Cheap Thrills: Wawa Dam, Rizal Province

 Are you always on a hunt for cheap and thrilling adventures (cheap thrills) like me?

 Located in Rodriguez, Rizal Province is a beautiful budget friendly site named Wawa Dam. The first thing I noticed at the site’s entrance was the garbages around scattered within the community. Many locals living around where really careless about the environment and these were unpleasant sites especially when you expect the place that something so beautiful as what Ive seen around blogs on the net. It took me awhile to be disappointed but after I continued to walk along the trail, I saw huge marble rocks along the river which finally caught my attention and for a moment about the terrible garbage at the entrance.

 Walking through the path, I reached an old unused structure which seems to be a watch tower was a stopping point for some photo opportunities. The structure itself posed a dangelous 20ft hole which could be very dangerous for travellers so keep warch of this. I dont know if the dam is used for electricity or water supply for Manila but interestingly its one of the places one must discover, close to Manila but less expensive. 

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Stopover Singapore

Singapore’s ideal geographical location and extensive network of airlines at Changi Airport, travellers enroute to Australia, America  Europe and even around Asia can enjoy a quick Stopover getaway in Singapore. When I was in the city state for a 6 hours intervalf for my Jakarta trip, I enjoyed so many things in the city even with a short time together my friend Jackielyn who was my former colleague at the hospital and now she is working at Singapore General Hospital. She cheerfully toured me around and even though Ive been in Singapore for more than 5x, the city hasnt lost its charm yet still and will never will as many exciting places are new and worth the visit.

Singapore’s MRT system is the best in the world. When moving around the city, use the MRT system because they are fast, reliable and clean. 

Taxis can be expensive but tourist spots seems very close to each other this can be a great help. Unlike here in the Philippines, we can pay credit cards and taxi rate goes up during night time. 

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Frozen Yogurt craze

Frozen Yogurts have become the latest trend when it comes to desserts.

Frozen Yogurts has made a debut here in Davao 3-4 months ago under the brand of Califonia Berry, since my first taste of the healthy dessert, I have been craving for more. Yogurts are believed to be healthy alternative to ice cream and sundaes because they are fat-free and has live prebiotics for proper digestion. After a month, many yogurt brands sprouted here like Yogo, Tutti Frutti, White Hat and now Red Berry Yogurts at SM City Davao. I have tried all of these brands but I prefer Tutti Frutti because of the personalized servings where customers can choose whatever toppings they want. 

 Picture above was from BERRY YUMMY at Marikina City. Other brands Ive tried was at GREEN MANGO. Their green mango flavored yogurts is sure a big plus for me, a little bit sour, sweet, creamy and with a big taste. 

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Puto Bumbong and Bibingka @ Marikina River Bazzar

 Puto Bumbong cooked in a bamboo tube

One of the best things about this holiday season is the puto bumbong or a sticky rice cake cooked or steamed in the bamboo hole unique for its purple color and it is served with butter or margarine and schredded coconuts. People flock to puto bumbong stalls during dawn mass outside the cathedrals. This food is definetely what I am craving for right now, cheap but big in taste.  

Making bibingka in a hot pan. 

Along with puto bumbong is the famous bibingka, a tradional food made from rice flour, coconut milk, butter and salted egg served with shredded coconuts. 

Coming back to Tawi-tawi

Should I go back in Tawi-tawi? YES. 

 For sure, Tawi-tawi is again on my list of destinations next year. My plans will be to visit Sitangkai or so called the Venice of the South because they say that the town is navigatable through canoes and small boats. Now that I got to see. Other islands of Tawi-tawi like Turtle Islands, Simunul and Sibutu are aslo very interesting places to explore.

The easiest, affordable and the fastest way to Tawi-Tawi is through air travel. Air PhilExpress flies to Sanga-Sanga Airport in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi daily from Zamboanga City with excellent connections from Cebu and Manila. There is also a regular schedule of ships from Zamboanga to Bongao and new fast craft services from Bongao to Sandakan, Malaysia.

 
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Sun kissed in Tawi-tawi

There are so many beaches in Tawi-tawi and many of them are left unexplored because of lack of transport facilities. I love going to the beach even though it makes my skin dark even I put sunscreen. My friends would tease me again for this but I dont mind, sun-kissed skin is beautiful.

One of the things I hate about late post is some minor details are lost in my mind. I forgot to note where did we go here or what barangay we went to see this beautiful beach but this is located near Sanga-Sanga Airport in Bongao, Tawi-tawi. The beach was very beautiful but the waves are really strong that time. For a non-swimmer like me, I just enjoyed it on a natural bath-tub-like structure on the side of the rocky cliff. Behind it was a small cave which we could not pass because of the strong wave. After here, we went to the other side of the beach. We discovered a beach that was totally uninhabited. There were logs and debris on the coast due to the strong waves. After the exhaustive swimming and walking we did, we went back to the barangay and we found out some beautiful spots, never imagined that Tawi-tawi has hidden charms.

Mt. Bongao, Tawi-tawi Conquered

Truly, one must not fail to climb Mt. Bongao when travelling in Tawi-tawi because the view from the top is just so magnificent. This ads to my lists of mountains climb - Mt. Apo and Mt. Pinatubo.

The view from the top shows a vast lush of green fields and beautiful beaches of the island province. It shows that the province is gifted with natural charms and wonders still left undiscovered and unexploited by people and tourists.

One thing I dislike about the peak is the telecommunications tower which is an eyesore because it disrupts the natural beauty of the mountain. When I was at the peak, I looked at my cellphone and I can get a signal from a Malaysian telecom- DIGI.

I was  so blessed that my foster family accompanied me  the mountain. 

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A climb to Mt. Bongao, Tawi-Tawi

They say a trip to Tawi-tawi is not complete without climbing Mt. Bongao, the tallest mountain in the province. 

I admit that climbing Mt. Bongao was very tough for me compared to the recent climb to Mt. Pinatubo. The climb to Mt. Bongao peak in my opinion was almost a 45 degree angle worsened by a slippery and muddy trail. Along the way, I made a few stops and catch my breath. Trees were starting to wiggle as monkeys were also on our trail for our bananas. 

It is best to climb the mountain early in the morning like 6am so that we can descend also early. So after the long walk, we were almost there. Still the monkeys were also on our trail. They could not resist our tasty bananas we brought for them. [Never go there without Bananas]

After more than an our of climb, we finally stopped for a short rest near what it looks a like a tabernacle, clothed in white sheet. We ate some bananas for ourselves too and my 1.5 L of mineral water was fully drained. 

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Business is booming in Bongao

Bongao is the capital of the Province of Tawi-tawi. The municipality is similar to other municipalities of the Philippines - laid back but the town is vibrant as it holds a melting pot of different cultures from Tausug, Islam, Badjao and Christians. Side by side, a catholic church and mosque face each other but the town is peaceful, people living harmoniously with each other. Now these probably isn’t heard over the news but its true, the town is peaceful and safe as long as you know how to travel safe.

The municipality has 2 banks with ATM services- Land Bank of the Philippines and Philippine National Bank, all located in the town center.I can also see some department stores like Midway which is owned by a chinese businessmen, pawnshops, restaurant, convenience stores and internet cafes. 

My host family told me that investors prefer Bongao than Jolo or Basilan in doing business because they feel they are more safe here. In the market, they have Malaysian goodies for sale like chocolates, coffee, eggs, noodles etc. There is a direct trip from Bongao to Sandakan (Sabah), Malaysia using fast craft. The ticket costs P6000 round trip and you cant get a one way ticket and trip is only for 4 hours compared to the 16 hours trip to Zamboanga. 

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Roaming around Tawi-tawi

During my stay in Tawi-tawi, I was warmly welcomed by a tausug family and even treated me as one of their own. Some people might say its a scary experience but to me it was a blessing. That afternoon when I arrived in Bongao town, my foster family and I went to a nearby island or islet near Bongao town. One of their family member was buried there a week ago. It was my first time to experience what a tausug burial would be.

We rode a small boat to the island. I was surprised that the residents of the islands were mainly their relatives and all their ancestors are buried there. A typical burial for them is just concrete on the side and plain soil on the center. Maybe a belief perhaps that someday their families will emerge from the grave [just a thought]. 

 A sound of splashing caught my attention. I saw bunch of kids probably of 2 years of age swimming in the sea and they were really good in diving. My friend told me that these kids after they were born, their parents threw them in the water and then naturally they submerge in water and thats the secret why these kids can swim and dive so good. In the city, kids will have to enroll in swimming lessons but here, these kids can get on the action and learn by their own. Maybe someday, these kids will be our representative to international sporting events if they will be properly trained. 

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