I have an RFS

Yes. RFS. The medical world may have an explanation for that. For the past months my foot have been restless I could not stay in one place. An old adage credited to Publius Syrus says, Rolling stones gather no moss, but I am no stone and I don't like rolling around either much more having moss in my body. But I move a lot and I love it. 

For that RFS means RESTLESS FOOT SYNDROME, a term I love to use.

Here are some places I have traveled every now and then. If RFS is a malady, surely I am not leaving some moss there. Nor garbage.

Simala, Sibonga, Cebu. This place amazed me no end with all the success stories I heard from pilgrims coming from there. Also the news of corruption and inappropriate behavior of monks (they were supposed to be doing a Ms. Gay pageant inside the confines of the church) there grabbed the limelight and made the place more interesting. When I went there, I was dumbfounded. The place is grandeur personified and you won't agree to the fact that those religious men and women asking for donations could stay in a place this opulent. My blog about this place is in the draft and has not been posted here out of frustration.

Leyte province. This place is like a dream playing over and over. Actually the gateway in going to the Samar provinces coming from Cebu, that's why. My several trips to Samar always brings me to Leyte. I love the vibrant environment of the province especially Ormoc and Palo.

One of the reasons why I visit Tacloban City in Leyte province is that I have a client, an owner of an Italian restaurant from that side of the Philippines, who from time to time, would call us to do a photo-shoot of his products for a revised menu book or a new additional item in their menu. Food photography always excites me and it shows in my body nowadays.

The island municipality of Zumarraga in Western Samar. I call this place my second home. In fact, I always come and visit this place more than my hometown Batuan in Bohol. The island is far from civilization, so to speak. But lately technology has caught up everyone here. Still Zumarraga is the best place to hang out with new-found friends that have become close friends, drinking gallon after gallons of tuba, eating fresh seafood while watching the sun set.

Catbalogan City. I do not like much of the city. The place is dirty and water seems never runs out of here. I mean that water coming from the open sewer. It's a sad fact that much of the place do not have tap water but there are lots of them in the drainage. I don't know why and I don't want to know.

Silay City and suburbs. I fell in love with this city. The rustic and clean environment, the heritage houses, the excellent food choices, not mentioning Cafe 1925! I want to go back again and again here.

Oh Bacolod, I cansi clearly now! Bacolod City is a must-see, must-visit, must-eat, must-whatever! From the best desserts to best chicken barbecues. From organic food to Italian fare. Of course, the famous cansi, a beef shank cooked to perfection with the signature bone marrow melting in your soup, a good cardiac delight.

Some parts of Negros Occidental including Murcia, Kanlaon, etc. Truly a magnificent province, Negros Occidental never ceased to amaze me. The warm people, the balmy climate, the food, their arts and culture- truly amazing.

Cawayan, Masbate. This place may not be in the mainstream tourism program of the Department of Tourism. Infact, this humble municipality has a lot to do for it to be known. After my second visit this year, the local government unit (LGU) has done a lot of improvements as compared when I first visited the place. The open market is no longer as dirty as before and is now separated from the open sea. Although they really have to do a lot of good job to establish good waterworks system. 

Flushing Meadows Resort in Panglao Island, Bohol. This is my second visit actually. The concrete walls  in the sides turned me off  at my first visit. This time I stayed and learned to appreciate the place as a whole. The staff are attentive and tried hard to please everyone. A good place to stay for the whole family. More info can be accessed here.

Whale and dolphin watch in Panglao Island. No words to describe the experience.

Philippe Tarsier Botanical Garden and Recreation. You have to visit this site for you to appreciate the place as a whole. The area is huge and flora and fauna abound. Exotic animals can be found here. Not to miss here is the extensive collections of the owner now housed in a nicely done, well-planned museum. During my visit, the restaurant with a panoramic view of the sea is still constructed and will be opened July 2012. Visit their website here.

I don't know where my restless foot will bring me next.

Halo-halo at Tina's saved Catbalogan, Samar

I believe clean places in Catbalogan are hard to find. Honest. You can only name a few establishments where you are assured that the food handlers believed the adage "Cleanliness is next to Godliness."

Reason for this haphazard and frank opinion was that when I first went there sometime in 1997, the place was very dirty. Piled garbage remained ignored right at the premises of their Capitol building like they were cancers of the streets. Open sewers flooded the streets. The market place is so wet until now so that going there was like an open invitation to all sorts of sickness. People were ill-disciplined they spit and throw their wastes just about everywhere. Public toilets and restrooms were not worth a peep. 

I believe that the very basic place to see if food is safe in that place is just by looking at their toilets. Just imagine what are they doing with their food if the toilet of that certain establishment is like a garbage bin. 

Two years ago I wrote a disgusting blog about Catbalogan: If you have nothing good to say- blog it! It is really hard to make an honest opinion of a place where some of its residents have become your close friends. But still-

After 14 years of coming to that place, sometimes thrice a year, some establishments have actually improved, thanks heavens. There is now a Jollibee. There are others who have remained clean like Tony's Kitchen, Haropoi, Lugar ni Edgar and Charito's. I saw a coffee shop that looked clean somewhere in Ubanon but never had the chance to go in because the street where it is located was flooded. 

Another improvement is you can now also stay in a clean hotel like Rolet's or a pension house like Rose Scent. Six years ago I checked-in in a pension house but ran away from there because cockroaches greeted me at the door of my room.

The various tables and chairs at Tina's Garden added color to the place

But one of the most consistent place to eat is at Tina's Garden. The place does not brag about sophistication and all but remained simple and reasonably priced. It is located just around the corner from Rolet's Hotel. I wonder why the official website of Catbalogan did not even mentioned the place.

Their version of halo-halo

Tina's most favored products are the cool concoctions, one of which is very famous and the house specialty- halo-halo. Their version is very simple and does not have enough ingredients to compete with Chowking's. But it is one of the best halo-halo I have tasted. Much better than the highly priced but lackluster halo-halo of Cafe Lawis in Dauis Church in Bohol.

Even their sandwiches which I have not tasted at all were plainly wrapped in plastic for the customers to see, unlike Jollibee or Dunkin' Donuts. What I always love to eat there is their deliciously done rice puto and banana fritters and the occasional pudding.

Yummy puto

That is why even if I dislike the environment of Catbalogan as a whole, I still come back to places like Tina's. They are the reason I still believe that people from that place will replicate what these clean establishments are doing so that tourists will come back to that already isolated part of Samar.

I just hope the places I mentioned here would not succumb to the mentality of Catbalogan as a whole.

Related links:

Best halo-halo in Dumaguete? 

Meanwhile, somewhere in that small island of Zumarraga in Samar, a small store also sells halo-halo. It is not the best but still thirst-quenching in its simplicity.

Is simplicity the clue to great halo-halos?

Mana Choling's version of halo-halo

Taking pleasure of life in the islands

I have been here a hundred times. I have come to love this place for a million reasons- the ever hospitable people, their culture, the serenity, the freshness of almost everything.

This is Zumarraga in Samar.

Watching the Race

We were watching a boat race in the middle of the afternoon and I saw this child sitting on a small boat, not minding the heat. Such a glamorous pose. This was taken during the town fiesta of Zumarraga, Samar.

The Boy from Zumarraga

I took this pic on an early morning boat-ride to Catbalogan, Samar. Zumarraga is an island in Samar, an hour by pumpboat, the only means to go there,  from Catbalogan.