Stories of Places, People and Photography in the Philippines and Beyond
Within the walls of the historical Intramuros stands the oldest church in the Philippines, the San Agustin Church. Built in 1599 and completed in 1607, it is one of the 4 baroque churches in the Philippines listed on UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites. I remember visiting this church before but it was only during my recent photo assignment that I get to go through the church and it’s museum thoroughly.
It was already afternoon when I arrived in Pakse. I changed some of my dollars to Kip then had dinner nearby. A few years ago, dollars were accepted in Laos but now the government urges tourist to use their local currency instead. At dinner, I was plotting where I would go the next day. Pakse is a fairly small town and most of the sites in Champasak are at least an hour away. The only way to go around was by motorbike. There are motorbikes for hire around Pakse but I don’t drive bikes so I decided I should find a driver/guide with me so it’ll be easy to find the places.
“Di ka pa nakakapunta ng Tawi-Tawi pag di mo pa na-akyat ang Bud Bongao (You haven’t been to Tawi-Tawi if you haven’t climbed Bud Bongao)” said our Muslim guide Ben as we started our climb one morning in Bongao, Tawi-tawi. Bud Bongao dominates the whole landscape of the Tawi-tawi island. The Muslim people there considers the mountain as sacred and guards the well being of the island and the people that resides. At least once, in every Muslim’s life living on the island, they would climb the mountain and pray at the peak.
Laos has been under my radar for quite a while as I continue my quest to visit some of the UNESCO heritage sites in Asia. So it’s just a matter of time until I finally get to step on this land, popularly known for its “Laid back Lao Life”. Originally I had planned on visiting sights both on Thailand and Laos since it’s so close together. Coming in from Bangkok up to Sukhothai then Chang Mai then Chang Rai. Border crossing to Huay Xai taking the Slow Boat there to Luang Prabang, Laos. That’s the usual route going there, but after thorough planning there is just so much to see in Laos that I decided to drop Thailand altogether and focus on Laos itself. Thailand is just a flight away from Manila but Laos is a different story so I decided to take a different route.
Tourism is not really the main draw in Bongao, Tawi-tawi so there aren’t that many accommodations to choose from. There are however three notable hotels there which caters to businessmen, visitors and the occasional travelers in Tawi-Tawi. We were able to stay at some of them and we can say that don’t expect any 3-5 star types here. Most of the rooms are basic and spartan. (Updated December 2014) Almost 5 years since my first visit, there are already additional options for stay in Bongao. Some though have remained the same.
Tawi-Tawi is a hard place to reach and its jump-off point is Zamboanga City. The most common means of traveling to and fro Bongao, the capital of Tawi-tawi is by sea. Curently, there two options, the Aleson Shipping Lines Ferry and the Weesam Fastcraft. The former is slow but it’s how the locals do it and can be quite interesting and the latter is fast and comfortable.
The southern most tip of Mindanao holds a lot of mystery to me which may attribute my excitement about visiting the place first time around. But mention the word Tawi-tawi, Mindanao, the first impression I get from most people is “Di ba delikado dun?(Isn’t it dangerous to go there?).” With all the negative news Jolo, Sulu is getting, people are afraid to venture further that region. Honestly I also have some expectations when I went to Bongao, Tawi-tawi but gladly, I was proved wrong in my initial notions about Tawi-tawi.
