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The Grays and Golds of the Taal Volcano Eruption

The grays of ashes brought us down but the golds in our hearts will lift us again. For me, this is one of the clearest message this natural phenomenon has delivered to the Filipinos. About two weeks before the surprising January 12 Taal Volcano eruption in Batangas, Philippines, my wife and I were driving our motorcycle along Tagaytay-Nasugbu road, then the Diokno Highway traversing the towns of Laurel, Agoncillo and Laurel, the Palico-Balayan-Batangas road passing by the towns of Taal and Santa Teresita, and the National Highway connecting Alitagtag, Cuenca and Lipa City. All of these areas were devastated by the unprecedented explosion of ashes from the popular Taal volcano-island. The eruption just happens, without any sign or warning from the volcano itself that it would be that catastrophic. Taal Volcano eruption in the afternoon of January 12, 2020. (Credit to owner of the photo - a college classmate) The Instagram-mable Eruption of Taal Volcano Calamity strikes

The Filipino Ways: Our Beliefs and Divisiveness (Part 2)

In a certain point of view, Filipinos beliefs and the differences between them, is what divides us as a society. For sale Sto. Nino and other statue of saints and Jesus Christ are shown in this photo. It is a religious tradition, a belief system engrave in the Filipino Catholic's minds. In the Philippines, you would be surprised if beliefs varies from towns to towns, cities to cities. While we speak a common language, the Pilipino or natively known as Tagalog, we still think in different dialects - about 180 of them. When one speaks in his tongue, it could mean different on the other tongue. Putting it another way, our wide mixes of dialects and languages is putting a barrier to our unity. The same goes true with ethnicity. Our manners and actions somehow differs from one another. With about 175 ethnic groups now blending together in major cities, there occurs misunderstandings. The ways of one could mean an insult to the other. To the curious eyes, those truths are easil

The Filipino Ways: Stories of Our Lutong Bahay Foods (Part 1)

Hello! Welcome to the Philippines, the land of tasty menus, amazing recipes, and delicious meals. This is my country, the country of the Filipinos, and if its about food, it is something that we are so proud of. In this post, I would share some stories, some origins, and some wonderful experiences of the foods I tasted here in the Philippines. Perhaps, many of you could have already tasted a lot of these foods and that's great. But let me try to discuss what's in these menus; what is it that makes Filipinos love to eat them at home, inside restaurants, at the park, in our office pantry, in our school canteens, and even inside our cars during road trips. Some of the trivia, you may not believe they're true. Let's get started. Lydia's Lechon Ms. Lydia de Roca and her husband Mr. Benigno de Roca started it all in the late 80's. With lechon or roast pig as the prime menu, Lydia expanded her restaurant and now includes "lutong bahay" or ho

A Time to Unwind for Filipinos Like Us at Charito Bag of Beans, Tagaytay - Part 2

Like you, yes YOU, searching via Google or TripAdvisor is always part of the game plan of going to places you admire the most. Indeed, people nowadays use the power of Online Search as well as Social Media in getting to know better the whereabouts, features, food, people and overall ambiance of a place - be it a resort, theme park, hotel, restaurant, foreign land, etc. And my wife Juliet of course did the most intensive search for the best restaurant-to-be in Tagaytay these days. And guess what she’s found? Welcome to Charito Bag of Beans Tagaytay! Sumptuous breakfast, lunch or dinner, Charito Bag of Beans is the place to be. Well, it is not about being rich or poor. Everybody can be in a place where someone has been - don’t ever forget that statement. Cozy and pricey, it will not matter at all if you plan it ahead, save the right amount needed, and when the time comes, just treat everything as a reward to yourself. At Charito Bag of Beans, the birthday girl and I cel