Dos Palmas Resort, Palawan

Got to stay in this high-end resort in Honda Bay, Palawan. Its been years since I was here and a lot has changed. But the ambience stays the same. Its like when you stay here, you'll feel like you have already made it!


What do I remember aside from the great rooms and nice beach? The food!! You eat until you feel guilty. That was really something.

Before the boat touches the dock, you will be greeted by "flower boys"
on board these kayaks and they really, really throw flower petals into the air!

The Honeymoon Island. I think this is a nice place to be a castaway...

Just didn't have the chance to experience their usual stuff like snorkeling, kayaking, the massage (problem with being ticklish. I know, it quite pathetic..). Got to see some good birds, though. The zebra doves were like guest relations officers, never flying away even if you're only six inches away from them. Not a good challenge for bird photography. Waited for the mantanani scops owl to appear, but it was a no-show.

One thing I like about the island is that they try to be as nature-friendly as they can. The mangroves are left intact, there's a waste water treatment facility, they use solar power (well, a fraction of their energy requirements, anyways), and they have a good inventory of the wildlife.

Well, for a few hours of luxury, Dos Palmas was a great break.

Hilton Cebu

Got to stay in this new hotel/resort/spa in Cebu, The Hilton. I could not say much because I was not able to explore this hotel and only stayed in my room for a few hours of sleep. Only got the outside shot on my way to Olango Island (will write about this later) and my room.

A Close Look at the Rufous Hornbill

Here's a close look at the Rufous Hornbill (Buceros hydrocorax). A big bird endemic to the Philippines. Try to imagine a non-raptor, about 37 inches tall, and perched on a tree. Its quite exciting if you see this one in the wild. Especially when you witness a whole flock flying and making loud noises.

It was quite common in the country, but the usual story of habitat degradation made it more difficult to spot. One would have to go inside or at the edge of a forest to see one colorful rufous hornbill. Luckily, there are still some patches of habitats for this bird in areas located only about 1.5 hours from Manila.

Rock Wall Farming in Alcoy, Cebu

Sometimes, when you travel, the rewards come not in the form of beauty, or ambience, or even adventure. It could be about gaining knowledge and realizations on the struggles of our humanity. You witness something you thought would be improbable, then you go home thinking, that - "yeah, there's a solution to every situation!"


Got to see the so-called Rock Wall Farming in the town of Alcoy in Cebu Province. Actually, I was there to see the elusive Cebu Flowerpecker (which I did!). We had to pass through this patch of farmland near the forest area.

This area of Alcoy has a very thin topsoil and largely dominated by limestone substrate. Using their own hands and simple tools, the locals slowly engineered the area to save the remaining soil from erosion and convert whatever tiny patch of soil for farming. Seeing this, I'm remininded how nature survives in poor environments like a limestone area, such as the one in Puerto Princesa Subterranean National Park in Palawan. There, plants can grow on tiny pockets of soil, some no more than a cup-full.


The rock wall farming may not be a grand tourist attraction, but it can add to the quality of your experience when you see one.

The Philippines and ESL (English as Second Language)

No matter how perplexing it may seem to many native English-speaking countries, the Philippines holds an ace as a major ESL or English as Second Language destination.

This country has the chance to become a major ESL destination...... if it does it the right way.....

Thanks to the 50 years of American colonization, the English language has become a permanent way of life in the Philippines. The language has become the de facto tool for communication in education, news, and official documents and conversations.

The Filipinos also has the uncanny ability to mimic accents that would almost be indistinguishable from native English speakers.

The English language has also become the global lingua franca towards effective communications and business deals. It does not matter if there are more people who speak Mandarin or Russian. It is still English that is the common denominator when two people want to understand each other.

Learning the English language has also evolved into a convenient excuse to travel to other countries. So you have hordes of people coming from newly rich countries traveling to western destinations to "learn English."

This is where the Philippines can conveniently position itself as an ESL destination. Its education system based on the English language is already widespread and has attained a permanency in the way of education in the academe. Plus, there are a lot of potential English instructors available to be made part of the labor pool.

The main differentiator of the Philippines is the cost of getting the language education compared to other destinations like the U.S., U.K or Australia. Unlike the typical tourist who stays between 3 - 7 days, a serious ESL student/tourist can stay between 1 - 3 months (or even longer) to really learn the language. Thus, cost is a real motivation to consider the Philippines as a preferred destination. Of course, there are subliminal images of great beaches, scenery, food, golf, spa, scuba diving, and resorts that one can visit while he is trapped in this country.

If the Philippine tourism industry can actually play it right, ESL has a HUGE potential for the country, basically because of the often-proven theory of supply-and-demand.

There is a huge global market that has a keen interest on ESL. South Korea, for example, has been sending more than 100,000 ESL students to the Philippines annually. Yet, the number of suppliers are very, very few globally. And almost all of them are in the developed countries that have no choice but to offer their services at a very high cost.

Aside from India, I don't know of any other Asian destination that has a good local supply of ESL manpower. But then again, the Philippines has a very good edge over India as Filipinos are able to speak a more "neutral" English that has no heavy or easily recognizable regional slur or accent.

Of course, there are a number of valid reasons that can contradict the ESL viability in the Philippines such as the pronounced regional accent and relatively weak grammar of the greater population. Teaching English, though cannot be done by just about any Filipino, but by qualified instructors who undergo the usual skills training. This easily negates the "skill" concern.

Given the market size and the very limited number of competing destinations, ESL for the Philippines could actually be much, much bigger than other tourism sectors such as medical tourism and even scuba diving. Many other destinations are either at par or even ahead of the Philippines in product, skills, infrastructure development, and marketing when it comes to these other sectors. This is a very simple fact.

But the tourism industry in this country has been quite slow in grabbing this golden opportunity! It has only been a reactive agent in answering the minimum needs of this market segment. This trend is clearly seen by the number of ESL establishments that are largely focused on the Korean market. There are other nationalities that are waiting for the chance to learn English and have a grand vacation at the same time.

There is still that great opportunity to fully develop this sector. If really developed there is a good chance that the growing trend of Filipinos going abroad to teach English could be stopped or significantly slowed down. The continuing outbound trend will diminish the potential economic impacts of ESL to the entire country and it also perpetuates the steady outflow of Filipino teachers and their separation from their families.

Another reality check is that this edge will only be valid for I-don't-know-how-many-more-years! Other countries are developing their pools of English speakers that they will later have no need for minimally-developed ESL destinations.

This eventuality could be avoided if the Philippines could develop enough competency and marketability to the global market.

Unless the Philippines develops a highly organized and professional ESL industry with adequate facilities and operators, it will totally miss the boat, no - the cruise ship of ESL market

Philippine Eagle-Owl

Got to see up close another great bird - the Philippine Eagle-Owl. Its an endemic species found only, well.... you know the rest of the sentence.

Its definitely a cute bird. The eyes could rival that of the cat's - penetrating, colorful, cold...

Some info on the owls - they have excellent hearing. In fact, they can hear small animals walking or burrowing on the ground. Notice that most owls have conical-shaped eyes? That shape lets the sound get concentrated towards the ears, thus that perfect hearing ability.

Inspite of their usually huge size, owls can fly undetected towards their prey. Their soft feathers enable them to fly almost without any sound and the winds are greatly dissipated. Thus, the unlucky prey would never know what got him.


If you want to know more about birdwatching in the Philippines, check out this site: www.birdwatch.ph

Itinerary - Laoag, Ilocos Norte

Welcome to the gateway of the north. Ilocos Norte is replete with numerous cultural and historical structures dashed with some outstanding natural destinations.

DAY 1

8:00 P.M. ETD Manila

DAY 2

6:00 A.M. ETA Laoag City

Check-in
Rest
Breakfast

9:00 A.M. Hire a jeepney or a service vehicle and visit the following:

St. William’s Cathedral
The centers of the old towns are usually dominated by the church. Get the chance to visit this place and marvel at the Spanish-inspired architecture.

Sinking Bell Tower
This is the bell tower of the St. William’s Cathedral. And it was built about 80 meters from the church! The reason? Just in case an earthquake hits the area, the bell tower would not topple down on the church! Another thing to be noted is the name of the bell tower. Yes, its continually sinking.

Paoay Lake
Quite a scenic place with the lake dominating the scene.

Paoay Church
This is a really special church with impressive architecture and massive buttresses. Don’t leave Ilocos Norte without seeing this church!

Malacanang of the North
Or Malacanan Ti Amianan in the Ilocano language. Yup, this used to be the resthouse of a former president during his heyday.

Fort Ilocandia
This is really a resort located in a vast open space. You can take a peek of this complex and marvel at the architecture. Or you can opt to spend your night and throw some money unto a gambling table.

Marcos Mausoleum

Unless the remains of the former president has been transferred, a visit to this place can give you some surreal experience. Reality bites - everybody, no matter how strong or popular, has to finally be laid to rest.

DAY 3

Whole Day Hire a jeep for a swim in any of the following:

Currimao
Ideal to get that great tan and spend the rest of the day swimming and snorkeling. There are also resorts here so you can check-in should you wish to spend the night here.

La Paz Sand Dunes
Actually, there is a beach area right at the edge of this desert. So swimming can be an option.

This is also often used as a location spot for films. Try to imagine the Panday killing all the ghouls in the hot sands.

9:00 P.M. ETD Laoag City

DAY 4

5:00 A.M. ETA Manila

Bat Watching, Anyone?

Beyond the horror stories, one can really learn to appreciate bats and become emphatic in their struggle to survive.

Bats are actually very gentle creatures, an exact opposite portrayed in the movies.
Most bats eat insects (a good tool for malaria control in the tropics) while others eat fruits. Still, some prefer the nectar of flowers of forest trees and they actually pollinate those flowers! It is said that if the fruit bats die, so will the Durian trees. Bat scientists say that this animal is responsible in maintaining and spreading a very large portion of tropical rainforests.

Bat watching is actually a tourism product in some areas. People go out to see giant fruit bats or hundreds of thousand of insect bats darkening the skies as they fly out in the dusk.

Is this a tuxedo party or what?

This particular bat, the Geoffrey's Rousette Fruit Bat that is found in a tiny sinkhole in Samal Island, Davao del Norte (near Davao City). This sinkhole (or cave) has that largest concentration of that particular species. This place is a great way to see up close these chatering, flying mammals.

Can you imagine if bats could actually walk upright?

Portrait of the Philippine Eagle

Got to see up close the majestic Philippine Eagle a few days ago at the Eagle Camp in Davao City. It could really make you stare in awe. Can't wait to see one in the wild! I bet that will blow my breath away.

Its was known as the Monkey-eating eagle (it could really lift monkeys up in the air). Its favorite food are small mammals (including juvenile deers). Its now officially known as the biggest eagle in the world. Measurements were based on the beak, weight, wingspan, etc. It took the number one position from the Harpy Eagle.

The Philippine Eagle is now a highly endangered species with a few hundred believed to be left in the dwindling forest areas in the Philippines. For people out there, you can help save this noble flier from extinction by supporting the organization that's been working for more than 20 years to save this animal. Its very costly to sustain their endeavor. Those guys have literally given all of themselves for their cause. We can put a little of ourselves here even just by a few pesos. Just google the Philippine Eagle Foundation to see their contact details.

Itinerary - Sibuyan Island, Romblon

Sibuyan Island is now known to many Filipinos, but in an unfortunate manner. Just to let you know the beauty of the island, here is an itinerary you could follow. It is really a very beautiful, but rugged place. From the road, you can walk for only about five minutes and witness a nice waterfall. But its ruggedness add to the quality of its nature. I have never been in an area, except here, that a river remains crystal clear even after a strong rain. Also, its nature stands on a very delicate balance. The topography is mainly mountainous with steep mountains dominating the whole island. So, any disturbance, no matter how small, like mining and logging would literally wreck havoc on the island. Tourism brings in sustainable livelihood, but on a slow manner. Mining and logging bring in a lot of money (to a few people) for a very short period of time. A powerful typhoon has brought disaster to the island and the whole world has known about it. But mining and logging could even bury it without us knowing it. An acquaintance of mine had already died defending the island from mining.

So if you want to discover what Sibuyan has to offer, I guess the best time to do it is now. And you can bring relief goods and whatever help you can for the people.

Here's the itinerary:

SIBUYAN ISLAND, ROMBLON

Day 1

5:00 P.M. Depart Manila for Cajidiocan, Romblon (Sibuyan Island) by MBRS Lines (usually departs Manila on Fridays)

Day 2

7:00 A.M. Arrive Cajidiocan

8:30 A.M. Proceed to Magdiwang by hired jeepney. The journey by road would offer you varied rural sceneries, landscapes and seascapes. See the different views of Mt. Guiting guiting, mangrove forests by the roadsides, ricefields, and coastal views and communities.

10:00 Arrival in in Magdiwang

Proceed Protected Area Office (PAO)

PAO is located at the foot of Mt. Guiting guiting where dense forests are intact. There are visitor facilities that are available. The park personnel will then give some briefing and commentaries as regards the character of the area and the value of conserving the natural resources such as mountains and forests.

10:30 Trek to Gaong River

The Gaong River is located right at the footsteps of Mt. Guiting guiting before the elevation becomes steep. Gaong is a very pristine river ecosystem where crystal-clear waters cascade down from the forests of Mt. Guiting guiting. One can do swimming, nature tripping and nature photography. The easy hike from the PAO to the river is about 45 minutes through lush vegetation.

2:30 After a refreshing swim in Gaong river, start trekking through unique landscapes such as an ironwood forest where the trees are said to be as strong as steel. Pass through another inviting river called Dalipi. Should you continue walking, you would pass through a mango plantation, a mulberry plantation and do some river crossing.

6:00 You should be arriving at the Poblacion of Magdiwang. Check-in at a local lodge or homestay.

DAY 3

A.M. Option 1

Start your early morning with a trip to the Mangrove Garden. With the aid of local birdwatching guides, identify the birds you encounter. An option would be a visit to the beach area where you can take a leisurely swim until lunch time.

Option 2

Spend the rest of the morning in the beach area of Magdiwang

11:00 Lunch

12:30 Go back to Cajidiocan by hired jeepney

2:30 Arrival in Cajidiocan

3:00 Proceed back for Manila via Mary the Queen.