Into photography

Photography as a hobby

I recently took up photography as a hobby. I bought an entry level camera, a Canon 1300D, and also completed a short online course on photography.

I am not into reviewing camera gear, but so far, I find the Canon 1300D a great choice for beginners like me. My modest gear includes the entry level camera, a kit lens, a 50mm prime lens, some extension tubes, and a 18-200mm zoom lens.

My photos

For my photos, I also started another blog (more of a portfolio type of a website called "The Lighter Side Photography Blog"). Aside from storing my photos, I also write about my experiences as an amateur photographer. It is a modest blog site that I intend to share with family and friends.

I am envisioning this travel blog and the photography website as avenues whenever I need to be creative, and "being creative" for me is being able to generate my own content by uploading my photos and doing some writing.

Macrophotography

My first photographs are mostly nature-related, such as insects and water droplets. To be honest, I find macrophotography to be very fulfilling and the variety of subjects that I can focus on is amazingly vast. 

But aside from macrophotography, I do intend to post more travel photos in the future and perhaps go into portraiture or landscape photography. But for now, macrophotography satisfies my cravings whenever I need to relax and take a break from work. 

As a beginner, the Canon 1300D is proving to be very useful for me. I do plan to upgrade my gear but that can wait.

Here are some photos.

Reviving my travel diary

Reviving my blog

It is difficult to revive a blog after so many years of not updating it.

At first, I wanted this to be a simple journal and a way for me to write about places I have been to. The goal  back then was to have an avenue to write and gather my thoughts.

I started this blog during the time that I was leaving the Philippines to work and live abroad way back in 2009. I thought back then that writing was also a way to fend off boredom, and to make it easier for me to transition as an overseas worker.

Diary of a journalist

Also, a majority of what I wrote here came from my travels as a journalist. I never fancy myself as a travel writer and most of the previous posts were written from my perspective as a journalist.

A lot has changed since then. I am now based in Manila, and will probably won't go out of the country again to work. I still write (and edit) for a living, and from time to time, I still pitch news stories as a contributor. The bulk of my time is spent as a freelance worker, juggling a few writing and editing jobs.

A continuing journey

I guess the reason I want to revive this blog is to continue writing about my travels (and everything in between) beyond the perspective of a journalist. The dynamics have changed through the years. I now have three (almost) grown up children with my wife of 20-plus years.

I am fortunate that most of the travelling I have been doing now is with the family and close friends. I no longer see myself travelling alone or leaving the country to work abroad anytime soon.

How to enjoy riding a mountain bike for the first time

Riding for the first time

I think there are no hard and fast rules on how to enjoy riding the mountain bike as a first-timer, but for me, my very first mountain bike ride was enjoyable because I was with a group of close family and friends.

The experience was more than just a bike ride: it became a bonding moment.

Benefits of riding a mountain bike

There are some who might consider that it is a tad late for someone in his 40s to take mountain biking. Aside from being a very physically taxing activity, mountain biking also poses danger to riders from spill overs, getting blind-sided, or tumbling over.

For me, however, the benefits definitely outweigh the risks. Riding the mountain bike is great for cardio and for you legs. It is also a great overall workout for your whole body because biking is more than just pedaling like crazy.

How to enjoy the ride

So here's my own take on how to enjoy the ride based on my experience.

There I was one fine day in October joining a few friends and cousins on my very first mountain bike ride. I was on a borrowed bike and adjustments had to be made. I made sure I had a helmet, comfortable clothes, a water bottle full of water, and of course my sunglasses to protect my eyes.

The mountain bike course

We set our course in a nice but still challenging route in my hometown of Sta. Rosa, Nueva Ecija, going to the neighboring town of Palayan City. Our destination will be Tanawan, a nice, uphill spot where locals often go to enjoy a panoramic view of surrounding towns and the lush green carpet of rice fields.

We rolled out in our mountain bikes early and since most of us are newbies, we rode at a leisurely pace. The cool, early morning breeze made for a very relaxing ride as we passed by quaint houses, farms, orchards, and endless rice fields spanning through the horizon.

We passed by the military reserve of Fort Magsaysay and marveled at surrounding hills and valleys. The roads are almost empty save for the occasional vehicle or tricycle. Good thing we rode off early.

As a first-timer, I enjoyed the ride immensely, and often, I find myself lagging behind the group because I was really taking my time to enjoy the sights and sounds.

The ride was enjoyable that I almost did not notice that we have already logged in a significant number of kilometers (for newbies) and that we are almost at our destination.

Pit stop

We had our first pit stop at a nice sari-sari store by the road. We stayed longer than we should have because my uncle knows the owner of the store and the customary "kumustahan" had to be made between friends. We parked our mountain bikes near the store.

After a few minutes, we set off again to our next stop.

Tanawan in Palayan City

Although we we’re not able to ride the last kilometer or two going to Tanawan (the road was just too steep for us), it was a very satisfying ride that is worth repeating.

We stayed for almost an hour taking pictures, eating our snacks and just enjoying the view at Tanawan while our bikes are “parked” near a nipa hut atop a gently sloping cliff.

Ride back

The ride back was even faster, because there were downhills that allowed us to go a bit faster. The end of the day was indeed satisfying and all of us were looking forward to another ride.

4 interesting things to do when travelling to Dagupan City in Pangasinan

A highly urbanized city

Dagupan City in the province of Pangasinan is a highly-urbanized metropolis that will always be part of a traveler’s itinerary whenever one needs to explore Northern Luzon.

What is good about Dagupan City is its proximity to other places in the province of Pangasinan, including Lingayen Gulf. This means one can enjoy all the luxuries of city living while still being close to the sea.

Getting to Dagupan

I used to work for a content production outfit, and as part of our coverage of interesting places up north, we took a roadtrip to Dagupan in early September. Our rented van took the NLEX-SCTEX network, and coming from Quezon City, the trip took about 4 hours or so. 

'To do' list

Here are  a few interesting things you can do in Dagupan City.

1.) Time your visit during the "Bangus Festival." We timed our trip to Dagupan to visit the "Bangus Festival," a fairly new but very popular festival drawing huge crowds. The festivities center around the bangus or milkfish, perhaps the most popular export that Pangasinan is known for. The street parties were noteworthy and witnessing the longest grill in the world and partaking of fresh grilled oysters from generous locals was quite an experience.

2.) Hire a boat and cruise Pantal River. Our next stop took us to Pantal River where we hired a few motorized bancas to cruise on the river. It was an interesting experience, as we sailed past communities living on the shore. It was also noteworthy that the river remains clean, despite the number of houses in communities along the river banks.

3.)  Buy some seafood at the Magsaysay Fish Market. If you want to take home some of the famous Bonuan bangus and other seafood, don't forget to drop by the Magsaysay Fish Market. We brought with us our own medium-sized coolers to store those seafood that we took back home.

4.) Eat at Silverio's Seafood Restaurant. They say you can't go wrong if you follow a local's recommendations when it comes to dining. And that's exactly what we did. We went out for lunch at the famed Silverio's Seafood Restaurant and loaded up on seafood, particularly the different dishes featuring bangus belly.

A nice stopover

For the jaded traveler, Dagupan City may no longer be that appealing and that there are more exotic places in Pangasinan that are worth the trip. However, Dagupan City continues to be a nice stopover for those trekking up north.

A journey to Caramoan

We prepped up the 7-seater vehicle, packed our gears, and drove off one early morning. We have a long drive ahead of us, going south. Far south.

It was almost dusk when we arrive to the first leg of the trip. We had dinner in Naga City, then re-traced our tracks to Ragay in Camarines Norte.

We still have a long way to in this journey to Bicolandia and our ultimate destination will be Caramoan.

Caramoan is a small coastal town surrounded by numerous small islands. The town can be reached via ferry. The islands have become very popular because of the reality show “Survivor.” During our trip, there were no less than four “Survivor” editions being shot or have been completed in the isolated islands surrounding Caramoan.

The interesting part of our journey is that we almost did not make it to Caramoan. The ominous looking grey clouds as we drove along the length of Camarines Sur going to the port were not a good sign. And true enough, a storm raged on preventing ferry boats to set sail and go to Caramoan.

And there we were, stuck in a modest hotel hoping and waiting to the clouds to clear up. It was a good two days of waiting before we finally saw the sun peek out of the clouds.

Leaving our vehicle in the port, we rushed to the ferry boat station eager and excited. After an uneventful 2-hour boat ride, we sat foot for the first time in Caramoan town. After securing our accommodations for the night and getting in touch with our local contact, we hurriedly went to this small dock where a moored “bangka” is waiting to take us to the many islands surrounding the town.

It was nice seeing a cluster of mangroves with many sea birds perched among the branches. It was nice seeing emerald waters reflect sunlight. It was wonderful seeing an unspoiled cove, with crystal clear water, and jumping in the water from a seemingly out of place 10-foot boulder gutting out of the beach. It was nice walking barefoot in white sand that is comparable to the world-famous white sand of Boracay.

In essence, it was nice getting away from it all. We were in paradise.

A trip to see the Pahiyas Festival in Lucban, Quezon

The annual Pahiyas Festival is perhaps one of the most popular feasts in Lucban, Quezon.

At first glance, the Pahiyas Festival may seem like your ordinary fiesta, but the celebration is truly replete of tradition that the people of Quezon are mighty proud of.

From the “kiping,” to the parade, to the “agawan,” the Pahiyas Festival is a tradition so deeply ingrained to Quezon town folks that it has lasted the test of time.

The harvest festival held every May, only becomes more colorful and more festive year after year.

We went to Pahiyas Festival aboard one day, and although our rented van was a bit cramped, the 4-hour trip to Lucban was worth it

It is not often that one can go to an age-old celebration that attracts a wide variety of visitors from foreign and local tourists to locals living in nearby towns.

It seems the Pahiyas Festival is reflective of that long gone era of community bonding and unity in commemorating the town patron saint.

Streets are often closed for the P that the

It is reflective of what a true Filipino tradition embodies which has become rare in this day and age. I would not mind getting back to Lucban and seeing the Pahiyas again.

Papa's dogs: Scotty and Blacky

Scotty and Blacky

Scotty and Blacky are probably two of the nicest dogs you’ll ever see. The two dogs are our resident ‘guard dogs’ in a modest ‘farm’ in Sta. Rosa, Nueva Ecija where my parents now spend most of their time.

Scotty and Blacky are very much part of the family. Their master is my dad. Scotty is massive next to Blacky, probably because Scotty is part Labrador and part Retriever. Blacky on the other hand, is half Labrador and half Pinoy dog (read: askal).

Old and young

Blacky is now 6 years old, pretty old for a dog, while Scotty is a springy 9 month old puppy. At first, Blacky wasn’t too thrilled to find a dark brown dog being introduced in the farm. Blacky even tried-and succeeded—in physically imposing his natural instinct to let the other dog know that Blacky is the alpha male in the farm.

After a few weeks however, and with Scotty’s willingness to ‘bow’ to Blacky, the two dogs now happily share the guarding chores in the farm, although the two dogs rarely do ‘guarding’ because of their friendly disposition.

However, the sheer size of Scotty, and the respectable growl of Blacky seem to serve the purpose of intimidating neighbors and strangers passing by the gate of the farm.

Leader of the pack

My dad would often go out on walks every morning, and on his side are two loyal, albeit hyper-active dogs. Dad would often lead his ‘pack’ outside the farm and into a dirt road. The road is unpaved and is surrounded by rice fields and a small river.

My dad and his ‘pack’ would often go out on walks very early while the morning dew still glisten from the rays of a rising sun.

Before breakfast, the pack would be back in the farm.

The farm in Sta. Rosa

Our modest 600-square-meter farm is in Sta. Rosa, Nueva Ecija, a good 2 hours and 30 minutes away from Manila. This is where we go on vacation especially during summer and whenever we need a temporary respite from work.

During the start of the summer, the branches of the mango trees will be heavy with fruits although it will take a few more weeks before we can enjoy the sweet fruits. The guava trees will be full of guava fruits, and the macopa will be decorated with small, pink and dark red fruits. These are just a few of the fruit trees at the farm.

Scotty and Blacky, as well as chickens and ducks, would often rest under the shade of these fruits trees.

My parents and I would often sit on a long wooden stool under one of the mango trees and enjoy a cup of hot coffee while letting time pass by slowly.

Perhaps the humble farm serves the same purpose for me. Whenever I need to take a short rest from work and avoid the stress of living in a fast-paced city, the farm will always be there.