my travel photos: not your typical Luzon

Let’s #helpDOT!

I was part of the organizing team for the Island Paradise Adventure Race (IPAR) – Visayas Leg, an amazing government project to help boost local tourism in December 2005.   With one-million pesos up for grabs,  thirty backpacker teams raced across Luzon and Visayas on foot, relying on the various modes of public transport–LRT, buses, jeepneys, tricycles, RO-ROs, ferries, etc.  It was my first foray into tourism and government work, and one of the biggest gifts I took from it, aside from meeting so many adventure racers, some of whom grew to be celebrities (Everest boys and girls!), was the direct interaction it gave with the quiet beauty of the “unpopular” and often overlooked areas of the country.

Shown below are various pics around Luzon taken by my friends Hussein and Travis, who were part of the committee that previewed the sites to be included in the race.

PETROGLYPHS Cave, Angono:

The Pacheco home in Morong, Rizal:

Mang Panoy’s Woodcarving, Paete, Laguna:

Pottery-making, Capati Farm, San Jose, Batangas:

I’ve never been to Puerto Galera, and didn’t realize I had these pics for reference! I dreamt of it recently, and hahaha, my dream Galera doesn’t come close to the real deal:

Ang ganda ng Pilipinas – not your typical Luzon
(Posted on September 16, 2008)

Pictures taken by Hussein and Travis for the DOT’s Island Paradise Adventure Race (IPAR) Project in December 2005

Includes:
Angono, Rizal
Paete, Laguna
Lipa, Batangas
Calapan, Mindoro
Puerto Galera, Mindoro

You can also view the album on multiply:  Ang ganda ng Pilipinas – not your typical Luzon – December 2005
Pictures of Visayas sites which were also part of the race (Roxas, Capiz, Boracay, Iloilo, Guimaras, Bacolod, Dumaguete, Bohol, Cebu) coming next!