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Villa Jhoana is Your Home Away from Home in Angono
Offering a full range of services, accommodations, and activities, Villa Jhoana is the top choice to suit your business or pleasure needs whenever in the Art Capital. Located near Angono’s town proper,...
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Albay Accommodations: A Quiet Retreat at Mirisbiris Garden and Nature Center
When my friend Rome told me about Mirisbiris, I almost panicked. I thought he meant Misibis. This and that place isn't really within my means. Fortunately, all was cleared up when he sent me...
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At Perfection's Feet
Like the bottles of soda in the back of the multicab, my nerves were a-rattle. There was a nagging thought at the back of my mind as yet to be fully formed, but already it was frustrating me.I scowled...
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Tarlac Accommodations | Business is Always a Pleasure at Microtel Luisita
Microtel Luisita appeared in to view, suddenly, like a bright, playful summer afternoon. Its presence unmistakable. Undeniable. A pleasant break from the green of the trees and the gray of the asphalt...
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Under God's Grace
Sleep hovered over my eyes as we sped past stretches of countryside. We'd just arrived in Tarlac. It was a Tuesday in the middle of August. The sky was fickle, shifting from blue to gray then back...
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Ice Breaker
There was a rumbling sound and it wasn't the engine. It started with a few deep notes, like a bassist tuning his instrument. Uncertain. Timid. Later on, as if the bassist had finally found the right...
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Tarlac Foodserye: Grilled Goodness at Victor's Lechon Manok and Barbecue
The air was heavy with the scent of smoke and roasting meat, and it wrapped around us like a lasso, tightening and pulling us towards the bare, unfussy shack that was Victor's Lechon Manok and...
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Of Puzzle Pieces
The rest of that particular August afternoon was spent inside our cozy hotel room in Microtel Luisita. After we had our hearty meal at Victor's, we took to our rooms and cozied up. We were so...
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No Rubber Was Burned
The spark of city lights was a welcome reprieve from the gloom of Hacienda Luisita. Our time in the Aquino Center and Museum, while informative and insightful, had caused old questions to resurface and...
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Tarlac Foodserye: Saved by the Game Room
My heart fell when we were told we won't be karting anymore. The afternoon rain had rendered the tracks un-navigable. Sitting inside the Game Room, I glazed over the menu, distracted by the crisp...
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Dawdling Drabbles | Showing Up at the Luisita Golf Club
A familiar green made up the Luisita Golf Club. A green not unlike the one in the Tarlac Recreational Park– cared for, touched by men. On the green's, periphery, a bevy of flags topped tall metal...
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Thriving Tarlac
Bordered by Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan, and Zambales, the landlocked province of Tarlac is known for its vast plains that yield most of the country's produce. Sugar canes, rice, and corn are...
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Dawdling Drabbles | Tabaco Church the Sentinel
The Tabaco Church stood with a quiet resilience in the night, as if dutifully standing watch over the handful of people taking advantage of the cool evening air. Warm, buttery beams illuminated its...
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Dawdling Drabbles | Change at the Cagsawa Ruins
Each one of my many visits to Albay's Cagsawa Ruins had been unique in some way– it's why I never minded going back to places. A place will change, transforming for better or for worse, in subtle ways...
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Dawdling Drabbles | Chasing the Lights at Peñaranda Park
One August afternoon, my bestfriend Tophee and I were waiting for a local friend in Old Albay's Peñaranda Park where a group of teens rolled around on their skateboards and students from the...
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Sorsogon Accommodations | Right at the Heart of the City at Novo Hotel
I've been to Sorsogon– both the province and the city – many times, but I haven't had the chance to stay anywhere other than our family house in Bacon. On my most recent trip, however, I was able to...
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Nueva Ecija Accommodations | Cool Down at Microtel Cabanatuan
Our North Luzon tour continued to the province of Nueva Ecija. After a day and a half in Tarlac, on we went to what is known as "The Rice Bowl of the Philippines." In this leg of our tour, we were...
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2 Corinthians 4:8-9 ESV
It stood quietly on one side of the road, an island of metal in a sea of grass. It was once a bus. Now, it was akin to a discarded toy Time claimed for its own. No glass on its windows. No tires on its...
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Of Comings and Goings
There's a thrill in arriving. An anticipation sweet in being realized. But leaving... well, it's a different story.To a wandering soul, every place, essentially, is liminal. Every destination but a...
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Cubao Foodserye | Cakes and Craft Beer at Cab Cafe
Araneta Center in Cubao is a grand transportation terminal – from the LRT, buses, jeepneys, and vans. It's where travelers and commuters converge. But this place also offers more than just a way to get...
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