Bridge seen from Bit-Bit River at Angat Dam, Bulacan

So after lunch of a long-weekend afternoon, after the “let’s go to Angat Dam” received an instant “ok” reply, the adventure started. No plans, no provisions, no maps. Just a full tank and a general direction to Angat, Bulacan. It wouldn’t be that hard to find our way to Angat Dam.

Or so we thought (ditto with our close friend Jane who we invited to go along, so there will be more of us, ahem, in case we get lost).

We’ve long wanted to explore this structure that shows man’s effort to harness the forces of nature — the Angat Hydroelectric Dam, found in Angat, Bulacan. It generates electricity and provides potable water to Metro Manila, yet it could also be a source of destruction in case of an emergency release of dam water during heavy rains and typhoons.

With the fresh air and environmental preserve surrounding the structure, it would thus be very interesting to go see it.

The Bulacan website describes Angat Dam in this manner: “One of the country’s largest dams. This dam supplies potable water and energy to Metro Manila and nearby areas. Surrounded by lush greens, this place is also ideal for fishing, boating and hunting.”

Yes, it could be truly a place for fishing, boating, hunting and other ecotourism activities. However, for our second surprise of that day, we discovered that Angat Dam is off-limits to the general public. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Let’s take a step back and retrace the journey.

The first surprise: Angat Dam is really not near Metro Manila. We originally thought we’d be there in an hour, the reason why we left Metro Manila at around 2:00 p.m. in the afternoon. Not a good idea because because the heavy canopy of trees and secluded location of the dam mean that darkness or night time is not something to look forward to. Driving is made more exciting by the heavy zigzag and occasional cliffs.

With 2 hours of driving, there was no more time to take a dip in the Bit-Bit River, accessible through the side road of the long bridge that marks the boundary of the off-limits area. Plus there was no more time to explore the Pinagrealan Cave (found along the way in Norzagaray, Bulacan, around 30 minutes from the dam), which served as the hideout of Katipuneros in the war against Spain and by General Emilio Aguinaldo during the Filipino-American war.

There will be short stops, of course, like buying pork belly chicharon at Daboy’s or cassava cake at Ralo’s, a few meters after turning right at the Bocaue exit of the NLEX, our entry point going to Angat Dam from Metro Manila. It’s the same road going to the intersection to Amana Waterpark, but going straight (instead of going left to Amana) going to the diversion road of Sta. Maria, Bulacan (left upon hitting the fork at PTT gas station) then passing through Norzagaray and Angat. Residents here are helpful when asked for directions — the Hilltop, where the dam is situated.

And what does crispy pata doing in a post on Angat Dam?

Food can be appreciated in a lot of levels. There’s a scientific field on food and emotions. Feel-good food. Stress-eating or stress-relieving food. While we’re not too concerned with the gory details, suffice it to say that food, crispy pata to be exact, completed our “unsuccessful” journey to Angat Dam in Bulacan. We have to get a permit from the National Power Corporation (Napocor), we were told by the security personnel manning the gate after the Bit-Bit Bridge.

Crispy pata would probably make us feel better, we thought, and JL-Jamie’s Crispy Pata and Restaurant, located down the road from the Norzagaray municipal hall, came highly recommended for the purpose. Crispy pata, for the uninitiated, is boiled and deep fried pork leg. And the verdict?

It’s a bit unfair for JL-Jamie’s Crispy Pata and Restaurant because we’ll always compare it with the residents at the top of the crispy pata world, Judy Ann’s (Malabon) and JIJF Lutong Bahay ni Inay (Quezon). If Juday’s, our shortened name for Judy Ann’s, is on the sweet side and JIJF is at the salty goodness side of the spectrum, JL-Jamie’s taste leans on the sweet side. The skin is beautifully golden brown and crunchy, with the meat soft to the bone.

It’s crispy pata that we would go back to and recommend to friends, but not if Juday’s or JIJF is available. If we’re forced to list down any downside, we would begrudgingly give two. First, the flavor does not seem to reach the bottom of the meat, with dullness in the taste nearing the bone. Nakakaumay would be an appropriate term, a description that we would not even imagine with Juday’s or JIJF. Second, service leaves so much to be desired. Only one service staff was present and we had to go around looking for her to take our food orders. But, hey, there’s always room for improvement.

In the end, it was a great trip notwithstanding the absence of permit to enter the dam site itself. Half of any travel experience is always about the journey and the discoveries made along the way. Reaching the destination is just a bonus.

Baguio City Mayor Mauricio Domogan said that “the trees that will be cut are not pine trees but other smaller trees, while the pine trees will all be earth-balled.” On the other hand, SM said that it “will be reballing, not cutting” trees. It also said that “it has been working closely with the Baguio City Government and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources – and had received the necessary permits – to re-ball and relocate 142 trees in the shopping mall area.”

The SM City expansion plan has sparked protests. There’s an online petition with 4,833 signatures as of 19 January 2012. A group, which also threatened to boycott SM, claimed that “uprooted or earth-balled pine trees above 10 years old have a very low survival rate when transplanted as exemplified in previous earth-balling activities inside Camp John Hay”.

So, some say progress is good and the pine trees, which will be replanted, would be saved. Other say just leave the pine trees alone. Which side will you take? The poll is found below. Your comments at the bottom.

Update: As of 7 February 2012, a total of 102 votes were cast relating to the poll “Agree to cut/replant Baguio pine trees and other trees for SM Baguio expansion”. 96% (98 votes) said “No, leave the pine trees alone”, while 4% (4 votes) said “Yes, it is part of progress”. You could still express your opinions through the comment section below.

[Do you agree or disagree with this ranking? Please use the comment section below.]

The ranking, as released by Forbes, is based on HSBC‘s survey of 3,385 expatriates in 100 countries between May and July 2011. Forbes used four categories to determine the friendliest countries:

* ability to befriend locals
* success in learning the local language
* capacity for integrating themselves into the community
* ease in which they fit into the new culture

The Top 15 friendliest countries in the world are as follows (the highest rated):

1. New Zealand

2. Australia

3. South Africa

4. Canada

5. United States

6. Turkey

7. United Kingdom

8. Philippines

9. Spain

10. Malaysia

11. Brazil

12. Italy

13. Mexico

14. Singapore

15. France

Wow. The Philippines, as described in Forbes: “This country is friendly on wallets, too: 47% report an increase in access to luxuries, including domestic staff, swimming pools, and owning properties.” Again, if you agree or disagree with the description or the ranking, do let us know through the comment section below.

Seafood is a safe bet as an “offering” for balikbayan Filipinos. For US balikbayan extraordinaire Jean and our friend Joyce, the first bet was, of course, Dampa Seafood Paluto in Pasay. The next trip item, watching a movie in a cinema with comfortable fully reclining chairs, made the decision a bit complicated.

The huge Mall of Asia, around 5 minutes away from the venue, is a good option. It houses the Philippines’ first-ever IMAX theater, with a Director’s Club Theater that boasts of around thirty La-Z-Boy seats.

But they wanted another world-class venue that houses that kind of cinema, Resorts World Manila — “Manila’s first integrated tourist attraction”. Among the amenities is the casino (the main reason for the use of “bet” in the title of this post), but perhaps we’ll try that another time. There are shops and arcades. There’s a theater which is currently showing “The Sound of Music” (extended to February 12). It has a lot of restaurants, including the Red Crab Alimango House. And its Cinema 1 houses the huge fully-reclining chairs. Tom Cruise and Jeremy Renner were there, I mean, in the Mission Impossible (Ghost Protocol) movie, so we decided to bet on this venue.

Think of a Red Crab, a BluFish and a Flying Pig. What do they have in common?

They’re all restaurants that serve good food, all creations of Chef Raymund Magdaluyo. What do you order at the Red Crab? Crabs and then some. It might be a welcome surprise to know that this Alimango House also serves other seafood items (like kinilaw sampler, for our appetizer) and non-seafood items (like chicharon bulaklak, also for our appetizer).

The star of the show, of course, is the alimango (crab) that is malaki at masarap (big and delicious, translation for the benefit of non-Filipinos who are still discovering that it’s more fun in the Philippines).

Choosing the right one(s) for our palates wasn’t easy as we thought. Steamed Crab, Crab Maritess, Thai Chili Crab, Deep Fried Crab, Crab Szechuan, Crab in Sour Miso Soup, Shruti’s Crab Curry, Classic Crab Adobo, Lola Julie’s Crab Pateros, Butter Ginger Crab, Crab Singapura, Raymund’s Salt and Pepper Crab, The White Pepper Crab, Fidel’s Black Pepper Crab. We would have been happy with the basic steamed crab, but chose to bet on something different, crossed our fingers and hoped that we won’t regret it.

Steamed Crab. It made sense that we choose the non-standard fair because it’s not every day, or every month for that matter, that we eat at a restaurant that specializes in crabs. Crab Maritess. Good choice, but someone already tried this so it’s out. How about the crab in coconut milk (ginataan)? Hmm, what else. Fifteen minutes into the selection process, with the waiter standing beside the table, we finally settled on the crab with salted egg (forgot how it’s named in the menu) and Raymund’s Salt and Pepper Crab. We added Crab Relleno (for anyone who wants the easier way of enjoying crab meat) and Seafood Kare-Kare (to check how non-traditional kare-kare would taste like).

First to arrive was the Kinilaw Sampler. Tastes really good, with a nice presentation. What’s better, in our opinion, is the fact that it was served with the vinegar removed from the dish — the fresh fish meat wouldn’t be “cooked” further by the vinegar. Then came the chicharong bulaklak (boiled, seasoned and deep-fried pig omentum, not intestine). We thought it was too salty for our taste buds, which is probably coincidental considering that we made the same observation on the home-made pork and beans at Flying Pig.

Really not a problem because we’re at Red Crab mainly for, well, the crabs. On the other hand, as to the crab relleno, let’s just say we would stick to the whole crab the next time we visit Red Crab.

To be continued . . .

President Benigno Aquino issued a new order prescribing the rules on the cancellation or suspension of classes and work in government offices in case of typhoons, flooding or other calamities. The following guidelines shall be followed for the automatic cancellation or suspension of classes in all public and private elementary, secondary and tertiary schools, as well as work in all government offices:

a. When Signal No. 1 is raised by PAGASA, classes at the pre-school level, in the affected area, shall be automatically cancelled or suspended.

b. When Signal No. 2 is raised by PAGASA, classes at the pre-school, elementary and secondary levels, in the affected area, shall be automatically cancelled or suspended.

c. When Signal No. 3 or higher is raised by PAGASA, classes at preschool, elementary, secondary, and tertiary levels, in the affected area, including graduate school, as well as work in all government offices, shall be automatically cancelled or suspended.

For those who prefer to read the source, see the full text of Executive Order No. 66.

Godzilla? Well, it’s more diverse and more fun in the Philippines. Enjoy your stay.

These fun activities comprise the tip of the iceberg (yes, we don’t have icebergs in the Philippines, but there’s little fun in evading icebergs) in the latest ad campaign of the Department of Tourism (DoT). The campaign, simply called It’s More Fun in the Philippines, comes with a separate website and launched last week.

Just to be clear, to avoid any allegation of copyright infringement, all photos and logo of the It’s More Fun in the Philippines campaign are courtesy of the DoT or the appropriate group handling the campaign. Whether this attribution is necessary is beside the point. It’s only proper to do so. Maybe the same thing applies in acknowledging that Switzerland had the same slogan in 1951: It’s more fun in Switzerland.

Some say the lack of originality is a mistake and the payment to the advertising agency who came up with the slogan is a waste of money. Maybe. Some say, as we’ve previously noted, that it’s a tall order to surpass the highly catchy “WOW Philippines” campaign of the past. However, whatever is said about the originality of the slogan, it can never be said that it’s not more fun in the Philippines.

It is indeed more fun in the Philippines. Besides, the beauty of the slogan is its simplicity. Anyone could easily tweak it to highlight his/her fun experience in the Philippines. Here’s our modest attempt at it (photo culled from the Chocolate Hills article here in VisitPinas).

So, revisit your photos and look for something really interesting. Think of a term that best describes the photo and why it’s fun. Paste the label on the photo. Then share it with the world. Try it.

Update: 102 votes were cast as of 19 January 2012. A total of 87 are were in favor of the campaign (61 Votes for “Yes, I like it” and 26 for “Yes, but is there something better?”) while only 15 votes were against the campaign (10 for “No, there must be something better” and 5 for “Absolutely Not”). You can still express your opinion through the comment section below.

Now, tell us if you didn’t shed a tear. Kabayan, nasaan ka man ngayon sa mundo, mabuhay ka!

January 1, 2012 (Sunday) – New Year’s Day

January 23, 2012 (Monday) – Chinese New Year

February 25, 2011 (Saturday) – EDSA Revolution Anniversary (for all schools)

April 5, 2012 – Maundy Thursday

April 6, 2012 – Good Friday

April 9, 2012 (Monday) – Araw ng Kagitingan

May 1, 2012 (Tuesday) – Labor Day

June 12, 2012 (Tuesday) – Independence Day

August 21, 2012 (Tuesday) – Ninoy Aquino Day

August 27, 2012 (Last Monday of August) – National Heroes Day

Eid’l Fitr – date to be fixed

Eidul Adha – date to be fixed

November 1, 2012 (Thursday) – All Saints Day

November 2, 2012 (Friday) – Additional special (non-working) day

November 30, 2012 (Friday) – Bonifacio Day

December 25, 2012 (Tuesday) – Christmas Day

December 30, 2012 (Sunday) – Rizal Day

December 31, 2012 (Monday) – Last Day of the Year

August 21, 2012 (Tuesday) – Ninoy Aquino Day

November 1, 2012 (Thursday) – All Saints Day

November 2, 2012 (Friday) – Additional special (non-working) day

Drop by from time to time for updates, including additional holidays that may be announced by the Office of the President.