Amazed at How Big and Bustling Batangas Port Is

I've always had a love/hate relationship with ports. You'd have to remember that in the 70s and 80s, only the upper middle class and rich people could afford riding in planes. PAL was a virtual monopoly before so they could dictate any price they wanted.

So families like ours, who had to travel around Luzon, Cebu and Mindanao, took the boat. And my first recollection of a pier was a scary one! I was just five years old, and it was 1976, and I remember being afraid of falling into the cracks of this wooden pier! Papa was walking so fast kasi and I had to keep up with him!

That was in Kolambugan in Lanao del Norte and we had to take the boat to cross to Ozamiz. I even remember riding a boat to Iligan before where Muslims and Christians were segregated! And the food was terrible! It was stale pork and beans huhuhu

So when I saw the modern-day Batangas port, I was pretty impressed! I had so many bad memories of stinking and crowded ports that today's generation is so lucky not to experience anymore what I had to experience as a young person!

Well, a lot of improvements can still be done to make it safer and more convenient for everyone but at least, it doesn't look like the 1920s Chungking port!

They have to do something though with the boats going to Puerto Galera since it's not very PWD or elderly friendly!! It would be tough to bring Mama along because even if the weather is fine, the sea is not calm!! I think she'd have a hard time maintaining her balance as the boat sways from left to right!

The planks are too small, as well, so big people like me have to be very very careful, otherwise, man overboard!

A Banca Towing Another Banca: Only in the Philippines

Only in the Philippines would you experience a banca towing another banca! Sa dinami-dami ng bangkang pagpipilian going to Puerto Galera, we picked the one that was almost a dud!

Actually, Vic already warned me about these boats but just like any Pinoy who just throws caution to the wind, we just shrug off these concerns and think of them as hazards of living in the Philippines! Of course, being stranded in the middle of the sea in a boat with a dud engine is not really my idea of a good way to start a weekend on the beach!

But it did happen to us! You would hear the engine of the boat just straining itself too much to the point that it was exerting so much effort but you could feel that the boat was only moving at 1mm per hour. Yeah, that's millimeter - and the boat is at the mercy of the waves!

Of course, you can see in all the passengers faces that this was nothing alarming and the boat crew were really looking busy trying to make it appear that everything was ok. Well, around 5 kilometers from the beach of Puerto Galera, a boat from a rival company, mercifully towed us, yes that picture there is that boat towing us to the safe sands of Puerto Galera.

Nakakaloka talaga!

The Splendid Barasoain Church in Malolos Bulacan

I'm actually a bit jealous of kids today because traveling around the Philippines is much easier and much cheaper - so what they actually learn from their history books, they can actually see when they go on vacation!!!

Which brings me to our trip today to Malolos, Bulacan, a historical town barely an hour away from the Trinoma mall in Quezon City. Grabe, I have lived in Manila for almost 3 decades and this is the first time I've visited this town!

It's also the first time I've driven out of Manila! I've been spoiled rotten for years having a driver or Vic to drive me outside of Manila - because they won't let me drive - they call me narcoleptic! And that can be dangerous for long driving!

Anyway, I finally saw the Barasoain Church in Malolos! A place that played a very important role when our country was still young and trying to form some semblance of a government. That was shortlived, as we all know, and it would take almost another 50 years before we finally got our independence!

The picture below was probably the best from the several I took. We couldn't go down since the parking area was full (it was around 5:30PM on a Sunday!) and horror of horrors - they have no exit!! At least when there's still a mass!! No logic or reason as to how they allow traffic to move inside their church compound!

I would love to see the museum and the interior of the church at a more opportune time. They also have a bigger and more impressive Cathedral nearby. What I've noticed as well is that the roads of Malolos are well-cemented - in other words, wiz lubak!! Mother Ignacia, which I traverse everyday is a sorry comparison to how smooth my driving was in Malolos! At least we know that their taxes are really going where it should!

I Wish the Rest of the Peaceful Loving Muslims Weren't So Quiet

My friend Midler offered world peace and harmony as his intention for the fifth mystery of the rosary we were praying last night. I added, firepower to fight around 250 million militant Muslims who want to kill the rest of humanity and destroy our peaceful way of life. (This is based on estimates by different intelligence agencies around the world, who say that around 20% of the Muslim population of the world want to destroy the beauty of the human race and impose on everyone their demonic way of life - instead of respecting people for their unique individuality and diversity!)

I am actually waiting for the rest of the worldwide peaceful loving Muslim community to really take a stand and do something about it! How can they just do nothing while the rest of their fellow Muslims behead aide workers helping refugees in Syria, kill defenseless college students in Kenya, and kidnap young female high school students from their school in northern Nigeria to use as para-usan ng pagka-sex maniac nila! It's sickening talaga na there are people like that using the name of God or Allah as an excuse for murder and terror!

It's really about time the world takes a stand against these crazies and lunatics and send them to kingdom come.

I fear that if the peaceful loving people in the world will do nothing, the same situation in Germany in World War II will happen - and we all know what happened when the Nazis were swept to power, while the peaceful loving people of Germany (and the rest of Europe) just watched in silence.....

Reminiscing About Colon Street of Cebu City

This is a picture of Colon Street in Cebu City. I just told Mama recently, that when I was a teenager, maybe around 13-14 years old, I would go down to Cebu City (we still lived in the boondocks of Cebu at that time) - alone - and I would go straight to Colon Street.

At that time, there were no malls yet and Colon Street had everything - the department stores, the movie theaters, the restaurants - the places to hang out. I would usually go down to Cebu everytime a Nora Aunor movie would open!

Wala akong pinag-iba sa mga bata ngayon who shriek and shout everytime they see their KathNiel idols. I was just more subdued and I never let it on to anyone how much I adored Nora (haha!), since in private schools before, it was considered baduy to be shrieking after local movie stars. Ika nga, finesse ng konti, chos!

I was a naughty kid then because I would tell Mama I would be in school, when in reality, I was in Cebu City! Buti na lang talaga, nothing happened to me when I was doing my lakwatsa....

Nowadays though, Colon has deteriorated into a flood-prone, seedy part of the city. I wanted to walk through my old haunts before but my friends warned me na marami nang mandurukot and shady characters duon. How sad........