Siquijor: Sandugan in monochrome

A lone mangrove

Isla de Fuego or the Island of Fire as early Spaniards called this small island in Central Visayas when they saw a warm glow of light caused by fireflies when seen from afar. Nowadays, just the mention of Siquijor, people are quick to associate the place with mysticism, magic, witchcraft and sorcery. For a traveler like me whose more interested by stories of such phenomenon than to be shunned away by it , I guess it’s just a matter of time ’til I come to visit the place. And for the first time in this blog, my initial set for Siquijor will be in black and white. I thought that the monochrome treatment captured the mood of what I want to convey a certain mood somehow which is very “Siquijor” to me.

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Dumaguete City Strolling

Dumaguete Church Plaza Garden

The coastal city of Dumaguete in Negros Oriental is also considered the land of the gentle people. At some sense I had to agree with that since I found Dumaguete upon first impression very peaceful. You don’t have that sense of danger or urgency. It’s almost like any rural city but this one dominated by the large Silliman University and a lot cleaner in my opinion. And it was a surprise to see a lot of foreign backpackers and nationals are here. Just says something about the place.

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Bohol: Loboc! Loboc!

Loboc Church facade

One of the more popular destination in Bohol is the municipality of Loboc. More famous for its musically talented and award winning Loboc Children’s Choir, the place also holds the 2nd oldest church in Bohol, a scenic cruise along its river and another world famous primate, the Tarsiers. Here recounts our brief exploration of Loboc, the oldest town in Bohol.

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Isabela de Basilan, the rising city

Sumagdang Beach
Guns and the beach at Sumagdang Beach Resort

Isabela City, the main capital of Basilan region, is a city on a rise, thriving amidst the adversities. Now we look at the place as a war torn region filled with strife. True there’s disorder here, but isn’t it the same with any other place? Basilan somehow got the pounded with so much media hype it’s reputation got hammered down. Sad truth. But given the chance even a glance the people of Basilan welcomes visitors and are happy if you were brave enough to go there despite its reputation. So in my 401th (or is it ‘st?’) post (wow, didn’t notice that I already got past 400 until I saw my log), let’s take a look at some of the scenes in and around Isabela City.

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Cambodia: Arrival in Siem Reap

Siem Reap International Airport facade

Our flight going to Siem Reap was around 10am that morning. What I really don’t like about the KL airport is that we have to drive around at least an hour just to get there from the city. We took an AeroBus service which is a Ringgit cheaper than AirAsia’s SkyBus. Fare is 8RM one way and 14RM round trip from KL Sentral. Some people go to Siem Reap via a 6 hours bus from Thailand crossing the border but I don’t want to waste that much time and I’ve heard a lot of Bus Scams there where the bus intentionally tire out their passengers and check them in on an affiliated (commissioned) hotel. So the 6 hours travel extends longer. However, the flight from KLIA to Siem Reap International Airport took only about 2 hours. And boy what greeted us on our arrival is one good looking airport.

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