thedude.com » Philippines 2006

Thedude Digs the Philippines

thedude — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 03:00:58 +0000

I noticed tonight that our trip to the Philippines has caused an increase in the amount of traffic to thedude.com. At first, I thought it was because of Grant’s awesome photos, but it’s more likely to be because of friskodude’s recent post, which seems to be working its way around the web. Thanks Carl!

Another Point of View

thedude — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 03:47:28 +0000

As you know, thedude was not the only person with a camera on the Philippines trip. Here are a few of my favorite shots by Grant Goya – in no particular order.

Grant shoots with a Canon 5D. I think his camera outperforms my Nikon D2X in almost every category. Dammit!

Feasting in the Philippines

thedude — Fri, 03 Mar 2006 22:22:44 +0000

One thing we found in ample supply during our visit to the Philippines was food. I can say without a doubt that we were never hungry during out trip – not for one single minute. Our incredibly gracious hosts saw to it that we were always within arm’s reach of mass quantities of food. This day we visited the beautiful Barin family mango orchard where we were treated to a roast pig, fresh tilapia, boiled shrimp, crab, roasted eggplant, sticky rice, bottomless bowls of soup, some sort of delicious beef dish, endless San Miguel beers, the “world’s tenderest chicken™” and, oh yes – fresh mangos.

After the feast thedude took Kelly for brief but hair-raising spin around the property in a tricycle.

Manila Mandarin Oriental

thedude — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 21:53:54 +0000

One of thedude’s favorite parts of our trip to the Philippines was the three night spent at the wonderful Manila Mandarin Oriental Hotel. This is one the nicest hotels we have ever stayed in. From the moment we were greeted by a legion of professional, friendly wait staff we knew that this would be a pleasant experience. As you can see from the pictures, this is a very beautiful hotel. But what really makes the Manila Mandarin Oriental special is the quantity and quality of the staff. They are always friendly, efficient and helpful. We were always greeted by name with a broad smile. We dined in the hotel at Paseo Uno one night, where they offer one of the most spectacular buffet dinners I have ever seen. We feasted like royalty for about 40 bucks. Oh, and our quiet tenth floor corner room was about $130 per night. Everything about this hotel makes you want to stay an extra day or two!

Taal Lake and Volcano

thedude — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 01:12:58 +0000

This is a panoramic view of the spectacular Lake Taal – more or less the view we had from the Discovery Suites in Tagaytay. The shot was taken late on a cloudy day, so it really did look this dark. In the foreground you can make out numerous fish farms. In the middle-right, you can see the cinder cone of the active Taal Volcano. Wikipedia states that, “because of its eruptive history and location close to population centres, the volcano has been designated a Decade Volcano worthy of close study to prevent future natural disasters.”

panorama by Grant Goya

New Friends

thedude — Sun, 26 Feb 2006 18:13:16 +0000

Kelly and I had such a wonderful time on our first visit to the Philippines. We were shown the greatest hospitality by our hosts, the Barin family. Many thanks to all of you for taking such good care of us while we visited. We’d also like to give a very special thanks to Grant and Sandy for agreeing to take us along in the first place. Thanks so much! We look forward to seeing all of you as soon as possible!

Another Manila Traffic Time-Lapse

thedude — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 18:32:23 +0000

I made a second time-lapse while in Manila, hoping to catch the controlled chaos that is Manila traffic. I pointed the camera out of the sun roof of our vehicle and began snapping at what seemed like an opportune moment. I wanted to show how the traffic continues to move – albeit slowly. We rarely come to a complete stop despite the overcrowding. What you don’t see is how patient the drivers are with one another. People ignore lanes altogether and sometimes even drive against the flow, but I never heard a horn sounded in anger.

As luck would have it, traffic was lighter than it had been at any other time along this route, but once again, the results are pretty cool. I like to look at individual frames and check out the skyline and the hundreds of enormous billboards.

Get the Flash Player to see this movie.

State of Emergency in Philippines

thedude — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 06:21:23 +0000

Looks like we left the Philippines just a little bit too soon. Our hosts had casually mentioned that there were rumors of another coup attempt, but we didn’t think it much of it.

This phone pic, taken from the exact spot I shot the traffic time-lapse shows that Manila streets are now crowded with demonstrators. Amazing!

photo by Pinky Lapuz

Catholic Girls

thedude — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 00:27:19 +0000

During our stay in Bohol, we visited the “centuries old” Baclayon Church and Museum. One of the most interesting facts about the beautiful old church is that it’s moss-covered walls are held together with the “white of a million eggs”.

Sandy goofs with school girls from the adjacent Catholic high school.

From Leaf Spring to Machete

thedude — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 01:28:10 +0000

This hard-working craftsman spends mornings hammering old automobile leaf springs into 10 knives per day with a minimum of precise hammer blows. The sweltering conditions mean a 5:00 AM to noon workday for this muscular man, who has obviously paid a heavy price for not wearing any sort of protective gear on his face. Our tour guide Neil displays the finished product.