindi na kailangan picturan ang food ngayon." (Referring to people's penchant for taking pictures of dishes before eating them.) Perhaps we should have considered Rhuel's suggestion of buying lechon from Tacloban and eating it for lunch at Buray.

After lunch, it was time for the final stretch of our trip to Sulat. I wanted to take a quick nap before we get there so I'll feel fresh. Unfortunately, the roads were terrible!!! The van had to stop after every few minutes because there was a pothole. I'm not sure if the bad parts were under the jurisdiction of Western or Eastern Samar. I don't care actually. I just wish they can do something about it. Especially our "beloved" congressman who claims to be Mr. Kalsada. Gawin ko siyang aspalto diyan eh. Hmpf.

Sulat, Eastern Samar

After about two hours of wrestling with the potholes from Buray, we finally reached our destination. First stop was at Uncle Vic's resort, Kalaniyugan, where we spent the night. It's located in Barangay Tabok with the Tabok beach fronting it.

We dropped off our things and toured the place a bit. Last time I saw the place was in 2010 and so much has changed since then. I think it's landscaped. There were more cottages and houses there too.

Uncle Vic built a nice and cozy chapel where he holds Sunday masses.

Of course, Rhuel had to have a kenkoy post. ;-)

Afterwards, we proceeded to the town proper in Barangay Baybay where Nanay's ancestral house is located. We were going to get Daddy Lolo and Mama (Rose, Nanay's youngest sister who's looking after Daddy). Daddy Lo didn't want to leave the house initially. However, after Mama threatened to leave him and join us in Marikina, he got up and dressed up. :)

While waiting for Mama to convince Daddy Lo, I introduced Rhuel to some relatives like Uncle Maeng, Auntie Norie, etc.

When we got back to Kalaniyugan, it was time to catch up with relatives, especially Mama. We rarely see each other so we really value these bonding moments.

After the chikahan, Daddy Lolo blew the candles on his cake. It was a very heartwarming moment for me to hear my relatives sing Happy Birthday to Daddy. I hope he has more years ahead of him.

Then a sumptuous dinner was served. Grabe, ang daming seafoods. Crabs, shrimps, lobsters, curacha (which looks like but is not the same as a lobster), lechon, etc. We were fortunate to have Uncle Pidoy, an excellent cook, with us. We thought the lechon from Tacloban had to be cooked as paksiw because it would no longer be crispy. But Uncle Pidoy, with whatever powers he has, was able to heat the lechon and retain its crispiness. Ang sarap!

We had cake and ice cream for dessert. Rhuel had a nice time serving ice cream to the kids, provided they called him Tito Aga before he gave them their share.

P.S. Even Daddy Lo thought I really married an actor with Aga Muhlach as his screen name.

He has such sharp memory. At 91, he still remembers the birthdays of his kids. He also remembers my birthday because it's the death anniversary of his second wife. He knows Rhuel's full name. Amazing.

We were tired from the long trip. And we barely slept the previous night due to the early morning flight we had to take. So after dinner, it was time to rest. Barney didn't want to sleep in her own room so she slept with me and Rhuel.