Frank hits Iloilo the hardest

Last weekend, typhoon Frank ravages Iloilo and submerges the province, making this event the worst tragedy in Iloilo's history. I couldn't help but feel so helpless with the situation. I am here in Manila, safe while the city I grew up in is literally like an ocean.

I couldn't contact my parents last weekend because the phone lines were dead, and even if I were to call them via mobile phone, the power supply was also dead and thus, the minute they ran out of batteries, they were unreachable. Fortunately, they were safe despite the heavy rain and strong winds, and our backyard flooded up to the knees.

My prayers and thoughts go to the families and friends who have been victims of this horrible tragedy. I have yet to hear from my friends there. I really hope they are safe.

Angelicum Chapel - Iloilo's Pride when it comes to Christmas Lights

Each year, Angelicum chapel has one of the highest electricity bills when December arrives. This is mainly because of the Christmas lights that they have set up all over the Lezares Mansion inside the Angelicum campus in Iloilo City. For the residents, this has become an annual tradition, and most visitors who spend Christmas with them are given the chance to visit and marvel at this amazing showcase of lights.



Angelicum started this trend. Now, a lot of towns in Iloilo also adorn their plaza's with lights. Pototan, for example, has their town plaza filled with different lights that wrap the trees and bushes. The Central Philippine University also followed Angelicum's trend and had their campus wrapped in lights.

If you're in Iloilo during the Christmas season, don't miss the spectacular lights.

Goodbye Iloilo..

Okay, so I'm back again from my 5-day "vacation" in Iloilo. I'll miss the my family, friends, the food, the ambiance, the lazy, long days, the crazy number of taxis, the place. But before ako mag-drama parti sa akon banwa, I just want to share what Iloilo offered me during my stay there. Here are some highlights:

Iloilo Airport: WOW! It was already dark when we arrived, but I could see the wonderful arches and glass windows that make up the airport. Syempre, everything's new. And from what I heard, they constructed the airport according to international standards, despite the fact na it's for domestic flights only. It's a really really REALLY nice airport.

Trivia about the airport: Naga-bais ang Cabatuan kag Sta. Barbara kun sin-o gid bala ang home sang airport. Officially, sa Cabatuan soil sya, but ang road naga extend sa Sta. Barbara. Either way, pareho sila malayo sa syudad huhuhu.

Other Airport Facts (From WIKI): The airport is located nineteen kilometers northwest of Iloilo City on a 188-hectare site between the municipalities of Cabatuan and Santa Barbara, with the main entrance and airport access road in Santa Barbara and the rest of the airport infrastructure in Cabatuan. It is only one of two international airports in the Visayas, the other being Mactan-Cebu International Airport in Cebu City, and the first international airport built on the island of Panay.

Mama Maria's Pizza:

BIG! As in, may 32" pizza sila, and we were tempted to get that, but there were only 5 of us so we got the 20" pizza instead. Haha, good thing about it though is that it's really thin, that's why indi masyado maka-bulusog. But still, the 20" pizza already occupied half of the table. The 32" could probably occupy the entire table. Haha.


FOOD - Paprika and Blue Jay:

Food was so-so at Paprika, but the band who was playing there was really good. They're a bunch of oldies who play old rock music, but they rock. Bohemian Rhapsody! Hehehe. Astig, sadya sila mag perform. May music blending and kung anu-ano pa nga che-che bureche sa ila songs. I don't know the name of the band, though. Nugon :(



Blue Jay desserts and drinks - pambato sa Starbaks, Syattols Best, Tsiskeyk Paktory, kag kung anu-ano pa. Namit I swear! Gusto ko pa ang Raspberry Tea nila (thanks to my friend Dexter), and the cakes and ice cream... heavenly! Tani may ara man diri sa Manila, barato sya ya eh, compared sa mga above-mentioned shops. Oh well. If you happen to visit Iloilo, don't miss this shop. It's located at SmallVille, Diversion Road. :)