by: Abraham Olandres

I didn’t really have concrete plans of going anywhere for the Holiday weekend. I was thinking of going home to Guimaras but the 4 day-long weekend wasn’t enough and worth it. Plane tickets are skyrocketing and the timing is just not good; besides, I couldn’t get any plane reservations.

And there was I, hoping to get a good rest and stay home to catch up with cleaning my pad and do some reading or maybe play Battle Realms up to sawa. Then, my office phone rang then an old friend asked me if I wanted to go to Vigan for the Holy Week. Vigan, I ask? Well, yeah, I nodded with gleaming eyes.

Next thing I knew, I was travelling with my friend and her high school barkada to Vigan City, Ilocos Sur. There were just the six of us so we brought a car for the trip. Well, I must admit, it is the longest trip I ever had – 13 hours on the road stretching over 390 kilometers of asphalt and cement-covered roads. Manila – Bulacan – Pampanga – Tarlac – Panggasinan – La Union – Vigan, Ilocos Sur: we left at 7 in the morning and arrived at the heart of the city just a few minutes past 8 in the evening.

The town was full of people, most of them were tourists roaming at the plazas, bazaars, and cafes and stalls beside the road. Dozens of horse-drawn calesas pass to and fro. What is this place, I asked myself. It really looks like colonial Spanish – everything from the brick roads and the adobe stones and capiz shells of the centuries old villas. I remarked – cool!

We scouted around for possible vacancies in nearby inns. Nothing, zilch, nada – not a single room available to comfort our aching body and tired eyes. The place was just full of visitors and foreigners from everywhere. We resorted to looking for some other place in the outskirts of the town proper but to no avail. Just our luck, an old relative of one of our companions was just in the nearby barrio but we still had to ask around to look for it.

It was around 10 in the evening when we had a good rest sharing a papag provided for us by a long lost relative of a friend. Alas, a good night sleep after the grueling hours of traveling over five provinces.

We woke up early the next day to get a good bath – well, a decent bath in the open deep-well was all I had but it was cool and refreshing. The rest of the day we spent roaming around the antiquated yet beautiful city of Vigan. Such marvel of Spanish colonial houses, villas, churches and the assortments – I just couldn’t believe my eyes! Pictures taken here and there, eating empanadas and chichacorn and buying all sorts of antique goods took most of our day but most of all I enjoyed the calesa ride!

We visited some of the notable spots around town – the Crisologo Museum, the old church and bell tower (shown in the movie, Ang Panday), the pot factory, Plaza Burgos, the Heritage Village (a seen in the movie Jose Rizal) and many more.

We’re supposed to proceed to Pagudpod the next day. It’s a 110-km or so ride from Vigan but we incidentally bumped into somebody we knew who just came from the place. They told us that Pagudpod was too crowded and they had to knock in the baranggay captain’s house to spend the night. Worried and disappointed that we’ll end up like them, we decided to stay in town and look for another beach nearby.

The beaches at San Esteban, an hour’s ride from Vigan, was the closest and nicest we could find. Nice white sand beach, scorching sun and salty wind greeted us in the early morning breeze. The place was full too; just our luck we arrived earlier that day. I also had the chance to get a crack on the portable videoke system installed right there on the sand! And the halo-halo was just as great for just 10 bucks a serving!

On our way back to town, we passed by a grotto placed on the beach front facing China Sea. It was windy and the trek to the statue was hard and slippery considering the strong gusts of wind and the moss-laden rocks that we had to traverse. Right on top of it, I marveled at the golden sunset as I watch it being swallowed by the sea.

The four days seemed to pass by so fast. We left Vigan city at mid noon of Sunday and arrived back to Manila past 2:30 in the early morning of Monday. It was a sweet and exciting escape!

by: Russet

With days getting longer and nights shorter, it is definitely the start of summer. And in a tropical paradise such as the Philippines, summer is surely the most awaited part of the year.

People view summer differently.

For students, it means getting out of school and a break from all those term papers, homeworks and teachers’ dirty looks! For the family, it’s a time for those out of town trips, beaches, swimming and more swimming.

For the barkada, it means getting ready for another nature-tripping or peer-bonding trips outside of the metropolis.

And for the more adventurous types, summer is a time for another mountain climb or river-rafting experience.

Indeed, summer connotes fun and having fun is best during summer.

I am no different when it comes to summer. I just want to enjoy those long days and out of town trips either with family or friends.

In fact, I had the opportunity to spend a week’s vacation elsewhere. After a week-long final examinations that really got all of my brain cells working, I simply wanted to have some early vacation to reward myself. Luckily though, my mom was kind enough to pay for my airfare. And so, without even waiting for my grades, off I flew to Singapore to have some time with my uncle’s family.

I was really excited to see my cousins, do some shopping and visit those lovely tourist spots I have long to see for myself.

As soon as stepped out of the airport, I was already into this endless chitchatting with two of my cousins and we were already planning on how am I going to maximize my stay there. They were already inviting me to have a dip in the pool the next morning as soon as we woke up.

Singapore is such a wonderful place to visit. It boasts of being the cleanest city in the world. Would you believe that they even water the streets in the afternoon to keep the surrounding clean. And beware coz you can’t buy or chew bubble gum in public.

It also has so many sites to visit and you will be amaze by the different architectural designs around. Tall buildings, museums, cultural centers and of course the lively-at-night Clark and Boat Quay.

But my visit to Singapore, to my surprise, was more than just having a weeklong break and enjoying the sights there. It made me reflect and think seriously of the life Singaporeans have and compare it to what we have in this country. Too serious? Lemme elaborate.

Singapore is a multi-racial country. You get to meet so many Chinese, Malays and Indians even while sitting on the MRT or the bus or by simply strolling around.

And yet, despite this seemingly different backgrounds, they mix well with each other. You see schoolchildren enjoying each others company, businessmen talking intently and people just being together and not being bothered by their dissimilar looks and ancestry. No discrimination, no hang-ups. They enjoy life and they allow others to. Simple yet sincere.

On my return to Manila, while I was still at the airport, I can’t help but feel bad when I saw people staring at this young lady who was wearing quite an outlandish type of clothes. She was wearing a black leather skirt (not so short though) and a knee long black boots to match a red cotton top. How come we could not just accept the fashion preference of others. Its their body after all.

I guess that is probably the reason why we are besieged with so many problems. Peace talks not working. Soldiers fighting. Children in the streets…

Basically, because we fail to accept our differences and refuse to compromise. We need to realize that we have our divergence and we must try to work on our similarities instead. It may be easier said than done, but at least try to. We can by starting with small things - those that we can do by ourselves. Live and let live… it’s a wonderful world after all!

My trip to Singapore made this summer even more memorable. And with summer just starting, I guess I will have more time to reflect. How about you?