There's a monkey near the entrance of Katibawasan Falls. Tourists are advised to stay two meters away from this monkey. He's probably a grumpy monkey who doesn't like visitors. This monkey is chained to a tree nearby. He's used to seeing guests going and leaving the falls that he barely gives them a look anymore. He looked like he's comfortable being chained, which was kind of sad because nobody wants to be chained. It takes away one's freedom. He didn't seem like he's going to attack us but we kept our distance anyway. Better safe than sorry.

The town where I grew up is small and languid and everyone knows almost anyone. It's called Looc, which in our dialect means 'strangle'. No, don't judge us just yet. We certainly don't strangle strangers. On the contrary, we smooch and welcome visitors with open arms. In other words, we're loving and friendly people. The name 'Looc' is believed to have originated from a local legend about a giant protector (Talabukon) who saved the town from marauding Moros by strangling them.

You have probably never heard about our town. And that's completely understandable. It's not exactly famous like its neighboring island, Boracay. (I'm sure the mere mention of Boracay somehow sparked a glitter of interest). It doesn't have fine white-sand beaches found in Carabao Island (also a neighboring town) either. I can tell you a few interesting things about our town but they're not enough to make you book a flight and travel down here pronto but I really love my town so I'm pimping it out to anyone who might be interested to visit it. A lot of what our town offers remains unheralded, some hidden, few have yet to be discovered, which can be a perfect avenue for wonderful moments of discovery.

1. Cheap Seafood


Crabs, clams, fish, edible seaweed, shrimp... They're available in the market, which is located near the sea, normally in the morning seven days a week. They're fresh and cheap. Although there's no notable restaurant in town that offers seafood cuisine, you can still buy these fresh sea produce from the wet market or talipapa and have them cooked at the lodging inn you're staying. Best eaten with your bare hands.

I'm a sucker for shrimp. It's my favorite food. I'd die without it. It's the first thing I look for every time I dine out at a certain destination outside town. So when I found it on the menu at J&A Fishpen in Camiguin, I forced my travel buddies into ordering it. They couldn't say no, not after noticing that I was holding a table knife. Kidding. What can I say, they're the most supportive couple/travel buddies I've been with.

I don't usually go to church to attend mass (don't tell my folks about this). Not that I'm an atheist or agnostic. I believe in God, I pray before eating, sleeping or before leaving the house. Just like a good Christian. But going to church on Sundays is something I rarely do. In fact, I only go to the holy house when I'm out of town and I happen to see an old church in the area I'm visiting. I really like my church to be serene and peaceful - and you can't find that in the metro during Sunday masses. So yeah, you can pretty much say that, that's one reason I stopped going to church.
To have some serenity and peace wasn't exactly the reason we wound our way up this hill overlooking the idyllic town of San Jose in Tarlac. I'm not sure whose idea was it either. After our fun whitewater kayaking, the group unanimously agreed to make a short detour at Monasterio de Tarlac, a religious monastery perched atop the mountain.