Caravan Pop Up | Night Market Finds

When you hear pop-up stores, they are shops that do not have a permanent location. Mostly, a small business that only exists online or simply has the business for a season, since they might have an actual day job. It’s been a common practice that most pop-up shops in the modern day are a table set-up inside a shopping centre or an event they are participating in year in and year out. But there are pop-up caravans that travel all over the region through rural areas that participate to be part of the town fiesta. Some of them don’t even carry named brands or licensed products. Like most stores in the province, they sell affordable items ranging from housewares, tools and even some random toys for kids to play with.

Kinablangan Fiesta | Subtle Cancellation

This past weekend was rough for most residents of Baganga in Davao Oriental, following the recent earthquake that shook the town of Manay (pronounced as Man-Ay) with a 7.6 magnitude. Throughout these past few days, morale has been low, and the silence screams in Kinablangan, which had been planning to celebrate 122 years of its founding with scheduled events and activities. There have been no scheduled basketball or volleyball games, and those who still have a home to go to are mostly indoors. There have been several aftershocks since Friday, and they vary, with the strongest one the same day the earthquake happened, that one during nighttime with a magnitude of 6.5, taking more than a minute.

Davao Oriental | When the Day Did Not Stand Still

The day started with slightly muggy weather, and it wasn’t the usual bright and sunny disposition while getting ready to leave to head out to the municipal town of Baganga for an early morning supply run. It’s Friday, and people are getting up to start their day before the weekend happens with the usual routine. Personally, the day seems slow, and something was a bit off as I saw the grey sky, and the sun wasn’t as bright as usual. Traveling from Kinablangan to Baganga, 40 minutes to almost an hour away, just to go on a supply run. Nothing was happening on the road while we headed to our destination. This day seemed so strange that I did not totally ignore it, but this morning does not have the usual feel to it.

Kinablangan | Let the Games Continue

Town Fiestas are a tradition in the Philippines; it is a form of social interaction with local communities dating back to pre-colonial days. Most of it is lost in big cities in Metro Manila, but in regional or rural areas, it is a yearly celebration. It's a consistent date, just confused some who had never grown up or lived in these parts. Personally, the last time I had to see a town fiesta in Pura Tarlac was back in 2017, when a former office colleague invited me to visit her hometown, taking a bus to make it there early in the morning and spending most of the day there. They had parades and all the pageantry of a town fiesta had to offer, and it was just about that.

Wild Life | The Monitor Lizard

When you live in a regional area, there is a chance you might encounter things you do not see in a densely populated location. In Australia, poisonous snakes, spiders, and other types of unexpected creepy crawlies are relatively common. Ever encounter a Black Widow? I recall that while we were working on a car that was lifted during the training course at TAFE, there was an actual widow, and our instructor immediately grabbed an insect spray to ensure it was dead and then smashed it with his shoes. This morning, before heading to a supply run in Baganga, a random thing happened. The workers reorganizing the backyard where the pile of lumber had been sitting for quite a while found something big. Locally, it is called a “Bayawak,” or a type of Monitor Lizard has been living other that pile of wood.

Kinablangan | Power Outage & Fiesta

Saturday did not start well; in fact, the power outage occurred as early as 6 AM (Philippine Time). There’s nothing good when you live in a rural area where there’s no power, regardless of whether it’s for five minutes or five hours. It shows that the power supply to the whole region of Davao Oriental is not enough to be given to every town that’s part of this region. By 9 AM (Philippine time), the only cell site owned by Globe Network had just died. There’s no power or way to communicate online for the next few hours. There was news from DORECO (Davao Oriental Electric Cooperative, Inc.) that the outage will last for twelve hours while the town has a special event.

CITIHardware | Home Improvement Run

There are well-known retail stores that cater to your home improvement needs, whether you’re looking for renovation or simply need paint for your home or even for your business. The rise of retail stores that cater to these things has been competitive, and in the Philippines, there have been diverse providers of those types of services, even with quality at a reasonable cost. CITIHardware is one of those companies that provide this type of product and services. Before we head to the province, while in Davao City, we visited one of their branches for paint supplies, as there are no major hardware stores that provide those types of needs, and the long travel to Davao Oriental is not a breeze.

Down South Travels | Late Night Flight

They say it is better to be early than late. Of course, anywhere in the world whenever you travel by plane most of the time it never was on time. It’s been four years since the last trip was even considered holiday-related. Most of it is entirely work-related and there is not enough time to do some sightseeing in the places I visited. The four-year gap resulted from the pandemic years of travel restrictions, and the last road trip I ever had was in the early months of 2020, a month before the world shut its doors and people were stuck indoors. You know, you get the gist of how things had happened, and fast forward to less than 24 hours ago I went Down South, Again.

Down South 2013: Travel to Davao City.

01.04.2013 – This was the second time to travel alone but a first in Davao City to catch up with a friend and see how thing goes. The flight was at 4AM which takes you an hour and 45 minutes to get to Davao City. The weather was just right as every start of the year rain starts to pour in this city. I took residence at Tower Inn which was located along Quirino Avenue and I’ve been in this place several times since I first went here back in 2010 and spent my New Year in the province but stayed there for a few days by January 2011 for a family reunion with relatives. There were several reviews about the hotel but I guess it’s a matter of personal experience.

The Adventure at Eden Nature Park!

01.09.2011 - A few more days of stay in Davao City feels like being here forever. Though that won't be a boredome case. A few people are not aware how the biggest city in Philippines should be given a spotlight on its own. Lately Manila is starting to be congested in my perspective. Too much attraction that traffic back home is far worse in everyone's mind who wants to get away from it. A good sunday drive to the Eden Nature Park & Resort here in Davao city should be something new to see. I've seen pictures of this place but I didn't know what it was called until I got there with my cousins and friends.

Jump after the cut...

A New Year Away From Manila.

01.01.2011 - Bright morning was quite welcoming, but the truth of the matter is that it was raining when midnight struck twelve. I went back to the house from Grandma's crib, where we celebrated the New Year. It is the first time to spend the New Year not in Metro Manila. Perhaps, these might be some of the firsts to expereince it soemwhere else. Taking care of nine-year-old Filpino-Norwegian cousin while being caught in this rain season is something else, which losing balance in the mud and gain a huge scratch on my foot. Of course, spending it in the privince where the roads are not 100% concrete with most of the rough road is insane. But that's kind of life around going back to this small town that hardly seen in the map. Jump after the cut...

Goes Down South: Market Snap Shots.

12.30.2010 - Mornings in the south is not like Manila. Pretty much it's normal sleeping hours after yesterday's adventure is quite a downtime. Basically, we headed to do some shopping at the market the following day somewhere I'm not familiar with the places. I've been to the city three times in the last 10 years, and I didn't go to be a little bit helpful carrying frozen dead meats. Jump after the cut...

Goes Down South: Up and Around the City

12.30.2010 - Now back here down south for the third time in a decade. The last trip was back in July 2002 and that was the longest I've been. First stop will be the city which I'll be around until Friday, where I leave to head down to the province. The place will be quite remote that internet speed would be compare to the dial-up connection. The whole travel thing was not an excuse for missing Singapore, and this planned way back during summer. To be honest I'm half excited at the same time wondering what's in it for me here. Headed to the airport in a rush was quite frantic. Jump after the cut...