McArthur Highway Series: Guiguinto Church

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Guiguinto Church also known as San Ildefonso Parish church can be found along MacArthur Hiway. I really don’t know much about this church except for the fact that some of my cousins studied here.

Also this was a mission accepted by the Augustinians during the Spanish times as a visita in 1607.

Around 2002 restoration of the interior of the church was started and was continued until 2007 which was timely for the the celebration of the church’s 400 years anniversary.

 Statue of San Ildefonso facing the street.

 I do not know why, but I do have a heart for churches in Bulacan, They do have this certain aura that I do not feel when I in churches in other provinces.

How To Get There

Via McArthur Highway

Take a jeep going to Malolos and get off before the jeep crosses the Guiguinto bridge.

Via NLEX

Take a bus that would go through the Guiguinto exit and ride a jeep going back south (Bocaue, Marilao, Balagtas, Malanday) then get off at the Guiguinto bridge


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This post is part of my MacArthur Highway Series. Stories about my journey through the Highway.

Where To Eat In Cebu: Larsian

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Cebu has a great food culture, both traditional and contemporary. Larsian is of course on the more contemporary side of the cebuano palate. Serving good grilled food Larsian is a great place for being withe friends.

If you are like me who suffers from high cholesterol, this is not the place for you! But I highly recommend it to you! Hahahahaha!

Larsian is not one single restaurant or store that sells grilled food, it actually is a place where a bunch of  vendors compete for the people that comes in to the food court type of covered dinning hall at the middle.

As soon as you step inside the court you’ll feel like the celebrity with food grilling around you as the vendors start to try catching your attention and try to persuade you to buy food from their store. And then when you finally have made your choice they suddenly just shut up as if nothing happened! hahaha! It’s really funny if you get to witness as each customer gets “harassed” so that they would buy from a certain vendor! lol!

The Larsian that we know today is very new, this location just opened less than two years ago (somebody please correct me if I am wrong) as a way of the city government to sanitize the goods that are being sold more of for public safety. Larsian before to its present incarnation started out Palengke (market) style then came the food court type and now a much more beautiful place to dine.

We had lots of fun dinning at Larsian. Each store has a wide variety of food that you can order to be grilled like sea food, pork beef and even chicken skin! yum! I know I said that I have high cholesterol count but I guess the sight of the Chong Hua Hospital just across the fence was reassuring that I’d get to the hospital on time in any case of a heart attack or high blood pressure! Hahahaha!

So if ever that you are in Cebu do not ever miss for the love of God at least one night dinning at Larsians! 😉


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Cebu City Tour Itinerary Suggestion

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Last time that I was in Cebu was with my dad and we were a little strapped-for-cash. One of the reasons why I don’t like planning to much for a trip, I get frustrated if we don’t get to do the things that we are expecting that we would be doing. But since the trip was originally made for my dad I actually made a list of things to do in Cebu.

So here’s a suggestion of what and where to go in Cebu City. We covered most of them but some we failed to.

Note: This is a suggestion for where to go, where to eat and what to do specially just for the city its self. For suggestions on what to do around the whole island please see my Cebu Backpacking Series Continue Reading →

Disneyland California: Dreams Do Come True

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I was reluctant, you can even say that I didn’t care at all. I believed that Disneyland was made just for kids and that I wanted to save more of my pocket money so I could bring back more at home in the Philippines. But when my boss asked us if we wanted to see Disneyland I don’t know what force in the universe made me say yes. Continue Reading →

Tuesday Tips: Top 5 Tips When Entering A Country (Immigration 101)

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For first time travelers specially who are doing it solo we, most of the time, worry too much or sometimes careless about immigration. Remember that immigration procedures will always be present every time you enter another country aside from yours.

I decided to write about this because of the unusual circumstance that I faced during my first solo travel outside of the Philippines. Continue Reading →

Taipei 101: Guerilla Post

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I was out of luck that day, yeah I guess you can say that. My plan to go up Taipei 101 by sunset was blown away by an incident where I lost my entire budget for the trip.

But Taipei 101 was just begging to be seen from almost all part of the district where I was staying. I gave in, even though I didn’t have any money to go up I pushed through and marveled at the building that once reigned to be the tallest in the world outside. Continue Reading →

Bohol: Bilar Man Made Forest

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This is Pit Stop #3 in our Bohol Countryside Tour and you can tell your self as you enter this Man Made Forest in Bohol that it is -quite literally- the coolest stop in your tour. You can feel the sudden drop of temperature and cooler breeze that touches your face. I’d even say that it is a lot easier to breath there than on the non forested area of the highway. Continue Reading →

Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall 國立國父紀念館

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Armed with a map that I printed out from google maps I navigated the streets of Taipei  bravely on my own trying to look for something interesting.

Realizing my location I quickly looked at my map and traced how far I was from an item in my itinerary, the Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall.

The memorial was built in honor of Sun Yat-Sen regarded as one of the founding father of Taiwan. It houses a couple of museums and an exhibition hall.

As soon as you enter the main hall of the building you will be seeing an enormous bronze statue of the late Sun Yat-Sen guarded by honor guards that changes every hour.

The main hall was so majestic rightfully fitting for a person that help realize what Taiwan it is right now, it is adorned with ultra high ceilings with huge chandeliers supported by enormous red pillars

You can find at least three exhibition or museum hall in the building, the first one that I went to was the exhibition hall about the life of Sun Yat-Sen. This particular hall showcases some memorabilia by the late doctor while narrating how the doctor helped found Taiwan.

There’s two other halls that I went and they exhibit both contemporary and traditional Chinese art. The items on display are quite diverse and are very interesting, at least for someone like me.

If you come around 4:30 in the afternoon you can catch the “Retirement of Honor Guards” but if you are in earlier the guards also changes every hour in full exercise.

It actually feels good to just hang outside watching people pass by and some students practice their stuff, the day was perfect it was not too cold and not hot at all, just perfect!

How To Get TO Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall

Take the MRT and Get off at Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall Station, walk along Guangfu South Rd. going south for about 220 meters until you see the gate of the Memorial Hall.

See Map Here

See My 2nd Day Itinerary Map Here

Bohol: Simply Butterflies Conservation Center

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I actually didn’t knew that this was part of the tour but I am happy that it was. Just a couple of kilometers away from the man made forest along the highway, we drove a bit to the Simply Butterflies Conservation Center.

We paid a very small amount (less than a hundred pesos, around 75 pesos I think) and I’d say that I feel guilty that I didn’t pay more. You’ll know why.

After paying the fee we were greeted by our tour guide, yep guests are toured around the facility educating them about butterflies.  The guided is really interesting because of the funny tour guide that entertained us but then again if you are not into these kind of educational presentation you can just wander off your self through the three hectare property.

The entire experience was very interesting and educational for us. It refreshed us a lot of things about our high school biology classes which reminds us that we should all care for mother nature as everything is interconnected.

Well I think I am gonna shut up for now and share with you guys this video of the fifteen minute tour of the facility.

enjoy!

Eslite Bookstore 誠品書店

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Books are a part of everyday life in Taiwan and it can be seen in the usual lifestyle of every Taiwanese. Imagine a bookstore open 24 hours everyday, a bookworm’s haven right? It does tell a lot about how much they love reading, this is Eslite.

Books are an integral part of life in Taiwan and this is very evident even in their pop culture, this is where Eslite found its success in this small island of Formosa.

Eslite has two bookshops in Taipei one of them is even open 24 hours everyday (Songshan), and the other one located in the Xinyi district even has multi levels with various retail shops that people can go and read books.

Bookstores and shops are a good sign in an area if you would ask me because this only means that the people around it are continually feeding their mind for progress.

How To Get To Eslite Bookstore – Xinyi District

Take the MRT Get off at the Taipei City Hall Station and walk going to the back of the station through Lane 20 Section 5, Zhongxiao East Rd. and you’ll find the building on your right.

You may also view this map for their Xinyi Branch.

You can find their first store in the Songshan District Here