"Pa-Hayahay sa Dumaguete"

Saturday, December 10, 2011—The alarm clock woke me up at 5 am today. We agreed to meet up at 6:30 for our trip to Dumaguete, The City of Gentle People. This trip is unusual for these two reasons: first, I’ll be driving and second, I, ahhmm, er, I just made you believe that there’s a second one to make it sound more important. Ahaha! 

At around 5:30, Mica “texted” me her wish for a happy trip and it was confirmed that she will not be able to come. Also, the others will not be coming owing to personal reasons. Anyway, there’s always the next time. Let’s just have this trip an experiential one so the next trips would be easier. 

Sharply at 6:30, I stopped by Harley Davidson Drive in Alcoy, Spain, aww, Cebu rather and hailed my sole companion and partner in crimes of arson, felony and other forms of debauchery, Kebwa. 

Passing by Daanlungsod, the fresh sunrise over a few clouds above calm and balmy waters was deadly awesome. Apart from this, the morning chill heightened by the blowing cool wind made it wickedly sickeningly unbearably overpoweringly breathtaking. 

At around 7:20, we stopped by a sign of the newly built Maayo Shipping port in Liloan, Santander. This port is especially made for lighter vehicles like private cars and motorcycles. With the catchphrase, “Mas MAAYO na, mas duol pa gyud!!!,” this port brags of a less than 30 minutes travel time to Sibulan (vice versa). Their port in Bato, Samboan remained for the bigger trucks and Ceres buses. Unfortunately, the next vessel will leave for Sibulan at 9:00 am, so we proceeded to Bato; bought a round trip ticket and took the 8:00 am trip to Amlan. 

We arrived at Dumaguete City at around 9:20 am, passed by their small airport, saw men covered in soot and witnessed a little accident involving a motorcycle (this city is perhaps the motorcycle capital of the country). Near the Clay Town, we took a turn at the Capitol and headed towards Macias sports and cultural center and LTO where Kebwa’s place is located. After a few minutes, we went out the gate of the Church of Our Mother of Perpetual Help. 

From there, we swaggered in the streets and boulevards, passed by their other house in Mabini Street, and went to Robinson’s Place. Uh, by the way, we saw a huge crowd with video cameras, blaring speakers, police and traffic personnel in the boulevard, and realized they were making the “INTRO” for the TV program, SHOWTIME for a group of Dumaguete Dancers who made it to the Finals that day. 

The city is yet to gear its humdrum level of energy but it was already very hot. The mall was not yet opened when we came. The guard said, “Unya ra moabri kon mag National Anthem na.” I smirked for no reason at that. We waited, took pictures and judged we could not bear it anymore that we passed the glass door while the guard was talking in his radio. Whew! The smell of the mall and its cool air took my senses into relaxation mode (atik ay). After a few minutes inside, while watching workers preparing their places, the guards whistled, opening prayer was delivered through overhead speakers; and then, the awaited “National Anthem” was played. The mall is now open. 

We went inside shop after shop looking for something which we can use this season. Er, I’m impecunious, so it was Kebwa’s day of being a self-proclaimed millionaire. I’m just there for the sake of travel and leisure. 

After some time, I was really that hungry, I demanded we should eat. I only had a toast for breakfast (atik na sad… haha). We went to HAYAHAYYYYYY!!! 

My tour guide kept on telling me things; like Silliman’s first name which was Horace; which place many delinquents and drug addicts dwell, pointed at buildings like the one that got burned even with the fire department beside it; the one that has the best price for beer and food, which has the greatest crowd, even the place where one can buy “ice.” Imagine that!!! How informative (no sarcasm intended)!!! Hahaha!!! 

And here we are at Hayahay!!! 

Ang Bar...

Ang Treehouse na viewing deck na inomanan, kan anan ugbp...

Maong Hayahay kay daplin sa boulevard... Ahhhh!!!

Ako gyud nagpicture ani mong nindot...

Ingon's Kebwa na Tiki daw ni... Ahaha

The Mafia Boss with his Cuban cigar...

Waiting for the food, waiting for events below this treehouse...

Pizza... (next time)

Ang KH, para sa mga sosyal...

I just passed by this place the last time I went to Dumaguete last October I think. It was the season for Buglasan. It was almost midnight, and the place was like a hive. NAGBAHA ANG MGA BEER, WINE AND OTHER SPIRIT CONNOISSEURS!!! There, I decided to come back. Only this time, it was daytime. I am not after a drinking bout this time. I am after the food. 

Mga ilimnong makawala ug rationality...

This is the name of the food haven in Hayahay... (Lab-as means fresh... Live seafood can be had at this resto...)

I’ve read in a blog about Hayahay’s food. I saw some pictures. And there I was, ordering Dumaguete Express, Baked Talaba, and Calamari for appetizers; grilled blue marlin and grilled pork belly as main dish paired with rice and mango shake.

Baked Talaba

DUMAGUETE EXPRESS

Calamari

Grilled Pork Belly

Grilled Blue Marlin

GRABE KA BUSOG...

PINOY... Leave a morsel of the food lest you wanted to appear famished... Haha!

Ahaha!!! Do not drink!!!


It is very pleasant to know that they add no VAT. What you see in the menu price is what you will pay. Very honest!!!


After eating, we went to Lee Plaza, and go about tramping and wandering Perdices Street and downtown. We needed the walk to aid digestion. We were so full.

Downtown, Perdices Street...

Ped xing...

The tricycles... Haha!!!


Then we went back to Mabini; and back to Hayahay. I wanna purchase a CD of ENCHI.


We decided to leave; go toward Sibulan instead of Amlan; take the 3:00 pm trip to Liloan, and be home before sundown.

The Maayo Wharf at Sibulan...

Sleep mode...


The new Maayo Shipping port in Sibulan is quite "new" in a sense that its clean, untainted, almost immaculate. I showed the man at the gate our round trip ticket, wrote our names in the manifest, and drove toward the vessel.

Thea Roque: Extraordinary at Sixteen...

          Ladies and gentlemen, we are pouring our hearts out here to celebrate this day for an extraordinary teenager. Teenager, but I think her mom and dad and I believe that she’s “too old for toys but too young for boys.” That can wait. 

         Anyway, many who have known her would surely agree if I’ll say, she’s a gifted child, a big person trapped in small person’s body, I even would daresay that her parents are so lucky to have her as their daughter—they have a singer, a poet, a composer, a scholar, a charming child and to top it all a great soul in one… 

         In fact, when I think about her, I picture her as a kind of a HindU goddess or an anime figure—you know, the one with six arms. In one hand, she’s carrying a microphone, in another her school projects and musical pieces, the other two hands carrying her keyboard, and the last two hands, let’s just say, are holding the handlebars of a bicycle.

         In fact, to complete the picture, you have to imagine her with most of her arms waving about, smiling, pedaling furiously on her bike to get on a stage in time for a concert. :))

          Friends, in her “sweet” 16 years of existence today, I wanna tell you all that she’s one of the people I’ve known to radiate joyful and helpful thoughts. She’s one of those who scatter sunshine wherever they go, who are helpers of the world, the lighteners of burden who ease the jolts of life, soothe the wounded, and give solace to the discouraged. She’s really that attractive, helpful and sunny!!! 

         So now, ladies and gentlemen, I am greatly honored to present to you the person worthy of all these adulation, our birthday girl, —Thea Therese Roque!!!

A Lunch at Teriyaki Boy at the Terraces, Ayala

After purchasing a few dozens of Krispy Kreme doughnuts, just enough to feed us for a week, my aunt and I went to Teriyaki Boy to have our lunch.

This is the first time for me to eat at a Japanese Restaurant. The restaurant may be Japanese in theme but the way it serves the customer is already of universal approach. Dining today has become so customized that freedom is of  primary concern.

We were seated at a cozy corner cubicle. The table is roughly hewn granite topped with modern paper placemats printed with the restaurant mascot and other characters. This is placed with flat saucers with chopsticks. 

I ordered Curry Tonkatsu. It is fried breaded pork in curry sauce. This comes with sticky Japanese rice sprinkled with black sesame seeds.

Together with this, I enjoyed their Ebi Tempura.

Krispy Kreme is now in Cebu...

I first had my KK experience the Summer of 2010 when I went to Manila for our trip in Baguio City. It was just ordinary then. Expensive as it was, I was not aware that what I am eating at the time would be the most talked about baked product in Cebu a year after...

I ate it with a little thought of how it tasted. I was thinking of the hefty price.  And with it came a resolution that it has to taste good in order to compensate the corresponding value.

The months passed after that. On the few occasions I had being in an airport, I often see passengers from Manila boarding in Visayas-Mindanao flights carrying white bags with green and red designs.  Inside, white boxes dotted with green and labeled Krispy Kreme were resting peacefully. The ones carrying it glances at it with an air of being mighty. They walk as if they're carrying the elixir of life. And with that, my ire for KK slowly developed.

I was frustrated, perhaps insecure of not being the one holding the bag. Haha! To be honest, I think I am becoming a hater of KK and its patrons after I saw the people in the airport.

Then, an announcement that the first branch of KK outside Luzon will be opened in Ayala Center Cebu hit the world of internet. My friends in FB continuously expressed in there statuses their excitement for the opening day on Saturday, October 22, 2011.

The months before October had been filled with so much noise. And once again, my abhorrence for KK sparked anew... hahaha!

Then yesterday, my aunt texted me that she's at Krispy Kreme Ayala, standing in a long line. She asked me if I could come and join her in experiencing the atmosphere of excitement and buzz that filled the Active Zone for the newly opened KK branch. Okay. I said yes to her. It's for the sake of being able to say I've been there anyway. So I came.

When I arrived, I sat outside under the staircase watching the KK through its glass wall. My aunt gestured that I come in, so I obliged. The long line of anxious middle class to the self proclaimed rich; the security guard controlling the coming and going of customers; and the scent of fresh baking mixing the scent of the new establishment caught me off guard. Am I being intimidated? Hahaha... No way! I wore my best facial expression of social insecurity and walked toward the counter.

My aunt said she has been standing there for almost an hour. Geez! All that for this? Now I know why. Why? Here's why...

Standing in front of the counter and ordering one dozen glazed doughnuts, one dozen assorted (soccer, hersheys, snickers) and another dozen of their baked creations paired with (coffee cream and caramel latte) iced coffee are not something we do everyday in the past. And paying the hefty price tag is one good experience in being able to enjoy the delights money can bring.

We sat and marveled at the transactions. Sipped our iced coffee and a few moments later, decided to go out and eat lunch.

I was the one bringing the huge bag of KK doughnuts. And now I know how it feels to be the one carrying it. It was exciting. Haha. People stare, children glance and the bold ones ask questions about it. If you're asking me why on Earth are they doing that, my answer would be, "KK is expensive and uncommon. That is why they're giving it a great deal. Also, I must admit it now, KRISPY KREME IS DELICIOUS." Just savor the dough and the glaze melt in your mouth. Ahhhh!!! hahaha...

I know time will come that people in our place will not give it the attention it is getting right now. Cebuanos are discriminating but they do not want to be ignorant of fine taste. When that time comes, I surely will be able to share my first week experience of KK of Cebu City. 

I AM A SON OF A BEACH...

I love BEACHES... I AM A SON OF A BEACH... I've made that one clear in my profile. For me, nothing is as exciting as watching people get wet in the blue, hearing the waves ebb and flow against the sand, feeling the light breeze of cool air contrasting the warm rays of the sun, smelling the tropical scent of the sea mixed with grilled pork and seafood and tasting all of these together with the salinity of seawater!!!

Now, don't tell me you haven't had this experience before? And if you haven't, YOU ARE ONE PATHETIC CREATURE NOT WORTHY OF YOUR BEING HUMAN!!! Haha!!! Anyway, one who had experienced this would surely come to look for it again and again. I for one is in constant connection with by beach buddies. 


Never mind the darkening and peeling of a sun kissed skin... Never mind the budget cuts... And never mind the perpetual nagging of your parents, relatives, guardians, boy/girlfriends and even neighbors who find what you're doing, a reason why their blood pressure is rising...

Only this Sunday, did we decide to go and reconnect with our favorite beach. 

TINGKO BEACH IN ALCOY... It's free. It's near. It's beautiful!

Welcome to my paradise!

Where the sky so blue, where the sun shines so bright. Welcome to my paradise! Where you can be free, where the party is never ending...

Sembreak is on... 

I feel young... haha! I've read that the secret to stay young is associating with young people, but keeping up with them makes you old quick... :)

I like this picture... You find out why... :D

Props 70%... 

Foreigners have occupied the nearby beaches near the Bantayan sa Hari...

 We, us...

I looked flushed because I'm allergic to chicken of Chookz... really!!!

She's a bad girl... very bad... :)))

I don't know why I laughed... I remember; it's because of my wounded knees being coated with salty sand... I guess not...

This photo is... nah! just figure it out...

She looks great... Anyway, wearing something like this is appropriate of the setting... Also, she's of legal age... 

Testing the waters... "It's balmy. The feel of the sand under my soles is relaxing."

The red one is hot... hehe

Time to eat... the primitive way...

After eating, back to the water... I'm sure one of them is urinating when this picture was taken... hahaha

Krispy Kreme??? Hahaha...

It's dark now... Time to become a superhero... 

The girls of Jersey Shore... They have the acquired taste of brands and how to do things the right way... Demure and sexy in proper ways...

The shirt hanging in the background makes this picture an Epic Fail!!! Haha!

 We're now ready to go home...


Who's going to drive??? 

Them... saying goodbye...


Well, before I end this post, may I just call the attention of the stores in Alcoy, Cebu; will you please prepare and sell ICE especially on weekends... We have scoured not less than 10 stores, all with refrigerators, from Poblacion to Daanlungsud in search for precious ice...


A huge part of this day was devoted to finding ice... We were able to buy some near Dingding's hardware...


We went to Boljoon to buy bread... Imagine that... We saw that White Gold Caravan is in their Tennis Court so we came in and bought junkfood...


We went home with my protege driver...