HALO-HALO

CHOWKING

Halo-halo is a favorite Filipino dessert or snack.  It is basically a mixture of sweet preserved beans(red beans, chick peas), coconut meat (macapuno), jackfruit (langka), pounded dried rice (pinipig), sweet yam (ube), cream flan (leche flan), shreds of sweetened plantain (saba), filled with crushed ice, milk (or coconut milk) and  topped with ice cream.The halo-halo basically is sweet, creamy, and a filling dessert.

ALING TALENG'S HALO-HALO(Since 1933)
169 General Luna St. Brgy. Maulawin Pagsanjan Laguna

RAZON'S OF GUAGUA

PAHIYAS FESTIVAL

Pahiyas Festival is a colorful feast celebrated every 15th of May by the people of Lucban, Quezon in honor of San Isidro Labrador. It is the farmers' thanksgiving for a bountiful harvest with a grand display of colorful rice wafers, fruits, vegetables, and handicrafts adorning every house in the town.

The festival's name comes from the Filipino terms hiyas (jewel) and pahiyas (precious offering). This feast is an ancient farmers' harvest celebration that dates back to the 16th century. According to legend, San Isidro Labrador magically plowed the field whenever he went out of the church. This is the story that the Spaniards passed on to the Philippines from Mexico during their colonial period. Since then, the Pahiyas Festival has been a source of excitement for the locals and visitors of Quezon Province.

The highlight of the festival is a procession along the streets of the image of San Isidro Labrador, to ensure the people's bountiful harvest in the coming seasons. The procession features a pair of giant papier mâché figures of a farmer and his wife. This is followed by the image of the patron saint and his wife Sta. Maria de la Cabeza, who carries a basket with triangulo biscuits, which are given to the children during the procession. This culminates with generous sharing of food among the townspeople.

All the locals' houses are decorated with agricultural harvest (fruits, vegetables, rice grains, rice stalks, flowers, and ferns) and colorful rice wafers, called kiping. These thin wafers made from rice dough are usually arranged into two or three layers of chandeliers called aranya. The locals use different kinds of leaves to add flavor and color to the kiping. They also produce varieties of tastes and textures by using different ingredients such as kabal, coffee, talisay (umbrella tree), cocoa, and banaba leaves.

Each house tries to outdo each other in decorations in an annual competition as they vie for the honor of being recognized for their creativity. After the competition is over and the awards are handed over to the owners of the winning house, the decorations of the house will be thrown away to the huge flock of people as free treats. For the other houses, after the festival, those kipings that were used as decorations are cooked and eaten as rice chips. Also during the festival, the people display their harvest in front of their homes so that the parish priest can bless them as the procession passes by.

SUGBUTEL BED & BATH

SAMPAGUITA TOURIST INN

Mt. Mayon cor Campus Street, Davao City

(082) 227-2958

Offers basic room accommodation. 
Unfriendly hotel staff.

Room rates ranges from P300-P1500.

PAGSANJAN FALLS VERTICAL TREK

upon entering the town of pagsanjan you will pass through a century old stone arch. this historical town was formerly part of lumban. the town is occupied by the revolutionist in 1896, by the americans in 1899, by the japanese in 1942.

pagsanjan is a second class municipality in the province of laguna. it is situated about 92 kilometers south of manila. for 170 years (1688–1858), pagsanjan was the capital of the province of laguna. during this long period, the town basked in the magnificent glow of greatness. pagsanjan bloomed as the commercial, cultural and learning center of the province, and was called the "athens of laguna".

pagsanjan is the tourist capital of laguna and the home of the bankero festival. the 'bangkeros' are tour guides, who steer the tourists' bancas. they are the boatmen who shoot the rapids all the way to the famous pagsanjan falls. the bankero festival is celebrated in the month of march. the main tourist spot is the pagsanjan falls or (magdapio falls). a particular highlight is the boatride, which passes through 14 rapids maneuvered by boatmen between rocks and boulders, leading to the main falls.

i am a nature lover and despite the unpredictable weather last august 29, 2011 i pursue my plan of going solo to cavinti town to conquer the cascading waterfalls of pagsanjan.

i took the van from santa rosa in laguna going to pagsanjan town. it’s lunch time when i arrived so i decided to have my lunch in a small eatery just across the town plaza.

from pagsanjan a jeepney ride bound for lucban. i advised the driver to drop me in the intersection going to the town proper of cavinti. from there a tricycle ride to pueblo el salvador in barrio tibatib. the cavinti nature park and picnic grove/pueblo el salvador  is the jump off point to the famous falls. this is where the adventure begins. an alternative and cheaper way going to paganjan falls.

rate of boat ride from the hotels/resorts in pagsanjan would cost 1,250pesos/person as what it posted in the billboard across the municipal hall. there is also an advisory to the tourist not to deal with illegal boatmen flaggers running around the road.

kuya uton +639486275163 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting    is my tour guide. after paying 150 pesos entrance fee we started to trek going downwards. i am a bit excited to finally full fill my long time dream.

before we reached the world’s famous waterfalls we pass through the metal foot paths, ladders and 600+steps stairs. i am really sweating and my legs were shaking. thank god that i am not afraid of heights.

at last after those obstacles i was able to see the cascading waterfalls of pagsanjan and to my surprised i am the only one in the beautiful paradise of laguna!

how to get there:

catch a greenstar bus in taft avenue corner buendia in pasay bound for sta cruz laguna

from sta cruz laguna hop a jeep/mini bus bound for lucban quezon advise the driver/conductor to drop you at the cavinti elementary school/ intersection going to cavinti town

from the intersection there's a lot of tricycle that will send you to pueblo el salvador