8
filipino globe
the city May 2008
Roughing it back to the past
ANGBANsA
Palawan
The tourism industry in
Val Roque, the intrepid
a must for Roque once he set foot Palawan and its capital city,
on Shanghai on Day Five. The rush Puerto Princesa has recovered
backpacker, tells Jose
from riding at speeds of up to 430 from May 2001 Dos Palmas
Marcelo what it is like
kilometers per hour is indescribable, Island Resort kidnapping
he gushed.
incident perpetrated by Abu
to take in China on a
Nights were spent in hostels,
Sayyaf bandits.
which are everywhere in the
“Puerto Princesa and
road less travelled mainland. They may not have five-
Palawan have now fully
star amenities and room service, but
recovered,” city information
W
hen Val Roque set out
they are a lot cheaper (prices range
officer Alroben Goh.
on a nine-day trip to the
from 40 to 50 yuan) and are all that a
He made the remarks during
mainland last month, he
weary traveler needs.
a media workshop.
knew exactly what he wanted: A real
“Magaganda at malilinis.
“In the last four years, tourist
adventure that would take him into
arrivals have continued to
Dormitory-style,” Roque said.
the heart of China, deeper and more
increase”, said radio reporter
“Pagpasok mo roon, bibigyan ka nila
fulfilling than any guided tour could
Goody Sarsagat, a workshop
ng bagong bedsheets at punda ng
offer.
participant.
unan. Tapos ikaw na ang maglalagay.
Senior tourism operations
With a bag on his back, time on his
Pag-check out mo, ibabalik mo sa
officer Melinda Mohamad of the
hands and a thirst for discovery, he
kanila.”
City Tourism Office said a total
got all that he came for – and more.
Notwithstanding stricter rules on
of 5,887 domestic and foreign
“I’ve always loved backpacking
the issuance of visas, he said border tourists visited the resort last
and exploring new places. I used
crossings are not much of a hassle year.
to do it with friends back home,”
for Hong Kong-based Filipinos, More than 176,000 tourists
said the boyish-looking head of the
unless you travel on long holiday visited Palawan last year, 19
consulate’s Assistance to Nationals
weekends.
per cent up on 2006.
section. “But this was only the
Tourists from the Philippines must
second time that I did it alone.”
get their visas in Manila, Roque said.
From the time he stepped inside the
Every single detail of Roque’s
Pampanga
Hung Hom train station on April 5,
trip was laid down with the help of
Roque’s had been a journey outside
the internet. “All the information
At least 79 indigents received
the conventional. Plane and taxis is out there,” he said, pointing
free cataract treatment during
were out. In their places were trains
a medical mission by the World
to Wikitravel and travel blogs of
Blindness Prevention Corps.
and sleeper buses. Theme parks and longtime backpackers as treasure
BPC, composed of 20
malls were scratched in favor of long troves of information.
doctors, nurses, optometrists,
walks on cobblestone roads in age- Of course, a little luck can also go
and pharmacists, is a leading
old villages. Five-star hotels were a long way. A visit to the Philippine
medical services team from
out; hostels were in. embassy in Beijing had Roque
Good People International of
But the road less traveled led him stumbling on a tip from Ambassador
Korea.
face to face with the real China, the Sonia Brady about the beauty of The group treats cataract
one untouched by progress and often Hangzhou, just a two-hour train ride patients in Third World countries
bypassed by travel tours. from Shanghai. including China, Vietnam,
“If you fly, you travel from point to Postcard-pretty Hangzhou, Roque
point,” he said. It may be convenient,
Val checks out the countryside as the Hong Kong-Beijing train hurtles past
said, was everything Brady said it
he continued, but what you do not
old villages and deeper into the mainland. It’s the start of a nine-day journey.
was, its willow trees, causeways and
know is that you’re missing out on a giant lake making it “one of the most
lot of things.
I’ve always loved
with fellow backpackers and regular
romantic places in the world”.
“For the adventurous with
Chinese passengers.”
Gulangyu island, the main
enough time, this is what I would
backpacking and Emerging from the Beijing train attraction in Xiamen, was just as
recommend.”
exploring new
station, Roque found a whole new
enthralling, Roque said.
Train rides from Hong Kong to
world to explore, beginning with
The final part of his trip was the
Beijing to Shanghai to Hangzhou
places. I used to
the can’t-miss destinations like the
overnight sleeper bus to the border
Philippines, Mongolia, and
to Xiamen ate up most of Roque’s
Great Wall, the Summer Palace, the city of Shenzhen. By then, Roque
time. But savoring the sights in the do it with friends
Bangladesh. In the Philippines,
Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square had hit five cities in Eastern China,
it has been giving free cataract
countryside, he said, is like “leafing
and the Temple of Heaven. logged around 4,300 kilometers of
through the pages of a Chinese
back home
removal since 2005, mainly in
But not being part of a guided train travel and collected memories
Clark, Subic and Cebu. This
coffee table book.”
... It’s a great
tour, Roque said, allows you to step to last a lifetime.
year, the medical mission was
Train fares are also easier on the
beyond that. A good place to start Cost for the whole trip was about
held at the Clark Development
pocket for those on a tight budget.
experience, and I
would be the ancient villages – with $6,000, normally just the price for a
Corp Health Services Office,
Beds on a deluxe sleeper, which is
their Hutong (narrow alleys) and couple of days’ stay in a pricey hotel. inside Clark Freeport Zone.
a cabin with two beds, cost $1,100; can’t wait for my
traditional houses with brick walls “It’s a great experience, and I can’t The 79 indigent cataract
on a soft sleeper (cabin with four
and chimneys, which are just a short wait for my next trip,” Roque said. patients were among more than
bunk beds) about $800, and on hard
next trip
bus ride away. Already he is mapping out another
300 applicants.
sleeper (six beds) a little over
“It’s like going back in time,” he trip to Beijing, but this time with his
HK$600.
VAL ROQUE
said. sights set on a through train bound
“I took the hard sleeper,” Roque
Sometime backpacker
For someone fascinated with for Moscow, and perhaps, India.
Davao del Norte
said. “Aside from the fact na
trains since he was a kid, a trip on But that, he said, is for another
More Botika ng Barangay
mura, you get to interact more
the famed high-speed maglev was time.
outlets have recently opened,
bringing the number to 98
PINOYPATROl
across the province.
Governor Rodolfo Del
pinoypatrol@filglobe.com
Rosario presided over the
Antonio Cuevas in Hong Kong kung saan isang ambulansiya may asawa. Ito kasi ngayon ang sa Hong Kong at ni minsan raw ay
opening of the latest additions
mula sa Government Ambulance kalagayan niya matapos siyang hindi siya na-in love sa mga Pinoy
to the government’s barangay
COOL KA LANG SA Service ang magdadala sa
umibig sa isa ring OFW na dito. Kung mayroon man lang
drugstore program.
ORAS NG EMERGENCY pasyente sa pinakamalapit na nagtratrabaho sa South Korea. sanang diborsiyo sa Pilipinas, ayon
Del Rosario said 19 outlets
were established in Asuncion
Nais malaman ni Liza ng Tiu Keng government hospital. Kung Nakilala ni Rachel ang lalaki sa kay Rachel, maraming taong nasa
town while another one will rise
Leng kung ano ang maaari niyang kinakailangang dalhin sa isang pamamagitan ng chat at sa loob kalagayan niya ang mabibigyang
in New Corella town.
gawin sa mga oras ng emergency private hospital, mayroong non- ng tatlong taon ay nadevelop ika laya at maaalis ang bahid ng
The barangay drugstore
tulad na lang minsan nang abutin emergency ambulance service nga sa isa’t isa ang dalawa kahit kasalanan.
program aims to ensure the
ng matinding sakit ng tiyan ang ang Hospital Authority upang na noong isang taon lamang sila
availability of cheap, quality
kanyang matandang amo at hindi ilipat ang pasyente. Maaari ring nagkita nang umuwi siya sa Pinas. Hangga’t hindi dumarating ang drugs to rural communities,
niya malaman ang gagawin. tumawag sa HK St John Ambulance Sinabi ni Rachel na wagas na araw na may diborsiyo na sa particularly to the financially
Mabuti na lamang daw at nakuha Headquarters (2530 8000 Hotline: pagmamahal ang namamagitan sa atin, kailangang tanggapin ng strapped.
sa paglalagay ng hot compress ang 2524 4888). kanila at ni minsan ay wala pa raw mga taong nasa iyong kalagayan
“We hope to spread to all the
pananakit. Ano nga ba ang maaari nangyayaring pisikal sa kanilang ang taguring kabit. Masakit
barangays in the province. So
niyong gawin sa mga ganitong MASAKIT ANG dalawa. May asawa at tatlong anak man pakinggan pero yan ang
that the time will come when
emergency?
MAGING KABIT
ang lalaki na nagsabing hindi na katotohanan. Gaano man kawagas
these drugstores will be as
sila nagkakasundo ng kanyang ang inyong pag-ibig, sa mata ng
common as convenience stores
Nagtatanong na may halong
Ang pinakamabilis na paraan
asawa.
in street corners serving our
hinanakit si Rachel ng Causeway
tao at ng Diyos, ay mali pa rin,
upang makatanggap ng emergency
people 24 hours a day, seven
Bay kung bakit kabit ang tawag
Si Rachel naman, na may anak sa kahit na pagbali-baliktarin pa natin
days a week,” Del Rosario said.
treatment ay tumawag ka sa 999
sa mga babaeng pumapatol sa
pagkadalaga, ay limang taon na rito ang situwasyon.
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