Literally meaning "viewpoint," Tam-awan Village is a re-construction of an Igorot village using authentic huts transported from various parts of the Cordilleras to serve as a haven of local artists. It is current managed by a consortium of artists named Chanum Foundation.


various Igorot huts visible from a viewpoint of Tam-awan Village
the Alang of a typical Igorot village

Typical setup of traditional Igorot villages have the dap-ay, some sort of public gathering place for elders who are looked up as leaders of the village, various huts with various functions and the presence of the bul-ul, the rice granary deity guarding the harvests of the village (and currently used as the symbol of a local indie film festival)


Tam-awan Village Cafe and Crafts Shop
two kids pose with weapons on display

two lady student doctors strike a fighting pose with spears and shields

Due to very limited time as it's already getting dark, Tutubi was only able to spend about 20 minutes at Tam-awan village where he saw no Igorots in tribal costumes and the cultural presentation held a few hours earlier featuring Igorot dances and native feasts.

This place deserves a second visit, probably more, for Tutubi in the future.

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Tam-awan Village travel information

Tamawan Village Entrance Fee: P50.00 adults, P20.00 children

Cultural Presentations schedules at 2pm every Saturday where Igorots in native tribal costumes show off their rich heritage and traditions to curious tourists.

There are overnight accommodations offered at Tam-awan village with several huts are offered where foreigners are often the ones spending the night at the village. A popular choice is the fertility hut...you probably know why :P

No contact numbers of Tam-awan Village is posted at the gates, not even an official website. Should you have the telephone number, please leave a comment.

How to get to Tam-awan village:

From Baguio Plaza, look for jeepneys with signboard Tam-awan that can take you directly to the Igorot Village

Related Posts:
Victory Liner Deluxe Bus
Cemetery of Negativity
Directions to Baguio,
Panagbenga Festival

Labels: Baguio City, Cordillera, Cordillera Administrative Region

In a country where there are only two kinds of candidates on knowing the election results-- the winners and the cheated-- Congress on the day of official canvassing of votes for the president and vice-president was turned into a ludicrous circus when a man, wearing a hat and a face mask, appeared and made allegations of election fraud.

The May 2010 Elections whistleblower later on was called "Koala Bear" due to his appearance that triggered the bandwagon effect of all "cheated" candidates coming out in the open to tell how they were cheated as alleged by Koala Bear.


With all these stories going around, many people including Teddy Boy Locsin and Makati Mayor and Vice-presidential candidate Jejomar Binay are investigating the true identity and handler of Koala Bear, here's Tutubi's take on the real Koala Bear.

Koala Bear Unmasked: How cute and cuddly they are!

a koala sleeping snugly on a eucalyptus tree

koalas eat leaves of eucalyptus tree and drink almost no water

Calling them “koala bear” is a misnomer. Koalas are not bears but marsupials, like the kangaroos and wallabies, who have pockets on their bodies, called marsupium, in which they nurture their young. They feed on low-energy eucalyptus leaves. Endemic to Australia, they walk on four legs but also climb trees.

The Koala is an arboreal marsupial i.e. it inhabits trees

Now you know who is Koala Bear, you may now tell the "honorable" men of Congress, aided by the COMELEC and Smartmatic, to get on with official business of counting of votes instead of wasting time on the allegations of a Koala Bear without presenting proof thus delaying the formal precedings and casting doubts on the official results of the automated elections.

Related Posts:

Sharks of Sydney Aquarium
Kangaroos of Taronga Zoo
Tasmanian Devil
Amazing Bird Show

Labels: Australia, Beyond Asia, Sydney

Besides the tilapia, ayungin, bangus, tawilis, lapu-lapu, dalag, and other favorite fishes of Tutubi, there's one of them that is usually mentioned when referring to people who are mentally-challenged: the biya.

One time when Tutubi went home to Paete, Laguna, his father bought a handful of biya (loosely translated in English as goby fish) from a fisherman in Wawa Park, he asked Tutubi how he'd want the biya to be cooked, he wanted them to be cooked with coconut milk (ginataang biya) but due to lack of time and absence of ingredients to cook them just settled for the fastes way to feast on the "dumb" fishes who allowed themselves to be caught.





pritong biya that's great eaten with pajo salad (tart little green mangoes in season on summer)

Now back to the origin of the Filipino idiom "Utak Biya," the subject of this post. The idiom means idiot and allures to the ease of catching biya in rivers and streams. Tutubi knows how easy it is to catch the fish when he was a child, he can catch them using his bare hands and usually would not try to escape or just enter a tin can to hide as if they can't be caught it those rusty hideouts. (Tutubi has yet to confirm if the biya of Tagalogs is the same as the tonto fish of the Visayas)

As other fishes and inhabitants of Laguna de Bay like the pauton, bangayngay, duhol, paros, digman (seaweeds), kalabanga (lotus seeds) of which some are like nearing extinction, utak biya people are not endangered but mostly highly evident in our society-- just look at the results of the latest elections! :(

Related Posts:
Big Head Carp
Ayungin

Labels: Culture, Flora and Fauna

A farm and restaurant he only heard from his friends in Tacloban and mere 30 minutes drive from Tacloban City center, Rafael Farm and Restaurant was visited by Tutubi on his way back from his visits to Caluwayan Beach Resort in Samar before heading to the Tacloban Airport to catch his return flight to Manila.

Pictures of Rafael Farm and Restaurant, Babatngon, Leyte:

the souvenir shop of rafael farm where you can buy t-shirts, mugs and other mementoes
the main restaurant of Rafael Farm with the reflections of the placid man-made lake where you can also ride boats for rent

Tutubi can't give you a full-blown review of Rafael Farm for he merely stayed there for about thirty minutes to take a few pictures and briefly enjoyed the view of the farm in the tree house that overlooks the man-made lake and lush greenery of the garden hideaway.

there's a bridge across the lake resembling San Juanico Bridge and the distinctive S and L forms symbolizing Samar and Leyte
another look at the lake and bridge with Tutubi's friend, that he later learned, is also a photographer

When the guard at the gate noticed that he and his group didn't order from the restaurant, even the halo-halo as recommended by his friend, the guard asked for P20 entrance fee to the farm that they were able to haggle to be gratis since on the premise that they're in a hurry and will come back someday.

Tutubi will be back at Rafael Farm indeed and will surely order their set meal claimed to be good and reasonably priced as well. He foresees another trip to Leyte in the coming months, that's for sure. Much better if they can offer overnight accommodations at their relaxing place.

the toilet and washroom with refreshing color

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Rafael Farm and Restaurant
Address: Brgy. Pagsulhugon
Babatngon, Leyte Province

Telephone Numbers: +63.53.325.0729; +63.53.325.0729
Mobile No.: +63.918.669.9909; +63.915.920.0325

Email: inquiry@rafaelfarm.com; reservation@rafaelfarm.com

For reservations and inquiries, menu prices, events (weddings, baptism, and other parties), and promos, please call their published contact numbers or send an email inquiry. Rafael Farm apparently has no working official website.

Related Leyte Links (or click the Leyte category on the navigation pane:

Ocho Seafood and Grill
Tacloban Delicacies: Binagol and Moron
San Juanico Bridge

Labels: Eastern Visayas, Leyte, Leyte Restaurants

Grab your seat to a cheap flight to Mindanano via the latest Cebu Pacific seat sale ongoing til May 16, 2010.

as sent by the Cebu Pacific official newsletter:

"Your most popular domestic carrier, Cebu Pacific (CEB), promotes an off-peak travel to Mindanao with our trademark low fares. Our special Southern Philippines seat sale for as low as P799 starts now until May 16, 2010, for travel this July 1 to September 30, 2010.

For the ‘Go Lite’ seat sale fare of P799, you can fly to Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, Dipolog, General Santos, Ozamiz, Pagadian, Siargao, Surigao and Zamboanga from Cebu. The same goes for guests traveling from Davao to Cagayan de Oro, Iloilo and Zamboanga.

If you are coming from Manila avail of the ‘Go Lite’ seat sale fare of only P1,499. This is for flights to Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, Cotabato, Davao, Dipolog, General Santos, Ozamiz, Surigao, Zamboanga and Pagadian.

For bookings and flight details, visit www.cebupacificair.com now!"

Labels: Cebu Pacific

For Tutubi, it's about P560 :P

That's the amount he spent just to get home to his hometown Paete, Laguna, on election day itself, just to cast his sole vote that he expected to be drowned out by millions of ignorant voters voting for the wrong people using the wrong arguments.

P560 is broken down to these items (How to get to Paete, Laguna):

Taxi to Cubao from Munoz: P70.00 (P140)
HM Transport Bus fare to Sta. Cruz, Laguna from Cubao: P148.50 (P297)
Jeepney fare Sta. Cruz (Pagsawitan) to Paete: P24.00 (P48)
Pancit canton at Benga's pancitan: P75.00 (good for 3 to 4 persons, highly recommended when you're in Paete)

The sad part about Tutubi's daytrip to Paete, Laguna, a PCOS Machine Malfunction at his precinct prevented him from casting his vote and left the school at around 4pm. He doesn't have the luxury of time to wait and had to go back to Manila where Tutubi, Jr. waits for him.

That's just one of the probably thousands of disenfranchised voters who weren't able to vote in the Philippines' first automated elections. Charge it to negative experience :(

Labels: Floobydust

Blogging has been on the mind of Tutubi way back then when his online friend and travel mate, Ferdz of Ironwulf has been blogging for quite some time, as well as another friend and blogger R.O., quite acerbic yet really nice in person, has been bugging him to start his own travel blog knowing how itchy his feet was.

Three months after the ill-fated Palawan trip, Tutubi fired up his browser, logged on to blogger.com and published his first blog post, with blog title Tutubi Patrol. This blog later morphed into Backpacking Philippines two years later and the rest is history.

Four years after, he's still at it blogging unbiased and unsponsored posts bashing establishments for lousy service or giving glowing reviews and feedback to deserving ones.

Year 2009 was marked by an attempted buyout of this blog by a Singapore-based company interested in buying this pathetic space on the web with an inclusive offer to hire Tutubi as a paid blogger that he didn't accept, even if the pay's good, for sentimental reasons.

Tutubi may have slowed down his posting and limited his travel and adventures lately but one thing's not going to change though, this blog will NEVER post advertorial and sponsored posts. It's not easy doing it, with offers from resorts, hotels (the soon to be opened budget hotel of the Philippines' budget airline is one of the latest), doing so will turn this blog into something like mainstream media lifestyle writers and some bloggers receiving freebies for promotional posts lacking objectivity and, worse, without disclosure.

He may not have the best pictures and articles that didn't go through rigorous polishing to accompany his posts, but Tutubi will always be the fun blogger with a trustworthy blog, one of the very, very few actually in the Philippines!


"I Explore, therefore I blog...No Quid Pro Quo!"

-- tutubi AT BackpackingPhilippines DOT com



Last note: Good luck too to Nina whose blog anniversary post serves as annual reminder of this blog's own anniversary... Just Wandering is just few days older than this blog :P

Labels: Blogging