Continuing Down

I was done with my meeting with the dealer by 4pm. He dropped me off at the hotel and then proceeded to his next appointment. My bags were already at the front desk since I had checked out earlier in the day.

A cab took me to the north terminal. I thought about taking the last trip to Cebu at 11 pm but I was too early at the bus depot. I remembered that the last trip to Dumaguete would be at 7pm. So I changed my itinerary.

Twenty minutes after, I was at the south terminal and waited for the Ceres bus that would take me to Dumaguete for the first time in my life.

A lot of people say that the City of Gentle People is a nice little place that is peaceful and quiet. I want to find out myself and check if it really is.

So I continued down to the southern tip of the Negros island. In 5 hours of non-aircon bus trip, my butt got sores from sitting the entire time. I passed by my mom’s hometown Hinigaran and some other new cities like Kabankalan and Himamaylan.

From Bacolod to Dumaguete, the shortest way down was through the mountain town of Mabinay then down to the hills of Bais. We passed by Tanjay and 3 other towns before the bus arrived in Dumaguete passed midnight.

I didn’t know that the city was hosting the regional meet of the Palarong Pambansa or the CVRAA. My contact dealer had earlier informed me that I should check in at Hotel PALWA. When I got there, I was informed that there was no room available.

I got in to a pedicab and the driver took me to a couple of lodges. But we were in vain. The lodges were fully booked. In one of the hotels, a kind front desk personnel helped me out in looking for a room to stay. Luckily there was a suite room available at:

O.K. Pension House. It’s a block away from the city cathedral and park and is located near the public market. The hotel was OK, except that they couldn’t provide a towel as they ran out of such. It was a good thing that I brought my own.

Well I got some pictures of the hotel. I find it odd but then I would only stay there overnight.

I did not know what the hotel’s architect’s inspiration was when he designed this hotel but I thought I was transported to some old north african inn. I even asked the hotel attendant if by any chance the owner was from the Middle East or somewhere within that area. I got no answers from him. I was too sleepy to even analyze why.

I met my dealer in the following morning and we discussed her concerns for about an hour and a half.

Master Raquel, my college classmate and dear friend had already arrived in the city. She’s from Tanjay and would be picking me up later in the afternoon. We already agreed that I would be staying in her place that night.

I asked her to take me to the city cathedral.

 

At the corner of the church yard fronting Quezon Park, the city plaza, an old bell tower made of local stones was still standing. It was built in 1811 to warn the people against Muslim attacks. The bellfry remains as one of the popular architectural landmarks of Dumaguete.

  

Dumaguete from history books was from a vernacular word “daggit” which means “to snatch”. The town was frequently attacked by Muslim pirates. Dumaguet can also mean “to attract” or to “to invite”. 

Raquel and I decided to go down the stairs and we lit candles at the grotto at the base of the tower. We took a bus near Silliman University and headed to the newly declared city of Tanjay.

In the bus, I closed my eyes and slept, knowing that we would be coming back to Dumaguete the next day. I just couldn’t wait to explore the city more.

Re-tracing My Roots

I arrived in Bacolod City a couple of days ago. I was not THAT excited though for this was part of the requisite endorsement activity under the dealer management group considering that I was just a month old.

I was to meet my one and only dealer for clinical chemistry products in Negros Occidental. I was hoping that the meeting would not take too long since I planned to  catch the last trip to Cebu at 11pm.

Bacolod City is my birthplace. I was born there 29 years ago at the Riverside Medical Center. I do not have a vivid memory of the place since I was two years old when my parents decided to relocate to Cebu.

Just the thought that I was born there that I felt a strong connection to this city. And I just wanted to visit the places where my parents used to bring me and my sister Beverly every weekend.

I passed by the hospital. It has changed its name to Dr. Pablo O. Torre Memorial Hospital. The medical institution has grown so much. Now it has a school and a medical arts center. This is where I first saw the real world.

I passed by the city center to look for an internet cafe. They called this busy area as the SHOPPING. Bacolod still has its old city set-up. The broad concrete streets, the wide city sidewalks and the old, enduring local shops.

This gazebo is in the heart of the city plaza a few blocks away from the city hall. It is located at the busiest section of Bacolod. Back in the days, the area used to be a dating place for students and the working class. 

This was the same old area where my parents dated. Santiago had a teaching stint that time at Colegio de San Agustin while my mom was attending commerce classes at the University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos.

Dad won mom’s heart by just a couple of ensaymada and banana cue. They got married in 1975 and settled in Bacolod for 5 years.

I also visited the church where I was baptized.

This is the San Sebastian Church, the city cathedral on the same block as La Consolacion College.

Beside it was a brick slab holding two old church bells. These were taken from the bellfry that was completely installed in 1890 by Fr. Mauricio Ferrero and these bells formed part of the four others mounted on the cathedral towers that warned Bacolod of a revolution in 1879. Eight years thereafter, the church tower was lowered by storm and fire.

Every Sunday, my parents would take me and my sister to the Capitol Park and Lagoon. Bacolod City is the capital of Negros Occidental. The capitol sits on area where an old house of Jose Ruiz de Luzurriaga used to stand. The old house was at the corner of Luzurriaga and Araneta streets.

The capitol was built under the term of Governor Jose Locsin. It was Juan Arellano who designed the imposing structure back in 1927. In front of the capitol is a wide lagoon with two scupltures at the sides.

 

According to mom, my sister and I would play by the children’s playground near the lagoon while mom and dad would watch us by the side.

Life in Bacolod back then was simple. In 1980, dad took the job in Union Carbide and we moved out of the City of Smiles for a new life in Cebu.

I have little recollection of Bacolod. But somehow this city has provided the chance for mom and dad to meet. This is where my life started and I was quite happy to be reminded of how important it is to trace back the moments that molded my very being.

The One Week Assessment

Here’s a rundown of the status of the list from my entry last March 12, 2007

1. JS Contractor

No news from their end. Perhaps I was not fit to work in Abu Dhabi or anywhere in the middle east. I may never become an overseas Filipino worker. Okay.

But I received a text message from the agency. My visa has not yet arrived. Yey. There’s hope pa pala.

2.  My Sister Ken

I met her last Saturday en route to Laguna. Me and my officemates passed by her apartment in General Trias at noon. I used to stay there for about a year. Her housemate Diane was also there.

We picked up Ken because we were heading for Enchanted Kingdom. Ken was also excited to come because she recently had her belly button pierced and she wanted to show it off. My ex-housemate Lao could not come because her physician advised her to take a rest. She’s been on leave for about a week.

Later in the day though Ken decided to go home because of a badminton game commitment.

3.  My previous employer

We were supposed to visit Genchem before we went to Ken’s apartment. But since we woke up late, we were caught in traffic at the coastal road. We decided to change course and navigated the Sucat road leading to the South Luzon Expressway.

We wasted a lot of time because of heavy traffic. We decided to skip Rosario Cavite and headed to the Carmona exit for Dasmariñas and General Trias. We might visit the plant on my next Manila visit.

4. Bennirose and the Gang

I happened to meet Benny Rose last Sunday. I had to meet her because I forgot to greet her on her birthday. I know. I have the amnesia attacks. I often forget people’s birthdays. I even forgot my father’s birthday once.

And I was guilt-ridden. So I treated Bennirose to dinner. Ivan could not come because he’s treating his family out. Jorel was at that time with his girlfriend.

5. Ms. Jean

We informed Jean days before we flew in to Manila. She wanted to go back to Binondo but we opted to go to a different place. We had dinner with Jean at the KITCHEN along with Fred, Ching and some of our officemates.

Jean was also with us when we went to Laguna and Enchanted Kingdom. Perhaps she will come with us when we go to GenChem next time.

6. Blogfriends and friends

I wasn’t able to meet Bridget and Jher. I hope I could meet them again on my next visit to Manila. I got a lot of stories to tell. Sobrang saya talaga the last time we met. Chong and I met up with his virtual girlfriend Nemcy and the fanatical teacher. But it was such a short notice. I’m wishing for more time. If not, then I’ll make time.

7. My partner Chong

I was happy that I get to spend all my nights with my partner Chong. It was the longest that we’ve had ever since we came back together. I thank him for being there. The bed was not too big at all. Hehehe

So I got at least two misses. It’s better than no hits at all. Meantime, I am here in Bacolod. I’ll be tracing my roots for the first time in like a decade.

A Suitcase and a Handbag

My life right now is in a suitcase and a hand bag.

It has been like this lately. I’ve been out of the house for days and I never realized how much I have missed home until I’m packed again for another string of places to visit.

I just arrived from Manila. I brought along a suitcase and a handbag. Their combined weight is about 23.5 kg. I talked to the airline ground officer and haggled that I should not be charged for the excess baggage. And I was glad that she did not let me pay.

23,000 feet above on an aisle seat, I pondered on the thought of being far from home.

I’ve been very independent. I used to live away from family and relatives. I used to live my life the way I wanted it to be. But I have moved back to Cebu and back to the warm and loving hands of home, I’m starting to let go of my independence.

I used to forget that loneliness could exist. But I know now that it’s a potent illness and that it has a cure.

The life of a salesperson is mostly spent outside of home. Outside of the house. And I am painstakingly trying to adjust to such an arrangement. It is quite a huge adjustment to make.

But I’m going out of town again. Inside a suitcase and a handbag:

Tools of the trade. Product brochures, manuals, reference materials, calculator, official receipts, etc. Also included are sets of business attire, shoes and accessories. It is by convention that salespeople should at least wear something decent and presentable. Perfumes and oil-removing facial cleanser must be on the list.

Tools for communication and documentation. Cellphones that keep me in touch with my clients, family and friends. I’ve been using Sun Cellular for more than 3 years not because that it has a poor area coverage but because of its 24/7 scheme. I used it everytime I call my partner and we talk on the phone for about an hour each night. In my work, I am obliged to use this post-paid account so that I could file for the re-imbursement on all official phone calls that I make.

Laptop is also a necessity for mobile people. There are already a lot of internet cafés and hot spots so that reports and important messages could be sent. These gadgets have already become affordable.

Digital camera. For people on the go and those who are going to a lot of places, a digicam is a nice instrument to store the experience and the moment in places that interest them. There are visual feasts that best be placed in memory cards and flash drives.

Wallet and coin purse. These are very important requirments when making trips or when going away from home to travel. One could not literally survive without cash on hand. It would be extremely difficult to move around and be mobile without any money to spend.

In the suitcase and a handbag, one must also pack his optimism, his positive vibes, his jokes and anecdotes. They may come in handy if the trip becomes monotonous and disappointing.

These are some of the things worth checking, moments before any business trip begins.

But I better go. I need to pack now and fill my suitcase and a handbag with all those things necessary for the trip. I will be flying to Bacolod City tomorrow.

Back to the Headquarters

I will be flying back to Manila for another round of product training.

The flight will be on the 14th. Aside from the training, I have so many things to do while I will be in there.

1. JS Contractor

I need to call up the agency and ask for updates regarding my application for Abu Dhabi. Basing from my last medical exam, I think I was not fit to work in that company.

The application process was too strict and I lost interest because the processing was very slow. I would still remain penniless if I had decided to wait for this application to materialize.

2. My Sister Ken

I’m going to Cavite over the weekend to visit my sister in General ‘Jasmine’ Trias. Karen is still working in Intel and I haven’t seen her for over a month now. I miss also my housemate Diane Rose Lao. She was such a remarkable lady.

Dad also instructed me to get the playstation from Karen. The unit was not fully used as we were never fond of the visual game in the first place. It was a gift from the prodigal daughter. Yet Dad wants to play the station. His favorite game was the 2-dimensional pacman.

3. My previous employer

I will drop by GenChem this weekend to get my mails from the office. It has also been a month since I visited the company.

There were no news about GenChem since. On my last visit to the plant, I came out to one of my engineers. He was an ex-seminarian. He never communicated again.

4. Bennirose and the Gang

The last time I was in Manila, I wasn’t able to meet up with Bennirose, Ivan and Jorel. They were my friends from Imus, Cavite. In my GenChem days, we often meet up every thursday and hit either the KTVs, the ihaw-ihaws and the Frio Mixx.

I miss them so much and I hope to meet them again.

5.  Ms. Jean

Friday’s already set for a meet-up with Jean. Jean was my officemate in GenChem. She had already left the company and got married last January. She is now busy processing her papers for Qatar, where her husband is currently working.

Perhaps we will go back to Binondo and explore another restaurant there. Or maybe we will push through with the DAMPA experience. It may all depend on where this wife of an OFW will take us.

6. Blogfriends and friends

It was such a blast the last time I met up with Bridget, Jher, Fanatical Teacher and of course Diva, my Bro Bear. There were so many things said and talked about. The CHARMIS, the golden tan, Ate Vi’s ‘Bare Bran’, miss gay pageants, etc.  I miss that wonderful time of hearing funny stories from them.

7. My partner Chong

I will be seeing Chong again. I missed him already. I was not there on his birthday. I want to celebrate it with him. He and I have so much to talk about. We will be re-united. And we may also find time to play badminton again.

7 items in 7 days. Hope to do it all.

Chateau de Busay

Before anything else, I congratulate Melche and Karen. I wish that you will have a wonderful and happy life ahead of you.  

Yesterday, Biba, Noche and I attended the wedding of our high school classmates at the Redemptorist church.  Just like any other functions, we were fashionably late.

Fashionably, because we planned on what to wear, even days before this wedding was to take place. Among us, it’s Biba who was the most excited to attend.

We decided to meet at a mall. Biba got there first. I came in second with a black and olive ensemble, with a full beard and cheap sunglasses. Biba wore aviator jacket over a plain light green shirt, dark denims paired with green and white Umbros. Minutes after, Noche came out from a cab in a simple white sundress with a fabric belt of teal and aqua and matched with flat brown sandals with rhinestones. 

This particular event was very important at least to me, Biba and Noche because there’s a great possibility of meeting a lot of Science High alumni again. And just like any other reunion, conversations revolve around the word SUCCESS.

Melche and Karen invited a lot of people who in one way or another are connected with Cebu Sci-Hi. It was a reunion of sorts for the batch ‘95.

We arrived at the church midway into the celebration of the holy matrimony. The wedding choir’s Grand Amen resounded on the walls of the church. We sat on one of the side pews. I spotted some familiar faces in the entourage. I counted 20. The wedding ceremony went on.

Post nuptial photo sessions took place after. Biba, Noche and I decided to proceed to the wedding reception not because we were hungry but because we wouldn’t want to draw attention to ourselves.

So we took a cab to the reception site – Chateau de Busay. Chateau de Busay Inn and Restaurant sits on a hill overlooking the metropolis of Cebu. It’s a 15-minute uphill ride beyond Nivel hills and is a favorite venue for parties, meetings and wedding receptions.

Melche and Karen chose a very wonderful reception site. They chose an al fresco party, at the garden portion where one could view the citylighs of Cebu after dusk. The reception started at 6pm.

While we were looking for our seats, I was shocked to see that two familiar high school figures arrived. The Bride of Chuckie (the current high school principal) and the Hobbit, my Social Studies teacher.

The Bride of Chuckie was surprised to see us too. And while she was talking to me about the changes in the school, the word STREEEETCH kept flashing on top of her hair. I couldn’t contain myself. I made her cry in front of the class 13 years ago.

The Hobbit, his stare was very weird. He’s still hung up with boy scouting and social science. I couldn’t care much. The Baguio experience with the Hobbit was really disturbing.

On to my batchmates.

Most of my classmates who were at the wedding were doctors. I counted a least six physicians currently interns in hospitals. In attendance also were my batchmate who are now engineers, lawyer, medical and technical representatives, managers and businessmen.

And just like any other high school get together, the conversation were about high school and the things we did back then.

I was happy that no talk went down to the level of bragging and telling who’s the most successful among the batch. The mood was really friendly and calm. Simply because the odd people who we expected to attend Melche and Karen’s wedding did not come.

What mattered that night was that the wedding was extremely beautiful and the reception was really nice and smooth. I regret that I didn’t bring my camera with me. At some point along the reception program, members of Batch 95 gathered at one table to have our pictures taken.

These moments seldom happen.  

High School Pics

Decades before there were colored pictures, this was how people looked during the baccalaureate mass.

That’s my dad Santiago in rimmed glasses with Grandma Gabina in black veil praying so hard that my dad would somehow alleviate them from poverty. Well months after that day, Santiago informed Gabina that he’s getting married.

Grandma was shocked and in her fury she pinched Santiago’s crotch and yelled “MALAKI ANG UTANG MO SA AKIN, MILYON!”. (You owe me a lot. You owe me a million pesos!)

Hay. Those were the days. I’m grateful that I wasn’t born in the 50’s.

Fast Forward. Jher, a blogger friend who Chong and I happened to meet last month along with his husband Bridget, suggested that we post our high school pictures in our blogs.

So let me post mine.

I took this from Luminaries, our high school year book. They said that I was a huge cornball in high school. People laughed about my jokes but I never was the batch jester. I even made my earth science teacher cry.

That’s my mom Felma in all redness during the recognition day on my sophomore year at a local science high school. I know, I had a horrible moustache and hated how I looked in high school. I was skinny and I looked so sickly that my mom even looked so healthy on the picture.

In my freshman year, I remembered how the principal approached me and demanded that I should shave off my moustache. She was bothered, I guess, that I looked so mature with those beard so she ordered me to take it off.

From that day on, I shaved my face free from facial hairs.

 

This is me and Biba on our graduation day. Such was the age of innocence. Biba and I were classmates except during our sophomore years. We remain friends even after college.

And these are my close friends in high school.

We called ourselves the SIXERS. From left to right: Me, Gigibe “Bing”, Regine “Redge”, Clancy Belle, Jonathan “Pee”, and Jiovanni “Vanni”. Sixers began in our junior years when we were classmates under the advisory of the TROLL.

Each one of us had inclinations to the arts. Bing was a talented oil painter. Redge was the editor-in-chief of our school paper and the chairman of the yearbook committee. Clancy was good in memorization. No one could beat her in History and Social Studies. Pee is a equipped with a tenor vocal chords. He was a choir member of his church. Vanni on the other hand was into beauty contests and modelling.

In high school, I was into poster-making contests, pop jazz, christmas caroling and extemporaneous speaking contests. But that’s about it. Most of the times, I chased people with my corny jokes.

I had entries on my freshmen and sophomore years. High school was one of the best times in my life.

Experiencing Mindanao Again – Part 2

The second leg of the journey was a trip to the cities in Northern Mindanao.

This is my boss with Yolly, our dealer for instruments and clinical products in Mindanao (except Western provinces). Ma’am Yolly had scheduled a visit to a prospect buyer of an instrument in Ozamis City. My boss and I will represent Merck as the trader of the unit.

March 7, we left Davao City a little after lunch and headed north towards the direction of Bukidnon.

Bukidnon is a landlocked province in the heart of the Mindanao island. It is associated with pineapple plantations and cattle-raising. The province boasts of a cooler climate as it is a rich tableland with an average altitude of 915 meters. The Kitanglad Mountain Ranges of Bukidnon include Mt. Dulang-dulang, the second highest mountain in the archipelago.

Going up to Cagayan de Oro (CDO) required us to use the Buda (Bukidnon-Davao) road. Buda is a shorter route than the Davao-Agusan-Butuan route. The travel time for the Davao-CDO trip via Buda runs between 5-6 hours. 2/3 of the travel time is generally spent in Bukidnon.

At 4pm, we decided to pull over at a mountain resort called Seagull.

This resort was built to cater to the weary travellers plying the Buda road. Seagull attracts motorist to stop and take a brief rest in the resort either for a cup of coffee or a short nap.

Bukidnon resembles Mt. Province in terms of flora and climate.

This is Neneng, the right hand of Ma’am Yolly. We thought the place could rival any resort in Baguio City.

A couple of minutes later, we were on the road again. The highway coursed its path through the component city of Valencia and the capital city of Malaybalay.  

We arrived at Cagayan de Oro City at half past 6pm. According to the 2000 census, Cagayan de Oro or CDO is the 12th largest city in terms of population. The 2005 population estimate was 600,000. The city is the capital of Misamis Oriental and is also the regional center for education, trade and services.

Due to time constraint, we were not able to get a good glimpse of the city nightlife. We were joined by Nonette, the dealer’s representative to the Northern Mindanao. We decided to eat dinner in CDO and continue on with the journey to Iligan City.

Iligan City is home to the famous Maria Cristina Falls and is the industrial center of Mindanao. It is a 2-hour drive to the former capital of Lanao del Norte.

We decided that Iligan will be the pitstop for this leg. At the city proper we looked for a decent hotel where we could spend the night on. We went to a lodge along Badelles Street and checked its rooms and amenities. The hotel had no hot water so we decided to look for other inns.

We found another one along Roxas Avenue and upon thorough checking, we decided that this pension house would be our pitstop. Once again, my boss got a room with two beds. Room rates in Iligan are not too high. The average rate for a de luxe room is Php 1000.

We got a room for only Php 580, complete with aircon, cable tv and hot shower. I felt tired and exhausted from the long travel. After I prepared my things for tomorrow’s client visit, I took a short bath and went to sleep.

I woke up 5 hours later only to find out that my boss was up the entire night.

She told me that last night, while she was already lying down and was preparing to sleep, she felt that someone was about to hug her. She thought that I was still up and was about to embrace her but when she glanced on her side, she saw this black shadow trying to hug her. My boss looked over her side and saw me completely asleep. When she looked back, the shadow’s still there. She saw another spirit in a form of an ancient native woman trying to approach her in bed.

My boss said a prayer to St. Benedict and pulled out a magazine with Brad Pitt on the back cover and read for the rest of dawn.

By 5 am, we were all set for Ozamis City. We were on the road once again.

From Iligan, we drove west to the town of Maigo and took the ferry boat ride to Ozamis City.

Ozamis City is a second class city of the province of Misamis Occidental. Ozamiz was used to be called as Misamis. Misamis was an old Spanish town dating back to the colonial times but the city was named after José F. Ozámiz, who served in different terms as a governor, a member of congress,  and a senator.

We arrived at Ozamiz at 7 am. Since we were very early for the appointment, we dropped by the city church and prayed for our success through The Virgin of the Immaculate Conception.

Ozamis City has a pilgrimage site in an old fort (cota) with the Blessed Virgin as the object of devotion. Pilgrims call her Nuestra Señora del Triunfo de la Cruz (Our Lady of Triumph). According to a site, it was believed that in the Spanish colonial era, the Blessed Virgin helped protect the fort from fierce Muslim attacks.

The image of the Nuestra Señora on the fort wall is that of the Lady of Mt. Carmel. It was believed that this particular image is miraculously growing. Many pilgrims gather in this side of the fort, especially every July 16, the feast of the Our Lady.

At 7.30am, we went to the prospect client’s office near the city center. The client was a pediatrician who owns a diagnostic clinic that caters to the Northern Mindanao area. Our product presentation went very well, almost 2 hours of sales conversation and we came to an agreement that the client will be flown in to Manila this month to observe how the instrument is being used before he decides to buy it or not.

We left his office in a positive vibe that we could close the deal with him in a shortest time. At 10am, we started our return trip to Cagayan de Oro City.

My boss had a plane to catch at 3pm so we hurriedly went back to the City of Golden Friendship. The city airport is located far from the city on a highland near the border of Bukidnon. When we got there, my boss bade goodbye and thanked everyone for the wonderful Mindanao experience. I thanked my boss for giving me this wonderful opportunity to see Mindanao again.

This is the provincial capitol of Misamis Oriental located in Cagayan de Oro. A lot of medical clinics, hospitals and free standing laboratories can be found in this area.

Ma’am Yolly and the rest of the people of Global Diagnostics took me to the pier at 7pm. I was very grateful for their hospitality and I thanked them for sharing this opportunity to enjoy the wonders at this side of Mindanao.

I know that that I have to be back to the so-called Land of Promise and strive to experience the canopy walk, zip-line and whitewater rafting in Cagayan de Oro, visit the Maria Cristina Falls and the Tinago Falls in Iligan, Cota de Santiago and the Birhen sa Kotta in Ozamis and witness the Kadayawan Festival of Davao City.

I was delighted with this trip. I had a wonderful time. I have to experience Mindanao again.

Experiencing Mindanao Again – Part 1

My first trip down south was way back in 1994 in my senior year at Cebu City National Science High School. It was for the national secondary school press conference which was held in Koronadal (formerly Marbel), South Cotabato.

6 years after, I was in Davao City for the District Assembly and Conference (AssCon) of Rotaract Clubs under District 3860.

In 2003, I came back to Davao City en route to General Santos City in South Cotabato  and Saranggani for the AssCon hosted by the Mindanao State University Rotaract Chapter. A few months after, I went to Ozamis City, Misamis Occidental to attend a friend’s wedding.

Now I’m back to Mindanao again. The three-day trip covered 4 major cities in the island. My boss was with me for the formal endorsement to the dealers and their territory and to introduce me as the new representative of Merck.

The itinerary was Cebu-Davao-Cagayan de Oro-Iligan-Ozamis-Cagayan de Oro-Cebu.

From Waterfront Cebu Hotel, we transferred to the Days Hotel the night prior to our flight to Davao. My Boss was not used to travelling alone, much more, sleep in a room alone. She told me she has a third eye and she did not want to encounter anything odd in our trip so she got us a room with two beds.

 

We were in Mindanao once again.

Our first stop was Davao City. We were met by our dealers at the international airport. The city has a relatively new airport facility located several kilometers away from the city proper.

In terms of land area, Davao is the biggest city in the world. It claims to be the country’s melting pot of diverse cultures. Much progress has been done on the aspect of commerce, infrastructure and public administration. The city has been very aggressive in their campaigns for a clean and green environment. The city government has been doing a lot of programs to boost tourism in the area.

From the airport, our dealers took us to a mountain top resort for lunch.

Eden Nature Park is located 3,000 feet above sea level and is on Mount Talumo, a dormant volcano whose last major eruption was 600 years ago.

The formal signing of contracts was done during a heavy lunch at Eden’s restaurant. It was a working lunch where the dealers discussed about their concerns and their plan of action on certain targets or sales projections.

After lunch, we had a tour around the leisure park.

Our tour guide Janice led us to these places.

Wait, these are Angel’s Trumpets. I heard that they could be substitutes for marijuana.

  

These were taken from Lola’s Garden. Eden Nature Resort is owned and managed by an Ayala Family (not related to the Ayala of Makati, perhaps related to Joey). The matriarch’s favorite flowering plants can be seen in this garden. A wishing well, a local hammock, a sculpture of the water buffalo and the cart, and a native hut were clustered in one portion of the garden so visitors can take photographs of the place.

I had fun in Eden Nature Park. Janice said it’s a favorite place for conventions, camping and trekking. It is also a favorite place for people to get away from the busy life of Davao.

After the 45-minute tour of the park, we left the place and went back to the city and checked-in at Waterfront hotel for the night.

We had dinner with our dealers (Ellen and Bong) in their house. Their house is near the Waterfront Hotel Davao (formerly Insular Hotel). Ellen and Bong are members of Couples for Christ and they hold frequent group meetings in their house. What made their place really different from all the other houses I visited was this:

This section of the house was really cool. The couple have their own music room, with a stage to perform, sounds and lights equipment and all sets of musical instruments. That’s my boss on the right. Charmaine, on the left, is my officemate and is based in Davao City.

The drum set was really cool. No questions asked please. Hehehe.

And so we ended the night with 3 bottles of red wine and a couple of packs of chicharon. It was my boss’s first time after several years to drink anything alcoholic. When we got back to the hotel, we stopped at the Vinta Bar for a night cap. I ordered coffee while she ordered a shot of Bailey’s Ice Cream. My boss retreated to her bed with palpitation and a loud snore. I was not able to sleep very well that night.

The next day I woke up early and decided to try the swimming pool while my boss was still snoring from the previous night’s drinking session.

We checked out of Waterfront at half past 9am. Ellen and Bong brought us to the city proper where we would meet our next dealer.

I’ll mention about the trip to Cagayan de Oro next time.

Work and Leisure in Bohol

 

Exactly 179 years after Tagbilaran’s St. Joseph Cathedral was completely erected that, as far as the people connected with Merck are concerned, a very memorable conference was held.   

It had been a very great week. I had been away from home for almost 5 days because of work-related activities. Along with it, some rest and recreational moments that somehow made my life at Merck for the past 3 weeks very exciting.

I was in Bohol for the Dealer’s conference. Merck had already planned to gather all the exclusive dealers in Tagbilaran for the much-needed drafting and signing of new contracts as well as the introduction of new products to sell and the creation of opportunities to improve the market share of Merck.

I am happy that I became a part of the dealer management group  (DMG) and thus, I was part of the organizing committee for the annual affair.

 

DMG is composed of myself for dealers in Visayas &  Mindanao, Joyce (in light blue blouse) who handles dealer accounts in Northern Luzon, Ian (second from right) who handles the dealers in South Luzon and Western Visayas, and Giselle (far right) who manages accounts in Metro Manila and some parts of South Luzon.

Last year’s conference in Cebu paled in comparison with this year’s convention. It was a well-taken pat in the back for us who exerted so much time and effort in making this event extremely successful.

This was on the last day of the conference. I was designated as the emcee for the closing program. This picture was taken minutes before we started our mini-tour of Bohol.

Bohol is such a beautiful island. I have been to Bohol once, in 1999 for a Mid-Year Forum of Rotaract Club members in the Visayas and Mindanao under the District 3860. It was such a remarkable visit. I had fun.

They say that Bohol is “God’s Little Paradise” by those who were fascinated by its beauty and charm. The island province has so much to offer.

Interspersed in the conference were several activies held outside of MetroCentre Hotel, the convention venue. A day before the conference, the organizing committee conducted an ocular inspection of the venue for the luau.

 

We picked this place for the hawaiian-themed dinner party. Panglao Island Nature Resort & Spa is a sister hotel of MetroCentre.

The luau was held on the first conference night on a small man-made islet off the beachfront of the resort.  

Panglao Island was recently declared as the country’s first tourism estate. The white sandy beaches of the island can compete with some of the famous Philippine beaches like Boracay or Puerto Galera.

This is Alona Beach, several miles away from the luau venue. We hired a van to bring us to this side of the island.

Alona Beach attracts a lot locals and foreigners because of its dive sites. Many also troop to this beach because of the long stretch of white sand beach and the many resort-hotels that are placed side by side, parallel to the stretch.

When we get there, the sun was already down. But the moon had already risen and was brightly located opposite to where the sun had set. All the same, even under the moonlight, the place was awesome.

Part of our mini-tour was the visit to Loboc. This town is very famous for its river boat ride.

It’s because of their boat rides that Loboc had become famous all over the country. Loboc is also known for its centuries-old church and monastery, the Loboc Children’s Choir and the Bolibong Kingking Festival.

Bolibong Kingking as gathered from WOW Philippines site is a music and dance festivity depicting the history, folklore and tradition of the townsmen. The festival name was derived from the drums and gongs that accompany the supplication ritual for the Lady of Guadalupe, Loboc’s second patron.

Well I did my own Bolibong Kingking too.

It was my first time to sing with a band, in front of 40 people on the riverboat. It was Joyce’s birthday so I sang a song for her.

Bohol could be associated with the Dagohoy, Baclayon Church, the peanut kisses and the Sandugo Festival. But a tour of Bohol is not complete without a stop at the town of Carmen for a brief shot of…

 

The Chocolate Hills.

This is the most famous tourist attraction with over 1,200 cone-shaped hills spreading across the central part of Bohol. Getting a picture of the hills require a tourist to climb a steep flight of stairs leading to a 360 view of Chocolate Hills and a “wishing bell” where you can toss loose changes and ring the big old bell.

And of course, a tour of Bohol would not be complete without a shot of the smallest primate in the world, the Philippine tarsier.

I enjoyed the mini-tour so much. Bohol is a beatiful place worth visiting again. It had been a wonderful week mixing business and leisure on an amazing island away from home.