Sunday, October 6, 2013

Maya and Pinky, the Ambeagles, travel to Vigan.

We decided to take a trip up north for a couple of weeks to explore the Northern Philippines in the towns of Vigan, Laoag, and Pagudpud. We've been having problems with our old 1971 Mercedes since our trip to Bicol.

Pinky is overheating there too in the heat needing to get a drink of water which we actually need to put in the radiator. We loaded some extra water in some empty one liter Sprite bottles as you can see on the left hood of the car. So before this trip, old Nelly needed to have the radiator repaired and the brake master cylinder repaired since only the front brakes were working since the fluit was leaking from the master cylinder. So the car was back in the shop at our trusty mechanic, Freddy, in Manila.
He replaced the radiator and then proceeded to use household thread to wrap around the brake line connecting to the master cylinder. Good Lord, I hope this works. I've never heard of using a thread to fix a leaky master cylinder but hey, this is the Philippines.
The car was finally repaired and we packed up the kids into the car and proceeded to go up North. On the way on EDSA boulevard to the freeway entrance, Joanna and I got into an argument since she likes to critique my driving, but I loathe backseat drivers given the fact that I'm new to driving in Manila so I tend to be more cautious and slow in getting around. She told me to get gas on EDSA, but I was still seething from the argument that I told her we will just fill up when we got to Northern Luzon Expressway(NLEX). Well, guess what, we ran out of petrol right after the toll booth on NLEX. She was right, and I was apologizing profusely since she decided to pout(tampo) and sat in the car while I contemplated what to do. The car literally died at the toll booth so some booth workers got out from out of nowhere and pushed the car to the side while I contemplated on a solution. I was directed to a nearby building to talk to the supervisor who called a local version of AAA car service who bring out some petrol for me for $20. This is the third time we ran out of gas with this old car since the gas gauge is not functioning so guessing gas level is like playing the roulette anytime we take a long trip. Too  bad there were no tricycle drivers around to fetch me gas in my empty Sprite bottle kept exactly for that purpose after running out of gas in Tarlac, Urdaneta, and Bolinao. A big yellow truck finally came and gave us gas and I was so thankful they had this service even though it took an hour and I swear every vehicle coming out of the toll booth seemed to be the yellow vehicle to save the day. Filipina girls are unforgiving and pout a long time and so I just kept quite until we made the next exit just a kilometer ahead. If I had known the exit was so near, I would have taken my bike and ridden on the highway shoulder and got the gas myself. Oh well. 

We decide to go to Bolinao first to stop by and see her family and attend a food festival they were having. They have this annual tradition where the local barangays or townships in the county prepare on tables lined end to end to feed the public free for this one occasion. A lot of seafood was served since Bolinao is seafood central on the coast. 

To make it up to Joanna, I decided to paint her house which has not been painted since it was built years ago. Luckily, her aunt owned a hardware store next door and she gave us some discount on paint and brushes for $300, and I enlisted her brother Carlson to help me paint the house. Joanna helped with the trim. 
A day and a half later the house was finished. I don't like to play around, and I knew I could get this project done in two days. We decide on basic white primer and final coat just to give it a much more bright and open feel like in the Mediterranean. 
We are now off to Vigan, and hopefully no more car troubles or else there will be more pouting in the car including Maya and Pinky. 
Joanna seems to know all her favorite places to eat and we stop in La Union City for some palabok(noodle dish like Pad Thai), and all the girls are happy again. I snap a few pictures of the cafe just in case I open a cafe in the Philippines someday. The rustic decor really appeals to my aesthetics. 
It's a fairly long drive to Vigan from Manila, about 9-10 hours so good thing we stopped in Bolinao first before going up to Vigan. I do all the driving since Joanna just wants to relax and Maya can't seem to find a comfortable place to sit despite having the back seat to herself and Pinky. Pinky doesn't seem to have any problems finding a place to sit on. So she finds her perfect spot finally. 
Maya always finds her way to the front somehow sometimes irritating Joanna. I find her behavior amusing. 
I guess she found her handrest and I find my head rest. Pinky in the back just lost her seat. Joanna reluctantly takes this photo since she hates Maya always getting her way into the front seat. After five hours of driving or so, we finally roll into Vigan in the dead of night. I almost pass Vigan, but Joanna points out the historical route into the city so we make a left into the old town and things become familiar again since I was last here in 2007 but on a bus on that trip. I guess Vigan has been undergoing some major renovations and renewal because there are a lot more traditional homes converted to boutique hotels. I find Hotel Felicidad down a small street parallel to the famed cobblestone promenade, Crisologo Street and inquire if they allow dogs. I get a negative response, and we are all very tired at this point of the evening after the long drive. I go to the next hotel down the street, Hotel de Salcedo and strike gold.  The front desk agent gives us a nice cold drink and a hot oshibori towel and we check it for the evening to a basic room on the ground floor for about $75 per night. We have to switch upstairs to a bigger room tomorrow night because someone has reserved the room we are staying in this evening. I take the girls out to the famed street for a little walk since they are so excited. 

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Ambeagles travel Bicol and Naga City







We ordered coconut juice(buko juice) at this resort in Baylibad, Quezon. My, oh my.
Fresh buko juice for sure







Ambeaglestravel the Philippines with our lovely beagles, Pinky and Maya


PHILIPPINE TOUR WITH OUR CRAZY BEAGLES(AMBEAGLES)
I had the opportunity to "retire" this spring semester 2013 from my teaching duties at City College of San Francisco and College of Alameda so I decided to join my girlfriend Joanna in the Philippines for three months from March to May of this year. I had this crazy idea of traveling the Philippines for a few months with our two beagles with our car that we purchased last year, a classic 1971 Mercedes 230.6, that we purchased late 2012 in Manila along with our Xtracycle that I brought over from Berkeley, CA where I reside. The problem was that I had to bring Pinky, my American beagle, to join Maya, the Filipino beagle bought at the famed or imfamous Cartimar pet market of Manila. We sell pretty much all our belongings in Berkeley, California and give away most of the stuff on the sideway a week before our departure, March 19, 2013. Pinky goes on a crate with me on Korean Air with a stopover in Seoul and surprisingly she did well on the trip. I ended up on the wrong carousel at the airport and she was left going around on the adjacent carousel before I young boy came up to me and inquired if I was looking for my dog since he heard me mutter, "Where's my beagle?" Joanna was there to pick me up with Maya and our domestic administrator(our maid), and we all crammed in the old Merc with the bike, a keyboard that was going to be used at the loft jazz parties called Birdland Jazzista Social Club Manila, and Pinky's kennel crate used to transport. The next day the bike got assembled in Cartimar area, also knowned as a bike central along with pets, and we found a great Mercedes mechanic, Freddy, who used to work at a dealership but now runs his repair shop right on the sidewalk in front of his apartment that he rents.(The things you can get away with in the Philippines)

Pinky looking sad as we sell and give away all our belongings in Berkeley, CA.
Xtracycle getting assembled in Manila
Testdrive by bike mechanic
Tadaaa.... all done.
Mercedes getting tuneup before the big tour
The Idea
The focus of the journey is really about the two crazy beagles, hence Ambeagles. In my regional language of Pangasinan, Philippines, "ambagle" means lunatic or crazy so it's only befitting since Joanna and I are a pair of "crazies" too.  I've always wanted to do a long road trip in the Philippines since 2007 in a car. The idea was to use a car, bike, trycicles, jeepneys, buses, ferries, and small boats to get around the Philippines hitting all three major island groups. I imagined it would take about 3 months to see all the spots I wanted to see in Luzon like Baguio, my hometown in Dagupan, Baguio, Banaue rice terraces, Sagada, Vigan, Laoag, Pagudpud, Aparri, Tuguegarao, Baler in Luzon and then head south of Manila towards the Bicol region of the Philippines to Sorsogon famous for their whale watching and then ferry the car to Samar and then take another ferry with the car to Bogo, Cebu island. From there go around Cebu island for three to four days before ferrying again to Mindanao to the port of Cagayan de Oro and making our way to Camiguin island, Zamboanga, Bukidnon, General Santos, Davao, before heading north to Butuan and Surigao to make the long drive back after ferrying from Surigao to Tacloban and driving Samar again to Port Allen to ferry back to Sorsogon and drive 12 hours back to Manila.  I've now decided to do it in about a month since the first six weeks were spent doing trial trips to local spots with the car and bike to make sure the car holds up and holding five Birdland jazz parties at the loft.

Preparation






I haven't ridden a bike for a while so I figured I should ride everyday around Manila just to get in shape especially with the two beagles and Joanna on the bike while I pedal.


We took some weekly trips to Bolinao, Joanna's hometown in Pangasinan province, some day trips to Angeles City and Tagaytay and a four day trip to Naga City in Bicol province.

Bolinao, Pangasinan

This is really a four hour trip from Manila according to Joanna to took the 71 Merc last year to Bolinao driving on the NLEX(Northern Luzon Expressway) at 150 km/h. I'm not that familiar with driving in the Philippines so Joanna decides to drive. We also had an old Mitsubishi L300 cargo van follow us filled with Balikbayan boxes for the relatives but that broke down around Santa Rita on NLEX so the truck was repaired there while the contents was fetched by another driver from Bolinao once we arrived. Maya, the Filipino beagle, true to her Filipino nature, stayed awake during the morning drive, while took her siesta or nap, in the afternoon. She's not a very reliable navigator.
Maya assures me she can lead us back home to Bolinao


Sleeping on the job again


 Bolinao Sunset
Merc develops an exhaust leak. Repaired with new muffler in Alaminos City


Itinerary

Day 1, May 5th. Manila to Vigan. Overnight
Day 2, May 6th. Vigan to Laoag, Overnight
Day 3, May 7th, Laoag to Aparri, Overnight
Day 4, May 8th, Aparri to Baler, Overnight
Day 5, May 9th, Baler to Sorsogon, stop over in Amintohan or Baylibad
Day 6, May 10th, Quezon to Sorsogon, overnight
Day 7, May 11th, Sorsogon to Allen, samar. Drive to Tacloban
Day 8, May 12th, Pampalon to Bogo Cebu(2 hour ferry)
Day 9, May 13th, Cebu
Day 10, May 14th, Cebu
Day 11, May 15th, Cebu to Cagayan de Oro(ferry) stay in Camiguin
Day 12, May 16th, Camiguin
Day 13, May 17th, Drive to Zamboanga, Overnight
Day 14, May 18th, Zamboanga
Day 15, May 19th, Zamboanga to Gen Santos(Overnight)
Day 16, May 20th, Gen Santos to Davao
Day 17, May 21-24th, Davao back to Manila (4 days)

7 days extra...