Ancestry and Pedigree: The Lorenzo Ancestral House in Bukidnon

The Lorenzo Ancestral House in Bukidnon

On a visit to Dahilayan in the Province of Bukidnon, I hired the services of a habal-habal (motorcycle) driver who happens to be the barangay official of Dahilayan. Interested in open spaces rather than the zipline and the games they have at the park, I forgo these and check places of interests and gladly I was led to the unimposing but impressive historical landmark in Bukidnon, the house where the embattled former Agriculture Secretary once lived. The visit to the ancestral house gained for me a glimpse of what history has been crafted and left in this august house of a prominent landlord of Bukidnon.

Travel Reflections: What inspires you?

“When we share more, I truly believed, our world will be a                                                  different place as it is now.” – Dr. Wends

As many of us, backpackers and travellers alike, will almost certainly encounter: What inspires us to travel and share? This question is what I asked to a group of students while I gave my lecture on a famous university in the Philippines and the reply I got was varied, most are valid and what struck me, with this particular photo, one of the students cried that it is his family who inspires him. I was touched by his raw emotions and the sincerity by which he remembers his family on the moments where he is far away from home.

Backpacker’s storied change: The Bukidnon experience

A humble Bukidnon native lady selling her bracelets and anklets to tourists and backpackers

Over the weekend, I went to Davao City with friends in my civic organization called the JCI Philippines and having chanced, upon our return home, to stop-over in Quezon, in Bukidnon; I was greeted with a graceful tribeswoman who sells her hand-made anklets and bracelets made of locally-sourced materials. I was just absorbing everything, from crisp air, to peaceful scenery and to kind-hearted people.

Even on a private vehicle, we were asked by sanitary inspectors to alight from our van to walk through a sanetized water pit and that made me a changed person of sort. I came across an experience that is perhaps, humbling an experience worthy sharing on my travel blog. I say it was humbling because previously, when backpacking locally, I usually do not buy locally crafted wares being sold by the locals.