Liliw is one of my favorite towns in Laguna, second only to my hometown of course. Located at the foot of Mt Banahaw and blessed with cooler weather than the lowlands (that's a secret), bordered by the towns of Sta Cruz (the provincial capital), Magdalena, Nagcarlan, Majayjay (all in Laguna) and Dolores town in Quezon. Its streets still retain the heritage houses vis-a-vis new brightly colored houses built with money pumped in by the thriving shoe industry that rivals that of Marikina.

My father and my sisters decided to visit again this quaint town to shop for sandals, visit friends and unknowingly witnessed the on-going Tsinelas Festival (Tsinelas or chinelas, a certain kind of footwear)

one end of Gat Tayaw St with the welcome arch

Liliw town was founded by Gat Tayaw, whose main street is named after him, during the 1500s. The town's name was said to be taken from a bird with a sound onomatoepeiac to Liliw (as in Liw! Liw)

gat tayaw street with banderitas and stalls

shoes and bags galore that ladies drool over

beaded sandals/flip-flops at my favorite store there: Aristocrat

After shopping you may visit Ara Bela, probably the most popular restaurant in this side of town with their not-so-pricey pasta, pizza, cakes and other delectable offerings frequented even by denizens of the big city. The place is usually full at lunch time so come early.


the cozy interior of Ara Bela has soft, dim lights and low ceiling fit for hobbits and other vertically-challenged people

delectable cakes and desserts for people with sweet tooth

double cheese pizza at Ara Bela

at P45 each for an 8 inch tall glass of mocha shake, this is a steal

for truly frugal foodies, there's street food

There's also Decio's near the church for Filipino food finds plus a handful of others on the main road and adjacent places.

How to get to Liliw, Laguna (commuting):

Liliw town can be reached the commute way by taking a HM Transport bus bound for Sta Cruz in Cubao (near Victory Liner) or on Taft Ave near corner Buendia stations. Alight at barangay Pagsawitan in Sta Cruz (a fork on the road where most people get off) and transfer to a Liliw-bound jeepney. There is also a way via San Pablo. For people coming from Quezon province or the fourth district of Laguna (like Paete), board a jeepney bound for Sta Cruz, get off at Sambat (Jollibee, Pagsanjan not the other Sambat in Sta Cruz) then transfer to a jeepney with Lilw signboard.

Labels: Calabarzon, Festivals, Laguna, Southern Tagalog

168 Mall is a popular ladies mall near the sprawling budget shopping paradise of Divisoria. It's there where you can buys cheap bags, shoes, accessories, dresses, makeup kits, shirts, mp3 players, tools and electronic items at very low prices, most of them are made in China though. Such unbelievably low prices was so controversial that the mall was raided at least twice due to allegations of smuggling.

You may practice your haggling or bargaining skills here to get a lower price

One example is when Tutubi bought a genuine unbranded leather jacket for my 30GB iPod video for P300. An original one costs somewhere around P1800.

This is a cash-only mall, much like Divisoria, so have cash on hand. There are ATMs at the 3rd floor: Security Bank, BDO, BPI and Chinabank.

On the 3rd floor also is the food court where several stalls can be found. Not so usual finds there is Chariyas Authentic Thai Kitchen (a generous serving of Tom Yum costs P75), Quan Yin Chay Vegetarian Food Garden (veggie spaghetti is P40), Aldrinos Bibingka Espesyal, Lola Ines Halo-halo and Pancit Luglug, Namit Gid (Ilonggo) and Lami Gyud (Cebuano)

A question often asked of Tutubi is the reason why Chinese love the number 168. Asked around from Chinese friends, one said that 168 in Chinese means "road to prosperity" or "continue being prosperous." The number 8 sounds similar to the word which means "wealth," "fortune," or "prosper." Another Chinese friend also said "In Cantonese, 168 is “Yat-Luk-Pat” sounding like “Yat-Low-Fat” that's translated as 'road to luck'"

another trivia: Arrticle 168 of the Revised Penal Code deals with illegal possession and use of false treasury or bank notes and other instruments of credit, used by people to be on the "road to luck" or prison :P

How to get to 168 Mall, Binondo, Manila:

Commute to 168 Mall:

take the LRT and get off at Doroteo Jose station (alternatively, take LRT 2 and get off at the last station Recto/Arranque), take a jeep bound for Divisoria then alight in front of Tutuban Mall. 168 Mall is accessible by a narrow alley across C.M. Recto (Azcarraga).

Commuting from Taft Avenue, Manila to Divisoria is a breeze, just take the Divisoria-bound jeepneys or FX, and walk towards Tutuban Mall and 168 Mall.

The Divisoria-Gastambide jeep, with terminal at the corner of Espana and Lerma/Morayta (Nicanor Reyes) passes near the Caltex station near 168 Shopping Mall

Directions to 168 Mall from Quezon City, take Rizal Avenue (Avenida) then Abad Santos (near Chinese Cemetery). After crossing C.M. Recto avenue, turn right at Caltex at the corner of Soler and Reina Regente then right again Felipe II street (opposite corner is Meisic Mall)

By car from Taft Avenue/Lawton, take Jones Bridge going to Binondo passing through Paredes, and Binondo church. Right turn at the end of Plaza Lorenzo Ruiz (Reina Regente)then left turn Felipe II street (Caltex and Meisic Mall)

Parking is scarce there, you may consider parking in front of Meisic Mall and nearby places



Related post:
How to get to Divisoria

Labels: Malls, Manila, Metro Manila, National Capital Region, Shopping

After the exhausting team building/light trek activities and forgettable dinner by the beach (didn't I tell you food in the tourism-accredited facility is not worth the price tag?), most of us raised our hands when one of the leaders asked us if we wanted to hunt for ghosts in the old hospital building where ghosts of dead Japanese soldiers still on tour of duty can be caught on film.

Oh boy, this is the most exciting and much awaited part of the day!

But sadly, one of the guides informed us it was already too late since too many spirits will be disturbed, the foundation banned ghosthunters to stray near the alleged haunted grounds.

To my dismay, I just pointed my camera towards the pier where Gen. Douglas MacArthur mentioned the all-too-familiar "I shall return" before boarding a PT boat to escape and leave his men behind and here's what I got:
I saw a black cat crossed the frame of my camera but it did not register on the picture-- not even a slight shadow. There are many black cats at the recreation center, by the way.

The following day, I took my friends on the tutubi DIY (do-it-yourself) tour of corregidor and went to places not normally visited by regular Corregidor day tours. One of those places are the ruins of the hospital, abandoned and creepy, with its walls showing signs of bullets and bombs, it's halls filled with litter, crevices filled with plants and trees. We're the only people in that forsaken place with writings on the wall, vandalism, graffiti, and vestiges of a true ghost of history that is the Jabidah massacre that happened here during the repressive Marcos years.

A strange picture pointed to me by one of my officemates later in the office, that a photo taken at the hospital, there's a shadow of a man inside the dreary place even if I was the first one to enter the place and my officemates were busy taking pictures outside. I traced the sequence of my pictures since I have captures that corroborates the claim that all of them were still outside when I released the shutter of my camera. (click the picture if you want a large one)



I have to tell you the truth though, the truth that I'm not afraid of ghosts, if there really are such things. I'm more afraid of the living!

Amenities and other activities in the island fortress

For overnight accomodations there's nice Corregidor Inn that my macho officemates were so afraid to sleep alone at night (this I found out with my roommate). You can ask for free tranvia service if you want to tour the island. There's also a van for hire there.





For budget travellers, there's dormitory-like accomodation (that I call charity ward) at P500/night/pax

For backpackers, you can pitch a tent at the beach or near some ruins for a haunted and chilly sleeping experience.

Small swimming pool for children (no lifeguards, swim at your own risk) and the beaches for bumming around.

Aside from the accomodations, there's recreation center, with its all-too-familiar videoke machine, billiards et al, conference room for meetings etc.

Getting to Corregidor requires a ferry ride at the CCP complex (Manila, near Harbour Square) or if you're adventurous, try the outrigger boats on the shores of Mariveles, Bataan. Another option, and free at that, is to join the annual trip sponsored by the Philippine Navy, with it's WW2 vintage ships. Also you may want to join the annual tree planting activity by the Clean and Green Foundation (IIRC).

The daytour to the island is highly recommended due to its being highly organized, but the food, the food at the hotel is lamentable and pathetic for a tourism-accredited establishment serving Filipino food. (I was there thrice and this hasn't changed. Calling Sun Cruises and Corregidor Foundation people, why didn't you act on my comments and suggestions?)

More information about Corregidor tours and hotel accommodations can be found at the official website of Sun Cruises.

And you thought I'm gonna blog about Corregidor for eternity? :)

Related Posts:

Fall of Corregidor,
Corregidor Guided Tour Part 1,
Corregidor Guided Tour Part 2,
Corregidor Teambuilding and Light Trek Activities,

Labels: Calabarzon, Cavite, Corregidor, Hotels and Resorts, Southern Tagalog

Our company went to Corregidor, with myself part of the triumvirate of organizers, with team building activities in mind, organized by Mentor Group and very similar setup to the popular TV reality game Amazing Race.

We were divided into four groups with the following names that we thought were very appropriate: Hampas Lupa, Patay Gutom, Kapal Muks and Sunog Baga (names that defy direct translation but mostly derisive Filipino terms) and each with own group colored shirts. Names that the organizers were not used to but often shout out the names due to their being unique aside from having a license for derision.

Draw a house

The first part of the event was an indoor game for us to draw rockets using limited amount of straight lines. We won this won due to proper planning, coordination and creativity.

The second event was the team shout and cheering competition that required us to to compose, choreograph, sing and dance aside from usual taunts and heckling other groups. Due to our creative mix of Filipino songs and chorus of the Carpenter's "Sing" akin to Bulagaan segment of a popular noontime show, we handily won this one.

Team Relay



With Battery Crockett as our backdrop, the third part was some sort of n caterpillar obstacle race, with feet tied together and holding on to one another, with some members blinfolded and eventually all but one were, evading obstacles of rocks, tape and markings with non-blidfolded members guiding the "blind." One of the obstacles was tape hanging so low that we were able to slip past through by crawling under. The group with the fastest time wins after deducting penalties for tripping over obstacles.



Three Treasures

At the opening part, we were taken to a road junction where we tried to find pieces of maps inside colored baloons and where the clues were hidden in three batteries: Grubbs, Geary, and Smith (for pictures of these batteries, click here)

I naturally chose to proceed to Battery Smith since I haven't seen that battery, only to find out it's hidden and accesible only through a tunnel that you have to descend to using a rope. The battery looks so much like Battery Hearn but I forgot to take a picture since I was in a hurry to return to the rendezvous point of my team.

Back at the road crossing, we discovered that a third of our map was missing, maybe due to other visitors might have seen the baloons and took them, made us lose time that we've never fully recovered back.

Shell Shocked and Quack-Quack

The map, using a spare map given by our guides, pointed us to Battery Way where our next clue hidden there showed the way to the duck-walk tunnel, not recommended for claustrophobic people, more like a culvert, where we literally walked like a duck or bend while walking, about 40 meters long, and has a sturdy wooden ladder at the end. It's inside this tunnel where we saw a tuko (gecko) up close where one of bigger guys among us, ironically, was so afraid of.


On exiting the tunnel, refreshing, cold bottles of water were handed to us and also next clues hanging on the surrounding trees.

Mark or Dark

This time, there was a detour where we had to choose among two activities that we like, that is if we still have a choice: Mark or Dark

The first two groups chose DARK, a more exciting trip by passing through the Batcave, an eerie undeground cave full of bats that come out late in the afternoon, something I wanted to do, plus the arduous uphill trek of three hundred steps that made their knees wobble.

We got MARK, no choice since we're on third place, an activity where we tried to hit targets using tennis balls shot by an improvised slingshot that we need to make five bullseye or thirty minutes whichever comes first. We finished this in thirteen minutes.

The clue given at the end of the slingshot activity led us to the ruins of the old hospital where our next clue, actually a puzzle, was hidden; where ghosts of history dawned on me with the writings I saw on the wall of the dark and dreary place-- the Jabidah Massacre (of which I will blog one of these days).

On getting our next task, we're given a large bingo card where historical trivias about Corregidor were asked in each square and an acrostic, formed from the answers to the clues. This is where the knowledge of the tutubi in history came into useful existence since we were able to answer most of the questions.

Tunnel Time

Having deciphered the clue to the puzzle pointed to the Japanese Tunnel, I immediately told the team to hurry to the Eternal Flame of Freedom monument since I remembered a sign pointing to the entrance of the Japanese tunnel near the cliff. The tunnel about 40 meters long, also with laterals but not made of concrete like Malinta tunnel, with a cave entrance and exit at the other end is a ladder and rope. I also expected pythons, spiders and other scary yet interesting tenants of the place aside from ghostly imprints in my pictures inside but found none.


On seeing light at the end of the tunnel, we're tasked to eat pancit (Filipino noodle dish) with our bare, soiled hands since we drank all of our water. The next clue was actually hidden beneath the pancit wrapped in plastic and this time pointed to our pitstop: the old spanish lighthouse.

Patriotic pledge

Inside the lighthouse were a couple of steps of spiral stairway and a ladder going up to the top. At the top, acrophobic guys among us suffered usual dizziness, and where we sang the Philippine national anthem at the top of our voices drowned out by the vast space around us, particularly with Mt Samat in Bataan as silent witness to our "heroic journey."

We only managed to secure third place for this Amazing Race but we earlier won the cheering competition part mocking other teams with the chant of the HAMPAS LUPA team!

These activities, even if physically demanding, were endured by senior employees with their medicine bags in tow.

Related Posts:

Fall of Corregidor,
Corregidor Guided Tour Part 1,
Corregidor Guided Tour Part 2,
Corregidor Ghosthunting

Labels: Calabarzon, Cavite, Corregidor, Southern Tagalog

Let me now take you to a walking tour of the island starting at the parade grounds of the island known as "Gibraltar of the East"






The parade ground with a howitzer on display



The Filipino-American Friendship Park beside Cine Corregidor



The Pacific War Memorial completed in 1968 dedicated to American and Filipino servicemen. Nearby is a museum of war memorabilias.


The altar inside the Pacific War Memorial dome where light from above sometimes fall perfectly into place



The Eternal Flame of Freedom, a large steel structure, symbolizing the Flame of Freedom burning for eternity. )I wanted to take pictures of this structure at night but my colleagues are so afraid of ghosts and the tranvia is not available.)



The sweeping view from the platform of the Eternal Flame of Freedom with the tail of the tadpole in sight, the other islands, Bataan and Cavite. (sorry for the dirt on my lens. too lazy to clean it up)



The Buddhist statue at the Japanese Garden of Peace. This garden, used to be the Japanese cemetery, also has a Shinto shrine.



One of the anti-aircraft guns at the garden



The spanish lighthouse, Faro de Isla Corrigedor (Corregidor Lighthouse), originally built in 1836, the present structure is a reconstruction since it was destroyed during the war. On the viewdeck of the lighthouse is a 360 degree view of the island, South China Sea, Manila Bay, Bataan and Cavite provinces. Isn't it obvious that I really, really love lighthouses? There are many more lighthouses posted here :)





A winding road on the island reputed to be the most heavily bombed place on earth (per unit area) during the war. Note that during the siege of Corregidor, the Japanese dropped tons and tons of bombs from airplanes and borbarded it from batteries in ships, and on the beaches of Bataan and Cavite in present day Puerto Azul.

Related Posts:

Fall of Corregidor,
Corregidor Guided Tour Part 1,
Corregidor Teambuilding and Light Trek Activities,
Corregidor Ghosthunting

Labels: Calabarzon, Cavite, Corregidor, Lighthouses, Southern Tagalog, World War II

Sun Cruises, the operator of the Corregidor tour, gets my nod for a well-organized tour starting at the CCP complex where we boarded an air-conditioned ferry. Much of the upper deck of the ferry was reserved for us where films about the war was shown and one of the tour guide will give you a primer of "boring" history that delved too much on facts and figures...how i wish those guys emulate Ambeth Ocampo :(


the Sun Cruises II ferry with Caballo Island in the background

All of us were whisked to waiting tranvias as soon as we arrived and passed by four of the most accessible batteries (gun emplacements): Way, Crockett, Geary, Grubbs and Hearn all named after soldiers of Uncle Sam who were killed in the Philippines.

Battery Crockett with it's disappearing guns mounted on a parapet (i intentionally included the man standing at one end of the barrel to add scale for you to get an idea how huge the gun is)

Battery Hearn with its massive 12 inch guns, the largest in the island

One of the 10 inch mortars of Battery way, one of which was the last one to fall silent before the surrender to the Japanese

Our Tranvia at the entrance to Malinta Tunnel (entrance cost is P150). Malinta tunnel is a 255 meter long bomb-proof tunnel served as hospital and seat of Philippine Commonwealth where Pres. Quezon and VP Osmena were sworn into office on Dec 30, 1941

One of the laterals of Malinta Tunnel Light and Sound Show, that I call powerpoint slides, with Japanese Imperial Army

Cine Corregidor ruins where the last movie shown was Gone With The Wind

the mile long barracks, the most photographed structure in the island, not actually a mile long :)

How to get to Corregidor Island:

Corregidor can only be reached by ferry of Sun Cruises at the CCP Complex in Pasay City. current ferry fare is PhP1,350.00 per person (no buffett)

Related Posts:

Fall of Corregidor,
Corregidor Guided Tour Part 2,
Corregidor Teambuilding and Light Trek,
Corregidor Ghosthunting

Labels: Calabarzon, Cavite, Corregidor, World War II

May 6, 1942: A gloomy day in history when the combined force of the United States' armed forces and Filipinos, abandoned by the US led by president Roosevelt (the Europe-first policy), without food, ammunition, medicines; with gangrened bodies piled up, capitulated almost a month after the Bataan peninsula gave up the gallant fight; a heroic fight that delayed Japanese timetable of occupation to the point of saving Australia from the Japanese juggernaut. By this time, much of East Asia already fell under the shadow of the Land of the Rising Sun except Thailand who collaborated with the Nihon-jin invaders.

This happened long after British-controlled Singapore, a vaunted impregnable fortess, capitulated in the middle of February 1942 that ended British's feared invinciblity in Asia. (note the brilliant strategist of Singapore invasion was Tomoyuki Yamashita)

a memorial to the heroes of war near the ruins of Cine Corregidor

This is the first of a series on Corregidor, a tadpole-shaped island fortress at the mouth of Manila Bay, politically part of Cavite even if geographically nearer to Bataan, that I visited three times: the first time in 2004 with Japanese friends (my rusty knowledge of Japanese helped a lot), the second time for the occular inspection and the third time for company team building activities

To be continued...

Related Posts:

Corregidor Guided Tour,
Corregidor Guided Tour,
Corregidor Team building,
Corregidor Ghosthunting

Labels: Calabarzon, Cavite, Corregidor, History, World War II