Pearl Farm's huts on stilts in Davao

A favorite tourist spot

The picturesque resort of Pearl Farm is one of the most visited tourist spots in Davao. You can say the resort is "touristy," but even a jaded traveler will be impressed with what the resort offers.

There is a small port leading directly to a nice cabana jutting out of the sea and in infinity pool with a view.

There is also a stretch of white sand beach for sunbathing, kayaking, and snorkeling.

Adrenaline junkies are not left out.

There is a separate beach area that can accommodate your cravings for beach volleyball, water cycling, windsurfing, and many other water sports. Throw in a training pool for scuba diving for good measure.

Huts on stilts in Pearl Farm

But what I fondly remember are the huts/cottages on the side of a mountain standing on dainty stilts touching the water.

A small veranda offers a nice vista of the ocean. The view below the hut is equally amazing. Blue crystal clear water, fish darting from all directions, corals, the odd sea slug.

I was fighting off the temptation to dive from my veranda to the blue water below.

One can stay in the hut for a whole day and not miss a thing.

It is easy to picture yourself sitting on the veranda, sipping an ice-cold Pepsi, a book in hand, as a calm sea breeze gently whispers.

Getting there

The best way to get to Pearl Farm is still via airplane. After landing in Davao City's airport, one can just wait for a rented van to take you to the pier going to Pearl Farm. It is highly recommended that you make reservations prior to going to Pearl Farm to make your trip even smoother.

The sandbar of Bantayan Island

A short ferry ride from Cebu City took us to Bantayan Island.

I have heard and read so much about the place, and seeing it for the first time, it was breath-taking.

The beach with white sand remains unspoiled. Coconut trees dot the island. There were no luxurious hotels, or impressive infrastructures, but all the roads are paved and smooth.

At the center of the island is a quaint little town where we made our lodgings.
We stayed in a resort fronting the beach in simple cottages.

After doing away with our daily chores (a bit of work), we walked along the beach to enjoy the fresh sea breeze. We watched the tide turn, and as it turned, we saw a sandbar emerged that is quite far from shore.

The sandbar with white, light brown sand glistened under the sun and looked like it is floating above the azure water.We gave in to the urge and don our board shorts and ran to the sandbars to while away the afternoon.

A lone fishing boat passed us by as we lay on the sandbar.

The sandbar seemed to be a magical divide separating the beach from the open sea.

A few hours passed and the changing tide meant we had to say goodbye to the sandbar, albeit temporarily, knowing it will be there waiting for us the next day.

My 5 favorite things to do in Boracay

A festive atmosphere

A festive atmosphere greeted us after we disembarked from a motorized boat to the shores of Boracay in Aklan after a short flight from Manila. 

I was with a small group of journalists visiting Boracay on a press junket. It was my first time to set foot on the famed island, and Boracay looked every bit the postcard photo I often see on travel magazines and websites.

Thing to do in Boracay

I was with some friends and the day we got there, the place was teeming with people, which is not at all unusual. Boracay is after all often touted as one of the best party islands you will ever see.

Here are my five favorite things to do in Boracay:

1.) Enjoy the beach. Some might say that Boracay is no longer as pristine as it used to be, but go to the beach very early in the morning and you can still enjoy the soft, powdery sand

Some compare it to Ibiza, or the beaches of Rio de Janeiro, or the Maldives, or the Seychelles. Some even say Boracay is all these wonderful islands put together.

2.) Do water sports. You will have numerous options, if you so choose to do water sports in Boracay. Personally, I enjoyed just riding the colorful paraw which is a non-motorized banca that cruises to decent speed despite being powered by just the wind. 

If you are the adrenaline junkie type, Boracay has it from jet skis to kite boarding.  

3.) Take a short stroll in the morning or early evening. It was nice strolling along the narrow path fronting the beach lined with numerous bars and restaurants. You just have to be patient, as these paths are often filled with people, particularly during lunchtime and dinner time. 

At night, it is nice looking at sand carvings lighted by candles at night. 

4.) Do a pub crawl with friends. This is a no-brainer. I immensely enjoyed doing the customary bar-hopping and trying out the immensely popular shooter challenge in one of the bars.

It was nice remembering who among friends remained standing after the shooter challenge, and it was nice remembering who got hammered and who got heckled endlessly.

5.) Relax and watch the day go by. I remember the we spent the last day chilling out at Puka Beach (back then, the beach was not as popular as it is today), soaking and relaxing on that nice isolated spot in the island, where we have the beach all to ourselves, with a nice non-alcoholic drink (buko juice) to sooth away the hangover.

Bonus activity: People-watching

It was nice to do a bit of people-watching, or more like ogling, as celebrities, travelers and tourists, passed by doing their own bar-hopping thing. But most of all, it was nice bonding with friends.

Postcripts: Batanes flights

Good news for those who have yet to visit enchanting Batanes. Southeast Asian Airlines (SEAIR), the Philippine’s premiere leisure airline, has announced it just increased flights to Batanes.

Batanes is one of the top tourist destinations in the country. Due to its proximity to Taiwan, it experiences four seasons: summer, fall, winter and spring.

It is rich in natural landscapes and seascapes with green pastures overlooking the sea, windmills on sprawling countryside, and lighthouses guarding immaculate shorelines. This northernmost island treasure is most often likened to European countries like Ireland and Scotland.

So pack your bags, get a SEAIR ticket and visit Batanes.

A stroll in downtown Burlington

My first trip to the United States was about five years ago.

I was excited about the trip not just because it was my first time to cover an event outside Asia, but also because I have planned a nice little side-trip to visit a cousin and stay in his house for a few days.

I decided to extend my stay in the US, after completing my coverage assignment in Seattle, Washington. I also had a nice, but rather brief time in downtown Seattle, but that would be another story.

I was going to visit my cousin and his family who lived in Burlington, Vermont, a good 8 to 9 hours away from Seattle.

At the first chance, I took the first flight out of Seattle.

My dear cousin, who graciously shouldered my ticket and co-planned my itinerary, would be meeting me at the airport.

It was always part of my plan to do a bit of checking on the place I would be going to. I was able to do a quick check on Seattle, but I never really had the chance to check Burlington.

I really did not know what to expect about Burlington, considering that the city is not as high-profile as, say, Las Vegas or New York.


The airport in Burlington is not as sprawling or as expansive as JFK or LAX, but there is a 'homey,' uncrowded vibe about the place.

My cousin's house was just a few minutes away from the airport and we were soon driving along a wide highway to a tree-lined neighborhood going to his house.

My cousin and his family were gracious enough to take me in downtown Burlington one sunny day.

Burlington is mostly sub-urban with nice, clean roads, tree-lined city streets, a picturesque neighborhood of houses, a small downtown area, and a sea port.

We passed by university buildings with interesting architectural styles blending seamlessly with the surrounding trees, which have begun shedding their leaves as autumn was coming.

We visited a nice plaza in front of a church with a simple steeple. We took a stroll along some the cobblestone alleys and streets, passing by stores and shops.
We stayed for a while in the small port in a nice harbor viewing the surrounding 'islands.'

And to top it all off, we had a nice quiet time at Ben & Jerry's, the iconic ice cream house. My then four-year old nephew was gleaming with delight as we entered Ben & Jerry's.

I felt like a four-year old too, as I excitedly waited for my 'chunkey monkey' to arrive.

During the night, me and my cousin had a nice barbecue, and a few beers to cap off that interesting and memorable day.

The pizzeria at the street corner

It was the middle of the day but the barometer atop the city street flickered between 10 degrees Celsius to a relatively warm 20 degrees.

All around, trees have just begun shedding their autumn leaves, giving a brown tinge to black paved roads. The leaves rustled under the feet of a throng of commuters.

I was in Milan, Italy on assignment. It was lunchtime and the group I was with briskly walked looking for a place to eat. We were not looking for anything fancy, and what we had in mind was a place where we can taste the local flavors.

We finally found one. At first glance, the place is nothing special. There were no fancy signs, and the entrance is a gate made with wrought iron. The two-storey house typifies a ‘townhouse.’

We smiled and said the customary ‘bon journo’ to a young lady who appeared to be one of the waitresses.
This was a pizzeria which was already buzzing with activities as throngs of people go in and out.

We took our place and ordered the house specialty. Pizza, of course.
The pizzas were home-made, with very thin crust, and even thinner toppings. The appearance of the pizza was far simpler than the usual pizza I often see.

The waiter slash chef was quick on his feet delivering the pizzas, which were often stacked high up. I immediately noticed that a single customer often orders one or two of the very thin, but very wide pizza, often gulping down and finishing one in just a few mouthfuls.

‘Do as the Romans do,’ they say, and we ordered our pizza.

But we gave in to the Filipino way, and we had not so few curious glances as we began sharing the pizzas.

The pies tasted great. I gave in to temptation and ordered a mug of a nice dark brew to wash down the pizza. I was actually mimicking a customer I saw.

It was quite a gustatory experience. Home-made pizza and a home-made brew.
I would have wanted to stay longer, but after finishing the pizzas and my Italian brew, we said ‘grazie’ to the young lady and left satisfied.

Tattooed images of India

Coming from Manila, the first layover was in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.

For a few hours, we waited at the elegant business lounge of the KL International Airport before boarding the flight to Chennai Madras, the next point to our final destination in Bangalore, India.

The airport at Chennai Madras was a bit disorganized, disheveled even, and airport security was lax. The queue to the x-ray machine was so unsystematic, that some passengers were able to skip the x-ray altogether and simply proceeded to the boarding gates. Some massive bags and luggage are moved haphazardly after being tugged away from the conveyor belt.

I even spotted a huge trolley bag reeking with some fluid on its side, probably liquor. Adding to the chaos is the incessant chatter of security officers and airport personnel, passengers, and porters.

I was not squeamish at all, but I distinctly remember comparing the airport to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and the KL International Airport and making mental notes.

We spent a night in simple hotel Chennai Madras, before taking a short flight to Bangalore early the next morning.

Me and some colleagues were there on assignment.

We were visiting Bangalore, touted as the next Silicon Valley of Asia. If it was not for the lack of time and resources, I would have wanted to visit the Taj Majal.

The roads in Bangalore are not very different from any other found in developing countries. The most glaring differences you will see are the cows freely roaming the streets and main thoroughfares and the tuk tuk or rickshaws buzzing around urban centers like noisy gnats.The massive billboards of India’s famed Bollywood movies dot every major road.

The number of people on the streets, commercial and tourist spots and downtown areas is also an intriguing sight. For me, the sight was a small reminder of India’s more than 900 million people.The population of the Philippines and other Asian countries stand puny next to India.

It is not very often that one can taste real Indian food, get a henna tattoo done by a real Indian artist, and watch a real, live Indian folk dance.

I got myself a henna tattoo of a cobra which the nice Indian lady doing the tattoo said was nice design. It was a symbol of strength, she said.

Overall, the stay was pleasant, save for a few hiccups.

We visited India in 1998 and much have probably changed, but the experience I won’t probably forget for a very long time.

The streets of Shinjuku

I saw the city lights of Tokyo as the airplane began its final descent to Narita Airport.

Me and a colleague were invited to a press conference in Japan arriving very late on a balmy night. We were told that our hotel is in the Shinjuku district in downtown Tokyo, and is about half-an-hour away from the airport.

I had the chance to doze off a bit, after a boarding a chartered coaster to take us directly to the hotel.

Arriving in the hotel, the first thing I noticed are the neon lights, exactly as they appear on postcards and pictures. These neon lights are probably one of the most recognized and most iconic symbols of Japan.

After the press conference, there was very little time to go around downtown.

At the first opportunity, me and my colleague headed out of the hotel to try to enjoy the street sights, deciding to find our way to the nearest bookstore. It was a bit of a struggle though, because most street signs and road directions are written in Japanese.

We had to go to a convenience store to ask for directions.
A smiling store saleslady tried to help, and after a few exchanges through improvised sign language, we finally got our bearing.

The streets of Shinjuku display a mix of vibrant and lively colors, as people go about their business. It was a thrill to see first-hand the world-famous, and quite unique fashion sense that the Japanese have.

During the night, we had the good fortune of having a Japanese executive bring us to some nice restaurant slash bar in Shinjuku.

It was a five-minute walk to a rather lively street where rows and rows of restaurants are found.We finally found one. Our gracious Japanese host told us that he frequents the place.

The elevator opens directly to the modest restaurant. The interior was rather simple, with wooden tables and wooden chairs. But the place is bustling with activity, and was almost full of mostly Japanese office workers.

My hunch was these are the so-called Japanese ‘salary men’ enjoying an after-office drink or two, their white sleeves rolled up and their neckties untied.

We had peas in a pod for starters, and some deep-fried eel as appetizers.

As customary in Japan, we shared a few rounds of the famous Asahi beer and an accompanying bottle of warm sake.

One lesson I learned is that it is not polite to nurse your beer or chug it directly, because beer served on the table is meant to be shared.

From time to time, our gracious Japanese host had to check his laptop and use a Japanese-English translator as continued our nice chat about Japan and a bit about the Philippines.

It was only a very small ‘taste’ of Japan because my visit was very short, but Shinjuku will be always be one of the most memorable places I have ever been to.