Iloilo Travelogue#8: San Jose Church

The beauty of traveling in a Catholic country such as Philippines is that you can always find a church in almost every town where you can sit in peace and rest for a bit without the hassle of paying anything  (it's also very likely that nobody will bother you) and we all know that it's always best to drop by and ask for good solid direction from "The Man above" as much as we could, don't you think? ^_^.  Much said, in a way, churches has become my coffee shop when traveling ^_^ (having coffee time with God? now that's a thought.lol! ) Fortunately, in Iloilo, most churches are just a couple of steps away from the town's plaza -- a big plus since most of them always had a historic significance of some sort. San Jose Church is found a couple of steps away from the historic Plaza Libertad and about 10 minutes via jeepney from Museo Iloilo. The church itself is much different from any of the churches we've visited in Iloilo, for one, the materials used to build the church are not of corals or limestones but of stones and bricks giving the church its unique red color. And, much to my delight, the interior of the church is much subtle than its red facade outside. It's a beautiful surprise wrapped up in a red wrap. Check out my photos. ^_^

San Jose Church, Iloilo City

Travel San Pablo, Laguna: San Pablo Cathedral Church

Going to San Pablo City, you can never miss San Pablo Cathedral. Built in 1774 by the Augustinians, it has long been a must-see neoclassical architecture found in the very heart of busy San Pablo. We stopped by this historical structure on our way to  Lake Pandin for an eco lunch tour, the cleanest among the seven lakes of San Pablo City.^_^

From afar, you can never miss its inviting high dome and bell tower. There's a plaza on a roundabout just before you enter the church that houses the Philippine Flag as shown in the picture below but we weren't able to go there because of the heavy rain.

Travel San Pablo, Laguna: Lake Pandin eco lunch tour

One Super Rainy Saturday, out of ignorance that the deadly Typhoon Sendong was rampaging through Visayas and Mindanao region and sending neverending rain in Southern Luzon, me and my husband drove off to San Pablo, Laguna.

Home of the San Pablo Cathedral Church and considered one of the oldest city in Laguna. It is most popular for having seven lakes (or pitong lawa) namely:

Lake Sampaloc, Lake Palakpakin, Lake Calibato, Lake Muhikap, Lake Bunot, Lake Pandin and Lake Yambo.

 Although this post will only describe our journey to one of those seven lakes. It is still a worthwhile experience to read about especially if you are planning to pass by San Pablo. I also highly recommend taking the Lake Pandin green rafting experience knowing that supporting this program help preserve the cleanest lake in San Pablo and also brings livelihood to those who live near the lake.

But before I go on detailing about our trip. I think I have to get this off my chest. To be honest, I feel a bit uneasy writing about this particular trip knowing that on the very same day more than 1,000 Filipinos lost their lives because of the flash floods that hit Iligan, Cagayan de Oro, Dumaguete and other parts of Visayas and Mindanao islands one week before Christmas, many are still missing and thousands remain homeless up to this day. It's really heartbreaking to know that many welcomed 2012 in evacuation centers. My prayers goes to all who has experience this terrible tragedy. And, I would like to encourage anybody who is reading this blog to give to Red Cross Philippines. Just click here to go directly to their website.

For Filipinos, I know having the title as the text capital of the world, we can easily extend our donations via sms messaging. Just Text RED<space>AMOUNT to 2899 (Globe users) or 4143 (Smart users). Amount may be 5, 25, 50, 100, 300, 500 or 1,000 (Globe users) and 10, 25, 50, 100, 300, 500 or 1000 (Smart users). Transaction is free.

Travel Asia: Winter in Beijing, China Part 2 - Forbidden City, Jingshan park, Belhai park

Another way to see the glory of the forbidden city is through Jingshan park which was originally a part of the Forbidden city until the 1900s but, when a road was put up, it was cut off from the city's Northern gate. It's a bit of a climb just like in Namsam Tower (if you've been in South Korea) but the view of the city from the top is all worth it. There's also a makeshift photobooth on top where you can get dressed up as an Empress or Emperor and have your picture taken and you can get a printed copy -- a worthwhile souvenir (hehe). My husband and I have one and it's now one of the best picture we have together. :)

view of Forbidden city from the top

Travel Asia: Autumn in South Korea Part 3

Autumn in South Korea: Part 3


GANGWON-DO PROVINCE


Gangwon-do Province is a train away from Seoul, we planned to stop by Chuncheon city to see the Soyangho Lake which is the largest artificial lake in Korea and visited the Cheongpyeongsa temple nearby  before we move on to the quiet and romantic island of  Nami. We we were hoping that we will have time to proceed  towards the east to see Seoraeksan National Park which is famous for it's mountain scenery, glorious waterfalls and several temples and hot springs however, due to time constraints and I was already sick at the time, spent the remaining  days of our travel in Seoul again .

We checked out from Yim's House and rode the train of subway line 3 (our hotel is near exit Jongno 3) towards Cheongnyangni station where the Gyeongchun line of the Korail train passes by. The train ride is really comfortable and easy. Dennis fell asleep during the trip while I enjoyed the view of the countryside. We had made reservations at Sejong hotel, which is a business type hotel in Chuncheon and at Nami Hotel in Namchuncheon which made the trip easier for us since we don't need to worry where to check in. 

When we got off Chuncheon station, we hired a taxi that took us  to our hotel, the way the roads are constructed in the steep hill, reminded me of Mabayuan, Gordon Heights and Baguio. The hotel has its charms. The Korean temple gate serves a welcoming reminder to guests where they are. It is away from the town proper and had a bird's eye view of the small city below. The neighborhood is so quiet too, I felt we were in a residential part of town.  The hotel room is American standard, it has a queen size bed, a TV, vanity table, coffee table and chairs, its own bath and toilet and definitely larger and cleaner than Yim's house. It costs us around PHP4,000 per night to stay in this hotel (around $80). After we checked in, we decided to walk around the city for a while. There are no taxis around so we walked down the steep hill to get to the main town and took more pictures. During this time, I am having a hard time imagining myself climbing back the hill again to get to our hotel once we decided to head back, but, I decided to just go with the flow and enjoy the journey with Dennis. When we got to the busiest intersection we can find, we found ourselves a shopping street which reminded us of Myeongdong in Seoul. There are a lot of stores lined up; there are some Korean ladies calling out to customers to buy products out in the cold and of course places to eat and unwind. We usually chose traditional looking Korean restaurants whenever we eat (which is a good way for travelers to experience local food ) and we were always asked if we wanted to drink Soju, which I regret not trying. Overall, I like the Korean food but I deeply apologize for saying this but I am so over Kimchi. I remember, the first time I ate Kimchi was with a Korean businessman who came to the Philippines to learn English (I was tutoring him) and it was delicious. I told Dennis that I will not have a problem with Kimchi, but, having to eat everything with Kimchi as an appetizer or as a side dish everyday with every meal, I got  fed up with it so no more Kimchi for me from now on. I'll try my luck again once I travel back to Korea again.

Breakfast at Sejong Hotel

Moving on, when we decided to head back to our hotel, it was already nightfall and we can't seem to figure out where to go. So, like Jack and Jill that we are, we just went up the hill (to wherever it is going) and walked in circles hoping to see a familiar landmark (luckily there's no well and we did not tumble down). We finally realized how lame it is to not ask for directions. But apparently, everyone we have met does not speak English so we decided to just hail the first available cab that we saw and tried to communicate the name of the hotel we're staying in. Luckily, the cab driver we met is really accommodating and funny. He asked us where we're from (he speaks a little English in his own way) and when we told him that we came from Philippines, the first name he blurted out was "Marcos" and the next one is "Pacquiao". He also said "Philippines good english" which we thought was a compliment for us being able to speak English fairly. We thank him after he dropped us off to our hotel and we didn't realized how sleepy and tired we were until we hit the bed.

The next morning was a blast for me because, I finally got a break from the Kimchi stuff and was able to eat an American breakfast, which comes with the hotel package that we got -- bacon, eggs, toast and new zealand butter, coffee and sausages. We were ready and full of energy when we hit the town again and tried to figure out a way how to get to Soyangho Lake and see the dam plus the temple.

Going to the ferry 

We were supposed to ride a bus that can take us to the Lake but, again, we were not that lucky with finding the correct bus stop so we went and take the cab which costs us around PHP500 pesos (I think). The ride is actually easy - no traffic at all (the lake is in the outskirt of town). We felt really really cold as soon as we stepped out of the cab. The lake is surrounded by mountains and you can see small boats around the lake. We walked towards a side road that has rows and rows of small stalls selling grilled corn, peanuts etc. We walked past them and headed towards the buildings around the lake and got to what seem to be a small dock where the ferries are. The ferry ran in a tight schedule, we bought the next available ride right away to not waste time but still had a lot of time to spare. So we took a couple more pictures around the lake and decided to eat lunch. 

 

The building behind is where we ate lunch

We found a small building not far from where the ferry stop is and we went ahead and eat a traditional Korean meal Bulgogi (Marinated Korean beef) with rice, which we absolutely loved.

Picture of us in Soyang Lake

We boarded the ferry and enjoyed the cold wind and the view of dried up but still colorful trees lined up in the mountains. It was nice that we can freely go as we please around the boat and take as many pictures as we like (just don't go overboard and fall off the icy water). The ride to the Cheongpyeongsa temple stop took us about 20 to 30 minutes. We were reminded that the last pick up trip passing through that stop is 4PM . We followed a bunch of people who seems to lead towards a mountain. We knew that we have to climb up to see the temple but we had no idea that there are "literally" a lot of hiking involved in this side trip.

Soyangho Lake

The lake looks so serene looking out a clearing from the mountain. And, even though we spend a good whole 2 hours hiking up that mountain to get to our destination, I personally, find the journey more interesting than the destination itself. There are a  lot of couples walking hand in hand and enjoying themselves up that mountain, there are stores that you can pass through if you need to take a break and get souvenirs from, while the comfort rooms ( which are traditional Korean toilets) are stationed near the foot of the mountain. There are also unexpected sights that we can't resist to take our eyes off and a must sight to take a quick stop over,  like that of the Guseong Waterfall.

Guseong Waterfall

Guseong Waterfall which is about 9 meters high. Legend said, it was named Guseong because it can  make Nine distinct Sounds (which reminded me of Hinulugang Taktak here in the Philippines). It sits comfortably near the hiking path so you can't miss it.

As we walked farther up the mountain path, we find this statue in the middle of a stony creek. Which we later found out, upon doing research, that it is a statue of a princess of Emperor Shun who had a really bad problem with a snake. The snake is so in love with her that it literally stalked her and won't leave her alone. It is said that the princess went up Cheongpyeongsa temple and after praying there got rid of the lovesick snake. When the emperor heard of this, he built a pagoda nearby named Gongju.

Cheongpyeongsa temple

Right before you enter the temple grounds, you will pass by a ticket office that has a "Sandara promoting pepsi" poster in it ( I wished  I had the picture I'd taken that time). Anyhow, we paid the entrance fee and hiked the most steepest part of the path. Finally, we arrived at the temple. There is a free-flowing water fountain at the foot of the entrance that people are drinking up. I wanted to try it out but I played it safe and just decided to buy a bottled water on our way back. We spent some good 30 minutes there observing the quietness of the place, there are people kneeling down, piling up rocks and offering their prayers. It such a serene place to be.

We come across these rows of hanging (I'm not sure if they are lanterns) colorful things that has some tags on them with writings on it. Up to this time, we have no idea what they are for and what the writings meant.

Overall, we find this temple not as grand and memorable as the palaces in Seoul. But, as I said before, I was looking for a much more laid back side of South Korea. A different kind of experience - something off the beaten path. And, I guess the hike up the mountain itself just did that.

                                                         

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Travel Asia: Autumn in South Korea Part 2

Autumn in South Korea: Part 2

Being a Catholic Christian myself, visiting Myeongdong Cathedral has it's special meaning. It's really intriguing for me to see a Church in the middle of a city with so many eastern religions in place. Walking up the plights of stairs towards the Cathedral, we saw nuns in their "religous habits" walking around. I think there's a convent nearby but I can't really say. Anyway, if you're looking for a place to rest and contemplate for a while. This is the place to be. There's also a small grotto in the back that has the Virgin Mary's statue in it. We offered some candles and prayed.

Having built in 1898, it is said to be the first ever Western- style brick building in whole of Korea. It offers English mass at 9AM every Sunday. It is also just a walking distance from Myeongdong Station (use Exit 8) Line 4 or Exit 5 of Eujiro 1 (il)-ga Station, Line 2. And, it sort of gives us a hint that South Korea are very open when it comes to choosing Religions. We even pass by a Pentecost church that we thought was the Cathedral because it has similar architectural design.

I hope I could share more pictures with you when we also visited Changdeokgung Palace and Namsam Tower, but, unfortunately, most of the pictures that we took when we were in South Korea got corrupted =( . And, most pictures that I've got left are mostly taken during our visit in Gyeokbukgung palace.

But nevertheless, I still want to tell you all my experiences when we visited Changdeokgung Palace, which is is a few steps away from where we're staying, and it is also a sight to see. It is a smaller palace compared to Gyeokbukgung. So, they are particular in controlling the number of tourists coming in. Everyone is being assigned to a tour guide so even if you bought your tickets already you can't just walk in. And, you can literally see people closely monitoring the batches that goes in and making sure everyone is sticking to their group.

They let us to join a group of foreigners that came on buses. We were led by an English tour guide which I was impressed with. Having the perfect American accent, our batch were led to the different courts with divided rooms and shown how they heat up their baths and floors during winter (which reminded me our cold room back at Yim's house).

The picture on the left is from Gyeokbukgung's inner courtyard that holds a similar look on the rooms and courts at Changdeokgung. The colors are not that intense as compared to the Chinese' palaces we've visited, made me realized that Koreans during the early times are more conservative than the Chinese people. 

Me at one of the city street in Seoul

Whenever night falls, Dennis and I, usually take short walks to the numerous malls around the metro to buy food, shop around or sometimes just people watch and look around to see what the city night offers. The clothes are really really cheap, and the shoes too. There are a lot of improvised stalls at night, similar to our (Philippines) Divisoria (although not that rowdy not to mention cleaner) that sets up in the sidewalks selling street foods, clothes, shoes, mittens, socks, etc. We bought a couple of socks because the temperature keeps dropping especially at night. But there is one thing we regret not trying though, that is, to drink the famous Soju, which is like the San Miguel beer of Korea. However, it is said to comparably taste closely to vodka rather than to a beer. Anyway, we already have Soju here in the Philippines (with so many Koreans visiting us, it's about time it is offered here) so we would probably be drinking one of those soon. :) What can I say about Koreans at night? Oh boy, they love to drink. Don't be shocked if you see 3 or 4 drunks at night on their american suits, wearing ties and leather shoes slumped in the corner somewhere. I guess they work hard in the morning and party harder at night (?) hehehe..

Seoul Lantern Festival sign

One of our nightly rendezvous led us to Cheonggye square which at the time is the venue for the Seoul Lantern Festival, and the starting point of Cheonggye stream. We have no idea that there was such an event but we were eager to check it out while we walk along the historic stream of Cheonggye. There are many people around ---- mostly families with their kids, couples holding hands or group of friends joking and walking around, taking pictures and just enjoying the view; we did the same and enjoyed ourselves with the rows of lighted figures floating in the middle of the stream while checking out the monuments and man-made bridges above us.  We even joined a crowd of people signing up notes and names to the numerous lanterns line up in the wall.

There are a lot of history involve with  Changgye stream. It is said, in the olden days, the stream has actually been set as a divider for the people in Korea. Those born of noble families and those that holds offices in the government were settled in the Northern part of the village while the poor and common people settle in the Southern village, with the stream being the boundary. It is actually sad to think that long before there is North and South Korea, the country already had a history of division among its people. On the brighter note, if you walk farther, you will see another symbolic monument that consists of thousands of signatures who wrote their dreams and hopes. The Wall of Hope. It stands 2.2 meters in height and 50 meters in length. And the pictures depicted that of love and hope for peace.

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Travel Asia: Autumn in South Korea Part 1

Autumn in South Korea: Part 1

I love to travel and I am grateful that God gave me the opportunity to see a little more of the world I know.

One of the most memorable travel that I had was with my then boyfriend and now husband, Dennis. When we went to Korea for a little R&R and backpacking in November of 2009. It was most memorable because we did not only get to see the UNESCO Heritage sites and  for me, experiencing autumn for the first time, but this is where he finally asked me to marry him.

After completing and compiling the required documents to get a Korean Visa. Our journey started off easy. We headed off to board the Cebu Pacific plane at around 7PM on November 10 and it flew us straight to Incheon International airport which is about an hour or so from the capital -- Seoul. I had a bit of a hard time at the immigration because of the "mugshot" picture in my passport (I can't wait to change my passport!!Arrgh!). But after that, everything went ----> cold. Yep, it is a big change of temperature for me since I came from the very hot and always summer-y islands of the Philippines. The usual weather here is about 24 degree Celsius (which is already cold for us) up to 32 degrees Celsius. So when we stepped out of the airport with a temp reading of 11 degree celsius, I went into shock. We wanted to know if there is an express train that goes from the airport to the city just like in Hongkong but the train is being constructed at the time. So we opted to ride a bus (which is much cheaper compared to taxis) to take us to a stop near the inn that we're scheduled to stay for the first 3 days. The bus system is very efficient. We easily got our tickets through a counter that is just outside the airport however, we had a hard time communicating with the driver where we needed to go. Since no one speaks English and there are no other tourist around, Dennis had to constantly check with the driver where our stop is but with no luck, the nodding driver dropped us at the wrong stop. And, so we walked the cold cold street of Seoul and tried to find our way through the map that we got from the airport. It's almost 1am now and the weather has become bitterly cold for us. We decided to just try our luck with a taxi. We waved at a black taxi that halted in front of us with no effort. We showed the taxi driver the piece of paper with the name and address of our hotel and crossed our fingers that he knows where to go, he called a number (probably the hotel) and spoke Korean, he nodded and we boarded the taxi with our luggages at the trunk. The driver entered something into his GPS system and made a quick U turn. After a few blocks, he stopped in a small inn in a narrow alley. Yim's house -- finally we're here. 

Note:

For info about the requirement and recent update in getting a Korean Visa if you're a Filipino, kindly visit the link below. As a tip, never submit your documents stapled and always have an extra copy of everything with you. Make sure all documents are complete. There will be no interviews, you'll just get a number, fall in line and pass all the requirements to the Korean consuls, she'll check it and give you a stub when to come back for your passport (usually it took about 3 to 4 days for us). DONT LOSE YOUR STUB.

http://embassy_philippines.mofat.go.kr/eng/as/embassy_philippines/visiting/visas/index.jsp

YIM'S HOUSE

Our home for the next 3 days. Yim's house,  is a budget friendly inn that serves well to "backpackers" like us. The internet is free, there is drinking water (hot and/or cold) outside the hallway that is also free for guests which came very handy since we usually have the urge to eat cup noodles or drink coffee or hot tea during our stay. Our room had two twin beds set in the far corners of the  main room, with a vanity table set in front of it, there's a small tv with cable, a small refrigerator, couple of chairs, the closet is right infront of the entry way, and we have our very own toilet and bathroom. Mr. Yim, checked us in and led us to our rooms reminding us to close the lights and all the appliances whenever we leave the inn and to use the slippers by the doorway whenever we step inside the main room. Our stay was quite okay for the first two days and convenient since it is near to almost all the tourist spot in the city, but, I guess the cold is getting into me. I felt the heater is not enough to warm the small room and having the bed leaning on the cold concrete walls when you sleep doesn't help fight the cold as well, I felt suffocated at times too and felt that the window curtains has never been washed and since it is a small room, the musky dust seemed to have settled inside and with the thin air, the smell won't go away. Anyway, it is comfortable as you can get with 35,000 Won a night (around PHP 1420.38 only or around $35), that is already a good deal with all their freebies. And, besides, we are not planning to stay in the room all the time, for the first three days that we're in South Korea, our itinerary was concentrated in visiting all the tourist spots in Seoul which includes all the UNESCO heritage sites in the city like the palaces -- Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung and Biwon garden etc. We also intend to visit the country side as well to see and get to know the people outside the bustling Seoul. 

SEOUL

Gyeongbokgung palace was our first stop; it is said to be the grandest among the five palaces in Seoul and it is. When I walked closer and closer to it's gate, the palace guards marching outside did a good job in making me feel I've stepped back in time. The long colored walls and arches of the palace gate already satisfied my eyes. I feel really grateful to have seen this wonderful place. And it costs only 3,000 Won or $3 (around PHP122) to see it. It's not also hard to find - Coming from Jongno subway station 3 switch to line 3 (going to Daewha line) and get off at Gyeongbokgung stop.Walk straight till you see the walls. After passing the inner courts of the Gyeongbokgung palace, there is a large park that accommodates the National Folk Museum and the National Palace Museum of Korea. I forgot if we pay a fee when we entered the National Folk Museum but I don't remember paying anything

the arches of Gyeongbokgung palace

Me outside the National Folk Museum

Anyway, it's a folk museum so expect to see the evolution of the Korean traditional clothes -- han-bok (which I regret not buying or trying one on when we were there). Well, knowing Dennis, I knew he wasn't that thrilled to enter the museum (or any museum at all) so we did not finish seeing the whole place and just went outside and walked around while we took more pictures. It was a big place and I couldn't seem to see where the walls stopped. When we got tired, we had a little coffee in this small cafe nearby. I was grateful there was a lot of walking involved, in this way, I will be able to get my blood circulating and not be able to feel the cold weather.

Me at the Lotus pond in Gyeokbukgung palace

Hyangwon-jeong, a hexagonal pavillion in the middle of a lotus pond sits on the north part of the palace and is said to be one of the most picturesque and photographed view of South Korea. You may think that it is a two strorey building but actually it is a three-storey building if you count the structure below the first floor. The King Kojong had it built in 1867, he had a pond dug in the south of it and the pavilion built on the island in the pond. They say, the king took many walks here. The bridge is not accessible to tourists though but it is really worth the visit. There are some picnic tables around the pond that I think will suffice if you want to enjoy a quiet day reading books or share a meal with a loved one.

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