Articles in All
St. Nino Shrine and Heritage Museum in Tacloban
I finally went to the St. Nino Shrine here in Tacloban. It is one of the two actual tourist attractions here, the other being MacArthur’s landing spot. I’d been to St. Nino Shrine before, but I didn’t go in as I was tired and irritable that day and didn’t like that I couldn’t buy a single entrance ticket. I had to buy tickets for three …
Visa Extension and New Parts for the Bike
My trip to the immigration office was successful. They remembered me from before, and I was greeted with the question, “Visa extension?” Pretty much any foreigner who shows up at their office is there for a visa extension.
Every time you get a visa extension, the fees are different. The first time is really expensive. The second time is less so. And the third time, the …
Cycling from Naval back to Tacloban
Well, I’m back in Tacloban. I decided it made more sense to return here to renew my tourist visa rather than try to reach a different town. I know for a fact that it can be done in Tacloban, and there’s no way to be sure about other places.
On my ride back here, I encountered something new, something to add to the travails of Doug …
Visit to a Cockfighting Arena
Mark, the fellow that runs the sari-sar store and who took me out to his farm on his motorcycle, wasn’t around for a couple of days. Yesterday morning, however, I spotted him at his store – which is at the front of his house – and we had a chance to chat some more. I got a lot of information from him about his life
Mark …
Feeding the Pig at a Local Farm
I’m at my keyboard a bit early this morning – 6 a.m. – because I had/have plans to leave this morning. Unfortunately, another typhoon has formed. This one is headed for Taiwan, but it is still off the coast of the Philippines, and it is large enough that it is cloudy and rainy here. The weather might clear, but chances are it will get worse. …
Random Thoughts on the Philippines
I had intended yesterday to go on to note other characteristics of the Philippines, but I ran out of steam. I’ll continue today.
A big part of daily life in the Philippines is the sari-sari store. These are everywhere since making one involves simply cutting a hole in the wall of the front of your house and installing some chicken wire. Voila, you have a little …