Blogs from Ilocos, Philippines, Asia - page 2

The next morning, my uncle named Cid took a leisure walk and ended up at the town's market. Here we sampled some of the desserts I remember eating while growing up. Then we headed back to the house for yet after another feast for breakfast. After that, we headed on a sightseeing road trip to visit the following towns – Burgos, Laoag, Paoay, Batac, & Curimao. Uncle Cid reminded me that old relatives of mine have relocated to Burgos. Those folks hold a special place of my childhood memories. So I was ecstatic to visit them. One problem though - we have no clue to their actual location as I have lost contact with them for over 30 years, One thing that is an advantage to us is that Burgos is such a close knit town ... read more

Northern Philippines includes the Ilocos Region : Ilocos Norte with its capital in Laoag City, and Ilocos Sur with its capital in the historic town of Vigan. Locals are collectively called Ilocanos or Ilokanos. And their cuisine is distinctly Ilocano in that it represents and integrates in every dish the major Ilocano trait of frugality and industry. Vegetarian Delights: Sinigang na Malaga, Dinengdeng, Poqui-Poqui, Pinakbet Malaga is a kind of fish. In Vigan's Kusina Felecitas Restaurant in Grandpa's Inn, it is cooked in broth soured by a tropical fruit, santol which is native to a few southeast asian countries like the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and Borneo. Called Sinigang na Malaga (Fish Cooked In Sour Broth), this sour soupy dish is garnished with vegetables such as stringbeans and kangkong, our local water spinach. J... read more

And who has not heard of our former First Lady Imelda Marcos? Times when I wonder if she grew more famous than her husband, the ex-President. Imelda: More Than The Other Half No, I am not a big fan. But I do admire the lady's vision to introduce class and culture into our local psyche. Oh yeah. I'd get a lot of flak for saying this. I know, right. Imelda certainly didn't gain many fans down here. It was so easy to hate her, after all. Shoe-crazy or not, she is the icon of extravagance in this corner of the world. Yet I thank her for those lasting edifices of arts and culture: the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Folk Arts Theater, Makiling Arts Center, etc. It may have been pretentious of her to advance arts ... read more

It's the end of another busy week and I have been travelling about this weekend. Three weeks in and I still haven't worked out the Jeepney routes they all seem to change depending on how the driver is feeling and if there are floods in the city (which is often). The weather forecast on Tuesday said that there was a tropical cyclone developing to the east of Luzon (large northern island where Manila and Navacan are) and sure enough the rain and wind started to come on Wednesday. I went shopping after work on Wednesday and it had been raining for most of the day but it was relatively calm when I entered the mall near my hotel. About 20 minutes later I went to walk home and looked out of the windows to see peoples' ... read more

It all started unexpectedly when BFAD (Bureau of Food and Drugs) called me and said that there will be an A.O (Administrative Order) 56 “The Regulation of Licensing of Drug Establishments” seminar that will be held on June 12, 2010 at Vigan City, Ilocos Sur where I will be issued a legal certificate of license. They said that it is mandatory for me to attend especially when I am working at a pharmacy. So I told it to the administration of PDH (Pangasinan Doctor’s Hospital) where I’m currently working as a Pharmacist. Right away they gave me a Travel Order. All of my expenses at Vigan were sponsored by the hospital. So I stayed at Grandpa’s Inn Vigan City where the seminar was held. It’s my first time to go to ILOCOS and I’m excited ... read more