Monday, August 19, 2013

The Unplanned Travel in Cavite


The thoughts and jokes of the doctors during our sojourn in Cavite are still fresh in my mind. It was an unplanned trip which started when we had our sudden visit at Dr. Rodney’s residence in Penaplata, Island Garden City of Samal, Philippines. 
The green green grass in Penaplata, Island Garden of Samal gives a sense of contentment to the people here.

Dr. Rodney, head of the Filipino Studies Program at the University of Hawaii in Hilo,  invited us to have a dinner at his home before he would go back to his new home : University of Hawaii in Hilo, United States of America.  While Cocoy was serenading the group ( We were with the cousins of Dr. Rodney) at Moonstar Mountain Resort in Penaplata, Dr. Rodney told me that his flight to Manila would be on August 14, 2013, Wednesday, 11:40 a.m. via Philippine Airlines. “Sir, August 16 is a local holiday here in Davao.”, I replied. “Oh! Why not join us in our talk at De La Salle Dasmarinas, Cavite. Then, we will go to Tagaytay and Manila.” , Dr. Rodney suggested. Oh, it sounds inviting!
Wandering at Moonstar Mountain Resort. 

“Kapatid, let us join them in Manila.”
“Huh? How about my work?”, Cocoy responded.
“ Unsay work? Holiday man sa Friday. Sige raka work. Relax-relax pud”.
“Wala koy kwrta kapatid.”
Instantly, we got tickets. Thanks to the online purchase of tickets!


Waiting for the fight bound to Manila.
While everyone was busy celebrating the Kadayawan Festival, Cocoy and I went to Manila last August 16, 2013 and we went directly to the place of Dr. Francis Dumanig at Tierra Nevada, General Trias, Cavite. Dr. Francis is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
From the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Dr. Francis rented a taxi for Php 1,200. “Sosyal talaga itong si Francis.”, Dr. Rodney commented as we entered the subdivision owned by politician Manuel Villar. “Alam niyo yung mga pinamimigay ni Willie Revillame sa kanyang programa, andito yung mga bahay. Andun o. Tingnan niyo.”, Dr. Francis said as he toured us in his place. “ Magkano ba ang bahay dito Frans? Bibili ako. Masarap ang hangin dito.” , Dr. Rodney asked.


Feel at home at Tierra Nevada, Gen. Trias, Cavite.

After having our dinner at around 10 p.m., Dr. Rodney wanted to walk around the subdivision. “I need to burn calories.” As we walked,  we ate a penoy ( duck egg which is not fully developed similar to hard-boiled egg). That was my first time to eat it. “Ayos man diay ang Cavite Sir. Lami kaayo ang hangin diri ba.”, Cocoy shared. “ Kuha diri Saj.”

The two professors shared their pieces of advice while we were having our midnight snacks in a convenience store inside the Tierra Nevada. “You are still young. Work abroad lah. Once you are there, you can travel the world. “, Dr. Rodney enlightened us. “Eat healthy foods. Do not abuse yourself.” Though we slept around 3 a.m., I and Cocoy did not regret because we got brilliant words from these two professors.
On August 17, Saturday, we went to De La Salle University Dasmarinas, Cavite and it was a blast because we had a chance to talk to the faculty of the College of Liberal Arts and Communication during our lunch and attended a seminar on Language, Culture, and Identity.


The National Book Store inside DLSU Dasma.
 “Ayos kaayo ilang school Saj. Mas ayos pa sa USEP. Naa silay National Bookstore sa sulod, museum, dako kaayo ang library, luag ang oval, daghan mini-hotels. Then ang architecture sa ilang building panahon pa ng mga Kastila. Naa pay Aklatang Emilio Aguinaldo o!  “, Cocoy realized.  “Siyempre Cavite eto kapatid. Very historical.”,I answered.

The Tourism students of DLSU Dasma toured us in the museum. “Sir eto po yung mga kababaihan noon. Sabi po nila kapag di po nakangiti, ibig sabihin noon mga birhen pa.”, a male tourist guide described the picture on the wall. “ Aba si Lola nakangiti, ibig sabihin di na siya birhen.”, Dr. Rodney commented as he laughed out loud. “Sir huwag ninyo pong tawanan yung mga larawan diyan na nakasabit.Magagalit po sila.” “Mayroon din po talagang nagpapakita dito sa museum na ito. Totoo po yun. “

“Akala ko hindi ganito ang DLSU Dasma. Mas maganda pa sa DLSU Manila, sa totoo lang.”, Dr. Francis said during our tour in the campus. Dr. Francis spent some years for his Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics in DLSU Manila. Thanks to the young and active Dean Christian C. Francisco of the College of Liberal Arts and Communication for driving us.

After listening to the talk of the professors who are connected with the different universities outside the Philippines, we stayed for a while at SM Dasma and had bibingka for our snacks. “Dili man diay ni made of rice Sir. Harina man diay. Mas lami pa ang bingka sa Comval.”, I uttered these words as I tasted the bibingka in Cavite. “Mas lami pa ang bingka sa Digos Sir.”, Cocoy continued. We then proceeded to Robinsons and we saw there the church of Cocoy. “Uy, naa man diay diri ang simbahan sa mga sosyal, Ang Victory. “ , Dr. Rodney commented. “ Mao ni ang relihiyon nina Piolo Pascual ug Sam Milby. Alive, alive jud.”

On August 18, Sunday, Dr. Francis brought us to Tagaytay and we were with Dr. Daisy Orcullo, a professor in Malaysia, her husband Billy, and her nephew Ibrahim, who are all Balik Islam or Muslim converts.  Allahu Akbar!



Ibrahim, Billy, and Dr. Daisy bought some items in Memory Lane.
Actually, this is  my second time to visit Tagaytay. I first admired the sceneries way back in November 2010 with my fellow Language teachers at USEP. This time, the admiration still remains as I visited the Memory Lane, a store owned by Filipina actress Jolina Magdangal. “Wow.Ang ganda..parang castle…Ito talag yung nakikita ko sa tv at nababasa sa magazine.”, Dr. Daisy praised the establishment of Ate Jolina.


At Jolina Magdangal's store "Memory Lane".
It sells memorabilia that Jolina bought during her travel around the world. “Mao ra ni? Wa may wi-fi diri kay Jolina. Kapobre.”, Dr. Rodney commented.
The newly constructed Skyranch for leisure .
 And it was so cold in Tagaytay because it was raining but still, we enjoyed the place as we were enchanted by the Skyranch. “It looks like Genting Highlands in Malaysia. Malamig talaga. Maganda pa ito kaysa sa Baguio.”, Dr. Daisy appreciated the place. “This is my first time here. Maganda talaga dito kami nagcelebrate ng anniversary namin.” Dr. Orcullo treated us a coffee since it was raining. We had a good dine at Max’s Restaurant and thanks to Dr. Rodney for treating us. “I just talked for 30 minutes and DLSU Dasma gave me Php 5, 000. Let us celebrate!”

The active Taal volcano.

Enjoying the fresh air in Tagaytay City.

“ Mubuto lagi ng Taal Volcano lagi diri. Sige rata katawa.”  We were so happy during our stay in Tagaytay. “Tigbason” is the big word. Dr. Rodney shared that when his brother went to Marawi City in the Philippines, he was forced to buy 12 pairs of slippers. “ Ang akong igsoon nagpili-pili ug tsinelas didto sa tindahan sa Maranao sa Marawi. Sige man ug sukud-sukud sa tsinelas ug giingnan sa Maranao, “Kung dili ka mupalit sa tsinelas, TIGBASON!” .  We all laughed. Muslims are known to be harsh but Ibrahim, whose parents are Boholono who are now Balik Islam, said, “Di naman po siguru ganun Sir.”
Dr. Francis, Dr. Daisy, and Dr. Rodney are relaxing in Tagaytay.
The foods that we had for our lunch were all halal, because if someone orders a non-halal food, tigbason!
When we were going back to Cavite, a truck with loads of pigs passed by, “Hala naay baboy!”, Dr. Rodney noticed, and Dr. Orcullo said, “Hala Tigbason!”.  And we all laughed again inside the private car rented by Dr. Francis.

Danny sent us from Cavite to Ermita, Manila. “Danny, ihatid mo kami sa Maynila kasi kung hindi, tigbason!”. Danny now knows the meaning of the Cebuano term , “tigbason”.
Cocoy, my college barkada, my travel buddy.
We stayed in a hotel in Ermita. We had a coffee session and dinner in the hotel since it was raining because of typhoon Maring. “Kuy, naa mi Ermita”, my text to a friend who is staying near UP Diliman. “Nah. Party2 diay inyo tirada diha Kuy.”, he replied. That was my first time to visit Ermita and I heard a lot of stories about this place. “Manila: Gates of Hell”. This was the comment of Dan Brown in his intriguing novel, Inferno. “Why kapatid?”, I asked my friend Cocoy. “Look at those prosti. They are few of the reasons why Manila is tagged like that. “, he pointed his mouth to the prosti inside and outside the hotel. “Sana magdamit naman ng maayos itong mga prosti nato para hindi nakakahiya.”, my remark after witnessing an Arab who ignored two prosti. “I don’t like. Sorry.”, an Arab strongly said. “Kapatid, hindi yun chicks. Bayot to.”, Cocoy discovered. “Tan-awa ang totoy. Fake mana.” While staying in the hotel, I witnessed also other international tourists like Japanese, Koreans, and Chinese along the street of Ermita. “Hadluka diri uy. Tan awa to Saj o murag kanang hudas gani kanang sindikato sa pelikula. Nakaalahas. Opaw. Naa mga bodyguard.”

If you want to have sex, just visit this place. I was just shocked because these foreigners were with prosti who were not that pretty. In my view, these foreigners were only after of sex or maybe because our perspective really varies.   Though it was raining, still the negotiation continued. Business as usual.  “Pero wa japun makapildi sa Silom sa Thailand. Grabe ang boom-boom didto.”


“Tara na! Manguli nata sa Davao!”. We arrived safely in Davao just this morning at around 10:05 amidst the typhoon Maring.









5 comments:

  1. Xandra Lean LuceƱara
    AB-Lit1Aeve

    As I red the title, i remember my friends. We used to plan always our laag-laag but we end up nothing thats why we decided not to plan anthing again if we had a trip. They say its better if improntu ang usapan. As the belief said that never plan something coz trials will stop you.

    This implies that suprised trip is much better than a planned trip. If you are already in that place you can do anything, traveling without a plan is more fun. And as I read this selection plans comes to my mind. Philippines has a lot of beautiful spots tourists spot. We must also discover it.

    I feel envy of their travel to the thought that our travel are always canceled.i hope that our next travel would be fun more than this.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Haydee E. Daigdigan
    AB Lit 1A-Eve

    From the title of the article "The Unplanned Travel in Cavite", I can say that the traveler had an unplanned trip in Cavite. I infer that the trip in Cavite by the traveler is unexpected, not in his plans at that time, he has been encouraged to go there because of something he hears by his friends or companions or just dropping by because the trip is along the way.

    After I read the article my conclusion is that the traveler had a great time in his trip in Cavite. He has enjoy in touring the museum in DLSU Dasmarinas, The Memory Lane of the famous filipina actress and singer Jolina Magdangal, The Taal Volcano, Ermita Manila and back to Davao. Especially in Tagaytay City about the word "TIGBASON" hahahaha !. An unexpected trip is much more fun because of the new experiences and the discoverings that you will enjoy.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Dayag, Shiela Mae R.
    AB Lit. 1A (evening)

    The story of "The unplanned travel in Cavite".
    As I read this article I find myself laughing, specially in the portion of "Tigbason jokes" but anyway, after I read the story I realize that life is full of adventure though the traveler they did not planned it, it just so happened when someone suggested. So we consider it as an
    opportunity, not only for self enjoyment it is also an opportunity to learn because I do believe in everything we do either it is good or bad we learn something that can help widen our understanding in life.

    ReplyDelete
  4. John A. Regodon
    BIT 1 - ELX

    From the article "The Unplanned Travel In Cavite",
    I can infer that they had fun on their journey even though the trip was unplanned. They traveled with no plans and unscheduled trips. They went to different places, seeing different people, and did different things that they did not plan to do, in short, letting the unexpected happen.

    For me, I can say that a surprise and unplanned trip is more fun than a planned one, because you're free to do whatever you like and go anywhere you want to be without worrying about any plans, schedules or any activities. Enjoy every moment, cherish every second, and living life to the fullest without any regrets.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Well-written, Sajed. ug dili tarungun ug sulat, tigBAsun!

    ReplyDelete