Travel Bites: The pleasures of Pampanga

PAMPANGA is not just your destination for the annual Good Friday procession of penitents, bloody from flogging their own backs with sharp bamboo sticks, before being crucified just like Christ Jesus (Barangay San Pedro Cutud, Mabalacat City).

The province has more entertaining festivals, lots of recreational spaces, a wide array of shopping possibilities, hotels and resorts for that quick getaway and, more important, a sumptuous selection of native dishes readily available at decent establishments.

Must-see’s

• Up, up and away. The Hot Air Balloon Festival, now on its 18th year, will be held from February 21 to 24 at the Omni Aviation Grounds at the Clark Freeport in Pampanga. (UPDATE: The Hot Air Balloon Festival has been postponed this year, 2014.)

This annual event attracts balloon enthusiasts from all over the world, showing off their creative and colorful hot-air balloons. Lift-off is usually at 6 a.m., so it’s best you travel down the night before, check into a hotel, and drive down to the staging grounds the next morning. It’s advisable that you secure your entrance tickets (P250 each) days before, as demand for these is high. Last year there was an estimated 100,000 people who attended the event. (For more details, call the Clark Subic Marketing Office at 0917-3923759, 0928-5046769, 045-499-0695, 045-499-1179, or click http://bit.ly/1bTYqn5)

Brightly colored balloons prepare to take flight at the opening of the 18th Hot Air Balloon Fiesta in Clark, Pampanga, February 21, 2013. (Photo from InterAksyon.com)

• Christmas Capital. Another festival one shouldn’t miss is the Giant Lanterns Festival (usually held on Saturday before Christmas Eve) in San Fernando City, the provincial capital,  where a competition among makers of the traditional festive parol from the city’s barangays is held.

First made using papel de japon (Japanese paper), the unique Christmas lanterns of San Fernando are now made from capiz shell, resin or plastic and fiberglass, lit up by hundreds of lightbulbs, and with sizes as large as 20 feet.

•  Heritage visit. The Betis Church (Saint James the Apostle Church) in Betis, Guagua, is a baroque edifice completed in 1770 by the Augustinian Order. It has been proclaimed a National Cultural Treasure by the National Museum.

Its walls and ceilings are adorned with murals and paintings by local and international artists, while Renaissance-like frescoes depicting the Holy Family or Biblical themes adorn the ceilings, evoking a Sistine Chapel mood.

There are intricate carvings in gold leaf, and detailed wooden sculptures—just fine craftsmanship that makes this church a true artistic haven. Several images of saints fill the magnificent retablo behind the equally ornate altar.

A number of heritage homes designed in the Spanish-era bahay na bato (stone house) style can be found in Angeles City. Thanks to the new owners, these have been restored to their former glories. Among them are the Balé Herencia (Santo Rosario Street and Lacandula Street), built in 1860 by a Spanish friar supposedly for his mistress; Balé Cuayan (Santo Rosario Street) constructed in 1892 and later used as the quarters for officers of the Japanese army in World War II; and Founder’s House (770 Santo Rosario Street), the oldest structure in Angeles City as it was built in 1824. (Click http://bit.ly/1glIJtq for other heritage sites to visit in Angeles.)

The altar and retablo of the Betis Church in Pampanga. (Photo from www.localphilippines.com)

Must-do’s

•  Eat to your heart’s content. Capampangan dishes represent one of the more well-known native cuisines in the country. They are unique as the dishes are either created from offal, or ingredients normally not eaten by the squeamish among us.

Everybody’s Café (MacArthur Highway, Del Pilar, San Fernando) is popular for its authentic Capampangan cuisine, friendly staff and overall cleanliness. The prices can be on the high side, but I think worth it, considering their superb taste. I personally love the fried catfish, fried crickets, duck adobo, to name a few. For the adventurous, try the betute (stuffed frogs) and camaro (fried crickets).

Aling Lucing’s (Glaciano Valdez Street, Angeles City), the original purveyor of sisig (made from pig ears, cheeks and snout), has attained cult status among foodies especially after Chef Anthony Bourdain featured it in a “No Reservations “episode on the Philippines. (Photos of Bourdain now line the wall of the establishment.) Its sisig has chicken livers and is loaded with onions and served sizzling on a hot plate, with crunchy and soft bits thrown together—all perfectly seasoned—and naked, meaning no mayonnaise (thank God!) nor fried eggs.

For halo-halo, try Kabigting’s (Poblacion, Barrio Paralaya, Arayat). It’s thick and rich with pastillas de leche (made from carabao’s milk), sweetened beans boiled for hours, thus taking on a halaya consistency, and cream of corn. This is definitely not your typical halo-halo, but a worthy alternative.

• Climb every mountain. Mount Arayat rises over 3,500 feet and will take about an entire day for hikers to reach the summit. Hikers are advised to check  with the ranger station first before making the climb that takes them through lush foliage on clearly-marked trails.

At the foot of the mountain, declared a wildlife sanctuary, is a national park where natural waterfalls, a swimming pool, park benches and huts are available for picnics. It is about 30 minutes from San Fernando, or less, depending on your vehicle.

Mount Pinatubo, whose infamous eruption in 1991 wreaked havoc on the global atmosphere, is now a major tourist destination in Pampanga. One can hike to the crater lake and have breakfast there, and then visit a spa, which uses the ash spewed by the volcano in a treatment designed to flush out toxins from the body. (For inquiries, check http://bit.ly/1g7iFQB)

• Watch the birds.  From October to February, migratory birds from China, Siberia, Japan, the Korean peninsula and New Zealand make a pit stop at the Candaba wetlands on their way to warmer climes. A portion of the wetlands (Barangay Doña Simang), actually owned by town mayor Jerry Pelayo, has been declared a bird sanctuary.

The Giant Lantern Festival heralds the Christmas season in Pampanga. (Photo from http://naiahlaxa.wordpress.com)

The best time to go is either very early in the morning (before 6 a.m.) or late afternoons (after 4 p.m.). According to the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines (WBCP), some of the rare birds found at the sanctuary are the Purple Swamphen, Chinese Pond Heron and Black-crowned Night Heron. I suggest joining the WBCP (www.birdwatch.ph) on its visits to Candaba for a more organized and educational point of view on the birds. (For other inquiries, call the Candaba Tourism Information Center at 045-6321-299.)

• Buy furniture. You can drive all the way to Betis, in Guagua for export-quality intricately-carved wooden furniture where several factories are located. Betis Crafts Inc. (www.betiscrafts.com) is the most well-known among the local furniture makers.

There is also a Furniture Village in Barangay Cauayan near Clark Field in Angeles City, where high-quality rattan and wrought iron furniture are sold.  (Call the Clark Subic Marketing at 045-499-0695, for details.)

• Getting there: A private vehicle is still the best mode of transport to Pampanga, especially if you’re visiting several sites or cities. Take the North Luzon Expressway; Pampanga is about 2-3 hours from Manila depending on your final destination. Bypassing the Balintawak Cloverleaf and using the Mindanao Avenue-NLEX interchange cuts down the travel time by at least 30 minutes.

Buses that go to several points in Pampanga are Genesis Transport (www.genesistransport.com.ph), Bataan Transit Co. (www.bataantransit.webs.com), Victory Liner (www.victoryliner.com), Dagupan Bus Co. (T#727-2330/929-6123/928-5639), Philtranco (www.philtranco.com.ph). In most cities in Pampanga, you can either take a jeep or tricycle from the bus terminal to your end destination.

(This piece was originally published on Feb. 11, 2013 in the BusinessMirror.)

La cage aux folles

TRUE story.

It takes place sometime 2003. Missus of a ranking government official goes to Pampanga to have some wooden furniture made. She orders furniture amounting to about P105,000. She tries to persuade shop owner to thrown in a freebie. Missus has her eye on a bird cage to keep her precious Brazilian birds. (Hwaw! Soozy! If I know, stone bird lang 'yan haha!)

Anyway, deal is closed, Missus hands over P50,000 to shop owner as downpayment for her merchandise. Soon has the furniture delivered to government official's house in Alabang. Government official was moving abroad, so Missus had the shop owners' delivery boys load up a container van the newly-delivered furniture, which include complete dining furniture and a living room set.

After the new furniture was loaded into the container, Missus asked same delivery boys to load other personal items from the family home into the container. (Ava ava ava gardner! ginawang utusan ang mga delivery boys!) The boys followed and loaded up the Missus' other family stuff into the container.

Tired and sweaty from all that heavy lifting, the delivery boys asked Missus if they could get a drink of water. Missus led them into the garden and told them to drink from the garden hose. (Josh! Wala man lang baso ateh? But why?) She didn't even bother to give the boys a tip for doing the work of movers.

Before the delivery boys left, they asked Missus for the rest of the payment. She had a balance of something like P55,000. Missus hands over a check for P50,000 instead, telling the delivery boys, "Sabihin nyo sa amo nyo tawad na yung P5,000 (tell your boss to give me a P5,000 discount)."

Since their instructions were to receive P55,000, one of the delivery boys called the shop owner, so she and Missus would talk. Shop owner pleads with Missus to give the full amount as the latter had promised, telling her: "Ma'am bakit naman ho kayo ganyan? Asawa pa naman kayo ng _____. Ako, maliit na tao lang po, binabayaran ko mga tao kada araw. Ang laki na po na discount binigay ko sa inyo. (Ma'am why are you behaving that way, you're the wife of ______. I'm just a small businesswoman, paying her people on daily basis. I already gave you a huge discount.)

More pleading and cajoling go back and forth over the phone until the shop owner so disgusted says, "di bale po, kahit lugi ako, balik nyo nalang po ang furniture (never mind, even if I'm not going to make a sale, it's better you just return the furniture)."

So Missus eventually pays the entire amount owed to the shop owner. But none too soon after, she blabs about the incident to the entire office of her husband but with a different twist. This time she says it's the shop owner who still owes her some goods despite the fact that she had already paid the shop owner the total cost of the furniture!

Someone from Missus' hubby's office eventually set out to talk with the shop owner and asked what happened. Shop owner said that yes, she still owes Missus a bird cage. But the shop owner said: "Oo nag-promise ako bibigyan ko sya ng bird cage pero yung gusto ho nya, yung magkakasya ang tao! E ang estimate ko dun, P35,000. Yung bibigay ko sa kanya bird cage na maliit lang. (Yes I promised her I'd give her a bird cage. But what she want is a bird cage large enough to fit people in! I estimate that that would cost P35,0000. I'm just going to give her a small bird cage.)"

* * * *
Sweeties, my source swears the shop owner was on the verge of tears when telling this story. She wasn't kidding about Missus wanting that large bird cage to put people in either. Graveh! Ano kaya ikukulong nya dun? Mga maids?! Ahem. Da who itong high-handed Missus na itoh?