18 Apr, 2007
Finding a hotel in the town of Coron was not easy. A few internet searches yielded a couple of names with minimal descriptions. There were more choices if one wanted to stay at a dive resort in the nearby islands. But I wanted to have a base in Coron from which…
18 Apr, 2007
I really enjoyed my trip to Coron and the surrounding islands. Several readers have emailed me privately asking how I got there, where I stayed and how I got around. So I have decided to do two posts on my local transportation and my accommodations. The four day trip wouldn’t have…
17 Apr, 2007
My trip to Palawan was coming to an end and I only had one more thing on my “mental checklist†to do, if at all possible. The live fish motels I featured here were still on my mind, and I wanted to see some of the fish that were exported alive and at…
17 Apr, 2007
Basic Necessity is a vegetable supplier/consolidator that has come a long way. I first ran into them when they had a single table at the Makati Organic Market at the back of United Supermarket in the mid-1990’s. I became friendly with one of their owners and eventually I ended up at their…
16 Apr, 2007
In the course of my travels, I only tend to record unusual native materials when they almost serendipitously fall onto my lap. This was the case when I spotted a lady spinning abaca fiber by hand on a trip to Legaspi last year; and so I was thrilled when one early morning in…
16 Apr, 2007
The day after our hotel cook agreed to cook our talakitok, we decided to hit the market early to buy more seafood for lunch. Like the afternoon before, we hit the bounty of the sea jackpot! The selection was quite broad and the quality superb, and as usual, I bought with my…
15 Apr, 2007
After a long day in Culion and a 90 minute banca ride back to Coron, we landed at the pier behind the local market late afternoon and decided to see if there were any fish on offer… The market was HOPPING and the selection was quite impressive. I guess locals buy their…
13 Apr, 2007
Since I started this blog, I have received hundreds of questions about where readers can buy one ingredient or food item or another. Many questions are posted in the comments section, others are sent to me in private emails. It is one of the most frustrating aspects of living in Manila and…