If I've been quiet for quite some time now it's because I haven't been around lately, in Manila that is.
I was up north late last week for Desk work, up in Lingayen where the Desk was a sponsor in the Pista'y Dayat. And rather than straight forward donation, we asked for some mileage in return. That mileage took the form of a booth which had to be dressed up a bit with banners depicting the Desk's products. In addition, I spent a better portion of my first night in Lingayen making banderitas to add some flavor to the bare booth.
I was up north for about three days, allocating about half-a-day to travel on the first and last days to and fro Manila to Lingayen and back (via bus).
I arrived Sunday night and took the next day off to offset the weekend work.
And through those four days I did not touch any computer, didn't log-on to Facebook or Twitter.
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This year's Pista'y Dayat featured a trade expo which featured stalls and booths that showcased the best products and produce of the province of Pangasinan. For example, from Laoac came fresh cow's milk and related products such as white cheese; from Mangaldan tapas, longganisas, and other meaty cold cuts; from San Fabian came bounties of the seas including dried fish; and of course, from Calasiao their famous puto-calasiao (rice-cake). I didn't get to identify from which parts of Pangasinan came the other products but there were mangoes, mango marmalades, sweets (yema, polvoron, etc.), ube halaya, chichacorn and chicharon. There were handcrafted bags and bayongs and mats, and all sorts of deadly weapons -- itak, machete, samurais, balisong, pen-knives, and even asero for sale. Vegetables also were featured in several of the booths and of course, a booth devoted to one of the famous of Pangasinense exports -- fish sauce and bagoong (fish paste). Half of the trade expo area was devoted to handcrafted furniture -- chairs, sofas, tables, and even a swing -- crafted from narra and other hardwoods abundant in the province.
Aside from the Desk being a non-conformist to what was being offered in the trade expo, the other booth that was weird was the one which supposedly featured the best of Sison. No fruits, no sweets, no veggie or handcrafted stuff -- what the Sison booth featured were two superhero sculptures -- made by a sculptor based, I believe, in Sison. Dominating the trade expo were life-size statues of Batman and a 7-foot Incredible Hulk.
Despite the obvious weirdness of the statues, they were however the most popular with almost all patrons having their pictures taken with the two characters (at Php 10 fee). One dimunitive lady even naughtily posed with the 7-foot be-muscled Hulk, leaning towards the green giant with one hand resting on the Hulk's chest and her other hand resting on the Hulk "manhood" which was also level with her face. That picture is sure to get posted on Facebook.
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Scored some cherry tomatoes for Php 60 a kilo at the trade expo.
The booth sold the cherry tomatoes late Saturday afternoon and after finding out the price, I immediately texted Elvie who I knew at that time was at Shopwise in Makati doing the groceries. She texted back with instructions to buy the cherry tomatoes because they were relatively cheaperly-prized than those in the grocery. But I didn't buy a kilo as it would only be Elvie and I who'll be devouring the little round veggies, just half a kilo.
And where did I score the cherry tomatoes? At the same booth that featured Batman and Hulk sculptures.
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It was devastatingly hot in Lingayen during the three days I was there. It was so hot that I turned a tad browner than usual. Yes, didn't bring with me a sunblock lotion so I got fried.
While I did manage to get away from the sun for most of the time, there were instances where you had no choice but to brave the heat. The lodge where I stayed was quite near the wet market and Lingayen's commercial center so I didn't ride the tricycles anymore just to get to the palengke or the supermarket. I walked. Under the sun. Despite the heat.
Even the breeze from the sea was hot and I could just imagine how dark one's skin would be should he or she taken a dip during the hottest times of the day. Even the aircon wasn't able to dissipate the heat. The trade expo was setup (kubos and tents) in a vacant lot at the back of the capitol which was devoid of trees under the full might and impact of the searing sun. There was no shade wheresoever. Unless you really had any reason, you stayed put under the shade of the kubo. My fellows and I guzzled down gallons of liquids to help keep cool. The booth selling mango shake and ice cream had a windfall during the festivities along with the small Chowking stand that only offered one food item -- halu-halo.
I was sweating the entire time I was there and always looked forward to returning to my lodge room where the aircon could be turned on full-blast at maximum cool.
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There's no cinema in Lingayen.
While en route, the other Pangasinan towns I passed by had cinemas and all featured the new Thor flick. Thinking Lingayen was quite commercial, I thought there would be a cinema somewhere but was disappointed when I discovered it had none. There were lots of pirated DVDs though being sold that the abundance would rival that of Quiapo.
So, what did I do off-hours?
Experience has taught me to bring along my own entertainment every time I travel lest I end up in a place where you virtually do nothing. Since I had no rig to bring along this time around, aside from a book, I also bought a sketch and writing pad (just in case an idea or a sketch comes along), and I borrowed from my father his PSP.
Good thing the lodge had a decent enough cable TV connection which had all the channels that really mattered. However, I found myself watching more and more of news channels during my stay (thanks to the Royal Wedding as well as upcoming beatification of Pope John Paul II) and the only non-news I watched was a NatGeo special on the supposed burial place of Jesus Christ. The rest of the time I was glued to CNN while playing The Sims 2:Castaway on the PSP.
I also did a bit of walking around a bit, especially around the Magic Mall and wet market areas looking for stuff to bring home as pasalubong. Apparently, Magic Mall and nearby surroundings closed promptly at 7pm so as soon as business was done on my first day, I rushed over to the grocery and department store to buy things I needed for my three-day stay as well as materials for the banderitas I was going to make that first evening. I also bought other pasalubong stuff from the wet market on the third day.
On the evenings of both nights I stayed in Lingayen I had my dinner at the beachfront where like I said, food stalls were hawking their items. The best food I tasted during my stay was the Pancit Mangaldan whose make-shift canteen was propped a few meters away from our booth.
Interestingly-flavored, the pancit is a mix of bihon and canton noodles with the usual sahog (mix of veggies and meats) but what makes it stand out is the texture and consistency. It's not a sabaw-oriented noodle nor is it too dry a variant. It's somewhere in between -- not too wet, and not too dry, and the flavors tended to mix well, kinda like the pancit your mother makes at home. Best served hot and served with puto Calasiao.
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Before leaving for Lingayen, my father told me to bring home some "pinkas".
So what are pinkas? Well, a trip to the wet market yielded pinkas in different lengths. Pinkas, it turns out is what is called "espada" in Tagalog or according to the internet is either beltfish or cutlassfish in English. The bigger the pinkas, the cheaper it is by the kilo. Presumably because the finer the fish, the crispier it becomes. The dilis-like-sized pinkas cost Php 120 a kilo while the biggest-sized pinkas sell for only Php 60 a kilo. The sizes in between range from Php 70 to Php 90 a kilo.
Since I didn't know what size of pinkas my father wanted, I bought two half-kilo packages of the largest and the smallest. Plus, dried pusit (squid) as well :P
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The bus trip to Lingayen took a full 6 hours including two stops. The bus trip back to Manila was shorter by an hour because buses took a different route that by-passed several towns you passed earlier on the first trip.
Going to Lingayen on your own wheels would cut short the trip definitely. Maybe next time.
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I'll update this entry with photos soon.
