ARCHIEOFFDUTY: Domestic Travel

Chasing the Sun: Kiltepan Peak Sunrise in Sagada

March 14, 2016
By ARCHIE
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I can’t really remember when was the last time I woke up early in the morning to see the sunrise; to witness the fresh start of a brand new day and to have a breath of the cool morning air while sipping a cup of coffee at the balcony. Nothing extravagant actually, just a feel of how serene the surrounding is, right before the world gets too busy. It’s so odd that we are always too busy running after building a comfortable life that we often forget how to live a good life. This trip to Sagada reminded me how it is to live a good life.

Our second day started with a bumpy ride going to Kiltepan peak in the wee hours of the morning to witness the sunrise. This made me ask myself: why does tourist wake up so early to gather here just to witness something we commonly experience in our daily lives? Don’t they love the sunrise in their own provinces? After a 30minute ride uphill, we finally reached the peak. It is located on the edge of the mountain surrounded by towering pine trees wrapped in heavy fog all over.

While waiting for the sun to come out, tourists gathered around edge of the mountain all ready to take a snapshot of the sunrise to post on their facebook timeline.

Considering the heavy rain we experienced the night before and the unpredictable weather in Sagada, I thought I will not be able to capture the breaking of the sun due to the heavy fog and thick clouds covering the view, but still I continued clicking my camera.

We patiently waited for the sun to come out. As the horizons turned yellow with intermittent orange and reddish hues, I got excited. I had a sense that something spectacular was on its way. And I was right. A few more minutes of waiting, I saw a glimpse of the sun behind the sea of clouds. It was unspeakably stunning.

Then there you go...

Multiple clicks and many wows can be heard in the crowd gathered together for that one goal of witnessing and capturing the beautiful sunrise. And as I stood there, taking pictures, I savoured the moment as I breathed in deeply while my entire being was filled with so much gratitude. It’s not every day and not so many people get to enjoy this experience. I felt so lucky to have this moment to experience God's greatness in his marvellous creation. It was amazing!

For me, this is the best place I’ve been to in Sagada to date. And I know I will keep coming back for more. And what made it more special are the people I was with when I travelled here - the locals, our guides and fellow travellers I’ve meet and became good friends.

Verdict: WE ENJOYED IT (All caps)! So right even before this trip was over, we have already planned out our come back. Sagada, you will always be close to my heart. Till we meet again!

I hope you enjoyed your time here. I am making a series of post about our trip in Sagada in the coming days so watch out for it. You'll love it. Promise! Feel free to share this, drop me a comment and share your thoughts about your experiences in Sagada. If you like, please stop by my instagram @archieoffduty and find more travel ideas for your future travels. I would really appreciate it. Thanks! ;-)>

Bacolaodiat 2014

Celebrating Bacolaodiat 2016!

February 22, 2016
By ARCHIE
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The entire Chinese communities all around the world welcomed the Year of the Wooden Horse last Friday marking the first day of the first lunar month in the Chinese calendar. It was even declared by the president as a special non-working holiday in support to the Filipino-Chinese community in the country.

Here in Bacolod city, the Bacolodnons celebrated the chinese new year with its yearly Bacolaodiat festival. The name of the celebration was derived from 2 words, "Bacolod" from the name of the city and "Lao Diat" from the Fookien word for celebration according to its official website (bacolaodiat.com).

Now on its 9th year, the festival is celebrated with giant illuminated colorful giant lanterns and lighted floats of Zodiac animals scattered along Lacson Street, dragon and lion dances, fireworks display at the Capitol Lagoon, cultural dances, and Chinese food alley along North Capitol Road.

The festival opened with colorful parade participated by various Filipino-Chinese organizations in the city. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to see this event which was held on the afternoon of the eve of the chinese new year. You see, this was my first time to witness the celebration since this festival started and I wasn’t fully aware of the schedule. Well, you can’t really blame since we are not chinese. Hehehe but I was really looking forward into going and taking some photos. Thinking that the celebration is only about lantern shows, I thought it would be best to go at night when all the lanterns are lighted up, so I did arrived at late in the afternoon only to realize that the festival had already started. But my effort didn’t go in vain since shortly after the parade a chinese cultural dance program followed at the north capitol road.

The highlight of the celebration was the dazzling latern dance competition held on the 2nd day of the festival where several groups compete to win the grand prize. This year there was a total of 12 competing groups coming from different schools and barangays. The participants dressed in colorful traditional chinese costumes with flamboyant make-ups carries with them artistically handcrafted chinese lanterns of different colors and sizes taking inspiration from the lotus flower dancing to the beat of the festival chinese-pop themesong. The dances highlights the use of lighted lanterns choreographed to various formations.

And of course, any celebration wouldn’t be complete without food. This year, an array of chinese cuisine and delicacies were featured on the Chopsticks food alley at the North Capitol Road. The alley also features colorful chinese booths with chinese arts and crafts and lucky charms on display. For those who love the famous Bacolod chicken inasal, kiosks were also set up at the venue along Lacson Street where dining out with friends and family is absolutely fun at the festival. My friends and I were craving for fried noodles and siomai so we decided to go to Mai Pao to grab something to eat but due to massive influx of people there were no seats available and since we were too hungry to wait we ended up in a fast food instead.

The celebration ended with a breathtaking musical fireworks display at the grounds of Capitol lagoon that absolutely enthralled the audience that flock the area.

After the New Year’s revelry, Bacolodnons have another event to look forward to, and that is the Bacolaodiat Festival. Through the years this celebration has become a widely celebrated event due to the strong influence of chinese culture in the Filipino culture. It doesn’t only represent the going back to the chinese roots but most importantly the sharing of culture, heritage and history of our chinese countrymen.

Happy Chinese New Year to all! Wishing you prosperity and good fortune in the coming year! Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed your time here. Please feel free to share, drop a comment and share your thoughts about your experiences in your chinese new year celebration. And if you like, please stop by my instagram @archieoffduty and find more travel ideas for your future travels. I would really appreciate it. Thanks! ;-)>

Antonia Island

Enchanting Isla de Gigantes: Antonia Island

February 10, 2016
By ARCHIE
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Our next stop is Antonia Island. It’s just a small island surrounded by magnificent rock formations shaped like fingers immersed on the water. In between these rocks is a beautiful white sand beach lined by towering coconut trees and surrounded by azure waters.

While our boat is just approaching the island, we were welcomed by the crystal clear blue waters, so clear that you can visualize the fishes and the beautiful coral formation on the sea bed. My feet are already trembling in excitement and I was itching to take a jump especially that I knew that we were gonna go snorkelling! But anyhow I stopped myself due to my fear of getting drowned. Lol

This is a privately owned island but it has small gazebo, tables and chairs around the beach where tourist can have their stopover and rest for a minimal entrance fee of 20 pesos. We decided to have some refreshments while waiting for our snorkelling gears to be ready. The equipment can be rented for 100 pesos each.

Now it’s time to take the plunge!

And yes, its amazzzzing plus plus! It’s not my first time to do snorkelling but I was thrilled to see how beautiful it is underwater. The coral reefs are stunningly beautiful, of different types and colors, and none of it I’ve seen before. The fishes swim in school, of different sizes and colors and you can even interact with them. Too bad I didn’t have an underwater camera with me, I could have shared with you how magical it is down there.

This experience was superb. It was good to know from our tour guide that fishing is being prohibited around the area so as to preserve its marine community. We truly should look after and conserve this awesome gift of nature for the future generations to enjoy & experience.

I hope you enjoyed your time here. Thanks for dropping by! I made series of post regarding our trip to Isla Gigantes, you can check them out here Enroute Isla Gigantes. Please feel free to share this, drop me a comment and share your thoughts about your experiences in the island And if you like, please stop by my instagram @archieoffduty and find more travel ideas for your future travels. I would really appreciate it. Thanks! ;-)>