Cavite: Around historic Cavite

Cavite has always held an important place in our history books, having been a hotbed of the Philippine Revolution. And a really good way to understand this history is by visiting the sites mentioned in our textbooks.


Together with several followers of Ivan About Town, I visited the different historical sites in Cavite. The first on our list was the Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo Shrine and the Site of the Declaration of Philippine Independence in Kawit.


This historical site is managed by the National Historical Institute. Entrance is free. But do take note that it's closed on Mondays like most government museums. At the Aguinaldo Shrine, you get to see memorabilia and personal items of the former president, artifacts related to the Philippine Revolution such as several of the first Philippine flags, as well as the palatial residence of President Emilio F. Aguinaldo from which balcony, Philippine independence was declared.


Behind the house is the final resting place of Aguinaldo. From his house, we drove over to the Kawit Church which has a really intricate main altar retablo.

Our next stop was supposed to be Fort San Felipe in Cavite City. Unfortunately, it's inside a Philippine Navy-controlled area. And according to the guard at the gate, you'll need to get approval from the higher-ups to enter. I was quite irritated since that is part of our history and people deserve the right to see it sans the bureaucracy. The Cavite Provincial Government should take Fort San Felipe off its list of tourism attractions if it cannot negotiate access for tourists from the Philippine Navy. Can't they simply ask visitors to present government-issued IDs to enter?

Anyway, we stopped by the Trece Martires Monument near the fort area before proceeding to lunch at Malen's Restaurant in Noveleta.



After lunch, we drove all the way to Maragondon to visit the Bonifiacio Trial House, Maragondon Church and the Bonifacio Execution Site with the newly-erected Bonifacio Shrine done by sculptor Toym Imao which I really liked. More details on this in another post about Maragondon.




We made our way to Naic Church, Tanza Church (where Aguinaldo took his oath as president of the Philippine Revolutionary Government in 1897) and Gen. Trias Church.

We were supposed to visit the Site of the Battle of Alapan in Imus where the Philippine flag first saw action. But even people in Brgy. Alapan didn't know where it was and sadly, we couldn't find it. It's quite disconcerting that this site was part of the Philippine Centennial Trail and years after the celebration, even the local community was oblivious to its existence. Before Imus continues to parade itself as the Flag Capital of the Philippines, it should first educate the local community why it should be called such and install proper brown tourism road directional signs pointing towards the site.


Our last stop for the day was the very popular Digman Halo-Halo in Bacoor. A lot of people were raving about it and it's been featured in a lot of national dailies and magazines. But to me, it was like any other halo-halo. I guess for someone used to the rich and flavorful versions of halo-halo in Pampanga, this did not wow me that much. It's funny that there was some confusion when we got there because there were two stores claiming to the the original Digman Halo-Halo.

More posts on Cavite coming up. I'll also be posting photos soon in the Ivan About Town Facebook page. So do check them out.

May 1, 2010 regular holiday moved to May 3, 2010

It looks like we'll have a long weekend after all. The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) today said, "In view of the yearly observance of Labor Day, the Malacañang Palace had instead declared May 3, 2010, a Monday, in lieu of May 1, a Saturday, as a regular holiday nationwide."

Proclamation No. 2043 signed today (April 28, 2010) cited that R.A. 9849 provides among others, that Labor Day “shall be observed on a Monday nearest May 1, which happens to be May 3, 2010.” This supersedes Proclamation No. 1841 where May 1 (Saturday) was declared a regular holiday.

The Proclamation stressed that “a longer weekend encourages families to get together and strengthen their relationship towards a more productive environment, as well as promotes domestic tourism, and enables employers to plan their schedules effectively and efficiently, resulting in improved productivity.”

For other holidays check out Philippine holidays and long-weekend schedule for 2010.

* * *

MALACANANG

Manila

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES

PROCLAMATION NO. 2043

DECLARING MONDAY, MAY 3, 2010 AS REGULAR HOLIDAY THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY

WHEREAS, Proclamation No. 1841 dated July 21, 2009, declared the Regular Holidays, Special (Non-Working) Days and Special Holiday for the year 2010;

WHEREAS, Republic Act (RA) No. 9849 dated December 11, 2009 amended RA 9492 dated July 24, 2007, which in effect supersedes Proclamation No. 1841 where May 1, 2010 (Saturday) was declared as a Regular Holiday;

WHEREAS, RA 9849 provides among others, that Labor Day shall be observed on a Monday nearest May 1, which happens to be on May 3, 2010;

WHEREAS, a longer weekend encourages families to get together and strengthen their relationship towards a more productive environment, as well as promotes domestic tourism and enables employers to plan their work schedules effectively and efficiently, resulting in improved productivity, which is achieved whether the holiday falls on a Friday or Monday;

WHEREAS, RA 9849 allows the modification of the Regular Holidays and Nationwide Special Days by law, order or proclamation.

NOW, THEREFORE, I LEANDRO R. MENDOZA, Executive Secretary, by authority of Her Excellency, GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO, do hereby declare Monday, May 3, 2010, as regular holiday throughout the country.

The Department of Labor and Employment is hereby directed to issue appropriate circular to implement this Proclamation for the private sector.

Done in the City of Manila this 28th day of April, in the year of Our Lord, Two Thousand and Ten

By authority of the President:

LEANDRO R. MENDOZA
Executive Secretary

By the Executive Secretary:

AGUSTIN S. DIZON
Deputy Executive Secretary for Legal Affairs

Ivan Henares celebrates 25 years of traveling & travel writing

While looking through my old stuff, I found a travel journal which I made in 1985 about our family trip to Japan and Taiwan. I was five at that time and after the trip, my mom encouraged me to write about the trip which was bound into a scrap book called My Trip to Japan and Taipei: April 15-24, 1985.

The photo above is my family at Zojoji Temple with Tokyo Tower in the background, a testament to the fact that despite their push for modernity and progress, Japan prides itself in its heritage and puts in a lot of effort for its preservation.

Zojoji Temple, the chief temple of the Jodo Buddhist sect, was founded in 1393. Tokyo Tower on the other hand was built in 1958. Modeled after the Eiffel Tower, it is 1092 feet high and broadcasts most of Japan's TV and radio stations.



I even made my own illustrations to accompany the hand-written text of the scrap book. It took me several months to complete it, October 1985 to be exact. But it was my first attempt at travel writing.




In Japan, we visited the 1985 International Exposition in Tsukuba, Tokyo Disneyland and the different districts of Tokyo such as Ginza and Akihabara.


There's also a drawing I made of the subway system which really wowed me as a young kid. I'm sure even as adults, we're still impressed with the very efficient public transportation system of Japan today.


After Japan, we spent an additional four days in Taipei before returning back to the Philippines. We got to visit the Taipei Zoo and the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall among other attractions in Taipei.

Twenty-five years ago, who would have thought I'd be traveling and writing like this now? It's fun to look back at where it all started, and why I continuously yearn to visit other places and experience different cultures even more.


Ivan About Town just turned five!
I didn't realize it either that my blog turned five this month too! I wrote my first blog entry on April 19, 2005 in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. As the first line of my first entry went, "What a way to start my blog, writing about my journeys in some really exotic place!"

It was my first backpack trip. And I thought, instead of having to repeat my stories to my friends when I got back, I'd just update them through a blog. So that's how Ivan About Town was born. Hope to visit Kota Kinabalu again this year!

Metro Manila: Nasi Lemak serves authentic Singapore food in Robinsons Galleria!

Because of my frequent visits to Singapore and Malaysia, I've been regularly introduced to the local dishes there. As a result, I crave for the food every now and then. Which is why I was pleasantly surprised to find out that all my favorite Singapore, Malaysian and Chinese dishes were being served at Nasi Lemak in Robinsons Galleria!



There's Char Kway Teow which is stir-fried flat rice noodles with light and dark soy sauce, chili, belachan, tamarind juice, whole prawns, cockles, bean sprouts and Chinese chives. Another favorite is Bah Kut Teh or pork bone tea which is a popular dish in both Singapore and Malaysia, where the Teochew and Hokkien versions are served respectively.

Other favorites in the menu include Singapore Laksa, Malaysian Chicken Curry, Sizzling Tofu Pork Mince Sauce and Kang Kong Sambal Blachan. I'm coming back for more.

Nasi Lemak is located at Level 2 of Robinsons Galleria beside Krispy Kreme.

Makati: Hotel Celeste, Makati's newest boutique hotel

Hotel Celeste is the newest haute couture hotel in Makati. I was lucky enough to stay a night in this really classy and avante-garde botique hotel. While the rooms may seem pricey, when you get to see them, you'll know why it's a hit among many foreign business travelers. In fact, I had a hard time getting a booking since almost all the rooms were fully-booked.


There are five elegant suite rooms named after French queens namely Marie Antoinette, Eleanor, Catherine, Blanche and Isabella. Each room has its own character, all generous in size with wonderfully hand-painted interiors. The 25 deluxe rooms also have surprises of their own.


Each room has a 32-inch LCD TV with cable and an iPod dock among others, while bathrooms are sticked with L'Occitane bath amenities. And the hotel is conveniently tucked beside Greenbelt and Makati's financial district, at the entrance of San Lorenzo Village.

Hotel Celeste
02 San Lorenzo Drive cor. A. Arnaiz Ave. (Pasay Road)
San Lorenzo Village, Makati City
(02) 8878080 / 8878088 (fax)