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2
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September 23-29, 2007 |
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Growing
up in the city, I’m used to the noise
and haste that typify an urban environment.
And in true city form, I’ve never really
lived in a house like residential homes look
in real estate brochures. All my life, I’ve
resided either in a condominium, a building
unit, or in a one-floor annex from a
commercial establishment. |
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beaches or
lush forest greens, Samar, being a big
coastal island, has the best of both the sea
and the mountains. Staying in the province
for a few days exposed me to refreshing
scenery far from the usual cityscape. For
one, I didn’t realize that bahay kubo (nipa
huts) are still much in use today as
residences until l |
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The author
whizzing around rustic Palapag |
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And since
all those moves led me along a national
road, that means waking up with the slight
tremble and sound of ten-wheeler trucks
beating the 7am truck ban.
One day, like a drastic shift of music, I
was awakened by the crow of roosters. The
unstoppable chorus didn’t bother me as much
as the |
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half-asleep thought
that I must be in someplace not in my usual bedroom. And
as I figured my way out of the thin sheets and the
mosquito net that hovered over my bed, I realized I was
not in Manila after all, but was in the ancestral house
of What’s On & Expat’s and Catarman’s Councilor Butch C.
Bonsol in provincial Northern Samar. The night before, I
was lulled asleep by the song of waves splashing onto
the shores and the light breeze cooling off a warm
night.
Bahay Kubo and Carabao Crossing
Northern Samar typifies the rural setting in the
Philippines. But while some provinces pride themselves
on either fine |
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saw rows upon rows of
these small dried leaves-roofed and padded huts in my
sojourn across the province’s different towns.
And in my first stop, Palapag, I was amused to see
“Carabao Crossing” picture signs all around the rough
rocky roads, perhaps to remind the motorbike-riding
public to give way to these hardy creatures that plow
the primarily agricultural land of the town.
Palapag seems to resonate an atmosphere of rustic
simplicity. The rocky side roads, the dense forests, the
locals whiling away time in their front yards…the town
doesn’t seem to have much going on except for a tranquil
picturesque panorama that it is so blessed with. Well
maybe this was how it has always been. I was told that
its original name was “Pa
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The only way
to get to Palapag is via boat through the Rawis
River |
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