Category Archives: SPECIAL TOPICS

Leal Senado Building (Macau)

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From Largo de Leal Senado Square, we crossed Almeida Ribeiro Ave. to the Neo-Classical Leal Senado Building, now the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau.  Originally built in 1784 , this building was Macau’s first municipal chamber, a function it maintains to the present.  Severely damaged by a typhoon in 1874, it  underwent major renovation work in 1876. In 1887, the building’s roof was repaired and, in 1904, the building underwent extensive renovation, adapting it to more functional uses.  In 1936, it was again damaged by a typhoon and restoration work began in 1938 and was completed in 1940.

Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (Leal Senado Building)

The Leal Senado Building has retained all its original master walls and primary layout, including the courtyard garden in the back. The main facade is 14.5 m. high and 44 m. wide and is divided into 3 sections by vertical granite projections. The central section of the main façade juts out slightly from the rest of the building and is topped by a triangular pediment which, at its highest point, is 17 m. above the ground. Granite Doric columns, supporting lintels made of the same material, flank the main entrance.

Some of the Leal Senado Building’s Row of Windows

The building’s rows of windows, in simple Renaissance style with granite casings and following a repetitive rhythmic pattern, are the the main architectural element and decorative feature of the completely symmetrical facade.  In the middle section, there are 3 French windows on the first floor, opening out to balconies with iron railings.

The Leal Senado Building’s Courtyard

Inside the first floor of this U-shaped building, its arms turning away from Almeida Ribeiro Ave., are a spacious lobby used for public exhibitions, a reception area, a ceremonial meeting room that opens onto an elaborate carved library (styled after the library of Mafra Convent in Portugal) and a small chapel.

The Courtyard Fountain with 2 Heads

Walls covered with blue and white Portuguese ceramic tiles, a most distinctive feature rarely found in other buildings in Macao, flank the granite staircase, the central axis of the building. The building is painted white which enhances the dark green color of the window frames and the main entrance door.

Leal Senado Square (Macau)

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After our tour of Macau Fisherman’s Wharf, we returned to our bus which brought us to the Metro Park Hotel for lunch.  After lunch, Grace, Dad and Mom were to be brought back to the Venetian while Jandy, Cheska and I asked to be dropped off at Leal Senado Square (Largo do Leal Senado), our starting point for our own tour of Macau’s churches.

Leal Senado Square

Here, we got the best rate for exchanging Philippine pesos to Macau Patakas or MOP$, doing so on the recommendation of a Filipino kababayan doing the same thing.  Macau has a sizeable Filipino community (officially 2% of Macau’s population) working in casinos (including the Venetian), retail outlets, restaurants, transport companies and even in the airport where there is a need for amiable, hard-working and English-speaking staff.  Aside from telling me which money changer to go to, they were also helpful sources of information (we had a hard time talking to the Chinese natives in English) on where the free shuttles are parked, where to buy certain goods, directions to tourist spots, etc.

Leal Senado Square at Night

The postcard-pretty Leal Senado Square, part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Historic Center of Macau,” has been Macau’s urban center for centuries. In the past, this Portuguese-style piazza was where the governors inspected military troops and the police force when they took up their posts. The square is still the most popular venue for public events and celebrations today.

The Square is Filled with Boutiques and Restaurants

It has coffee shops (Starbucks), restaurants (including a MacDonalds), market lanes and shops (garments, lingerie, fashion ware, kids clothes, accessories, sportswear, shoes, etc.) and is always filled with people and tourists, whether day or night.

Macau Business Tourism Centre

Located close to the former Senate building (now the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau Building), the 3,700 sq. m. square is surrounded by pastel-colored, Neo-Classical buildings, creating a consistent and harmonious Mediterranean atmosphere.  They include the Macau General Post Office Building, the Church of St. Dominic and the Holy House of Mercy (Santa Casa da Misericórdia) which was being renovated during our visit. At the center of the square is a beautiful fountain.

Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro

Its pavement is a beautiful wave-patterned mosaic of colored stones created by Portuguese experts. From Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro to the Church of St. Dominic, the pavement extends to the Ruins of St. Paul’s, making the heart of the city a pedestrian paradise. Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro, built in 1918 to link Praia Grande with the Inner Harbour, passes through the old “Christian Quarter” and “Chinatown.”

The Square’s Beautiful Fountain

The Macau General Post Office Building, completed in 1929, has also been selected as a building of architectural and artistic value. It was designed by a Chinese architect, Chen Kunpei, and was built on the site of Tong Sin Tong, a Chinese charitable institution that consisted of some small low houses. The Post Office is the only grand project to have been built along the lines of Classical architecture, and it stands 3 storeys high, with a basement, constructed entirely of cement.

Macau General Post Office Building

St. Dominic Church and Treasures of Sacred Heart Museum (Macau)

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When we were in Largo do Leal Senado, my kids and I visited the Church of St. Dominic, situated right in the middle of the  square.  Built in 1587 by 3 Spanish Dominican priests, it is one of the most beautiful churches in Macau.   Originally built in wood, it was, in 1828, rebuilt in stone and was restored in 1994.

St. Dominic Church

The first Portuguese newspaper, A Abelha da China (The China Bee), was published here in 1822.   The church’s basic layout is influenced by both Portuguese and Spanish styles and its architecture is Jesuit Mannerist. The church is now part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Historic Centre of Macau.

St. Dominic Church – Interior

We also dropped by bell tower at the back which was modified into the small Treasure of Sacred Art Museum. On the right side of the church is the sacristy (dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary), the only surviving part of the old monastery/convent that was built with the church.  Here, we went up the stairs that lead to the museum located at second and third floors.

Treasure of Sacred Art Museum – Exhibit

When the Religious Orders were abolished in Portugal in 1834, the museum received many articles of sacred art that are now presently displayed. The museum, opened to visitors in 1997, occupies what is left of the ancient cloister and also the other rooms that are still connected to the church.

Treasure of Sacred Art Museum – Exhibit

There are approximately 300 pieces of excellent quality artifacts, many of which are also from Macau. that date back from the 17th to the 19th centuries.  The rich collection includes gold objects, statues, richly ornamented canonicals, religious paintings and other liturgical vessels.

Ruins of St. Paul’s (Macau)

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The last destination in our city tour is St. Paul’s (Rua de Sao Paolo), the greatest of Macau’s churches and the major landmark of Macau. Built from 1582 to 1602 by the Jesuits, this church was dedicated to St. Paul the Apostle and was the largest Catholic church in Asia at the time. A fire started in the kitchens, during a typhoon, destroyed the body of the church in 1835.

Ruins of St. Paul’s

Now in ruins, all that remained was the magnificent, intricately carved stone facade (built from 1620 to 1627 by Japanese Christian exiles and local craftsmen under the direction of Italian Jesuit Fr. Carlo Spinola), the crypts of the Jesuits who established and maintained the cathedral, and the grand, 66-step staircase.

To preserves its aesthetic integrity, the facade is now buttressed with concrete and steel and a steel stairway allows tourists to climb up to the top of the facade from the rear. From this stairs, it is customary to throw coins into the top window of the ruins for luck. Behind the façade are remains of the original pillars and a shrine.

The facade, rising in 4 colonnaded tiers, is crowned by the cross of Jerusalem, below which are 3 tiers with niches containing statues, cast from bronze at a local cannon and bell factory. It is covered with Jesuit statues with Oriental themes (such as a woman stepping on a 7-headed hydra, described by Chinese characters as “Holy Mother tramples the heads of the dragon”), carvings of the Garden of Eden, the Crucifixion, the angel, the devil, a Chinese dragon, a Portuguese sailing ship, a Japanese chrysanthemum, pious warnings inscribed in Chinese, founders of the Jesuit Order, the “Conquest of Death by Jesus” and, at the very top, a dove with wings outstretched.

Macau Tower (Macau)

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Part of our itinerary during our city was a visit to the Macau Tower, foremost among the tourist destinations in Macau.  This 338 m. (1,109-ft.) high (taller than the famous Eiffel Tower of Paris) tower, the 10th highest freestanding tower in the world and the 8th tallest in Asia, was opened on December 19, 2001. Officially designated as the Macau Tower Convention & Entertainment Centre (MTCEC), it is one of the members of the World Federation of Great Towers.  Besides being used for observation and entertainment, the tower is also used for telecommunications and broadcasting.   Constructed by the Sociedade de Turismo e Diversoes de Macau, S.A.R.L. (STDM), the tower was designed by Gordon Moller of the architectural firm of  Craig Craig Moller.

Macau Tower

Macau Tower can be entered through the underground gates or via escalators within the Convention & Entertainment Centre premises. We entered via the latter where we were taken trough a shopping area attributed with a unique marble floor depicting an interpretation of the Pearl River Delta life.

Lobby of Macau Tower

The lobby has a model of the tower made with Lego bricks (installed December 2007).  The tower comprises 4 public levels. The double-height Main Observation Level comprises 2 glass floor areas: the Outdoor Observation Deck and the revolving, 250-pax The Macau Tower Restaurant (takes 1 hour to make 1 revolution).

A Lego Model of the Macau Tower

We were only interested in the Main Observation Level at the 58th level (223 m.).  After paying the admission fee (MOP80), we got up there via one of 3  30-pax, glass-fronted, high-speed  lifts, getting to our destination in 45 seconds.

Main Observation Level

Here, we could got the best and breathtaking view, up to 55 kms. away, of the city’s skyline as well as of Canton, the Pearl River and even some Hong Kong islands on a clear day.  Sections of the Observation Lounge are fitted with glass floor, letting us see the ground beneath your feet.

City View From Macau Tower

It has, in recent years, been used for a variety of adventurous activities.  On December 17, 2006, world-renowned A.J. Hackett, the “Father of Contemporary Bungee Jumping,” broke his own 1987 Guinness World Record of “The Highest Bungee Jump from a Building” from the tower’s outer rim.  Today, visitors can emulate this vertiginous, tethered bungee jump (MOP$888), freefalling for about 4-5 seconds, at 200 kms. per hour, before the 50 m. long bungy rope is stretched and the guests rebound at approximate height of 30 m.  At height of 233 m., it is the second highest commercial skyjump in the world, after Vegas’ Stratosphere skyjump at 260 m.

Skywalk X

More novel, but no less thrilling, is the Skywalk X (MOP$588) where you can sit or stroll along the tower’s transparent, 1.8 m. wide outer rim tethered to nothing but a harness of the world’s first overhead rail system. There were some tourists trying this out during our time at the observation deck. Then, there’s the Mast Climb where one can climb up about 100 m. of the mast’s vertical ladders, completing it in about 2 hours. Finally, there’s the Skyjump. Not for the fainthearted, it requires thrill-seekers to jump off from the outer rim of the Macau Tower, traveling down at a speed of 75 kms./hr., for about 20 seconds, and will start to decelerate to a comfortable speed until you land at the base of the Macau Tower.

Macau Tower Convention and Entertainment Centre: Largo da Torre de Macau, Macau, People’s Republic of China.  Tel: +853 2893 3339. Fax: +853 2896 0103.  Website: www.macautower.com.mo. The observation deck is open Mondays to Fridays, 11 AM-8 PM, and Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, 10 AM-8 PM.

Sangyaw Festival (Tacloban City, Leyte)

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Cocowayan Festival of Basilan

I was supposed to attend both the simultaneous Pintados Kasadyaan and the Sangyaw (derived from the Waray word meaning “to herald the news”) Festivals in Tacloban City (Leyte), both held on the month of June, but missed out on the former as my son Jandy still had classes on the day of the parade (June 27).  The Sangyaw Festival’s parade, held on June 29, the day after our arrival, was still worth the visit.  This cultural festival was first created by former First Lady Imelda Marcos in 1974 but was discontinued after 1986.  After an absence of more than 2 decades, it was revived last year by Tacloban City Mayor Alfred S. Romualdez, Imelda’s nephew. 

Image of Sto. Nino de Tacloban

This year’s parade promised to be extra special as it was the 120th celebration of the Fiesta of Sto. Niño de Tacloban, the city’s patron saint, plus Tacloban also just became the first city in the Eastern Visayas Region to be classified as a highly urbanized city.  As with previous parades, our grand view deck for watching the 3-hr., 3-km. long afternoon parade was Avenida Veteranos, packed, since early morning, with thousands of onlookers lining up to watch this unprecedented display of pomp and revelry.

Pattaradday Festival of Isabela

The festival’s street dancing competition was participated in by 17 contingents from different provinces and cities from Luzon (the Pattaradday Festival of Santiago City, Isabela; the Magayon Festival of Legazpi City, Albay; etc.), the Visayas (Sinulog Festival of Cebu City; the Dinagyang Festival of Iloilo City, the Masskara Festival of Bacolod City, Negros Occidental; Kawayan-Banigan Festival of Basey, Samar; etc.) and Mindanao (Bonok Bonok Marajaw Karajaw Festival of Surigao City, the Cocowayan Festival of Isabela de Basilan City, etc.).  Tacloban City’s Tribu Kabatuk, last year’s grand prize winner, was on hand to defend their title.  Cash prizes, for the Open or Free Interpretation Category, plus trophies were up for grabs. 

Kawayan-Banigan Festival of Basey

Like with previous cultural competitions, these street dances depicted Filipino culture and tradition.  Each contingent performed, for 3 mins., in designated streets (Imelda St., Rizal St. and Justice Romualdez St.) before performing, for 5 mins., at the Balyu-an Amphitheater. The dance drama presentation showcased the ingenuity, talent and creativity of the over 1,000 participants as well as the cities, schools and institutions they represented. Makati City was ably represented by its Drum, Lyre and Bugle Corp contingent, dressed in their gay blue and white parade attire. 

The Bonok-Bonok Maradjaw-Karadjaw Festival

The Bonok-Bonok Maradjaw Karadjaw Festival, represented by Surigao City’s West Central Elementary School, grabbed all four minor prizes (PhP50,000 each) in the open category (best in costume, best in musicality, best in street dancing and best in choreography) plus  the PhP500,000 grand cash prize. Second place (Php300,000) went to the Kawayan-Banigan Festival and third place (PhP200,000) went to the Pataraday Festival.  

Alibangbang Festival of Dolina

In the community and school-based category (with 10 participating contingents), best in costume (PhP10,000) went to the Alibangbang Festival of Dolina and best in musicality, street dancing and choreography (PhP10,000 each) to the Eastern Visayas State University (ESU).  The eventual grand champion (winning PhP300,000) was EVSU.  Second place (PhP150,000) went to Holy Infant College and third place (PhP100,000) to Sagkahan.  

Makati Drum, Lyre and Bugle Corp

Come nighttime, these same people who lined the streets for the parade also filled up Balyuan Barbecue Park and Amphitheater and the Tacloban City Convention Center, venues of concerts and other entertainment for the weeklong socio-cultural festivities.  Business was brisk and hotels and inns were fully booked with tourists, both local and international, truly an indicator of the festival’s success and its worthiness of being returned to the tourist map.

City Tourism Operations Office: City Hall, Kanhuraw Hill, Tacloban City, Leyte.  Tel: (053) 325-8955, (053) 325-2491, (053) 523-9671 & (053) 325-6248.

Singapore Flyer (Singapore)

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After breakfast at the hotel, we all left, on board 2 taxis, for the Singapore Flyer, a giant observation (management refuses to use the word “Ferris”) wheel at the Marina Promenade, located at the southeastern tip of  Marina Center, near the shore of Marina Bay. We wanted to get a breathtaking and panoramic view of Singapore’s magnificent city skyline and what better place to do that than being 42 stories up in a 165 m. (541 ft.) high observation wheel.

Singapore Flyer

The tallest in the world, it is 5 m. (16 ft.) higher than the Star of Nanchang (People’s Republic of China) and 30 m., (98 ft.) higher than the London Eye (United Kingdom).   Designed by Arup and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the actual wheel has a diameter of 150 m. (492 ft.).  It was constructed from 2005–2008 and its final capsule was installed on October 2, 2007.

View of the Observation Wheel From the Terminal Building

The wheel started rotating on February 11, 2008 and it was officially opened to the public on March 1, 2008. Its grand opening was held on April 15, 2008. Initially, the wheel rotated in a counter-clockwise direction until, on the advice of Feng shui masters, its direction was changed on August 4, 2008.

The Rainforest at the Atrium

It was almost noon when we all arrived at the 3-storey, 16,000 sq. m.(172,000 sq. ft.) terminal building on which the wheel sits.   The terminal houses shops, bars and restaurants, an adjacent open-air Greek-inspired theater along the waterfront, a jetty, roof gardens and a recreated rainforest (Rainforest Discovery) with waterfall in the terminal’s atrium.

The Airconditioned Exo-Capsules

After paying the S$29.50 admission fee, we entered one of the 28 airconditioned, 28-pax, 26 sq. m. (280 sq. ft.) exo-capsules which, like those of the London Eye, are attached outward of the wheel structure, offering a continuously unobstructed view when the capsule is at the peak, unlike the more common endo-capsule.

Flyer Theater

A complete clockwise (when viewed from Marina Center) rotation of the wheel takes approximately 37 minutes. During all that time, we had a breathtaking, vibration-free view of Singapore’s iconic and historical landmarks, views from the Marina Bay to the Singapore River, City Hall, Raffles Place, Merlion Park, the Supreme Court Building, Empress Place and the Padang.

Singapore's Magnificent Skyline

We also had great 360 degree views of the Marina Bay Golf Course, Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort (under construction) and the Float at Marina Bay; the Esplanade (Singapore’s performing arts venue), the 280 m. high UOB Plaza One Building (1 of Singapore’s 3 highest buildings) and the Flyer Theater below.  Beyond, about 45 kms. (28 miles) out, are the Indonesian islands of Batam and Bintan, as well as Johor (Malaysia).

The Esplanade

The Flyer also afforded a great view of the Marina Bay Street Circuit of the Singapore Grand Prix (the first Formula One races were held last September 2008) as it is located beside the straight, between turns 21 and 22, and near the pit area.

Singapore Flyer: 30 Raffles Ave., Singapore 039803.  Tel: (+65) 6333 3311 and (+65) 6734 8829 (Corporate Office).  Fax: (+65) 6339 9167.  Website: www.singaporeflyer.com.  Open daily, 8:30 AM-10:30 PM. Visitors can take a free shuttle bus from City Hall MRT Station, which operates every half-hour to and from the Singapore Flyer.

An Audience with Sen. Edgardo J. Angara (San Luis, Aurora)

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Once settled in at Carlito’s Inn, I got a call in the evening from Sen. Edgardo J. Angara’s secretary approving my request, made at the Provincial Tourism Office booth at Ermita Hill, for us to visit his resthouse at Dicasalarin Cove in nearby San Luis town.  Come morning and after breakfast at the inn, we proceeded to the Fish Port at Brgy. Cemento, our pickup point, and parked the Toyota Revo there.  From hereon, it was all sea travel as the road to the cove, previously attempted by us the previous day, was still unpassable.  Normally, scheduled boats (available up to 2 PM only) transport visitors to Dicasalarin Cove from Sabang in about 45 mins. and we were expecting to be picked up by an outrigger boat.  You can only imagine our surprise when the senator’s speedboat was, instead, waiting for us at the pier.  Thus, we got there in style and in less than half the time, all of us thoroughly enjoying this welcome and unexpected treat.

Traveling in style and speed

Upon nearing the cove, the boat slowly inched its way to a delta where a river met the sea.  The cove lies where the foothills of the Sierra Madre Mountains meet the Pacific Ocean.  Upon alighting, it was just a short hike from the secluded white sand beach to the resthouse’s simple log gateway.  Picnic huts and wooden tables, ideal for al fresco dining and all shaded from the hot sun by trees, plus interconnected log cottages, all covered with thatched roofing, are found all over the compound. We were billeted in one of the cottages where we freshened up for our meeting with the senator.

The Ifugao Village

Our gracious host, fresh from his working tour around his property, soon arrived and joined us all at an open-air cabana where a delicious seafood lunch was prepared.  The senator, who also happened to be U.P. president during my college days in the late 1970’s and early 1980s, narrated his plans for the place, providing a land route by clearing and paving the road we previously attempted, creating an Artists Village and also building a lighthouse atop the hill.

With Sen. Edgardo Angara

Clark’s Hot Air Balloon Festival (Pampanga)

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Hot air balloons being inflated …..

Normally, Valentine’s Day is a day reserved just for lovers.  At the Clark Special Economic Zone (CSEZ) in Pampanga, it is also this, plus more, as the Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta (PIHABF), the most colorful event of the year (held last February 12 to 15), also fell on the day of the hearts. Dubbed as the “Weekend of Everything that Flies,” it is the Philippines largest aviation sports event. Until lately, this was also included in my “Must Attend” list of festivals or events.  I was again about to miss out on this until an invitation to cover the event, from Ms. Grace Aquino, Marketing Communication Manager of the Fuego Hotel-managed Hotel Vida, came along, an offer too good to refuse.  

Hotel Vida Clark
I brought along my son Jandy and left on the morning of the day of hearts itself, arriving at the hotel by 11 AM.  On hand to welcome us was Grace and Korean hotel owner Mr. Daesik Han.  The hotel was then fully booked, not just by Valentine couples, but also by about 35 balloonists from all over the world.  They seem to be everywhere around the hotel; waiting at the lobby, cruising the hallway, dining at Salt Coffee Shop, lounging by the swimming pool and, later at night, reminiscing about the day’s events at the hotel’s new Malt Bar.  

Choreographed kite flying

We were again assigned a lavish Junior Suite and, after a short rest, we decided to check out the event’s afternoon activities.  To enter, Grace supplied us with two PhP100 one-day passes. Now in its 14th year, the Hot Air Fiesta was first held in 1994 when then DOT Secretary Mina Gabor commissioned Korean businessman and hot air balloonist, Mr. Sung Kee Paik, and Mr. John Emery, British Airways General Manager, to initiate a major balloon event in the county in the hope of uplifting the spirits of the Kapampangan people, following the devastating eruption of Mt. Pinatubo three years ago. Since then, it has been officially recorded as one of the scheduled ballooning events in the world, competing in media exposure and attention with the World Hot Air Balloon Championship (Japan) and Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta (New Mexico, U.S.A.).

A paraglider in flight

Held at the 33,000-hectare Clark Civil Aviation Complex, this four-day ballooning and aero- sporting event, hosted by Clark Development Corp. (CDC), the Clark International Airport Corp., the Philippine Air Force, the Hot-Air Balloon Club of the Philippines and a host of private sponsors (including United Parcel Services, Cirrus and ABS-CBN, among others) drew more than 100,000 spectators, lining it up to be the greatest ever. More than 25 large multi-colored, hot-air balloons (topping the 19 balloons flown from 13 countries in 2008), manned by teams from Hungary, Germany, Switzerland, France, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, New Zealand, Thailand, the Netherlands and Malaysia, colored the skies including at least seven especially shaped balloons (one had the likeness of the cartoon character Tigger).  Caltex, Yellow Cab and Kellogg’s also sponsored balloons.

Aermacchi S-211 Jet Trainer

Around the large hangar, we had a field day taking shots of the balloon inflation in the afternoon session (up to the Night Glow) and, the next day, at 6:30 in the morning where they actually lifted off. Balloon inflation is very much dependent on wind conditions with calm winds of less than 10 mph and the clouds at least 2,000 feet above the ground guaranteeing great flights.  Apart from the hot-air balloon competition, the event also featured diverse flying activities such as ultra-light aircraft formation flying, Thai, Malaysian and Filipino paragliding exhibition, AFP flag jump; and a hair-raising, dangerous and thoroughly exciting and world-class stunt flying demonstration performed by the team of Captain Meynard Halili (owner of a stunt pilot school) and Bill Wright.

F-5 Freedom Fighter

There were also light plane rally and balloon bursting competition; PHILSCA and Ateneo de Manila model rocketry demonstration; search and rescue flying exhibitions; helicopter exhibitions and fly-by; choreographed kite-flying exhibition (courtesy of the Kite Association of the Philippines); skydiving exhibition (AFP, PNP, Thai and Philippine Team); remote control aircraft and kite flying demo; flour bomb drop (Angeles City Flying Club and Land Rover); PAF mass parachute jump (from a C-130 aircraft); and swarm flights of elite aircraft such as Citation Mustang, a single-pilot operated light jet (built by Cessna Aircraft Co.) and Cirrus SR22, a single-engine, four-seat aircraft designed with a fixed landing gear. 

Balloons in flight

In addition, small private planes from Japan, Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia all flew in, participating in an air rally which has become a regular component of the festivities. In short, just about everything that flies in the skies in and about Clark Freeport. On-site ground activities included a mini-trade fair, food plaza, daily live concerts (including a Rivermaya concert which we watched), wall-climbing and other special events. Philippines Army personnel also allowed visitors to hold and pose with automatic weapons (without ammo of course).

The Philippine Air Force supplied an Italian-made Aermacchi S-211 jet trainer and a mothballed Northrop F-5A Freedom Fighter, allowing spectators to pose inside the cockpits complete with flight helmets. As the waiting line was long, Jandy and I satisfied ourselves by just sitting on the F-5 airframe with two PAF personnel. Also on display was a Robinson, the world’s smallest helicopter.  Other spectaculars prepared for tourists included a photo exhibit, giant lanterns from Pampanga, Higantes from Angono, mini-trade fair, car show and exhibits, and fireworks display. Visitors were also allowed to fly their personal kites on the grounds. The food plaza area served good home-cooked Filipino culinary delights as well as McDonalds and Jollibee fare.  

Simon Viewpoint Inn and Restaurant (Banaue, Ifugao)

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We reached our destination and home for the night, Simon Viewpoint Inn and Restaurant, by 3 PM. At its concrete, railing-less view deck was the breathtaking amphitheater vista of the Batad Rice Terraces.  Our AACC photographer friends soon set up their tripods and their cameras started clicking away.

Simon Viewpoint Inn and Restaurant

The inn also had a pair of seemingly authentic rectangular and nailless one-room bale huts at the back which I enjoyed exploring. Used for cooking and sleeping, the huts are built on four sturdy amugawan tree trunk posts, 2-3 m. from the ground, to keep the vermin out.  My access to the hut was through a steep, removable bamboo or wooden ladder.  The hut also has outward slanting waist or chest-high walls, two doors, a wooden plank floor and no windows.  The steep, pyramidal, reed and grass-thatched roof conceals the walls.

A pair of Ifugao huts at the back of the inn

After a late lunch and a short power nap to recharge, I joined the others as they left to explore the Batad Rice Terraces up to the Central Viewpoint.  However, to get there, I had to conquer my acrophobia (fear of heights) as I had to traverse a lot of very narrow and high pilapil (terrace walls) along the terrace’s edges to get there.  Once back in Simon’s Inn, we again rested our tired bodies, some having their aching muscles and joints massaged by a local masseuse.  That night, it was all camaraderie, good food (pizza, pita bread, highland rice, veggies, fries, etc.), wine (native rice wine called tappuy) and song (provided by the guitar-playing and crooning Jules).  Lights out at the inn was 10 PM and gladly so as we were all dead tired.  Sleep came easy to the weary.

Food at Simon’s Inn