Trapped Ideas and Laziness » Note on Blog Hiatus Status

I’m busy saving the world (I mean my own personal world) that is why it’s been weeks since my last post and you might think I abandoned blogging, but hell no – this is not yet a zombie blog. Weather can automatically switch me on and off to lazy mode and [damn!] this rainy season puts me on hiatus status. Although, yeah I’m naturally lazy, I admit that.

Work is also eating up lots of my reserved energy and giving me a taste of hell for the past few weeks. It’s work and I already stripped myself the right to complain – because it’s my choice – but hey, I still have the right to rant and I got this blog.

Also, I got this personal project which has something to do with having my own permanent home address (that means I’m getting old and planning to settle down) and that keeps me preoccupied.

Hmmm, excuses, excuses.

I’m monetizing this blog, so I just want to post this note to let the crawlers know this blog is still breathing. For the regular lurkers here (as if there’s any, he he) I’ll do my best to pop up from time to time to share my thoughts and starting next week I want to end yodisphere’s hiatus status (**raising right hand)

You will also notice that this blog is recently focusing on travel posts. I’m thinking of making Travel as my niche but still I don’t want to get stuck on one specific subject (and Travel is quite an expensive niche), although most blog gurus are advising that a niche blog is way better for monetizing and SEO.

Trapped Ideas

Anyway, here’s the list of pending posts sleeping on my drafts folder, which hopefully I can finish before our trip to HK on midweek of July.

» Ilocos Tour Last Part – Batac and Vigan (Calle Crisologo) Tour

» Review: Ace Water Spa Pasig

» Pahiyas Festival Mobile Phone Photography

» Agawan Festival in Quezon

» Sidetrip to Kamay ni Hesus – Quezon

» My List of Top Ten Emerging Influential Blog

» Conquer Mt. Pinatubo

» Book Notes

Voila tout! - That’s all for now and I better get working.

Here I am, here I remain.

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Image Source: 

» Zen by gabrielnardelli via DeviantART: Digital Art / Photomanipulation / Surreal

Allegory of the Bantay-Abot Cave and Timmangtang Rock » Is there such a thing as end-of-the-road?

"When you're at the end of the road, And you lost all sense of control, 

And your thoughts have taken their toll, When your mind breaks the spirit of your soul

Your faith walks on broken glass, And the hangover doesn't pass, Nothing's ever built to last

You're in ruins"

[21 Guns – Green Day]

They are wrong. It is not a "Lover’s Rock," it is a metaphorical monument for our wrong choices in life. Bantay Abot Cave and Timmangtang Rock are solid reflections of us being victims of our own poor choices. Sometimes in our foolish search for greener pasture, adventure and material happiness we struggled to leave the protection and safety of the cave only to get stuck in the middle of nowhere, drowned by the sea of human ambitions, leaving us confused and beaten.

But would you rather leave and experience pain than stay? How would you know what’s the right choice? Is there such a thing as end of the road? Ahhh, another bouts of my dusty foot philosophy. Allow me to expound.

The prodigal rock

Timmangtang rock is like the prodigal part of the Bantay Abot Cave. He left the cave for foolish adventure, only to get stuck a few kilometers away from the protection of the cave, now immobilized along the shore and partly by the sea. This sad rock is now looking at the cave, longing to fill that hole he foolishly created when he left, longing to come back but he can’t, even if he is so near. That is the prize he pays for the poor choices he made. Then like the Timmangtang rock I realized that life is a one-way ticket – there’s no coming back.   

That feeling of apprehension was what struck me on that particular day on our Ilocos tour as I approached and captured that scene along the seacoast of Sitio Gaoa, Balaoi, Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte. It wasn’t really intentional and I actually hate it when I see things differently. But I can’t help it, and maybe that’s the whole point of this mania for wandering. We travel to see things differently – others are just afraid to admit that.   

Or maybe I travel to hunt and confront my own demon, because you can actually find your demon in some tropical paradise – those self-righteous priests who told us demons are in hell are fools. However, that thought makes me feel unsettled because when I find my demon I am not sure what to do with it. Say hi perhaps? Ask for guidance or wrestle with it? Because the last time I met my demon, it almost killed me by stoning me with regrets.

The hole in the mountain

On the far side across the dark waves is the Bantay Abot Cave. It is not your typical cave but actually a hole in the foot of the mountain like a mysterious gateway to the netherworld or some unknown universe. Then again I put the meaning of this cave into question.

I put the pieces together and realized that this hole was left by Timmangtang rock in his pursuit for pleasure, which bring him pain and misfortune. If we carefully examine this metaphor we will realize that we are actually connected with each other.

Ironically, when we try to get away from the discomfort by pursuing the supposed solutions we crafted, or to just pursue that nagging sense of adventure, we leave a hole in the heart and soul of those we left behind. So precious we are, in our physical imperfections - unique in our myriad selves that we leave behind us a gaping void when we breakaway for whatever reason. Sometimes it becomes like a tiny black hole, a vortex that can pull demons.

As long as we pursue the false hopes of finding happiness on worldly attachments, as long as we flee the infinite stillness that our personal cave can offer, how can this emptiness, this hole we created by separation be truly filled?

Many died without finding that missing piece, leaving this physical world without really discerning the true image of the puzzle.

But some find the answer and filled that echoing emptiness. How they do it, I don’t know.

Like a liar

So would you rather leave the cave and explore the world? If you find there’s really that end of the road would you come back?

And, if you return what would you find? Who would be there, at the center of the hole you created?

Maybe the pursuit of such questions in contemplation while visiting places will give us some answers.

Or we will end up "like a liar looking for forgiveness from a stone…."

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HERE ARE THE DETAILED POSTS ABOUT OUR  Ilocandia Time Travel

• Ilocos Tour » Laoag-Pagudpod-Vigan Impromptu Weekend Getaway
• Ilocos Tour – Laoag, City of Sunshine » Waking up in the Sparkling Gem of Ilocandia
• Ilocos Tour » Sinking Bell Tower and McDonalds’ Rising Golden Arch 
• Cape Bojeador Lighthouse » Death of Elegance, Creepy Tales and A Spark of Wisdom 
• Bangui Windmills » Catching Scattered Memories Beyond the Wind  
• Pagudpud Beach in Saud, Ilocos Norte » Detecting Your Average Summer Happiness Level 
• Kabigan Falls, Pagudpud Ilocos Norte » The Best Lazy Trekking to Waterfalls in Ilocandia
• Jun and Carol Beach Resort Review » Affordable Pagudpud Beach Front Accommodation
• Patapat Viaduct and Kalbario Patapat Natural Park » Pagudpud Tricycle Tour Pit Stop 
• Magical Blue Lagoon and the Cascading Agua Grande » Pagudpud Tricycle Tour Pit Stop
• Allegory of the Bantay-Abot Cave and Timmangtang Rock » Is there such a thing as end-of-the-road?
• Batac City, Ilocos Norte » Understanding the Final Argument of a Dictator's Town 
• Paoay Church in Ilocos Norte » Architectural Heresy and Our Obsession with Heritage 
• Ilocos Tour - Guerilla Style » 5 Interesting Places to Visit On Your Way Out of Ilocos 
• Calle Crisologo Vigan Ilocos Sur » Sojourn to the Past

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Citations and Notes:

» Ending quotation was lifted from the lyrics of the song "21 Guns" by Green Day

» All photos are taken by the author: Samsung Galaxy S mobile phone photography
» Note: This post is the last part of the PAGUDPUD TRICYCLE TOUR SERIES.(Part III of III)

Magical Blue Lagoon and the Cascading Agua Grande » Pagudpud Tricycle Tour Pit Stop

In the center of the mountain’s embrace forming half circle, blanketed by random greenery upon the azure sky fighting the gray clouds, there is a lagoon, and there on its center is the mystical blue riding the sea ripples from its pulsating heart. I look upon it and thought that mystical knowledge was hidden beyond it, like a deja vu of an oblivious soul who has known many things that the years had hidden.

I only had a quick peek at this half-moon shaped bay called Blue Lagoon in Pagudpud but I remembered it as “magical.” The sad fact about travel is that you always had very limited time, but it makes the experience more exciting. This lack of time and hurried glimpse against this magical lagoon was like looking through the eyes of Aragorn when he is looking at Arwen, the Lady of Rivendell – always bestowing an aura of hurried admiration, trying to imprint that awe-inspiring, almost numinous portrait on that quick glimpse.

And Aragorn said: 'Now I know what you bear. Bear it still for me a while!' And he turned and looked away to the North under the great stars, and then he fell silent and spoke no more while the night's journey lasted.

("The Passing of the Grey Company," The Return of the King)  

Panoramic view of the Blue Lagoon at Pagudpud, Maira-ira point: 

Maira-ira, a name that sounded like a ritual tribal hym, is the name given to Luzon mainland's northernmost tip. At its embrace is this cerulean waters, known simply as Maira-ira Point or Blue Lagoon. Its jovial waves are untiringly kissing its fine sand, which is better than its well-known sister Saud Beach (also in Pagudpud).

Located in Malingay Cove in Sitio Malingay, Blue Lagoon is beautiful on its isolation. No beach front hotels and resorts, partying beach combers and unruly commercial enterprises. It might be perfect for nudists finding a mystical nude beach.  

The sun was about to set when we got there, casting our long shadows against the fine sand yellowed by the dying sun rays. Gray clouds are also teasing us, they hung low as if trying to compete with the lagoon's beauty, casting curses and warning if we embrace the lagoon and swim - and so we didn't.    

We just stand there transfixed, like idiots trying to comprehend the mysterious whispers of the Blue Lagoon. 

I will never ever comprehend it, so I just painted its magic on my memories and left.

THE CASCADING AGUA GRANDE

OK, enough of my senti Blue Lagoon rants. Here, let me also share a quick peek at the Agua Grande Picnic Park which is also part of the tourcycle quick pit stop. Agua Grande is a river park situated about 1 kilometer from the Patapat Viaduct also set at the foot of the scenic North Cordillera mountain range against the white waves of the open South China sea. 

Aside from the scenic sea, also part of the attraction is the Agua Grande River (known in Ilocano as dakkel a danum). It is also known for its eco-friendly and non carbon producing mini-hydro electric power plant constructed during the Marcos years and has a power generation capacity which can supply electric power to some 17,000 households in Pagudpud and nearby villages in Pasuquin and Bacarra.  

At the entrance along the highway is the Chapel of Nuestra Señora de Visitacion de Piat where the Marian Movement of Pagudpud meets regularly. The Chapel is just a small unadorned hut for the faithfuls to pray and for a quick keep-us-safe prayer for the Catholic tourists.   

There is also an information desk at the entrance which is abandoned during our visit. Posted on the nearby tree are the entrance fee rates for children and adults. From the outside, you can already see what Agua Grande can offer - just a perfect view under the towering coconut trees and a nice dose of fresh air.    

Main attraction of the Agua Grande picnic park is the cascading water against gray boulders falling to the sea like reclined waterfalls. There are also picnic huts if you want to stay in the place probably awesome for a nice round of vodka and some hotdogs. 

PAGUDPUD TOURCYCLE  QUICK INFO:

Before my final Pagudpud tour post, let me insert here some quick info about what the Pagudpud tourcycle can offer. 

The tourcycle is divided into Southbound and Northbound Tour. I almost covered main Northbound destinations which you can check on my previous posts. 

We visited the Southbound destinations on our own since we rented a van and I think it's a little far from Pagudpud if you are staying there. 

The Pagudpud tourcycle is very organized. You can find info cards and official ID of your driver inside the tricycle plus they are very courteous and eager to show you your destinations. You can even ask them some local facts and info if you are a blogger and also are very much willing to be your official group photographer during the tour. 
   

The tricycle for the tour

Last part of the series of posts about our Pagudpud tricycle tour pit stop will be the quick emo trip at Timmangtang Rock and exploring the giant doughnut Bantay-Abot Cave so watch our for that to complete my tourcycle coverage. 

Till then!
Hit comments if you've been to this part of the Philippines and share your experiences and insights. 



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Related Posts: 
HERE ARE THE DETAILED POSTS ABOUT OUR  Ilocandia Time Travel

• Ilocos Tour » Laoag-Pagudpod-Vigan Impromptu Weekend Getaway
• Ilocos Tour – Laoag, City of Sunshine » Waking up in the Sparkling Gem of Ilocandia
• Ilocos Tour » Sinking Bell Tower and McDonalds’ Rising Golden Arch 
• Cape Bojeador Lighthouse » Death of Elegance, Creepy Tales and A Spark of Wisdom 
• Bangui Windmills » Catching Scattered Memories Beyond the Wind  
• Pagudpud Beach in Saud, Ilocos Norte » Detecting Your Average Summer Happiness Level 
• Kabigan Falls, Pagudpud Ilocos Norte » The Best Lazy Trekking to Waterfalls in Ilocandia
• Jun and Carol Beach Resort Review » Affordable Pagudpud Beach Front Accommodation
• Patapat Viaduct and Kalbario Patapat Natural Park » Pagudpud Tricycle Tour Pit Stop 
• Magical Blue Lagoon and the Cascading Agua Grande » Pagudpud Tricycle Tour Pit Stop
• Allegory of the Bantay-Abot Cave and Timmangtang Rock » Is there such a thing as end-of-the-road?
• Batac City, Ilocos Norte » Understanding the Final Argument of a Dictator's Town 
• Paoay Church in Ilocos Norte » Architectural Heresy and Our Obsession with Heritage 
• Ilocos Tour - Guerilla Style » 5 Interesting Places to Visit On Your Way Out of Ilocos 
• Calle Crisologo Vigan Ilocos Sur » Sojourn to the Past

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Bubusugin Ulit Tayo ng Max's » Fried Chicken All You Can is Back!

Image Source

Remember Max’s Fried Chicken eat-all-you-can dine-in promo last year? Maybe you also gone crazy over sarap-to-the-bones fried chicken that time. We had the chance to try it and I remembered these photos we had while waiting for our orders. 

We are so patay-gutom that time, we go around Megamall and Shangri-La branch but all their branches was full of waiting customers. During the promo, you can actually saw long queues on all Max's restaurant within our office in Mandaluyong. We got to try the promo in Starmall and I'm sure that Max's marketing gig was a success.

Here is the good news. Maybe Max's is at it again because there is a banner posted on their website announcing that Max's will satisfy our sarap-to-the-bones hunger again. Yes, that promo that created public hype with the biggest Chicken-All-You can promotion ever maybe back with possibly a hefty plate of new dishes to serve. 

It is happening on June 10, 2011 Friday exclusive for Max's restaurant Philippines. No details provided yet but a Friday night eat-all-you-can barkada dinner at Max's would be a nice plan. 

For official announcements and details, check out Max's official website at http://www.maxschicken.com

UPDATE: June 08, 2011  Max’s Restaurant announces the much-awaited Chicken-All-You-Can Promotion 2011.  It’s time to work up the biggest appetite and make a beeline once again to the nearest Max’s Restaurant for an unlimited serving of the Filipino’s favorite home-cooked fried chicken, from 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm daily for only 199 Pesos.

Get ready trooping to your favorite Max’s Restaurant for this most exciting value-for-money promo. Await the tilaok signal and catch the Chicken-All-You-Can fever by visiting any Max’s Restaurant nationwide, from 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm daily. Promo runs from June 10 to July 10, 2011 only!


Click here for more details

Here is what happened to us last year at Max's chiken-all-you-can promo, hopefully we could do it again this Friday:  

Patapat Viaduct and Kalbario Patapat Natural Park » Pagudpud Tricycle Tour Pit Stop

If there is something notable in Ilocos aside from amazing beaches and panoramic mountains, it is the wide concrete roads. Ferdinand Marcos makes sure Ilocandia got that. So a viaduct in Ilocos would not be surprising. However, what makes the Patapat Viaduct amazing is, they not only construct it wide, they also make it poetic.  

The Patapat Viaduct, located at the municipality of Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte  is a scenic elevated highway snaking around the coast at the foot of the North Cordillera Mountain Range. It was constructed to connect the Maharlika Highway from Laoag, Ilocos Norte to the Cagayan Valley Region. Its piers rest on spread footings founded on outcropping bedrock.

This majestic 1.2 km winding viaduct has a cousin in France and is also known as the French Riviera of the Northern Philippines. The viaduct totally changes the landscape adding a touch of human power of creation against the verdant mountains.      

The bridge is elevated 31 meters above sea level, and connects the Maharlika Highway from Laoag to the Cagayan Valley. The bridge is also the 4th longest bridge in the Philippines. The viaduct was constructed by Hanil Development Co. Ltd. under the overall management of DPWH-PMO-PJHK and was completed and opened to traffic in October 1986.

There are only few vehicles passing on the viaduct and it was practically deserted so we have safe time taking pictures on the wide road. The view of the sea is amazing and you will not regret getting stuck in traffic here because you’ll have the chance to check out the view and maybe reflect on something.

The viaduct trailed the side of the panoramic mountains against the passing falls. This is just a quick tricycle tour so we just stopped there took pictures and leave for our next destination - Kalbario Patapat Natural Park

KALBARIO PATAPAT NATURAL PARK

The park is situated within the Barangays of Pansian, Pasaleng and Balaoi, in the Municipality of Pagudpud and Sitio Maligligay, Barangay Adams, Municipality of Adams, Ilocos Norte just across the Patapat Viaduct. Located in the area just along the highway is a small grotto of Virgin Mary set against the trees and lush green bushes.

I noticed in the Philippines, if you want a certain location to be a tourist attraction just put a miraculously looking grotto there and you can be sure of devotees stopping by and buying religious articles and healing water - that is what they did here in Kalbario Patapat Natural Park. 

 

This Kalbario-Patapat Natural Park is a protected area established under Proclamation Number 1275 on April 20, 2007 covering 5, 737 hectares.

Beside the grotto are some natural springs from the mountain which is really cool and maybe safe to drink (but I'm not really sure, though most visitors and locals are actually drinking from it.) According to some Pagudpud tourist information, you can do birdwatching here but I think to do that, you have to stay and do some trekking inside the forest. Maybe you have to check with local authorities if you are a bird enthusiast. 

Also, this is the place where you can buy all kinds of bagoong (fish sauce) and other pasalubong. 

More of our Pagudpud tourcycle on my upcoming posts!

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HERE ARE THE DETAILED POSTS ABOUT OUR  Ilocandia Time Travel

• Ilocos Tour » Laoag-Pagudpod-Vigan Impromptu Weekend Getaway
• Ilocos Tour – Laoag, City of Sunshine » Waking up in the Sparkling Gem of Ilocandia
• Ilocos Tour » Sinking Bell Tower and McDonalds’ Rising Golden Arch 
• Cape Bojeador Lighthouse » Death of Elegance, Creepy Tales and A Spark of Wisdom 
• Bangui Windmills » Catching Scattered Memories Beyond the Wind  
• Pagudpud Beach in Saud, Ilocos Norte » Detecting Your Average Summer Happiness Level 
• Kabigan Falls, Pagudpud Ilocos Norte » The Best Lazy Trekking to Waterfalls in Ilocandia
• Jun and Carol Beach Resort Review » Affordable Pagudpud Beach Front Accommodation
• Patapat Viaduct and Kalbario Patapat Natural Park » Pagudpud Tricycle Tour Pit Stop 
• Magical Blue Lagoon and the Cascading Agua Grande » Pagudpud Tricycle Tour Pit Stop
• Allegory of the Bantay-Abot Cave and Timmangtang Rock » Is there such a thing as end-of-the-road?
• Batac City, Ilocos Norte » Understanding the Final Argument of a Dictator's Town 
• Paoay Church in Ilocos Norte » Architectural Heresy and Our Obsession with Heritage 
• Ilocos Tour - Guerilla Style » 5 Interesting Places to Visit On Your Way Out of Ilocos 
• Calle Crisologo Vigan Ilocos Sur » Sojourn to the Past

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Sources of facts and Citations: 

» Valencia, Lynda B. Positive News Media, Cities And Towns Section “PGMA to inaugurate newly rehabilitated Patapat viaduct” [http://positivenewsmedia.net/am2/publish/Cities_And_Towns_23/PGMA_to_inaugurate_newly_rehabilitated_Patapat_viaduct.shtml] Retrieved: 06 June 2011
» Kalbario Patapat National Park [http://www.pagudpud-ilocos.com/kalbario-patapat-national-park.html] Retrieved: 06 June 2011

» Wikipedia Article "Patapat Viaduct" [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patapat_Viaduct] Retrieved: 06 June 2011 

» All images are taken by the author, Yodz Insigne via mobile phone [SGS i9000]