Quezon City: Pipino Vegetarian in Teachers Village

After discovering many vegetarian restaurants in Metro Manila, I can truly say that vegetarian food need not be bland. And the newly-opened Pipino Vegetarian pushes that statement forward. I was most definitely wowed by the vegetarian and vegan food they serve there.



They don't have a fixed menu so the dishes are different everyday. You'd see them listed on the blackboard in the counter area. The regular entrees are Php80 for single serving. But you'll get a really good deal with their Combo Meal at Php150 which includes two entrees and brown rice.

The day I was there, they had Gatang Sitaw and Kalabasa (string beans and squash with coconut milk), Tofu and Eggplant Miso, Lumpiang Shanghai (vegetarian spring rolls) and Taro Chips. I'm also giving a two thumbs up to their Vegan Lasagna which is really rich and flavorful. Who said pasta needs meat and eggs?


For dessert, they have a lot of vegan offerings too. It's definitely worth a visit!

Pipino Vegetarian by Pino
39 Malingap Street, Teachers Village
Quezon City
Tel. No. (02) 4411773

Surigao del Sur: Tinuy-an Falls in Bislig City

Tinuy-an Falls in Bislig, Surigao del Sur is one of the most majestic waterfalls in the country. It's not just just the height of the falls but the width that makes it really spectacular. Tinuy-an Falls is 55 meters high and 95 meters wide. And some say that it is the widest waterfalls in the Philippines.


From Bunawan, I took a van to San Francisco where I had to switch buses to get to Surigao del Sur. The buses go all the way to Mangagoy which is the commercial district of Bislig City. You know you are in Bislig when you start seeing clusters of centuries-old hardwood trees that tower over the landscape. It's a good thing Bislig still has a good amount of its original forest cover. But the sad part is you'll see a lot of felled trees and cut logs by the road side. I got off at the Bislig City Hall where I was to meet the tourism staff who would take me to Tinuy-an Falls.

Unfortunately, Tinuy-an is quite a distance from the National Highway. So you will need to hire a habal-habal or tricycle to get there. But it's definitely worth the trip. There is no hiking required since parking is right beside the falls.


Aside from the main drop, there are other smaller cascades upstream and downstream from the main falls. Just as always, I couldn't stay for a swim since I had to catch the last bus back to Davao.

Unfortunately, we did not have the correct information. It turns out, the last bus for Davao City from Bislig leaves at 4 p.m. and it had just left 20 minutes earlier. So I had no choice but to backtrack to San Francisco since the Butuan-Davao route which passes by San Franz (as locals refer to it) runs 24 hours a day. The bus rides took a total of nine hours!

Agusan del Sur: Overnight with the Manobo community of Agusan Marsh

If there was a hidden paradise in the Philippines, it must be the Agusan Marsh. That's because visiting it is no walk in the park since it requires several hours of land and river boat travel to get to the marsh itself. Arranging the pump boat ride would also require some effort and a lot of funds too if you don't have the right connections. But no doubt, the Agusan Marsh is paradise.

In fact, it is such an important part of our natural heritage, the Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary is among four Philippine sites in the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance. I hope the local community there initiates moves for its inscription in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Much of the Agusan Marsh is ancestral domain of the Manobos. So to get into some of the better portions of the marsh might require permission from the local community. There are several communities in the Agusan Marsh and a lot of ways to get there. I was lucky to be a guest of the Manobo community in Sitio Panlabuhan, Loreto, Agusan del Sur. In fact, they hosted me for one night.


A trip to Agusan Marsh starts with land travel from the nearest airport which could either be Davao or Butuan. That would take several hours depending on where you are coming from. The jump-off point for the river boat ride is Bunawan, Agusan del Sur. From the pantalan of Bunawan, it took another three-hours on a pump boat to reach Sitio Panlabuhan in Loreto, Agusan del Sur.


We actually had to change boats when we neared the entrance of the marsh since in October, pump-boats have a hard time entering Sitio Panlabuhan due to the high concentration of lilies, hyacinths and other water plants. People say it looks like an enormous green quilt.


It was quite an experience riding on the boats made from hollowed-out logs as we pushed our way through the lilies. And especially since one wrong move meant an unplanned swim in the dark tea-colored water of the marsh.


The Manobos in the Agusan Marsh live in floating houses. The houses, which are quite sturdy, are built on hundreds of pieces of bamboo and rise and fall together with the level of the marsh. And depending on the current, the houses are also moved to different locations.

Take note also that there is no electricity. So you really commune with nature while you are there. Interestingly though, the mobile phone signal was very strong in Sitio Panlabuhan.

I was also quite surprised that they community had a lodge where visitors could stay. They don't come in very often. But at least visitors don't have to worry about accommodation. I was warned that mosquitoes would be a problem even with the mosquito net or kulambo. So make sure to bring a lot of insect repellent.


The community of Sitio Panlabuhan has two sectors. After settling down, we boarded the log boat to proceed to the main sector where a newly-constructed floating classroom is located. As part of required tradition, I had to meet the community elders for a Manobo ritual to pay respect to the spirits, ask permission for my presence and request for safe passage while I was there. I was told that some visitors who simply entered the ancestral area without doing the ritual met a disaster of some sort, even as they arrived back home.


I was actually asked to bring a live chicken and candles for the ritual. But the village elder decided not to sacrifice the chicken. So we offered an egg instead. The ritual began with the elder conversing with the spririts, mentioning that I was in the community. On the table was lighted candle, the egg cracked open on a plate, a bottle of beer plus a glass with a serving of beer, and a lighted cigarette. After the conversation, the village elder stood up, took the glass of beer, proceeded to the window and emptied its contents into the marsh. Then the glass was filled-up again and again and passed around so that everyone in the room was able to drink.

After the ritual, we had a town hall meeting with the community to discuss plans to open their community to tourism. They wanted visitors to come and were very frustrated with the local government because they never benefited from any of the visitors who came into Sitio Panlabuhan. Some foreigners were even rude enough to say they already paid the LGU when prohibited from entering the ancestral domain, not knowing that the community had rights to their part of the Agusan Marsh.


I've always been telling my students that tourism is a powerful tool for poverty alleviation of government makes sure that its benefits reach the grassroots. This is my way of helping the community around the Agusan Marsh benefit from tourism. So in February, we will be organizing a tour of Sitio Panlabuhan that will benefit the community directly. Tourists will have a chance to stay with the community for a night or two. If you are interested to join the tour from March 4-6, 2011, please e-mail info@ivanhenares.com so I can send you more details as they come.

Anyway, the sun had just set when we took the boat back to the opposite sector. After dinner and some lively discussions on the planned tourism program, we called it a night.


The next morning, I was up early since they community wanted to show me the floating gardens. These were literally floating plant boxes where they would have flowering plants, fruits and vegetables. Unfortuantely, I did not have time to join any of the fishing activities since I wanted to be back in Bunawan before lunch to catch a bus to Surigao del Sur.



Aside from joining the locals go fishing around the marsh, bird watching is also another activity of the Agusan Marsh being host to over 200 species of birds. The numbers swell especially during the cold months when the marsh hosts communities of migratory birds.

Compostela Valley: Rafflesia flowers, Marangig Falls & Tagbibinta Falls in Maragusan

Gold had attracted me to Compostela Valley. Gold mining is actually a major industry of Compostela Valley. And Mt. Diwalwal is its most popular gold-rush site, especially after the film I Come with the Rain starring Josh Hartnett was shot there. But the gold I'm talking about is the natural beauty of the province.

Traveling by bus around Mindanao is quite orderly and easy because there are centralized bus terminals in each town, not like Metro Manila's chaotic system where each company has its own bus terminal.


From Mati, I took a bus to the Tagum Terminal. Then from there, I boarded a Butuan-bound bus which had several stops in Compostela Valley and Agusan del Sur. I got off at Nabunturan, the provincial capital, since I had an appointment at the tourism office. After making arrangements for Maragusan, I went back to the Nabunturan Terminal to catch a bus to Maragusan. Mati to Tagum was 3 hours, Tagum to Nabunturan was 1 hour, and Nabunturan to Maragusan was another 2 hours.

Later I would find out that there is actually a jeepney route directly-linking Mati to Maragusan. It was dark already when I arrived in Maragusan. So after dinner, I called it a night.

The next day, I went around Maragusan's attractions with the help of a guide arranged through the local tourism office. We also hired a habal-habal to take us to the different destinations since they were very far from each other.


My first stop for the day required some trekking. In the forests of Maragusan are pockets of Rafflesia clusters. We visited the one in Purok Malinawon, Barangay Mapawa. It was a moderate 15-minute trek up to where the Rafflesia mira buds could be found. Unfortunately, none of the flowers were in bloom.

The only time I got to see a Rafflesia in full bloom was during a visit to the Bogor Botanical Garden in Indonesia. They rarely flower so seeing one in bloom is reason enough to consider yourself lucky. The hike also afforded me some nice views of the banana plantations that dominate the Maragusan landscape.


From the Rafflesias, we proceeded to Barangay New Albay to check out Marangig Falls. Again, this one required some trekking too. Not bad since I like waterfalls. But I've seen more majestic ones.


The next waterfall seemed like it was on the opposite end of town. We motored to Barangay Coronobe to check out Tagbibinta Falls. This was the larger falls and thank God the trekking was minimal. It's actually very popular to locals and facilities have been built in the area for rest and recreation.


Although Maragusan is all about bananas, none of the bananas actually reach the local market since they all go to Dole. After having visited Kalsangi several years ago, I wanted to check out the processing facility to see how things are done.  But unfortunately, visitors need prior permission to gain access. What I didn't like about the whole thing though was their security (the ones on motorcycles) were very rude.

After lunch, I took a bus back to Nabunturan where I was to stay for the night.

Looking back at the WOW Philippines TV ad campaign

WOW Philippines is no doubt the best tourism promotion campaign the Department of Tourism ever came up with to date. If we come up with a new one, this definitely sets the standard. Part of the campaign was the slogan Philippines, it's more than the usual which came with great TV commercials that aired internationally. The commercials are brief, concise, creative and catchy enough to grab the attention of those watching CNN. Kudos to BBDO / Guerrero Ortega for this wonderful campaign!

Our neighbors have had tourism campaigns that are at least a decade old, surviving several changes in governments. The multi-awarded Malaysia Truly Asia campaign was launched in 1999 and after eleven years and five tourism ministers, it continues to entice tourists to visit Malaysia. Amazing Thailand is even older, having been launched in 1997. Despite political instability and several changes in government, it remains as Thailand's tourism brand. After its launch in 2002, the Incredible India campaign has become a strong brand for Indian tourism. So I thus can't understand why the current execs of the Department of Tourism want to get rid of a brand our country has worked so hard to build and invested so much money on. Read more in What's the point of rebranding?