The Salibanda is a centuries old devotion in Paete, Laguna where an image of the Sto. Niño is paraded around town beginning at Paete Church (on the third and last Sundays of January at 12nn), westward towards Wawa Park and Laguna de Bay lakeshore for a short fluvial parade then winds around town for a "wet and wild" water festival. The parade culminates at Paete Town Plaza where the whole town square full of people gets really wet even with the participation of Paete Fire Station "bumbero."

These pictures of Salibanda were taken using a Nikon D80 with 18-200 VR lens covered with plastic waterproof case to protect it from water. You may notice haze and water on the photos due to this setup

Read this article on Salibanda History for more information and narratives:

The traditional color worn by revelers is red, the use of this yellow color may have been due to the club

a spray of water greets the "party people" en route to Wawa Park





Salibanda actually means "sali sa banda" (join the band)


Dare to join Paete Salibanda next year or in the future?

Salibanda Schedule:
third and last Sunday of January (it coincides with the Sinulog, Ati-atihan)
om January 18, 2015 then with the Dinagyang on January 25, 2015

Related Posts:

Salibanda History Sto. Niño
January Festival Schedule Sto. Niño
Legend of Ati-atihanStar Toll

Labels: Calabarzon, Festivals, Fiestas, Laguna, Paete, Southern Tagalog

If you're a first time traveller wishing to get information how to get to Clark Airport, and you're in Metro Manila, the fastest, cheapest and probably most convenient way to get to Clark Airport is via The Trinoma-Clark Airport bus where a nice, cozy airport lounge awaits passengers

Trinoma-Clark Aiport Lounge operating hours is 24/7 (no open and closing times since it's outside Trinoma mall and do not follow mall hours) and is comfy waiting area, secured luggage counter, and real-time flight status updates.

Bus companies plying the Trinoma to Clark Aiport bus route:
Philtranco, Genesis, Victory Liner and Five Star.

Trinoma to Clark Airport bus fare: PhP200.00

Trinoma-Clark Airport Lounge Telephone Number: +63.2.621.3673

a drive-by picture of Trinoma-Airport Lounge, located at the ground floor of Trinoma Mall, North Avenue side, between The Medical City and Mercury Drug


Airlines operating at Clark Aiport:
Air Asia Philippines, Air Asia Berhad, Cebu Pacific Air, Seair-Tiger, Airphil Express, Jin Air, Zest Air, Asiana Airlines and Dragonair

Related Posts:
Hotels near Clark Airport
Clark Airport Terminal Fee

Please call Trinoma-Clark Airport Lounge Hotline for more information, Trinoma-Clark Airport Lounge Contact Number, Trinoma to Clark Airport travel time is about 1.5 hours, Trinoma-Clark Airport bus schedule

Labels: Airports, Public Transportation

The intoxicating history of Tequila involved Filipinos!

A little known story about the Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade, when Manila became the trans-shipment point between China, Mexico and Europe, came with the trade of plant, trees, fruits (and pests) where The Philippines gave Mexico tropical fruits including the "mango de manila" (Trivia: the Manila mango brand popular in the US is owned by Mexicans and not Filipinos?) and the sampaloc (tamarind). In turn the Mexicans gave Filipinos the sweet potato, maize (corn), chico, chayote (sayote), guyabano (sour sop), muntingia (aratilis), chico-mamei (common in Paete), cacao (where chocolates came from), camachile, poinsettia, cotton and tobacco.

Now, did you know that the world famous Mexican tequila, in its present form, was made possible using Filipino technology to distill the spirit from fermented sap of the agave plant in the 16th century?

The Filipinos, who came to Mexico via the galleons in the 16th century settled in the hills of Colima, were brought there to establish coconut plantations. Probably because of boredom, they started making coconut wine (lambanog) from fermented coconut sap (tuba) like how they did back home.

The practice of making coconut wine was outlawed by Spanish authorities in Mexico in the 17th century and the people resorted to agave plant sap distillation using the same Filipino technique that's easy to conceal and avoid detection: the mezcal was born.

The first historical record of mezcal is 1619, a variant of which was later renamed tequila, after its place of birth (Tequila is now part of the Mexican state of Jalisco).

Tequila grew in popularity in the late 1940s when the Margarita, a cocktail blend of Tequila, lime juice, orange liqueur, and ice was invented.

Tutubi first came to know of this years ago from a certain yahoogroup on Philippine history and early writings alleging that the famous Tequila of Mexico came about with the help of Filipinos who taught the Mexicans how to distill the agave plant to make the intoxicating drink using the same technology of tuba, the coconut sap wine, of the Philippines.

Now, if only enterprising Filipinos can squeeze out more creative juices to market our very own lambanog (say invent a cocktail using it and named after Manila or any place in the Philippines or invent a unique ritual like tequila's lick, sip suck) to the world and be at par with the now world-famous tequila of Mexico that came about with Filipino technology during the 16th century.

Let's drink to that: lick, sip, suck!

Scholarly Source Article as proof:

Tequila and other Agave Spirits from west-central Mexico:
current germplasm diversity, conservation and origin
by Patricia Colunga-GarciaMarin and Daniel Zizumbo-Villareal
Published July 9, 2006

Tequila, History of Tequila, Origin of Tequila, Filipinos history of tequila, mezcal origin, Lambanog Tequila common history

Labels: Philippine History, Pinoy Pride

It's a marriage between the raucous Ati-atihan Festival of Kalibo, Aklan and the St John the Baptist themed Basaan Fiesta of San Juan and the Parada ng Lechon of Balayan, Batangas where the people of Paete, Laguna, for more than a century, parade on the streets with the Sto. Niño (child Jesus), while spectators and revelers alike splash water on one another.

Photo Credits and Special thanks to Sidney of My Sari-sari Store for letting Tutubi use his Salibanda images. Tutubi invited Sidney in 2010 but was not able to come home

The fiesta, called Salibanda, shortened from Sali sa Banda (english: join the band), is held on the third and the last Sundays of January (usually coinciding with the schedules of Cebu's Sinulog Festival and Kalibo's Ati-atihan Festival and Iloilo's Dinagyang festival but not with Dinagyang if January has 5 Sundays)

Fiesta Salibanda 2015 Schedule:

January 18, 2015
Official Catholic and Rampants Club

January 25, 2015
Sto. Nino de Palaboy and S Fly
12nn Paete Church for the holy mass then parade around Paete for the "basaan" part
the Aglipayan (Aglipay or Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI))parade starts from Wawa (Laguna Lake shore) fluvial parade


These days, you can now see the same festival celebrated in neighboring towns of Pakil, Pangil, Kalayaan, Lumban and Pagsanjan but the original is always Paete, the first to have the unique Sto. Niño fiesta in the Philippines.

Origin and History of Salibanda Fiesta:

When did the Salibanda start? Who started it? Did it begin as an animist/pagan practice and converted into a Catholic tradition similar to the Ati-atihan Festival?

No one definitely knows for sure when or when the "wet and wild" devotion to the Sto Niño began and originated. Local lore and legends are also hard to believe. No scholarly study has been done to trace and document this. There's only documentation that the practice was present in the late 19th century and the original Sto. Niño image was transferred from the Catholic Church to the Aglipayan in 1902 when the original owners of the image switched religion.

in history there's a saying: "no document, no history" the mystery behind this tradition still exists waiting for a scholar to dig deeper or someone to stumble upon an ancient document (a 19th century or earlier blogger perhaps?) detailing it's origins and original intent.

Salibanda tips:

wear red if you want to participate (but not a guarantee that you will not get wet)
bring extra change clothes
protect your camera or bring a waterproof camera
If you have a car, park it on the highway, not inside the town as you will be requested to move it so as not to impede the parade and avoid scratches

Related posts:
Map of Paete, Laguna
Ati-atihan Festival
Basaan Fiesta of San Juan

Labels: Calabarzon, Festivals, Fiestas, Laguna, Paete, Southern Tagalog

Tutubi gathered this list from the Internet with most beach resorts in Pagudpud now have official websites, unlike the time when Tutubi went there in 2002, there were only three beach resorts including Saud Beach Resort on Saud White Beach.

At least Tutubi was able to visit Pagudpud back when it was still serene and not as popular like today, when the only restaurants on Saud beach were the one inside Saud Beach resort and another turo-turo eatery cooking fresh seafood on order (paluto style). herewith is the list of Saud Beach Resorts in Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte:

The white sand beach of Saud, Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte (Picture courtesy of a friend who went there just recently

Arinaya White Beach Resort
http://arinayawhitebeach.pagudpodshore.com/

Pannzian Beach & Mountain Resort
Villa Del Mar Ivory Beach Resort

Apo Idon Beach Hotel
Polaris Beach Resort

Evangeline Beach Resort
http://www.evangelinebeachresort.net

Hannah Beach Resort and Convention Center
Official Website: http://www.hannahsbeachresort.com/
Telephone Number:
Room Rates: PhP4000.00 (peak period room rates)
Entrance fee for swimming (day tour rate): PhP50.00/person

Jun & Carol Beach Cottages
http://juncarolbeachresort.com/

Kapuluan Vista Resort
http://www.kapuluanvista.com/
Telephone Number: +63.920.952.2528; +63.920.928.5273
Email address: kapuluan_vista_resort@yahoo.com
Location: Sitio Baniaran, Barangay Balaoi, Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte

Polaris Beach House
http://polarisbeachhouse.wordpress.com/

Punta Garvida Beach Resort
http://puntagarvidabeach.pagudpodshore.com/

Saud Beach Resort & Hotel
http://www.saudbeachresort.com/

Terra Rika Beach and Dive Resort
http://www.terrarika.com
Remarks: online booking using credit cards, BDO, and Paypal available

Villa Del Mar Ivory Beach Resort
http://www.villadelmarpagudpud.com/

Blue Lagoon Resorts

Punta Azul
http://www.punta-azul-pagudpud.com/

Note:

if you're looking for the cheapest accommodations in pagudpud, homestays are your best options with fan beds and communal shower rooms and toilets for PhP250.00/person

ATV Rental rates in pagudpud is PhP250.00
Kitesurding rates: PhP2,300.00 1 hour kiteboard/kitesurf

Tutubi is not in any way affiliated with any of these resorts, please contact each resort via their published contact numbers, official websites for room reservations, inquiries, room rates, surfing rates, swimming pool, infinity pool, facilities, promos and discounts even sample menu on their restaurants. no information too on which resort accept online bookings or credit card payments.

Related Posts:
How to get to Pagudpud
Pagudpud Travel Guide

you may also be looking for saud beach resorts, blue lagoon beach resorts
pagudpud beach resorts, ilocos beaches, white sand beach, beachfront resort pagudpud
cheap beach resorts in ilocos norte for company summer outing, where to stay in pagudpud accommodations

Labels: Beaches, Hotels and Resorts, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Region

Just to post the 2013 schedule of MOA PyroMusical Competition (fireworks display competition at SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City). Do also take note of Tutubi's tips
on the event, venue, parking and how to take fireworks pictures at the bottom of the post.

Photo of silhouette cameraman who obstructed Tutubi's camera view during the 2nd PyroMusical Competition (then called Pyro Olympics) at SM Mall of Asia. The best place to take pictures of the even is on the rocks before the seawall where you can use a tripod with remote control

MOA PyroMusical Competition 2013 Schedule:

February 16:
Japan (Tamaya Kitahara) & Finland (Oy Pyroman Finland Ltd.)

February 23:
Taiwan (Yung Feng Fireworks) & Spain (Brunchu Pyro Experience)

March 2:
United Kingdom (Jubilee Fireworks Ltd.) & South Korea (Hwarang Fireworks Inc.)

March 9:
Italy (Ipon Fireworks S.R.L) & The Netherlands (Royal Fireworks)

March 16:
China (Liuyang New Year Fireworks Manufacturing Co., Ltd.) & Australia (Fireworkx Inc.)

March 23 (Closing Exhibition):
Canada (Fireworks Spectacular) & Philippines (Platinum Fireworks Inc.)

Tips:
1. get there early to reserve the best view in front of the crowd and also take pictures of the fireworks as if coming from the Manila Bay and not from the fireworks barges.
2. Park nearest the street or outside of MOA since it takes an awful lot of time to get out after the event finishes (reason why Tutubi never went back there)
3. How to take Fireworks pictures: Use a sturdy tripod and camera remote control and lots of patience. set camera to 5 or 10 seconds depending on your style, ISO 100 and aperture to around 5.6 but best to find the best settings beforehand on trial shots
to get what you prefer to be seen or get.
4. to avoid huge crowds, you can also book for a romantic dinner at a restaurant near SM MOA where you can view the fireworks display synchronized with music.

Related Posts:

2nd Pyro Olympics Pictures
MOA Eye: Giant Ferris Wheel of SM Mall of Asia

Labels: Events, Metro Manila, National Capital Region, Pasay City

Just to give in to a request by an online friend on why Tutubi commented that Facebook is more of a marketing tool for blogs but it's not really effective in giving you the more important thing needed by a blog: traffic!

This blog does not have the numbers when it comes to Facebook page followers nor Twitter nor RSS feed subscribers but there's one thing here that advertisers and affiliates see under the hood, something readers don't see unless you monitor the blog's statcounter numbers daily:

herewith are the web analytics from January 1 to December 31, 2012 from Google Analytics:

Google Analytics for 2012 showing visitor traffic


Google Analytics for 2012 with 2.4 million pageviews for 2012

Blog Statistics:

Total visits for 2012: 1,638,038 visitors
Total pageviews for 2012: 2,408,763 pageviews
Average monthly pageview: 200,000
Average monthly visitors: 120,000 visits
Average daily pageviews: 6,000
Average daily visitors: 4000
Average daily returning visits: around 700 (per Statcounter)

Highest visits: 224, 423 visitors (april, peak in Holy Week)
Highest pageviews: 327843 pageloads (april, peak in Holy Week)
Lowest traffic month: December where visitors and pageviews drop around 50%

Adsense revenue: of course this is confidential, please note that it's only around august/september when the site was fully optimized for adsense that resulted to 30% more revenues without increase in traffic (thanks mucho Google). This is the reason why there has been no major template re-design here (besides Tutubi's dysfunctional motor system syndrome)

Now to support the claim that Facebook is next to useless (for now) here are the numbers:

Number of published blog posts: 930
number of Facebook page likes: 2,592 (since September 2011)
number of Twitter followers: 221 (since September 2011)
RSS feed subscribers: 434
Google Reader followers: 73

these numbers above are paltry compared to other travel bloggers but if you look at the actual traffic generated by facebook, even facebook likes on the facebook page do not guarantee the actual post as read by people.

In fact, Facebook users only click Like on a facebook post but do not actually visit/read the promoted post!

In numbers, Facebook referrals out of 2.4M visits for 2012 is only around 11,000. Google is still is this blog's best friend followed by Yahoo! Top blog referrals came from Flipnomad and Chyng Reyes (thanks).

Something more must be done to improve the likes and traffic from FB, but looking at other bloggers with more than 10k or even 20k followers on FB but traffic, gauged from Pinoy Top Blogs, is still too low, is discouraging. (By the way, do you have an idea why Tutubi opted out of Pinoy Top Blogs? :)

Getting more FB likes and Twitter followers is nice to have though and improves the "media kit" image besides having a more solid "Digital Influencer" status

Anyway, blogging is just a distraction for Tutubi, something he does in his (very limited) free time...and he doesn't like to be called names nor wants to be famous thus his still being a private but not anonymous blogger.

Looking forward for more explorations (and less post backlogs) in 2013!

Labels: Blogging