The most famous landmark and tourist attraction of Tacloban, though not really a part of the now highly-urbanized city, is MacArthur Park, now known as Leyte Landing Memorial. It dramatizes the landing of Gen. Douglas MacArthur on Read Beach with larger-than-life bronze statues of the general long with his entourage.

It was on October 20, 1944 when Gen. Douglas MacArthur waded ashore accompanied by then Philippine President Sergio Osmeña, Brig. Gen. Carlos P. Romulo (who'd become president of United Nations General Assembly) and Pres. Osmena's Aide-de-Camp Tony Madrigal (Don Antonio, the father of Senator Jamby Madrigal), to begin the liberation of Leyte Island and of the whole archipelago from the clutches of Imperial Japan.

MacArthur Landing Park on Red Beach, Palo, Leyte

The beachhead in Palo town, a few minutes from Tacloban City, is not really colored red per se nor called as such due to red color of the blood-drenched sand, but a designation of the beach in planning by the US military. There's also Blue Beach in nearby Dulag town and similar conventions of beaches in La Union and Pangasinan in Lingayen Gulf during the landing in Luzon island and Yellow Beach in Zamboanga City.

the MacArthur "shrine" with historical markers in view

the markers on the "shrine" reads:

"On this spot, Palo, Leyte, General Douglas MacArthur returned to the
Philippines on 20 October 1944 and personally led the swift drive
against the Japanese forces in the Philippines. President Sergio
Osmena arrived with General MacArthur and proceeded to reorganize, restore and administer the government of the commonwealth of the Philippines. Declared and National Historical Landmark 2004."

Alternate reports from actual observers and historians narrated how the dogmatic general spent five hours and three takes before the (in)famous video clip was recorded with him wading on Red Beach of Palo, Leyte, while the boats and his men on the shore were exposed to the blistering attacks of Kamikaze pilots from Pampanga that gravely put his men in danger because of his landing rehearsals typical of politicians for self-aggrandizement.

MacArthur Park (Leyte Landing Memorial) with a person in view to add scale to the larger-than-life bronze statues inside a man-made lagoon on Red Beach

Three days after the historic Leyte landing, began the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the largest naval battle of World War II and one of the largest naval battles in history, that ended with the crushing defeat of the Imperial Japanese Navy at the hands of the Americans aided by the Royal Australian Navy.

Lastly, does anybody know why MacArthur chose to land on the beaches of Leyte and not anywhere else? Historians know MacArthur initially planned to invade Mindanao particularly Sarangani Bay on December 20, 1944 but was diverted to Leyte two months ahead of schedule. It has something to do with guerillas (the unsung heroes) from Cebu. More on this on a future post.

How to get to MacArthur Park (Leyte Landing Memorial):

Commuting to MacArthur Shrine takes just two rides from Tacloban airport. First, ride a Tacloban bound jeep outside the Tacloban Aiport arrival area. Alight on the area known to the locals as Coca Cola (a park with a Coke factory with prominent Coke, Sprite and Royal giant cans as landmarks), cross the street then transfer to a jeepney bound for Baras (not Marasbaras) that passes by the park.

Those who took RORO buses or ferries to Tacloban can go there by taking a jeepney to Tacloban City center and transfer to Baras-bound jeeps near Tacloban Market, even Robinsons Tacloban mall.

Labels: Eastern Visayas, Landmarks, Leyte, World War II

Food trips are inextricably tied to travel where Tutubi tries to sample unique specialties and delicacies of all places he visits. Take kilawin for instance, a truly Filipino dish, simple and devoid of foreign incluences, even if similar to cerviche except the use of vinegar and not lemon.

This post features two versions of kilawin recipes with meat or fish replaced with ingredients from under the sea: seaweeds.

There are five seaweed species in the Philippines: Guso (Eucheuma), Lato (Caulerpa), Sargassum, Gelidiella and Gracilaria of which the first two are the most popular. They're now cultivated in shore communities and exported raw or processed with a little salt.

The seaweed salad now quite common in Metro Manila restaurants and known as lato. It's just unusual that Tutubi was able to sample lato on his second trip to Cebu (yeah, that whirlwind backpacking tour that took him around Cebu, Bohol, CDO, Camiguin and Bukidnon in 9 days of 2003)

Lato resembles small green grapes, translucent with smooth texture and bursts with mild salty flavor once eaten then glides down your mouth. It's mostly prepared kilaw-style i.e. mixed with vinegar and usual kinilaw ingredients used in the particular place.

fresh lato (seaweed) available at Munoz Market, ready for simple seaweed salad recipe (old lato picture taken with Canon Ixus 30)

Kinilaw na Guso, first encountered by Tutubi in Leyte, is actually agar-agar (scientific name: Eucheuma denticulatam) the source of carageenan used in food processing and other products such as toothpaste.

Kinilaw na guso seaweed salad at Ocho Bar and Grill in Tacloban City (Olympus Stylus 850SW)

Appearing like tree branches, guso, also has green color and texture different from lato. Tutubi prefers this over lato.

The third interesting "seaweed" recently featured on GMA7's Kapuso Mo Jessica Soho, that Tutubi has really yet to taste, is called lukot and actually not a seaweed at all. Lukot are excretions of the dongsul or sea hare and resembles green spaghetti, gathered by people near beaches where the sea hares live.

Tutubi hopes to see and taste lukot one of these days in future trips down south. Should any reader knows where to buy lukot in Metro Manila, please lead Tutubi there. It may be another exotic food trip in the offing.

Labels: Filipino Food, Philippine Cuisine

Probably the largest budget airline today, flying out of Clark Airport in Pampanga, AirAsia, is again offering their already cheap airfares to and from the Philippines, at still cheaper prices for your taking.

AirAsia Promo Fares details:

Book from October 19 to 25
Travel from November 9, 2009 to January 10, 2010

Cheap tickets from AirAsia: One-way fares all in:

Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur P1099.00
Kota Kinabalu P499.00

Thailand

Bangkok P848.00
Phuket P848.00
Krabi P848.00

Cambodia:

Siem Reap P1135.00
Phnom Penh P1135.00

Indonesia:

Bandung P849.00
Jakarta P849.00
Yogyakarta P849.00
Surabaya P849.00
Bali P1135

Hong Kong P1425

Vietnam:

Hanoi, Vietnam P1423
Ho Chi Minh City P1135

Australia:

Melbourne P2859.00
Perth P2859.00

Note:

AirAsia flies out of Clark Airport (Diosdado Macapagal International Airport) that yoou can reach by Philtranco buses in SM Megamall

All quoted fares are the cheapest available stated on the promotional email announcement. Please visit AirAsia's official website or call AirAsia hotline for details, online bookings and inquiries.

Related Post:

Bus to Clark Airport

Labels: AirAsia, Promo Fares

The recent visit to Balanga, Bataan was capped by an unplanned visit to Subic since the lead vehicle in the 3 car convoy didn't see the exit to NLEX along SCTEx due to heavy rain and thus just decided to head straight to do some dutyfree shopping in Subic instead.

Royal Subic Mall, picture taken while raining. beside it is Puregold DutyFree

Herewith is Tutubi's review of dutyfree shopping in Subic to answer the question: Is Dutyfree shopping worth it?

It depends on the buyer. If the shopper knows the prices of the goods
before going there all the way from Manila, it's a bargain otherwise
she's just wasting her money for the items you can have at the same or
slightly more expensive price in Manila.

Tutubi found out the price of Spam Lite (yeah, forget original Spam,
even Spam with less Sodium for they're too salty) at Royal Subic is just
the same at Walter Mart and SM but Snickers chocolate bars are sold with
a PhP7 difference than the mentioned malls.

If you're looking for local items, why bother going there to buy those
things?

Infant milk formula, though a tad cheaper, but not all brands are on
sale like Nan One HW for hypoallergenic milk formulas for sensitive babies like Tutubi, Jr.

Havaianas flip-flops prices are PhP100 lower than Manila's malls, that's
according to Tutubi's peer who loves those expensive footwear from
Brazil (Tutubi prefers the low priced flip-flops at Munoz Market, dirt
cheap and not heartbreaking should he lose or break one)

The only reason people should go duty-free shopping is when the products
they're looking for are not available at the local malls or hard-to-find
items.

The best reason not to go there: Buy Philippine-made products, it
creates jobs and helps the economy. Discard the colonial-mentality that
everything imported is better than local products. It's not always the case.

Lastly, try to internalize this mantra: Buy not what you need, not what
you want. What you don't really need, however cheap, is expensive!

Notes on Subic Duty Free Shopping:

Credit cards are accepted as well as US dollar notes for payment. BancNet ATM cards can also be used to pay for your purchases at Puregold Duty Free Mall

Royal Subic Mall
Mall hours: open from 10am to 7pm (Monday - Thursday)
9am to 7pm (Friday - Sunday)
Tel. No: +63.47.252.3015; +63.47.252.6115

Tip: also in Subic Petron gas station is a Nike Factory store (another nike factory outlet is in the Shell gas station on the southbound lane of NLEX)

Labels: Central Luzon, Malls, Shopping, Subic, Zambales

A couple of months ago, a Singapore-based travel agency offered to buy this blog probably to turn it into a vehicle to promote their online booking facility with focus on the Asian travel market. The negotiations went only as far as the monthly compensation in addition to Tutubi keeping all earnings from Adsense et al but he decided not to sell this blog for one "small" reason:


He already has someone who he dreams will take over the "operations" of this blog in the future: Tutubi, Jr.



There are only a handful of bloggers out there who personally knew Tutubi, but since his son looks so much like him, that he even calls his son "Mini Me," at least readers of this blog will get an idea how Tutubi actually looks like.

baby watching Barney on a laptop while his neighbors are swimming in floodwaters brought by typhoon Ondoy somewhere in Quezon City

teaching his baby financial literacy for him to grow up as a money smart individual
smiling baby: perfect stress reliever after a hard day's work


No, being a father won't stop Tutubi from traveling, as most travel bloggers out there are single, but he now avoids long trips away from home.

A few months of being a father is just the beginning of the trip he considers the best journey of his life!

Labels: Floobydust

Not everybody can afford to fly, as much the local budget carriers trumpet. As cheaper alternatives for people and families with time on their hands for long travel and the flexibility of baggage allowances 2.5 times that of airlines, cheap ferries still rule as the mass transport of choice for the underprivileged people.

The latest promo fare of SuperFerry is targeting families wishing to come home to their home provinces in time for All Saints Day, All Souls Day and Christmas and New Year's Day holidays.

Cheap Ticket Prices of SuperFerry:

P588.00 Manila to Palawan or Visayas
P888.00 Manila to Mindanao

Ticket Sale Period: Oct 5-11, 2009
Travel Period: Oct. 19 - Dec 15, 2009

++P85 up to P130 additional charges for terminal fees and other fees. Included in the fares are fuel surcharge, security fee and VAT. The Todo-todo SailSale is non-refundable. Surcharges apply on revalidation. Tripid fares are refundable.

Superferry's maximum baggage allowance is 50kg per passenger

Superferry's Tripid Fares is similar to Cebu Pacific's Go Lite Fares for the budget airline offered all year round.

P750 Manila to Visayas
P1150 Manila to Mindanao

Superferry Terminal is at Pier 15 of Manila South Harbor (Pier) now named Eva Macapagal terminal. To commute to Pier 15, you can board jeepneys with signboard Pier in Quiapo and alight just before you reach Manila Hotel then walk towards the Pier.

You can also book your round trip tickets online at SuperFerry official website (http://www.superferry.com.ph) using your credit card or ATM card. Updated ferry trip schedules can also be inquired online.

SuperFerry tickets can be delivered to your own home, at an extra charge of just P25 by calling Superferry Hotline +63.2.528.7000 (Ticketing telephone number/contact number).

Superferry Text Hotline: type SFTEXTMessage then send to 2327 (Globe or TM) or to 09178902327 (Smart and other networks)

Source: SuperFerry ad on Inquirer Libre (Tutubi again rides the MRT daily to his office for his car was submerged by typhoon Ondoy and still undergoing repair)
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Labels: Ferries, Promo Fares, SuperFerry

Latest promo fares of ZestAir, formerly Asian Spirit, for travellers looking for cheap airline tickets to select destinations serviced by the budget airline challenging Cebu pacific's foothold on the growing air travel market and even eats away at people taking the slow ferries out of Manila.

ZestAir Ticket Prices (Promo fares, one-way unless stated as round trip ticket prices):

Manila to Clark: P350.00
Manila to Puerto Princesa: P1488.00
Manila to Legazpi: P788.00
Manila to Bacolod: P1088.00
Manila to Iloilo: P1088.00
Manila to Kalibo: P888.00
Manila to Boracay (via Kalibo + bus transfer): P1063.00
Manila to Virac: P688.00

Cebu to Cagayan de Oro (CDO): P888.00
Cebu to Kalibo: P1188.00
Cebu to Zamboanga: P1188.00
Cebu to Davao (vice-versa): P1088

Clark to Boracay: P728.00
Clark to Hong Kong: P2158.00

(that's P4316 + P1620 (Philippine Travel tax) + P720 (Hong Kong Departure Tax of HK$120 (approximately)) = P6656.00 price of round trip ticket to Hong Kong

Selling Period: Ongoing until Dec 30, 2009
Travel Period: Ongoing until Dec. 31, 2009

ZestAir Makati Booking: +63.2.888.2003

Lite 'n Eazy Fares
ZestAir Voyager Pass

Roundtrip trip tickets get 10% discounts on all domestic destinations but not applicable together with other promos.

Complete List of ZestAir flights (as of posting time):

Manila to Kalibo (Boracay, Aklan)
Manila to Bacolod
Manila to Busuanga (Northern Palawan, gateway to Coron)
Manila to Calbayog
Manila to Catarman
Manila to Clark
Manila to Cebu
Manila to Davao
Manila to Iloilo
Manila to Legazpi (Albay)
manila to Marinduque
Manila to Naga (Camarines Sur)
Manila to Virac (Catanduanes)
Manila to Puerto Princesa (Palawan)
Manila to San Jose (Mindoro)
Manila to Tablas (Romblon)
Manila to Tacloban (Leyte)
Manila to Tagbilaran (Bohol)

Cebu to Cagayan de Oro (CDO)
Cebu to Davao
Cebu to Kalibo
Cebu to Siargao
Cebu to Zamboanga

Clark to Kalibo

ZestAir International Flights:

Clark to Hong Kong
Zamboanga to Sandakan (Sabah, Malaysia)

Free baggage allowance of 10kg or 15kg depending on the type of aircraft used for the flight.

For booking and details, you may visit ZestAir official website or call ZestAir hotline for other bookings, updates and flight information.

Labels: Promo Fares, ZestAir