Four-day long weekend from August 27 to 30, 2011 (National Heroes Day and Eid'l Fitr)

Long-weekends have become scarce with a change in the holiday economics policy in a year when most holidays fall on a Saturday or Sunday. So the upcoming four-day weekend will give holiday-starved Filipinos a welcome respite from work and a chance to travel. National Heroes Day on August 29 (Monday) has previously been declared a non-working holiday as part of Proclamation No. 84. Malacanang is also set to declare August 30 (Tuesday) a non-working holiday to mark the end of Ramadan or Eid'l Fitr. We're just waiting for the official proclamation. In the meantime, here's the list of Philippine holidays and long-weekend schedule for 2011.

"Anyone for Filipino?" in Esquire Magazine UK Edition / Tom Parker Bowles visits the Philippines

Philippine cuisine finally makes it to the pages of Esquire Magazine UK Edition. Several months ago, I was invited by British food editor and writer Tom Parker Bowles to introduce him to the food we have on a regular basis, street food if possible. I didn't realize that he was the stepson of Prince Charles until several weeks after our meeting, while I was on tour in Mexico.



I took him to Market! Market! which to me is one of the closest things we have to a hawker center, featuring the different regional dishes and delicacies of the Philippines. It's fairly obvious that sisig is our bestseller! We then met up with my tokayo Ivan ManDy in Binondo for some Tsinoy food. But it looks like he left this one out of his story save for the balut under the tulay in Quiapo which was his special request.

Of course Claude Tayag never fails to impress! Too bad I had to leave for the U.S. the next day since I would have loved to have another meal at Bale Dutung.

Since Esquire Magazine UK Edition is quite scarce in the Philippines (it's the US Edition you see everywhere), here is the article which introduces Filipino food to readers in the UK. Hopefully Fully Booked still has copies in their other branches if you like to own your own copy.

Update: To those asking about my comment on Mindanao, we had a very long conversation and many of the things I said were shortened for the article.

Context is impression on Manila is affected by negative news from Mindanao (e.g. Abu Sayaff kidnappings or Maguindanao massacre). I told him that the problem is when the international community hears about kidnappings or terrorism in Mindanao, they think it's the entire Philippines. But it happens only in some areas of Mindanao. So while the problems are down south in Mindanao. It's not even the whole island.

There are so many places worth visiting in Mindanao. My personal favorites would be the Agusan Marsh and Lake Sebu. I've even been to Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Basilan as a tourist! Check out my visits to Mindanao here.

United States: Baltimore, Charlottesville, Philadelphia, Miami Beach, Key Biscayne, Washington D.C. & Guam

To get to Mexico, I had to pass by the U.S.A. Here are photos from places I visited in the United States including Baltimore, Maryland; Charlottesville and Mount Vernon, Virginia; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Miami Beach and Key Biscayne, Florida; and Washington, D.C. After flying back to Manila, I visited Guam. Here are photos from the two trips which are now in the Ivan About Town FB page.

April 17 - Baltimore, Maryland, USA
May 12 - Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
May 13 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
May 16 - Miami Beach, Florida, USA
May 17 - Key Biscayne, Florida, USA
May 18 - Mount Vernon, Virginia, USA
May 20 - Washington, DC, USA
May 25-26 - Guam, USA
May 27 - Guam, USA
May 28 - Guam, USA
May 29 - Guam, USA

Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, Hue, Hoi An & My Son

It was my sixth time (technically seventh if you count immigration stamps) to visit Vietnam. And finally, I had the chance to fly over to Hanoi from Ho Chi Minh City. Too bad there are no direct flights from the Philippines. I also got to return to Hue and Hoi An and visited Ha Long Bay and My Son for the first time. I actually coined my own term and refer to Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hue, Hoi An and Ha Long Bay as the 5Hs of Vietnam, the five must-visit places when planing a trip there. So before I forget again, here are photos from the trip which are now in the Ivan About Town FB page.

June 23-25 - Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
June 25-27 - Hanoi, Vietnam
June 27 - Ha Long Bay, Vietnam
June 28 - My Son and Hoi An, Vietnam
June 29 - Hue, Vietnam

South Korea: Seoul, Gyeongju, Yandong Village, Hahoe Village & Suwon

In September 2010, I visited several cities in South Korea by train from Seoul including Gyeongju, Yandong Village (also in Gyeongju), Hahoe Village (Andong) and Suwon. Again, it's been quite a while and I haven't had time to write about the trip. So in the meantime, here are photos from the trip which are now in the Ivan About Town FB page.

September 21-22 - Seoul, South Korea
September 23-24 - Gyeongju, South Korea
September 24 - Hahoe Village, South Korea
September 24-25 - Suwon, South Korea
September 26 - Seoul, South Korea