just ten things

i rarely do tags but this time i have to do this because three people tagged me. it would be a nice way to end this month doing it matching with photos which were taken in succession in Dingalan using Lawstude's camera.just 10 things about dong ho

[10] i enjoy tapping the table feeling like a real band drummer.

[9] i took a tennis lesson when i was 13years old but i didn't appreciate it that time. not until few years ago when i started playing again and this time enjoying it.

[8] the first novel i read was The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Samuel Langhorne Clemens at the age of seven.

[7] i don't know what it feels to be admitted in the hospital for more than a day. there was not one chance that i was confined in a hospital. i don't wish it either.

[6] the subject that i least like the most during my days as an engineering student is Thermodynamics.

[5] i can sleep almost anywhere that's flat even without pillows and foam.

[4] i rarely watch drama movies because i'm a big SciFi and Horror movie fan.

[3] my first ever flight was a trip from Cebu to Zamboanga. it was still a Fokker plane of Philippine Airlines.

[2] i don't sing in a bathroom. so i just have to appreciate Rin on the Rox.

[1] honestly, my name is not dong ho. it's just a pen name.

i won't be passing this tag as i have a long list of people worth doing it. so just grab it if you feel like doing it. thanks to Mel (five addicted things) and Blogusvox (ten things about myself) for the tag. i also forget to mention that bwzone also tagged me on this. i'll be dropping by your blogs later.

el bueno amigo - lawstude

to end the tandem trip of the three provinces, i am posting some of the photos taken using Lawstude's Canon IXUS 75 on our way home from Dingalan. he allowed me to use his back up point and shoot camera when my camera run out of battery.it was my first time to visit all the three provinces of Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya and Aurora. during the roadtrip we had a lot of stopovers along the way, missing out waterfalls, looking for the monkey Charlie and even eating at the town plaza.so allow me to thank Tay Pey, Paul, Tita (Lawstude's mom) for the accomodation and unconditional Filipino hospitality.thank you to the people of Bayombong museum, Dingalan mayor Zenaida Padiernos and her personnel for assisting us and to the very friendly people of Dingalan.our tandem trip to the three provinces of Luzon was something that Orlan and i owe to our best travel buddy and a good friend. Lawstude, maraming maraming salamat!

san jose church - nueva ecija

during my tandem trip with Lawstude, we were traveling in and out of their hometown and province, Nueva Ecija. we were crossing different towns and also had some sidetrips.one of them was the St. Joseph the worker church in the city of San Jose. this city before the Spanish colonial period is called Kabaritan, which refers to a plant that's commonly found in this town.this church was established during the post world war II period. it features both modern and old architecture design. the city of San Jose is considered to be the leading producer of onions in the Philippines. it is as well rich in other agricultural crops making it the city's main source of livelihood.Lawstude featured this church in his post on Bisita Iglesia. if you want to see more photos of this city you can also check out his post here.

[what you shouldn't miss there]>>> the wooden images of angels and the beautiful altar.
[why i should go back] >>> to explore more of the city and bring home some of its finest onions.

trip rate:
roadtrip: 4.0
road quality: 4.0
church facade: 3.0
church interior: 3.5
church plaza: 3.0
church location: 4.5
historical background: 2.0

left ashore - dingalan aurora

our guide led us to a site to see a more beautiful view of the coastline of Dingalan but what caught my attention was the ship docked along where we were to shoot the coastline.getting around a ship was something i missed doing. for quite sometime now, this ship has been unrepaired due to worn out mechanical parts.most of its parts were already rusty making it a masterpiece to me. Lawstude, Orlan and i explored the ship from all perspective.kids came after us since it was their playground. very similar to my experience because i grew up near the areas where cranes and trucks are parked. big people see it as a huge useless machine, kids as we were that time see it as a huge complex playground. perfect for climbing!we entered the captain's den and even reached the topmost deck. according to the caretaker of the ship, they are still hoping that it will soon be repaired. for the meantime, i should say that it's an amazing photo subject.[what you shouldn't miss there]>>> climbing up and exploring the boat's deck.
[why i should go back] >>> to just get in touch with the very friendly people of Dingalan.

trip rate:
roadtrip: 2.5
roadquality: 2.0
seascape: 3.0
photo subject: 4.0
people: 4.5

coastal town - dingalan aurora

if one wants to escape the urban lifestyle of Manila, one of the beautiful destination that you can take is a five-hour roadtrip to Aurora province's southernmost town of Dingalan. approximately 183kilometers from Manila.the whole coastline is composed of pebbles which creates a sound every time the waves hits the shoreline. waves can get bigger in this area because this is an open sea facing the Pacific ocean.it has a laid back kind of aura in this side of Luzon where one can both enjoy the serenity of the mountains and the sea. it has a port big enough for fishing boats and small ferries.apart from being serene Dingalan also boasts its abundance of fishes from Tunas to Blue Marlins. all of which are sold at a very cheap price. there's a small wet market along the road, where one can buy fishes. a nearby kitchen can then cook it for you while you wait on some of the cottages.when we were there, we had the chance to meet the mayor of Dingalan Ms. Zenaida Padiernos. she was the one who approached us and welcomed us while we were having our lunch. he endorsed us to one of his personnel to guide us to the northeast part of the town.a stream connecting the sea was a nice view from there and we crossed it to check out a ship docked in its coastline. that'll come on my next post. check out here for more beautiful seascape from a tandem post of Lawstude.[what you shouldn't miss there]>>>a walk along the port to get a view of the mountains surrounding the town and the fresh sea food near the small market.
[why i should go back] >>> to again enjoy the cheap Blue Marlins and Tunas bought and cooked there plus the relaxing mood of this town.

trip rate:
roadtrip: 4.0
roadquality: 4.0
mountain view: 4.0
seascape: 3.0
beach: 1.5
people: 4.5

boracay among the 44

a friend of mine Nadz just informed me of the news that Boracay island made it to The New York Times' "The 44 Places to Go in 2009". check out the link here. thanks Nadz. everyone can also vote or recommend your favorites from the 44.

today is also my brother Lucky's birthday.

nestled by mountains - dingalan aurora

after ascending the new highway on the boundary of the province of Nueva Ecija and Aurora, we reached the area where we were exhilirated by the lush green mountain range of the Sierra Madre.we made a stopover to capture the grass-covered hills which extends down to the small town of Dingalan. the view was beautiful that made me think that setting up a welcome arc to this town would be insignificant.but despite this view, one cannot forget that this town faced a great challenge. it was in 2004 when two typhoons hit this side of the country and killed many locals. the main cause was the rampant illegal logging during those times.but the way we see it, the town has already recovered from the tragedy. most of the mountainous part, where the actual ladslide took place, were already covered with trees.this town may not be that popular yet, but it is the home to one of the few paragliding site in the Philippines. take time to watch this video from bukopie on the paragliding test flight on the hills of Dingalan. check out more beautiful mountain and seascape from Lawstude's tandem post of this here.

[what you shouldn't miss there]>>> the view site overlooking the town and the Pacific Ocean.
[why i should go back] >>> to trek the hills of the paragliding area. no one knows, i might even have the chance to paraglide.

trip rate:
roadtrip: 4.0
roadquality: 4.0
mountain view: 4.0

cancer awareness - SU2C

let's support for the call to fight against cancer. there are a lot of ways to support this call. just visit www.standup2cancer.org

thanks to the people who formed SU2C and to ifoundme for the call for this awareness post.

raging waters - dupinga river

water was flowing hard when we reached the river seen along the way to Dingalan. from the ground, you can see how strong the waters force was causing the rapids.this is Dupinga river in Gabaldon which is still part of Nueva Ecija. this is just few kilometers after crossing the hills of Laur. this river can be viewed along the highway making it a popular stopover.the continuous rain days before our visit caused the river to reach a certain level that caused some of the existing cottages to be partly inundated.there were still a number of people trying their best to find a location that they can best have a picnic since it was a Sunday when we were there. but it was not safe to go to the middle area as water was really flowing fast.the raging waters on this area also means that we won't be able to visit the waterfalls which was on our itinerary. but it was also the rapids that made it quite an exciting scene to capture the flowing waters.don't miss out Lawstude's tandem post on Dupinga river here. you'll enjoy his photos upclose the rapids.

[what you shouldn't miss there]>>> the top view of the river from an elevated area.
[why i should go back] >>> to go swimming or even fishing.

trip rate:
roadtrip: 4.0
roadquality: 4.0
river view: 3.5
water quality: 3.5