~manila, you're not that ugly

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:

(more…)

Inspired by the momentum of #helpDOT, decided to organize my travel pics that are scattered all over multiply and facebook. Starting with my trip to UP Los Banos, Kusina Salud, and San Pablo Lake in Laguna last July 2009:

UPLB’s Fertility tree–one of the visual highlights of the trip:

It’s massive!

And of course, the surprise was this big Manansala right in the cafeteria of IRRI–I hope the people who eat there realize they’re in dining the company of greatness.

UP Los Banos, Kusina Salud, San Pablo Lake
(Posted on July 13, 2009)

Spent yesterday morning breathing in fresh air and resting my eyes, ears and mind in UP Los Banos, an amazing campus (the biggest in the Philippines!) about an hour from Manila. Was just green green green everywhere (along with bugs bugs bugs, but that shouldn’t deter anyone)! Was gifted with the best tourguide ever, Jon, who lived in LB for two years and knew all the secret nooks and crannies that truly make a place home.

We braved the Viaje del Sol agenda (what a fanatstic tourism initiative, more on this later) and picked out Kusina Salud for lunch, and the tour of the lakes of San Pablo for dessert.

July 12, 2009, Sunday
U.P. Los Banos
Kusina Salud, garden restaurant of Patis Tesoro in Bgy. Sta. Cruz, San Pablo, Laguna
Sampaloc Lake, San Pablo City, Laguna
Pandin Lake, San Pablo, Laguna — touted as San Pablo’s best kept secret

Just found out you can embed multiply albums on any website–so cool! Just wait for the pics to load, takes a while:

You can also view the album on multiply: UP Los Banos, Kusina Salud, San Pablo Lake – July 2009