Saturday, March 29, 2008

#22 Palo library



This is an old house in Palo Leyte owned by the old dons of Leyte, Don Pedrosa, a founder of the Prudential Bank (now merged with the Bank of the Philippine Islands). He's also the grandfather of that CNN anchorwoman Veronica Pedrosa whose family was exiled during the Marcos time. While I was growing up, the first floor used to be the Public Library, with lots of donated books from the US. The building is designed after the Spanish old homes in the Philippines. If you're wondering why there is a crowd outside, it's because the people are waiting for a parade to pass by.

(taken: Palo Leyte)

Friday, March 28, 2008

#21 Sunzibar



Or what we call Sunzi for short, is a Tex-Mex Filipino fusioned resto bar which has been in existence for almost 10 years now. The pork chop and spare ribs are good, served with rice (of course). They serve some Mexicanish tortillas too. I had Marchie (the waitress) pose for the photo with the threat that if she doesn't I'll report her to the owner, Mayanne. She did :-D

Thursday, March 27, 2008

#20 Maya



Where there's a nest, there's a bird. According to my bird book, this is a "Lonchura malacca" (or chestnut mannikin) but subject to correction because I'm not much of a bird person. Funny, the other maya that I saw nearby were the ordinary maya birds, but this one looked different. Sorry for the bad photo, my camera doesn't have a photolens.. The bird can fit in my fist, it's that small.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

#19 Nest



I still have to find out what defines a place a 'city' in the Philippines because big towns (but not the usual cities) are also called cities. We don't have skyscrapers here for example, we're not over-populated, we still can go anywhere and meet friends accidentally.. something to find out.

So it's not surprising that we see ricefields while driving, and a view of mountains.. or sometimes the nest of a local bird maya 'Lonchura malacca' (or chestnut mannikin), which I found right outside my door. I'm still trying to catch the bird with my camera.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

#18 Pirated dvds



It is illegal to sell pirated dvds, there are international and local laws for that. Yet, they're sold openly everywhere in the Philippines, with some scheduled raids now and then. The photo above is one such vendor that sells pirated dvds, and this is located in one of the mini 'malls' in the city.

Monday, March 24, 2008

#17 Bo's Coffee Club



Bo's Coffee Club, a local Cebu franchise a la Starbucks, is located at Veteranos St. Good coffee, good pastries and best of all, free wifi. Inside is airconditioned but can get noisy when there are too many people.. bad acoustics inside, trust me. Better sit outside when it gets too noisy, you can smoke too :-)

Sunday, March 23, 2008

#16 Rosvenil Pensionne



If you find yourself in Tacloban and P1,500+ rooms are expensive for you, try Rosvenil Pensionne. It's a clean place, almost as good as the hotels, warm water, safe place and friendly staff. The rooms are P1,000 below. Limited rooms though. The more modern building is where the best rooms are, the old building to the right of the picture is the residential house of the owners. Pensionne is located at Burgos St. Everyone knows where it is.

(taken: Tacloban, City)

Saturday, March 22, 2008

#15 Purisima bridge



This is a photo of the Purisima bridge that leads to Guinhangdan Hill. This bridge (now restored) was built around 1878, and it's told that during that time a man in a kalesa (horse carriage) fell through a hole in the bridge and drowned in the Bangon river below. The old people said it's because the foothills of Guinhangdan are enchanted by spirits and they were angered when the bridge was built. The Franciscan friars and other priests decided to build a shrine of La Purisima (Virgin of the Immaculate Conception) at the foothills to calm the townsfolks.. if not the spirits. There.. we're a superstitious lot.

During Holy Friday, people walk up to the hill where there's a cross that's about 12ft high. It's supposed to be a pilgrimage but young people do it for fun. Up there, you can see the view of Palo and the red beach (McArthur beach). Worth going if you don't have weak knees :-)

Friday, March 21, 2008

#14 Holy Friday / Pamalandung



Pamanlandung in Waray means 'meditation on the Crucifixion of Christ'. This is a festival held every Holy Week in Palo where the crucifixion is reenacted from the Last Supper to the Resurrection of Christ. During Holy Fridays, there's a street theater participated in by the whole community that reenacts the capture of Jesus, the sentencing and the crucifixion at the calvary 'hill' which is only a stage set up for this purpose. Around 3pm, the crucified Jesus is brought down, and if you're new to the town, don't be surprised to see the people rush to get souvenirs of the branches and leaves ('basbas') that were propped on the stage. They say these are blessed and holy and have curing qualities. Between 5 and 6pm there's a long procession of all the saints and Jesus statues from all over Leyte. For more details about the festival, check this review of the Pamalandung in Palo.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

#13 The Penitents



No, those are not the feared Ku Klux Klan walking around freely. They are penitents and they cover their faces so they can pray and suffer (barefoot in the hot concrete) in anonymity during Holy Week. The costume is fashioned after the penitents in Sevilla, Spain, where this tradition was copied. They also go from house to house collecting coins for the church. We call them 'tais-dupol' (pointed/blunt to describe the headcovering). Tais (pointed) penitents are unmarried men, 'dupol' (blunt) are married men. I don't know why the need for distinction :-)

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

#12 Palo Cathedral



Yes, I'm feeling religious this week, that's why, here's another photo of a church, the Palo Cathedral which is a landmark of Palo. It has gone through many renovations without anything being preserved of its 15th century walls. It was destroyed by a fire, then a typhoon in 1897, and then bombed during the US-Japanese war in 1944. Aside from being used as an evacuation and hiding place against the Japanese soldiers' atrocities, it was also used as a hospital for the wounded American soldiers during the war. The photo here is a view of the steeples in shadows taken from Guinhangdan Hill.

(taken: Palo, Leyte)

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

#11 Calvary Hill



No, that's not Brazil, we're still in Tacloban. It's one of the 'stations' of the Station of the Cross at Tacloban's Calvary Hill. The Ascension stands on top of the hill and it doesn't look as imposing in real life, it's just the effect of the sky in the background. But the statue does look over Tacloban, although even from downtown, the statue cannot be seen because of the coconut trees and buildings. Also it's not that tall, maybe about 8ft.

The original Calvary Hill (or Golgotha) was the one in Jerusalem where Jesus was crucified. In our Waray language, 'kalbaryo' (from the word Calvary), means suffering or sacrifice which can be voluntary or imposed. Like, "the movie was kalbaryo!" or "dinner was kalbaryo!" which is an exaggeration of course :-)

Monday, March 17, 2008

Tacloban's Top View



It's the start of the Holy Week today. That's why I thought I'd give you a view of Tacloban from the Calvary Hill. The Calvary Hill is where you go up to do your Station of the Cross on Holy Friday. I'm starting early with this hill because on Friday I will be posting something else, the Pamalandung in Palo which is a bigger event. Palo is 12 km away from Tacloban, the next town from here.

In the photo is the top view of Tacloban's downtown area, the port is to the right, that's the Kankabatok Bay that connects to the San Juanico Strait, and that's Mt Danglay in the background. Sorry for that banana leaf in the foreground, I'd cut it off if I could :-)

Sunday, March 16, 2008

The Sto. Niño Church



I've been asked to post the Sto. Niño Church, so today being Sunday, I thought I'd do my Catholic part and post the church today. This is the only good one I have while I was trying to take a photo of the bell tower. This church houses the original Sto. Niño image which got drowned along with the boat carrying it from Manila, got lost, and was found being idolized by pagan natives in Mindoro where it had been washed ashore. It was returned to Tacloban and this is mostly why the Sto. Niño Church is popular among Catholics. People here are believers of the miraculous Sto. Niño. If you want photos of the interior, you can find them in this blog. To know more about the history of the Sto. Niño image, click to read this article.

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Jose Karlos



But if you want refreshments in a place with a/c, you can head to Jose Karlos, a local cafe offering their own freshly-baked cakes, cookies, brownies, and other sweets. I like their brazos de mercedes best, because in my opinion, it's the best commercial one in Tacloban. It's like eating sweet foam (haha), the best way I can describe the texture to those who don't know what brazos is. The froccinos are good too. The coffee and cakes are only half the price of the other coffeeshops. The pastries are good, the choice of coffee beans not so. JK (as we call the place) is right across the Sto. Niño Church, so churchgoers come for refreshments. Inside is an internet cafe and beside it is a laundrymat (not self-service), so you can do 3 things at the same time, have your laundry done (P40+ per kilo), reply to your emails, and have your coffee served to you. If you're there to hangout, try the upstairs tables if you can find a vacant one. The place becomes noisy when high school and college kids start coming in, so don't say I didn't warn you. If you want quiet, this is not the place to go.. maybe the one across the street :-)

The photo is their logo sign which I took from the second floor of the cafe.

Jose Karlos
Juan Luna St

Friday, March 14, 2008

Want some fresh buko juice?



In case you start thinking that Tacloban is all Greek-looking buildings and monuments, let me start showing you the real side now.

After all that sightseeing, you might want to stop by for some fresh buko juice. Buko in any Philippine language (we have more than 100 languages, did you know?) means 'young' and is mostly used to describe young coconuts, not persons. Lined on the side of the street on your way to McArthur Park (just a few yards from there), you will see these small bamboo kiosks with buko piled high on tables or on the ground. You drink and eat a buko without any utensils while you try to sit back on the creaky bamboo benches and look out to the sea which is just across the street. Cars rarely pass here, so the sea breeze is not polluted. One buko costs P10-12 (about $0.25 each), it's very refreshing and better-tasting than a soda. Best time to come here.. around 3 in the afternoon, when the sun is not hot anymore. Place is the locals' secret. I never see a tourist here, they're probably thinking 'is it safe? is it clean?'. Haha.. (Note: buko is rich in fat, so if you're dieting don't do this everyday.)

Thursday, March 13, 2008

San Juanico bridge



Okay, one last cliche photo for this week, just to get it over with. The famed San Juanico Bridge that connects the islands of Leyte and Samar. When you're heading towards Samar, the bridge is shaped like an S. When you're heading towards Leyte, the bridge is shaped like an L. Neat huh. As you can see by the shape of the bridge, I'm being reminded that I am indeed driving towards Samar. This bridge was the longest bridge in Southeast Asia in the 70s, probably now there would be others holding that title. This was designed and constructed by Korean engineers, and it's rumoured that street children were tossed down to the swirling waters as offerings. Imelda, who had this bridge built and made the order for the children offerings was cursed by the mermaids below and grew fish scales on her legs and had to be healed by Siquijor shamans. I shouldn't be spreading urban legends like this.. haha. Ok, enough postcard photos and enough of Imelda. Sorry for the rain on the windshield, we are tired of it as well. This is actually an old photo, but it seems like I just took it yesterday.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

People's Center and Library



Next to the shrine is this big, imposing Greek building that architecturally doesn't belong in Tacloban. Imelda had this built to house the thousands of books she bought in the US (she bought a whole library of a college that closed down, most of the books were unread and untouched). It's the only kind in the country, but as with all their sequestered properties, this one is not well maintained either. The second floor is the library, and below is a concert hall that the local govt turns into a flea market during Tacloban's fiesta and Christmas time, much to the annoyance of the readers and researchers above. (Photo was taken by a friend, JT.)


People's Center and Library
Real St., Tacloban City

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

The Sto. Niño Shrine and Heritage Museum



The Sto. Niño Shrine and Heritage Museum stands on what used to be the Romualdez Nipa Hut. Designed by Jorge Ramos, the Sto. Niño Shrine has a 100-seater chapel and 13 guestrooms on the first floor, and 7 bedrooms (each for the Marcos family member) and a 30-seater dining conference room and ballroom on the second floor. It houses original paintings of famous Filipino painters like Manalad, Malang and Amorsolo. Behind the building is an olympic-size swimming pool. All of these of course do not have proper maintenance since it was sequestered from the Marcos family, so the building has lost its opulence. Tourists can tour inside for a fee. If you want to read my review of the place, click here. (Photo by JT)


Sto. Niño Shrine and Heritage Museum
Real St., Tacloban City
Tel no: (053) 321-9775

Monday, March 10, 2008

Leyte: Imelda's country



I don't really like postcard cliches but I thought I should post them here so you'll get a feel of Tacloban's history. But before I post Leyte's popular buildings and 'scenic spots', I thought I'd show you a part of an article I wrote in 2005 in Cebu's Southwall Lifestyle Magazine. It's about Imelda Marcos' beautification works in Leyte. If you are not from the Philippines, you probably don't know that Imelda is from Tacloban, born and grew up here, so that's why she had lots of millions of dollars infrastructure 'projects' done in Leyte, like the Sto. Niño Shrine, the People's Center, the San Juanico Bridge, the Geothermal Plant in Tongonan, Leyte Park Hotel, and Olot which I will post in the future. It's a good introduction to get a feel of these 'misplaced' buildings in Tacloban. (Please click the photo to read the text.)


(Image: from Southwall Magazine, January-February 2005. Illustration by Rene Elevera.)

Sunday, March 9, 2008

McArthur Park



Talking of Gen. McArthur, he has this monument in Palo Leyte, where he first landed with his troops in the Philippines on October 20, 1944. McArthur Park (where this monument is located) is just a few minutes drive from Tacloban, where many American and Japanese visitors come to have their pictures taken. The imposing monument used to be made of concrete but was destroyed during the Marcos regime. This was replaced by bronze statues commissioned by Imelda Marcos and renamed Imelda Park. Don't know who the artist was. After Marcos was deposed from power, every street and parks in Leyte that were named after them were named back to their original names. Thus Imelda Park became McArthur Park again. Anniversaries of the Leyte Landing are held yearly, so I will probably post another photo of the park in October.

Saturday, March 8, 2008

Capitol building of Leyte



Kapitolyo, the capitol building of Tacloban. The flag pole in front of the building is Leyte's 0 km, that's why I thought I should make this my first photo of Tacloban. Prior to the construction of the building in 1907, this was the spot where Gen McArthur made Tacloban a temporary seat of the Commonwealth Government of the Philippines after his liberation of Leyte from the Japanese forces in 1944. 'Temporary' because he had the other provinces to liberate still.

There are two murals on each side of the building, one depicting the first Christian mass in the country and the other, Gen. McArthur's Leyte Landing. The building is where Leyte's provincial governor holds his office. Leyte is the province, and Tacloban City is the provincial capital.

(Sorry for the old photo, I will change it soon as I get the chance to shoot a new one, I seem to have misplaced my latest photos of it.)