Cathay may soon fly out of Clark

Carrier wants direct flights to HK, China

By: Paolo G. Montecillo
Philippine Daily Inquirer

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Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific, one of the world’s largest airlines, may start flying out of the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) in Clark Freeport, Pampanga.

Clark Development Corp. president and CEO Felipe Remollo said officials from the Chinese airline were in town earlier this week to discuss the possibility of daily flights from Clark.

“They are considering direct flights to Hong Kong and other cities in China. They want daily flights,” he said in an interview Thursday.

The largest

If plans push through, Cathay Pacific would be the largest airline to fly out of Clark, which is being groomed as the next premiere international gateway to replace the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in MetroManila.

DMIA is currently used mainly by local and international budget carriers.

Cebu Pacific of the Gokongwei group has named Clark as one of its three major hubs in the country, the other two being Manila and Cebu.

Malaysian giant Air Asia, through its newly formed subsidiary Air Asia Philippines, and Southeast Asian Airlines (SEAir), have also chosen Clark for their own hubs.

Several foreign airlines also call Clark their home in the Philippines.

These include Korea’s Aseana Airlines. Remollo said the increase in flights to Clark would help decongest NAIA, which is struggling with aging facilities and rapidly increasing passenger traffic.

More convenient

He said Clark is also a more convenient facility for people living in northern parts of Metro Manila all the way to provinces like Tarlac, Pangasinan, and Ilocos Sur and Norte.

“If you look at that catchment area, it accounts for about 25 million people. If someone living there needs to take a flight out of the country, it will be better to get to Clark than to go all the way to Pasay,” he said.

Cathay Pacific will be taking advantage of the government’s adoption of an “open skies” policy, which is part of the administration’s strategy to increase tourist arrivals to the Philippines.

‘Open skies’

The “open skies” policy, outlined by President Aquino in Executive Order 29, which was signed earlier this year, liberalizes the granting of international air rights for all points outside of Manila.

The government now expects to attract 10 million tourists annually to the Philippines by 2016.

This was a revision from the previous target of six million. Last year, just over three million foreigners visited the Philippines.

When in Cebu City, please visit gregmelep.com for your retirement and real estate needs.

Intramuros turns a new leaf

The Bay Leaf Hotel breathes new life into the Walled City

By JACKY LYNNE A. OIGA

(Photo courtesy of The Bay Leaf)

MANILA, Philippines — Towering above the historic Walled City of Intramuros, the Bay Leaf hotel is easily a destination in itself. A stone’s throw away from historical gems like the San Agustin Church, Manila Cathedral and Fort Santiago, the nine-story hotel pays homage to its illustrious neighbors with elegantly archaic architectural motifs complemented with sleek, modern interiors that encapsulate its unique brand of comfort.

A charming boutique hotel with a ‘five star’ ambience, Bay Leaf (the English term for dahon ng Laurel) is actually a product of the continuing legacy of the Laurels in education, specifically for the Lyceum of the Philippines University (LPU)-College of International Tourism and Hospitality Management.

During the hotel’s recent grand launching, no less than President Benigno Aquino III thoughtfully congratulated and thanked the Laurels for opening a new door for domestic and foreign tourism in Intramuros through Bay Leaf.

“I thank Bobby (Atty. Roberto Laurel, president of LPU and Bay Leaf) and his family for helping alleviate the tourism industry, strengthening Philippine tourism and providing more jobs for Filipinos by opening Bay Leaf,” Aquino said in his keynote speech.

“The Laurels had a great vision for instituting this kind of business/boutique hotel,” said Bay Leaf general manager Ed Vitug. “They have a university that churns out the largest number of HRM graduates in the country. This full service hotel and adjacent culinary institute completes their business model and academic program to provide the best HRM and tourism graduates for the tourism industry.”  

But unlike other research training hotels run almost entirely by students, the Laurels thought of building a professional team to augment the hotel’s services. “So while the students learn real life scenarios in hospitality management, the quality of service does not suffer,” added Vitug, a seasoned hotelier with a background in food and beverage.

A new experience

“Bay Leaf is the only full-service business/boutique hotel in Intramuros,” said Vitug. “We take pride on our quality versus our pricing. We provide high end quality service without having to charge like a five-star hotel.”

The hotel got the services of leisure industry design company, Atelier Almario for its interiors. Unlike its imposing colonial façade, the hotel’s 57 spacious and minimalistic designed rooms are refreshingly trendy. With warm color schemes in tomato orange, lime green, aubergine and teal, each room offers an elegant ambience that’s homey and easy on the eyes.

Another distinction is the hotel’s strategic location. Situated within an eight kilometer radius from Manila’s business district, shopping and lifestyle centers, Rizal Park, Ocean Park and the Ninoy Aquino airports, its location is easily accessible for business and leisure travelers. It’s Sky Deck, on the other hand, boasts of a 360 degrees panoramic view of the Manila skyline, the best place to witness the world famous Manila Bay sunset.

A new venue

“Our target market is basically the business travelers,” said Vitug. “There’s a big demand for alternative venues for MICE markets, weddings and other social gatherings here in Intramuros. And while there are a number of multi-purpose plazas and gardens inside The Walls, we are the only establishment that can offer advance support such as wireless internet access, 40” multimedia LCD cable TV in the boardroom and surround sound system. With our five function rooms and terrazas we can easily accommodate up to 300-500 people.”

The hotel’s restaurant, 9 Spoons, and cafe, Cioccolata, have gotten positive responses as well, this time from foodies in and around Intramuros. A bistro-inspired restaurant, 9 Spoons offers both international cuisines and local flavors. Cioccolata, on the other hand, is a trendy café that houses freshly made ‘Churros con Chocolate’ paired with its original hot and cold blended coffee beverages.

By giving people more reasons to visit Intramuros, the Laurels and the people behind Bay Leaf hope to become catalysts for change in the Walled City.

“We hope that with the opening of Bay Leaf there will be more establishments to follow suit and contribute in making Intramuros a better destination. We’re optimistic that more investors will bring their businesses here to help revive our country’s premiere heritage society,” Vitug ended.

When in Cebu City, please visit gregmelep.com for your retirement and real estate needs.

Iguazu Falls: New 7 Natural Wonder

By EDWIN YAPTANGCO

(Photo from www.sxc.hu)

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines’ very own Puerto Princesa Underground River is in good company, in very good company.  I know since my wife and I had seen two of the provisional ‘New 7 Wonders of Nature’ up close and personal — Iguazu Falls and the Amazon Rainforest — both in Brazil.

When planning for our Brazilian escapade, we only had the well known Amazon and Carnival in Rio de Janeiro in mind.  We hadn’t even heard of Iguazu (‘big water’ in the dialect) Falls despite it being a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  The place was introduced by our travel agent, who put in a sales pitch to make you feel like a fool if you didn’t bite.  He went for the kill when he showed wow pictures of its grandeur.  Still no.

Amazon and Rio already cost an arm and a leg.  To add another destination (and by air) would have rendered us limbless.  After he utilized all other techniques of persuasion and after I diddled with a calculator, we finally said “Okay, Okay, we will just make do with instant noodles for two months when we get back to compensate”.

The trip from Manila to Rio de Janeiro (via Miami) in economy class was literally backbreaking.  I counted 35 hours – 28 in the air, 7 on the ground (layovers).  Had Shamcey Supsup left Manila straight to Sao Paolo, even on business class she would have broke a pimple from the ordeal and therefore not have made the first cut in the Miss Universe pageant.

Our itinerary was Iguazu Falls after Rio port of entry, then Amazon, then back to Rio in time for Carnival.  The flight from Rio to Foz do Iguazu International Airport was unusual in that there were too many stopovers (I think three) en route for a relatively short flight.  Not good especially if you watch a lot of those ACIs (Air Crash Investigation shows).  Felt more like riding a bus and stopping at bus stops every now and then.

Tourists are able to do a day trip, if they so choose, instead of an overnighter.  Flights from most major tourist cities like Rio and Manaus (Amazon) are scheduled to allow for morning arrival and afternoon departure.  Three hours at Iguazu Falls should be more than enough.

We chose to stay overnight at Hotel Das Cataratas, a quaint and cozy Portuguese colonial residence with a notably big game room.  Small wonder, we found out when darkness fell.  There was just nothing to do in the small town of Foz do Iguazu at night.  It actually turned out to be a good thing since we spent some time outdoors in the still of a moon-lit night.  Nature in concert, we tuned in to bird chirps of all pitches and animal calls from baritone (must have been giant frogs) to tenor, against the constant gentle roar of Iguassu Falls a short stroll away.  Ah yes, we were in the middle of dense rainforest deep in South America.

Approaching the falls area on foot, the air started to feel damper and damper, the rumble of the water louder and louder.  There it was.  ‘Poor Hinulugang Taktak’, I blurted.  Coincidentally, when US First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt saw Iguazu Falls, she reportedly exclaimed ‘Poor Niagara’.  Iguazu Falls is taller and four times the width of Niagara Falls.

The starting point of the walking tour across the 2.7-kilometer wide Falls was expectedly captivating, a panoramic vista of dozens of decent sized cataracts among the 275 distinct ones of Iguazu.  This was the first must-have photo.  Excited, we got carried away taking too many shots.  Our guide prodded us to move on, saying wait ‘til you see the next ones.

As we progressed through the walking trail, the white water got bigger and bigger.  At the same time, we saw more of the resident fauna, some in plain sight, others peeking through the thick brush on the sides.  We saw raccoons, iguanas, prego monkeys, droves of parrots, parakeets (love birds) and other multi-colored avifauna.

As a boy scout, I learned that near fresh water is the favorite hangout (no pun intended) of snakes.  Good thing we did not come across any.  Endemic to South America’s rainforests, for sure there were anacondas lurking around.  Coming into Brazil, I was disgusted to see the in-flight movie selection to include ‘Anaconda’.  The nerve.  

Our guide was right.  ‘We ain’t seen nothin’ yet’ at the starting point of the tour.  Highlight was going down the middle of the canyon onto over-water walkways to be engulfed by nature’s sheer majesty.  Gargantuan is the best adjective for the wonder.  The thundering cascade was deafening and mesmerizing at the same time.  The guide took us to the spot where 260 degrees of waterfalls surrounded us.

At a short distance was Devil’s Throat, where about half of the Iguazu River’s flow crashes down 270 feet through a narrow chasm.  It was shrouded by mist, which rose to around 400 feet.  Across the canyon was a white building.  ‘That’s already Argentina’, our guide said, ‘and one of its hotels’.  Although officially, Iguazu Falls sits at the border of Brazil and Argentina, a stone’s throw away is the border with Paraguay, not left out in dipping into tourists’ pockets.

At the end point of the walking tour, there was still no let-up by the falls.  A concrete building housing F & B provisions, a gift shop and lounges was erected right beside a major white curtain.  We held out our hands from the rail and the water was there.  We had to raise our voices to talk to the souvenir guy at the foyer.

An Indiana Jones flick and a James Bond edition had the falls as a location shoot.  In ‘Moonraker’, Bond hang-glided over it while ’Jaws’ fell into the canyon and lived!  Gave me comfort when 007 had a nasty bout with a giant anaconda and prevailed.

All told, Iguazu Falls was definitely worth choking on instant noodles for two months.

It was on to the Amazon.  I guessed there were more anacondas there, piranhas even!

Designing Tibet

By: Ino Manalo

Philippine Daily Inquirer

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Rummaging through the bins of a second-hand store in Makati, I came upon a volume with a curious title: ” Imagining Tibet.” That’s when it struck me that, indeed, the Land at the Roof of the World is a place that exists not only on this planet but in our minds. The 1957 book by Peter Goullart, “Forgotten Kingdom,” and the more recent “Searching for Shangri-La,” by Laurence Brahm (published in 2003), are additional  examples which show how this entire region has been mythologized by writers from the West. The lovely paintings by the Russian mystic Nicholas Roerich of lonely citadels set in an expanse of mist shrouded peaks also helped to further enhance European fascination.

This fascination probably has something to do with the Dalai Lama himself. After all, the idea of how he was selected by searching throughout the land for the new incarnation of the departed ruler is truly enchanting. I suppose in an increasingly callous era, such a magical way of choosing a leader is certainly worth a pause.

In my case, this mountain realm first entered my imagination through a beloved comic book, “Tintin in Tibet.” As it turns out, this particular adventure is the favorite of many other fans of the young reporter. A friend of mine theorizes that this is because the story involves a selfless rescue in a faraway land. There is a journey on the icy slopes of the Himalayas, the weird but ultimately very human “migou,” or Abominable Snowman, the unfathomable wisdom of the grand abbot, and the encounters with other forms of knowledge that took in stride clairvoyance and levitation.

Then again, as the tale of Tintin and his partner, Captain Haddock, unfolds, one glimpses in the colorful illustrations the solid square buildings whose interiors were brightened by rich textiles and polychrome statues. There were the sacred monuments known as “chortens,” or stupas, which held the relics of holy monks. One can even share in the sense of relief which the characters in the book must have felt when, after being knocked out by an avalanche, they awoke inside a monastery. All this made for an enchanting read, adding more images to the world’s concept of this fabled place.

Given my early exposure, it was with a child’s joy that, while exploring the Eastern flank of what had once been part of the ancient territory of Tibet, I realized that I could recognize my surroundings.  The building silhouettes and the architectural details, the window shapes, even the brightly colored furniture and sculpture—all these were familiar to me because of Tintin.

We were exploring Dukezong, the heritage quarter of Zhongdian, a town that had once been an important outpost on the traditional trade routes between China and the Himalayan kingdoms. Our host took us inside an old Tibetan house, entering through a crumbling gate that was overgrown with weeds. The interiors were quite dim yet I could still make out magnificent murals depicting the sacred symbols associated with the Buddha.

Outside, the district was all abuzz with many fashionable tourist establishments. One café-gallery we entered preserved the same homey feel of the antiquated house we saw. The wooden furnishings were lovingly preserved so that one could relish the time-worn textures which contrasted with the jolting colors of the throw pillows.

In our host’s office we saw the same technique of introducing traditional touches into contemporary settings. The meeting room had a canopy and curtains festooned with the same sacred symbols we had seen in the residence. When I mentioned that the tranquility of the chamber made it the perfect place for conferences, our host explained that the decorative scheme was inspired by his advocacy to safeguard the historical dimension. For centuries, the cold stone spaces of Tibetan structures were always softened by draperies—reminding the occupants of a nomadic past lived out in tents made more habitable by blankets and carpets.

I would notice this same concern to marry the traditional with the contemporary in the Banyan Tree Resort in nearby Ringha. The setting alone is already so emblematic of the region. One drives through sleepy villages and mountain valleys dominated by distant snow-bound summits. I was reminded that this is the land that the great botanist Joseph Rock had come to love during the years he spent here searching for plant specimens.

The area has some of the richest bio-diversity in the planet because of the various micro-climates created by the varying altitudes. For this reason, I even suggested that the resort could offer flower-collecting expeditions where guests could go out into the surrounding countryside accompanied by experts to learn about the unusual flora. Non-endangered examples could then be collected and, after a blossom-pressing or drying workshop, transformed into quaint cards or frames.

Entering the Banyan Tree, I felt that I had simply wandered into another section of one of the villages I had just visited. As one of the resort owners explained to me, they had dismantled abandoned vernacular houses and moved them to the site. It was actually more cost-effective to do this since buying fresh materials to erect an entirely new building would have been much more expensive. What gave the resort a sense of cohesion, though, was the fact that the houses had come from the same locality and were stylistically related to each other.

I was amused to spy about the grounds the huge racks which the villagers would use to dry corn or peppers. An administrative office was even set up in a tent. I noted, too, that the entrance façade of the spa was exactly like that of the house in Dukezong, but it was livened up with jaunty lanterns. Meanwhile, the guest cottages had gates that would have fit right into any streetscape in the region.

The bedrooms once again featured brilliant fabrics juxtaposed with gnarled beams. Beautiful thangka-like paintings were everywhere adding a meditative salve to the already soothing interiors. I noted interesting innovations such as drums used as side tables and a huge wooden bucket fashioned into a soaking tub. I was happy to learn that the restaurant menu featured an adaptation of my favorite Tibetan dumplings whose name I find inexplicably comforting: momos!

What impressed me most though were the elements that spoke of a more spiritual dimension. The paths that connect the guest cottages are not smoothly paved but covered with large stones rounded from having spent an eternity at the bottom of rushing alpine streams. Since it is not easy to walk on these uneven surfaces, one is initially puzzled: why had such an inconvenience been introduced? Then one realizes that these unusual paths allude to the deep spirituality of the Himalayan peoples.

All throughout Tibet, pilgrims come to sacred spots to pray and perform rituals. One remarkable practice is to circle a holy site while remaining completely prostrate. What makes this especially difficult is the roughness of the terrain which is filled with skin-piercing rocks. There are also the great distances involved: sometimes what is being circled is not just a temple, but in the case of Mt. Kailash, an entire mountain.

Interestingly, the whole Banyan Tree compound is dominated by a ridge on which the developers had built three chorten. These were eloquent indicators that though this may be a plush resort, it was also a sanctuary, an integral part of a magnificent land that had endured so much through the centuries.

Some may find the use of religious imagery in resorts inappropriate. There have been whole discussions on how tourism can commodify even what is sacred. For me, though, I am grateful for the reminder that travel is not just about pleasuring the body but also about nourishing the soul.

The writer would like to thank Lorenzo Urra of Global Nomad for recommending the Banyan Tree in Ringha.

When in Cebu City, please visit gregmelep.com for your real estate and retirement needs.