What's along Maginhawa Street?

City on the Brim

Puerto Princesa is surrounded by Mangrove forests, one of few such cities in the country

It’s hard to forget that Puerto Princesa was once just a sleepy Spanish town. In the 19^th century, it was named the capital of Paragua, the old name of Palawan, one of the last territories to be incorporated into the Spanish East Indies. For years, it hadn’t experienced much growth until it became a base for the country’s booming mining industry in the 60s and 70s.

Many in Puerto Princesa are openly against mining. In fact, the industry is banned throughout the city’s more than 2000 square kilometers of land area, a seemingly vast haven but for most of Palawan, the mining still continues. It is interesting, however, that such a bias for environmental sentiments have pervaded the local populace, who otherwise could’ve took advantage of mining. One turning point in the fight against the industry was the killing of environmentalist Gerry Ortega. This incident sent shockwaves throughout Puerto Princesa, a city that rarely witnesses such a crime.

Mining aside, the city’s focus now is to develop its tourism industry. In 2011, more than half a million tourists visited the city, nearly double that of 2009. By 2014, the city government projects a million visitors, a figure ten times larger than the city’s current population. It is indeed la vie en rose for Puerto Princesa. Aside from the construction boom in the private sector, the national government has allotted hundreds of millions of pesos to rehabilitate the city’s infrastructure. In fact, a new international airport is in the pipeline.  Certainly, Puerto Princesa has the forebodings of a future Pattaya, where commercial tourism thrives in the heart of a tropical setting. 

Only up to 900 tourists are allowed at a given time inside
the Underground River

In November 2011, the city’s famed Underground River joined the ranks of Ha Long Bay and the Grand Canyon, winning an international search for the world’s seven best natural wonders. The recognition sparked an onslaught of curious tourists, prompting the local government to limit the number of visits to the river. However, elsewhere in the city, it is apparent that tourism is at a high. Foreigners of all color, shape and size, roam the city’s avenues. Businesses are having a heyday day after day. Traffic is clogging the streets and the airport, which was recently expanded, is now at running at full capacity.

For a city that was heavily reliant on agriculture, the rise in tourism was a welcome development, especially that it provided more opportunities and income for the locals. Nevertheless, to what extent is Puerto Princesa willing to go to advance its potential in tourism, given the unavoidable negative effects it will have on its natural habitats?

Puerto Princesa Mayor Edward Hagedorn revealed a midterm plan that will at least ensure a high-degree of environmental sustainability despite the ongoing tourism boom. Aside from limiting the number of tourists to sites such as the Underground River, he said a building code is being strictly imposed. None of Puerto Princesa’s new buildings were allowed to be higher than the canopy of trees that cover the city’s streets. “Para na rin sa ambience,” he claimed. Truly, despite the high demand for more hotel rooms, the city’s new hotels are all low rises. Yet, the city has so much to improve on. Like many other urban areas in the country, planning seems haphazard and what should be staple provisions such as pedestrian sidewalks, working streetlights and sewage systems are mostly absent in most areas.  The streets are simply too narrow to accommodate the increasing traffic and transportation around the center is just a choice between carbon-emitting tricycles and Toyota vans.

Ka Lui, owner of a widely recognized restaurant along Rizal Avenue, shares his own perspective of the booming tourism industry. “With tourism, we fear the cannibalization of culture,” he lamented. Anywhere people flock, a wave of commercialism ensues. He fears that when fast food chains, humungous malls, glitzy hotels and bars all come to the city, that is when Puerto Princesa not only loses its natural flair, but also loses its culture. He came to the city in the 80s and started a restaurant that served local fare. More than 20 years later and several awards gained, the restaurant continues to be a hit. On an ordinary night, it’s a full house. Most guests will have to reserve beforehand to get a seat. More than the sumptuous Palawan cuisine the restaurant serves, most guests are after the ambience. It’s like dining in a nipa hut. That’s the culture Ka Lui wants to preserve, the very same culture that faces aggression from Puerto Princesa’s rapid development.

Caucasians making the best out of their low-cost Asian

vacation! They make up a sizeable chunk of the tourists
 headed for Palawan.

The prospects are even more troubling in the areas far from the city center, for it is where the city’s natural reserves flourish with minimal contact from human activities. It is there where the negative externalities of tourism can potentially pose a big threat to the environment. In Sabang, locals have seen the biggest crowds they’ve seen yet. Sabang is the entry port to the Underground River. From a torpid fishing village, it has grown to become a very busy district that happens to be mountains away from Puerto Princesa’s bustling poblacion. Even here, development has taken on a rapid pace. Boats now crowd the local port amidst the arrival of thousands of tourists driven in big white vans. The local stretch of beach is now lined with resorts, restaurants and souvenir shops. It could be away from the hustle and bustle of central Puerto Princesa but the ambience is slowly becoming no different. Butch Tan, a resort owner from Manila, has witnessed the whirlwind upturn in this village. He opened his Daluyón resort in back in 2007, when the anticipation of a rise in tourist arrivals was still a mere anticipation. Nonetheless the timing was just right and he’s now constructing a 10-room expansion on an adjacent beachfront property. “For me, I like Sabang the way it is. Huwag na yung mga bars, yung mga maiingay,” he told. Indeed, his resort wasn’t too high density like some of his neighbors. Rooms are sparse and are scattered throughout the property in small huts. “It’s the natural setting that make people come here. In fact, we planned the resort so that it’ll have a minimal impact on the environment,” he shared. From water-saving measures to a carefully planned layout, the resort was built to have a zero carbon footprint. Mr. Tan, an advocate of a reduction in carbon footprint in resorts, has also encouraged other establishments in Sabang to follow suit.

Limestone formations dot the northern landscape of the city

This focus on Puerto Princesa is like reading a suspense novel. You’ll never know what’s going to happen next. However, what makes Puerto Princesa a case that should be excruciatingly followed is the gravity of what is at stake. The people of the city have a lot to lose if they don’t find the perfect balance between development and the environment. Being in the country’s so-called Last Frontier, it is one of the few remaining bastions of nature in the Philippines. Rarely in the country do you find a vast forest cover pierced by towering limestones. In them thrives different sorts of life, some of which have become extinct in many parts of the country. At the same time, the opportunity of tourism stands before the city. For most, it is Puerto Princesa’s opportunity of a lifetime. People are coming, the funds are pouring and the quality of life in the city will subsequently improve. Puerto Princesa cannot choose one over the other, but it has to strike a balance. It’s not an impossible feat, but it takes one with an open mind and a genuine concern for the environment and the people to know and discern what is right and just for Puerto Princesa.

Seoul Sensation

SEOUL OF ASIA
A towering statue of the Emperor of Korea's famed Joseon dynasty looks over downtown Seoul.

Anything Korean conjures the image of an ostentatiously dressed Sandara Park singing with her high-pitched voice, amidst an army of similarly dressed groupies and flashing lights. Well, at least that’s it for me.

Korea is now making waves across Asia. Not only has it dominated the electronics market (read: SAMSUNG), it also makes some of the most recognizable car brands in the market as well as exports the most excruciatingly entertaining pieces of Asia’s post-modern vanity called K-Pop. Korea today was like the Japan of 30 to 40 years ago. Since the Japanese economy has been stagnating for the past 20 years, it was high time for the Koreans to shine. 

No wonder when you arrive in the land of Sandara Park, you get an instant glimpse of its economic prowess. Incheon, once a small fishing village is not only home to the world’s best airport (flying from the world’s worst airport makes it a lot more daunting) but an industrial hub in the region. Seoul, Korea’s glitzy showcase of a capital, is up on the mountains and is connected to Incheon by a high-tech rail service.

Seoul is like Tokyo – filled with skyscrapers, broad avenues, hordes of pedestrians, oriental neon signage, snaking high-speed rail lines and exploding pockets of shopping plazas. What makes it striking, though, is the city’s landscape. It sits on a mountainous terrain overlooking the Han River. It’s different from Hong Kong as the climbs are not steep but it still exudes a majestic vista to which one can only stare with awe.

More soon!

Exploring UP's Art Deco Buildings

Did you know UP has one of the country's biggest collections of art deco architecture?

Realizations and Sisig Off the Beaten Track

A road trip to the provinces north of the Philippine capital usually involves stops in historical places, famous restaurants and yes, even shopping malls. Infrastructure is relatively developed in this part of the country, with the network of expressways expected to reach as far as La Unión this year and a former American base in the region now being groomed to become the country’s premiere international gateway. Truly, Northern Luzon commands an advantage when it comes to accessibility and variety of destinations. However, it also has a lot of unconventional sites that cater to different kinds of niches.  

Just a mile off the national highway, in the town of Capas in Tarlac province, is an inconspicuous gated dog shelter. Although it’s clearly off the beaten track, the shelter offers insights into animal rights and the conflicts these rights face against centuries-old traditions.  The shelter is owned and maintained by the Animal Kingdom Foundation, a local animal rights group funded by British donors. It serves as a transitory home for more than 700 dogs, which the shelter hopes to have adopted. Many of these dogs have been rescued from slaughterhouses and illegal canine shipments. It is uncommon in the Philippines for dogs to be subjected to cruelty, but dogs are a native delicacy in the northern Philippines. Though this is illegal in the Philippines, the practice is still widespread in this region and the shelter is just one of many that cater to these innocent canine victims.

The shelter is an interesting setting. Beyond its gates, a canopy of vines lead one to an imposing yellow mansion. This place used to be a haciendita. The owner, an enterprising mango farmer, leased the land to the shelter. Behind the mansion are rows of enclosures, each home to 20 or 30 dogs. These cages are dotted with mango trees, conjuring a relaxed rural atmosphere amidst the barking and stench of canine feces. A walk between the enclosures seems like a stroll in the park. The trees make a shady avenue of dirt, again reminding a traveler that he is indeed in the hinterlands of rural Philippines.

Interesting characters also make a rather heart-rending trip to the shelter a more enjoyable one. Manny, an English Boxer, is the shelter’s official greeter. He’s very sociable and hides quite well the fact that he had a very brutal past. Manny follows every visitor and perhaps if he could only speak, he’d tell a lot of engaging stories about his stay in the shelter. He is joined by Ava and Roxy, who are also rescued dogs. Although they are less sociable to some degree, they are nevertheless excited at the sight of visitors.

Every dog in the shelter has a story to tell. Some have been rescued just at the brink of being stricken with a knife. Others have been retrieved from trucks, where they are cramped in ways only the inhumane can possibly think of doing. Unfortunately, many others didn’t even make it alive. A solemn plot of land at the end of shelter has been allotted for them. A tall white cross and statues of two guard dogs mark the grave of the more than 600 who’ve been mercilessly sacrificed in the name of animal exploitation for profit.

It is rather rare for a traveler to come and visit these places that have served as a sanctuary for our canine friends. However, the understandings one might gain in these unconventional trips already make one profound reason why these places are worth a visit.

            Of course, all these realizations will cause one’s tummy to croak for food. The good thing is, the Northern Philippines is not only infamous for its disgusting dog-eating reputation. In fact, restaurants serving dog dishes are hard to come by. Again, I must mention that such a practice is against the law and most Filipinos are just like everybody – they treat their dogs as their friends, not as their dinner. The neighboring province of Pampanga is a popular food trip destination. After all, it is the birthplace of many of the country’s most famous dishes. One such dish is the sisig, a sizzling platter made of ground pork, all from a pig’s head. Usually in Filipino fiestas, the head of a lechon or roast pig is a staple leftover. Truly, who would want to feast on a pig’s snout? After the Second World War, one entrepreneur thought of an ingenious to recycle the pig’s head. Then, sisig was born. Sisig is usually crunchy and is a favorite in almost every Filipino restaurant in the entire country. However in Aling Lucing’s, which claims to be the birthplace of sisig, it is soft, oily but all the same delicious. Most travelers in Pampanga never miss a visit to Aling Lucing. Although the modest, rundown shack is at best dark and grubby, it arguably serves one of the best sisigs in the country. Even the famous TV food traveler Anthony Bourdain included this restaurant in his itinerary, an approval that indeed this food is must-try even for the discerning traveler.

            Pampanga is also known for other delicacies such as the halo-halo, the most famous dessert in the Philippines. Unfortunately Pampanga, like many other provinces, lies amidst a sea of unplanned, haphazard urbanity as a result of third world development.Halo-halo is a famous Filipino dessert. Usually served in tall soda glasses, it is a hodge-podge of different sweet little chops of other pieces of dessert. In a typical halo-halo, there is ube or sweet yam, pandan jelly, leche flan and a menagerie of different other little sweet cubes and spheres. All this is stuffed into the glass and covered in crushed ice, a staple for the halo-halo since it is a summer fare. Then, milk is poured into the concoction to add creaminess and flavor. Unfortunately, mouth-watering as it sounds, we didn’t get to try the ‘authentic’ Pampanga halo-halo which is known over the country. Perhaps it calls for another trip to the northern Philippines, one that is guaranteed to bring profound realizations and discoveries that are far more accomplishing than your usual beaten path travelling. 

 

Lucing and Corazon

Sisig

The province of Pampanga is a popular food trip destination. After all, it is the birthplace of many of the country’s most famous dishes. Many Kapampangans have actually profited from their province’s culinary flair. From the famous Cabalen buffet to Razon’s Halo Halo parlor, these homegrown restaurants have made their way into mainstream Filipino consciousness. Some great deal of marketing may be credited for their popularity but one cannot deny that it is the Kapampangan dishes that make Filipinos return with jest to these establishments.  One such Kapampangan dish is the sisig, a sizzling platter made of ground pork, all from a pig’s head. Usually in Filipino fiestas, the head of a lechon or roast pig is a staple leftover. Now who would want to feast on a pig’s snout? After the Second World War, one entrepreneur thought of an ingenious way to recycle the pig’s head. Then, sisig was born. Sisig is fried on a sizzling plate, marinated with calamansi and chopped chili to add flavor. It is usually crunchy and is a favorite in almost every Filipino restaurant in the entire country. However in Aling Lucing’s, which claims to be the birthplace of sisig, it is soft, oily but all the same delicious. Most travelers in Pampanga never miss a visit to Aling Lucing. Although the modest, rundown shack is at best dark and grubby, it arguably serves one of the best sisigs in the country. Aling Lucing is located in Angeles City, itself a famous food destination in Pampanga. It occupies an unpretentious old building, nearly halfway between the Hispanic center of the city and the infamous Fields Avenue, home to the many brothels that catered to the American servicemen. Its infamous reputation still holds today.

Aling Lucing is its only kind in the country, that’s why during any large-scale event in Angeles, the place is sure to be filled. During the recent Hot Air Balloon Festival in Clark Field, the restaurant was so full that customers were setting up extra chairs and tables themselves. The fact that the sisig is cooked in a dingy kitchen doesn’t seem to discourage them. Also, the restaurant itself is lacking in lighting as much as it is unclean. The smell of lethal vehicle emission permeates the interior and every corner of each chair and table is teeming with thick gray cobwebs. Nevertheless the people come here not to observe the disgusting surrounds, but to have a taste of its famous soft sisig, the pioneering plate which made the dish a household name.

Luckily, coming from a trip to a dog shelter in Tarlac, we found Aling Lucing almost deserted even if it was lunch. There were hardly anyone, except for a lone Caucasian who cautiously digged into his sisig, meticulously observing every bit of scoop. Indeed the grubbiness of the place can get to your appetite, but once you smell the aroma of fried pork sautéed and seasoned with calamansi, it seems like the restaurant’s unappetizing aura fades away and is forgotten. At first bite, the sisig’s soft texture feels rather different and even unsavory. Soon after, the warm feeling of well-cooked pork and the added texture provided by the sauté conjoin to form one delicious concoction that will make one like to have some more. Even the famous TV food traveler Anthony Bourdain particularly acknowledged sisig in his notoriously sarcastic food travel program, although he had nothing but innocent expressions of delight over the novelty of its taste. Aling Lucing did receive some big time recognition after he included this restaurant in his itinerary, a testament that indeed, its sisig is a must-try even for the discerning traveler.

Halo-halo

            Pampanga is also known for other delicacies such as the halo-halo, the most famous dessert in the Philippines. It is said that the best halo-halo was made by the original Razon’s eatery in the town of Guagua. Good thing luck has chosen our side and that Razon’s did open several ‘authentic’ branches of its famed eatery a dozen or so miles nearer in Angeles. Unfortunately this city, like many other cities in the country, lies amidst a sea of unplanned, haphazard urbanity as a result of third world development, so it was hard to search for the authentic halo-halo. Coupled with some great deal of miscommunication among locals, we were brought to this pompous rainbow-colored house that sold the self-proclaimed famous Corazon Halo-Halo, a name akin to the street where this cute little piece of tackiness is situated. Moreso, it is rather suspicious that Corazon shares all but two letters from Razon’s. The discerning traveler should know that difference, as it will take only those two very same letters to deprive one’s self of Pampanga’s authentic halo-halo. Needless to say the halo-halo is so famous that every other street corner in the country plays host to a stall that sells it. Usually served in tall soda glasses, it is a hodge-podge of different sweet little chops of other pieces of dessert. In a typical halo-halo, there is ube or sweet yam, pandan jelly, leche flan and a menagerie of different other little sweet cubes and spheres. All this is stuffed into a tall glass and covered in crushed ice, a staple for the halo-halo since it is a summer fare. Then, milk is poured into the concoction to add creaminess and flavor. The seemingly careless mix of food explains the name of the fare. Halo-halo literally means “mix mix.” Unfortunately, mouth-watering as it sounds, we didn’t get to try the ‘authentic’ Pampanga halo-halo. Razon’s tries to keep its halo-halo uniform in all of its branches, but nothing beats the feeling of having tasted the real fare in the original store. I must say that a short detour to Guagua would have been well worth it. Nevertheless Razon’s is present pretty much in most major cities in the country. In Manila, the restaurant is found in a lot of shopping malls. Although one wouldn’t really know the difference between the halo-halo served in the capital and the one served in Guagua without having a profound tasting of both, it’s also quite comforting to know that the halo-halo in any Razon’s is good nonetheless. Perhaps the longing to taste the authentic one calls for another trip to Pampanga. Surely, a visit to the north is one that is guaranteed to satisfy the palate!

Binondo: The Hispanic, Austronesian Chinatown

The Chinese are an essential part of the social fabric of the Philippines. They make up just nearly 2% of the country population, but they control an awful lot of the country’s wealth. In the Philippines, you’re rich if you’re either Chinese or Spanish. The list of the country’s wealthiest proves that.

Binondo is Manila’s Chinatown. It claims to be the oldest in the world, having been organized by the Spanish more than 300 years ago. The Chinese were then seen as not only third-class citizens but also a threat to the conquistadores and the local populace. This perception by the colonizers was even worsened by petty Chinese revolts and Limahong’s failed conquest of Las Islas Filipinas. That is why the Chinese were banished from Intramuros, the heart of colonial Manila to settlement across the Río Pasig, from where Intramuros was least accessible.

Legend has it that the name Binondo was derived from binondoc, which means ‘mountainous terrain’ in the vernacular. That doesn’t seem very evident now that the district is covered with a sea of concrete blocks. Once upon a time, it was a hilly suburb of Manila, which also explains why the neighboring district to its east is called La Loma, Spanish for knoll. 

When the Americans came, the center of commerce of Manila shifted from the Hispanic quarter to the northern bank of the river. Today, Binondo and the surrounding neighborhoods of Santa Cruz and Calle Escolta make the city’s financial center. Though in the 60’s and 70’s, many of the country’s conglomerates made an exodus to the outskirts of Manila, Binondo still remains alive with commerce and trade, many thanks to its Chinese residents.

Turn of the century buildings such as 

this adorn this part of Manila, a 

reminder that this place was

once the commercial heart 

of the country

In this part of the world, 

the Chinese are predominately

Catholic.

Binondo, specifically the Chinatown, has two main access points. One is at the foot of the historic Jones Bridge and the other facing the old Santa Cruz Church. Both entries are adorned by the staple Chinese gates seen in most Chinatowns in the world. In most days, the best way to get around the district is by calesa, a horse-drawn carriage that was Manila’s main mode of transport at the turn of the last century.

Once lined with art-deco arcades, renaissance edifices and dotted with people in their suits and Sunday dresses, Binondo, as much of the rest of Manila, is in a state of urban decay. Since most of Manila’s more affluent residents, the Chinese included, have moved to the suburbs, the city is now ridden with mass migration coupled with haphazard urban planning and a mediocre city government which prides itself in making Manila the tackiest city in the country.

However, Binondo still bursts with life especially today, the Lunar New Year. This year marks the first time that the ubiquitous Chinese celebration was declared a national holiday. That was why Filipinos of all race, not just the Chinese, were all making a moshpit out of Binondo’s narrow streets. It was yet another wrong decision by the city’s government to open the streets to vehicular traffic on the holiday itself, despite having them ordered closed on the eve of the New Year. Traffic was creeping much less than snail’s pace and everybody was just walking it out on the streets.

Chinese decorations adorn the entrance
of the Santa Cruz church in celebration
of the Lunar New Year

The Binondo Church is Chinatown's most impressive

facade, a testament to the district's 

multi-cultural temperament

 Binondo, more than anything, is a place rich with history. No other district in Manila has a screaming pageantry of the confluence of the oriental and western cultures than here. Surrounding the central square of Binondo, called Plaza San Lorenzo Ruiz is the towering Binondo Church. Built by the Spaniards, it is the district’s central house of worship. It is quite a sore thumb in the sea of oriental flair but this Catholic church has a lot of Chinese elements, including an altar adorned with incense rather than candles.

Further on, along the side of the church, runs Ongpin Street, the most popular thoroughfare in the district. It is home to Binondo’s many famous eateries and Chinese food shops. Not a long walk from the Church was a little dingy restaurant Tasty Dumplings, said to be one of the most famous ones. Indeed, food was cheap but it felt a little commercialized perhaps because of its fast food ambience. Nevertheless there are a lot more places to satisfy the palate. From hopia stores to panciterias, Binondo is never short of supply. If it wasn’t for the pushy crowds and the parades of dragons and firecrackers, I could’ve braved to scour the alleys for better places to eat.

As superstition suggests, dragons ward
off bad luck from storefronts.

Speaking of dragons and firecrackers, they just seem to be everywhere. I am not stereotyping the Chinese or Chinatown, but yes, these things you see on TV when they show Chinatowns, they really are there. On every street there was a dragon parade and they danced to firecrackers. If you come close enough, you’ll not only see the dragons more closely but you will have also increased your risk of death by 34%. The fumes from the crackers are just nauseating as much as they’re suffocating. Nonetheless, it’s an exhibition of the Philippines’ multi-faceted culture. Here we have native dragon-dancers warding off bad luck from Chinese-owned stores in a Hispanic-named street. How cosmopolitan can that get!

Thousands of Filipinos flock to Binondo on Chinese
New Year. Cars can't possibly pass here.

At the end of day, with all its festive vibes and raunchy street performances, Chinese New Year in Manila is just like any other. To each his own, I’d always say. However, what Manila makes itself different is that through Binondo, it exhibits a melting pot of different polar cultures. It’s not a usual site in the Orient, which has since rejected colonialist inclinations since the fall of imperialism. Yet, the confluence is very much alive here as it is in the rest of the Philippines.  Dragons and Catholicism are what set this country apart from the rest of Asia.

Temperatures soar high here amidst the heat-trapping concrete facades of brutalist buildings. The esteros are clogged with trash and the streets are teeming with vagrants. In every display of small-scale capitalism, there is a juxtaposition of poverty. It may be uncommon in the Philippines but nowhere is it more pronounced than in Binondo. It is not deter travelers, the vista adds flavor to whatever cultural pomp and circumstance Binondo has been long parading. More than that, the district is a microscopic display of the Filipino psyche: tolerant, nonchalant and laidback. Evidently, Binondo is not about showing affluence or cleanliness, it shows the bear reality of Filipino urban life. Yes, we’re talking about Chinatown, but even this place can get very Filipino. After all, this is the Philippines. Everyone here can be an intsik, indio or even kastilaloy (Hispanic), but a Filipino never closes his door on the possibility of embracing another culture. It’s more than hospitality, it’s an attitude of open-mindedness to which this cosmopolitan culture traces its forebearings. This is what makes Chinatown unique and this is what makes the country different from the many others surrounding it. It’s not just Asian or Western, it’s practically Filipino.