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| Hiking. More Fun in Albay, Philippines (Photo by Ariel Chua) |
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
It's More Fun In Albay, Philippines Photo Series #52
It's More Fun In Albay, Philippines Photo Series #51
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| Ibalong Epic. More Fun In Albay, Philippines (Photo by Ariel Chua) |
A long, long time ago, there was a rich land called Ibalong. The hero Baltog, who came from Botavora of the brave clan of Lipod, came to this land when many monsters were still roaming in its very dark forests. He decided to stay and was the first to cultivate its field and to plant them with gabi.
Then one night, a monstrous, wild boar known as Tandayag saw these
field and destroyed the crops. Upon knowing this, Baltog decided
to look for this boar with all his courage and patience. At last, as soon as he
saw it, he fearlessly wrestled with it, with all his might. Baltog
was unafraied. He was strong and brave. Though the Tandayag
had very long fangs, he was able to pin down the monstrous, wild boar and break
apart its very big jawbones. With this, Tandayag fell and died.
After this fight, Baltog went to his house in Tondol,
carrying the Tandayag’s broken jawbones. Then, he hung it on a
talisay tree in front of his house. Upon learning of the victory of their
Chief Baltog, the people prepared a feast and celebrated. The very
big jawbones of the dead boar became an attraction for everyone. Thus, came the
tribes of Panikwason and Asog to marvel at it.
The second hero who came to the land of
Ibalong was Handyong.
Together with his men, he had to fight thousands of battles, and face many
dangers to defeat the monsters. As warriors, they first fought the one-eyed
monster with three necks in the land of Ponong.
For ten months, they fought without rest. And they never stopped fighting until
all these monsters were killed.
Handyong and his men made their
next attack against the giant flying sharks called Triburon which
had hardy flesh and sawlike teeth that could crush rocks. They continued
fighting until the defeat of the last Triburon.
They tamed the wild carabaos. They even drove away the giant and very fierce
Sarimao which had very sharp fingernails. And using their spears and
arrows, they killed all the crocodiles which were as big as boats. With all
these killings, the rivers and swamps of Ibalong turned red with
blood. It was at this time that the savage monkeys became frightened and hid
themselves.
Among the enemies of Handyong and his men, the serpent Oryol
was the hardest to kill. Having a beautiful voice, Oryol
could change its image to deceive its enemies. To capture it, Handyong tried
different ways. But Oryol escaped every one of it and disappeared.
So, alone and unafraid, Handyong decided to look for Oryol in the
heart of the forest. He followed the beautiful voice and was almost enchanted by
it in his pursiut. Days and nights passed until Oryol came to
admire Handyong’s bravery and gallantry. Then, the serpent helped the hero to
conquer the monsters, thus restoring peace to the entire Ibalong.
In one of the areas of Ibalong called Ligmanan,
Handyong built a town. Under his leadership and his laws, slaves and
masters were treated equally. The people planted rice and because of their high
regard of him, they named this rice after him. He built the first boat to ride
the waves of Ibalong’s seas. Through his good example, his people
became inspired and came up with their own inventions. There was Kimantong
who made the plow, harrow, and other farming tools; Hablom
who invented the first loom for weaving abaca clothes; Dinahong,
an Agta, who created the stove, cooking pot, earthen jar, and
other kitchen utensils; and Sural who brilliantly thought of the
syllabary and started to write on a marble rock. This was a golden period in
Ibalong.
Then suddenly, there came a big flood caused by Unos, with
terrifying earthquakes. The volcanoes of Hantik, Kulasi
and Isarog erupted. Rivers changed their direction and the sea
waves rolled high. Destruction was everywhere. Soon, the earth parted, mountains
sank, a lake was formed, and many towns in Ibalong were ruined.
Then, appeared the giant Rabot, half-man and half-beast, with
awesome and terrifying powers.
People were asking who will fight against Rabot. So, Bantong,
the third hero was called. He was a good friend of Handyong. He
was ordered to kill the new monster in Ibalong. To do this, he
took with him a thousand warriors to attack Rabot’s den. But using
his wisdom against Rabot, he did not attack the giant right away.
He first observed Rabot’s ways. Looking around the giant’s den, he
discovered that there were many rocks surrounding it, and these were the people
who were turned into rocks by Rabot.
Bantong also learned that
Rabot loved to sleep during the day and stayed awake at night. So, he
waited. When Rabot was already sleeping very soundly, Bantong
came hear him. He cut the giant into two with his very sharp bolo and without
any struggle, Rabot died, So, Ibalong was at peace
once more.
Truly, Ibalong epic is more FUN in Albay, Philippines.
It's More Fun In Albay, Philippines Photo Series #50
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| Bahay na Bato. More Fun in Albay, Philippines (Photo by Ariel Chua) |
The quintessential Filipino house, the "Bahay na Bato," literally means 'house of stone."
Bahay na bato came about when the illustrados and principalia in the Philippines during the Spanish times combined the structural features of bahay kubo with the elements of houses in europe and asia. The lower walls of the
classic
bahay na bato were traditionally finished in stone or masonry.
More modest homes have wood walls for both levels and in more recent times,
cinder blocks have been used to enclose the lower level. This
space, the zaguan, was used to store the family carriage and processional
cart in the old days and nowadays often function as office, shop or the
family's
sari-sari store.(Robert Gardner)
The Bahay-na-Bato.... it's more fun in Albay, Philippines.
It's More Fun In Albay, Philippines Photo Series #49
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| Meditation. It's More Fun in Albay, Philippines (Photo by Angelo Cantero) |
It's More Fun In Albay, Philippines Photo Series #48
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| Taguan. It's More Fun in Albay, Philippines (Photo by Astor Oro Rejuso) |
Taguan. the Filipino equivalent of the popular game Hide-and-Seek. It involves a group of players hiding from an “it”.
One player is randomly chosen as the it, usually through rounds of pompyang
(players simultaneously flip their hands, deciding to have them palm up
or palm down all at once and the odd ones out are chosen as the it) or jack-en-poy
(rock-paper-scissors). The it remains at a base determined by all the
players. The other players then hide, and when securely hidden, they
call out "It!". The it goes to search for them. Those who are hiding
may repeat the call at their own discretion.
The game ends when all of the players are found. The player who
is first found will be the new it (the searcher) in the next round.
A variation of the game allows the hiding players to move. The
object of the game is for the hiding players to reach the home-base
without being detected or being caught by the it. Another variant
involves “capturing” hiders and the it has to defend the home base from
the other hiders. If a hider reaches the home base without being
caught, he can free the captured players.(WikiPilipinas)
Playing taguan, oh it's definitely more FUN in Albay, Philippines....
It's More Fun In Albay, Philippines Photo Series #47
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| Car Drifting. It's More Fun in Albay, Philippines (Photo by Angelo Cantero) |
A global competitive sports, drifting refers to a driving technique and to a motorsport where the
driver intentionally over steers, causing loss of traction in the rear
wheels through turns, while maintaining vehicle control and a high exit
speed. Drifting your car, it's more FUN in Albay, Philippines.
It's More Fun In Albay, Philippines Photo Series #46
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| Pastries. It's More Yummy in Albay, Philippines (Photo by Angelo Cantero) |
Pastries go back to the ancient Mediterranean with almost paper-thin, multi-layered baklava and filo. Northern Europe took on pastry-making after the Crusaders brought it back from the Mediterranean. French and Italian Renaissance chefs eventually perfected the Puff and Choux pastries, while 17th and 18th century chefs brought new recipes to the table. These new pastries included brioche, Napoleons, cream puffs, and éclairs.
In this photo, one of the famous Albay product, the Pili, is added to pastry resulting into a one-of-a-kind yummy pastry... the Pili Roll.
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