Travel Cruncher

MANILA, Philippines — The D’Bone Collector Museum in Davao City is now open. Inside the museum are collections of different bones, skulls and skeletons of animals, marine species, birds and butterflies. Among the attractions are the huge sperm whale, the jaws of sharks, the Cambodian python (one of the longest snakes in the world) and armadillo.

 “I am very happy that this museum will help people to be educated on how we can preserve and conserve our remaining natural resources, particularly the animal species,” said Darrell D. Blatchley, the museum’s curator and director.

Blatchley himself collected them since he was still a boy; some of the collections were donated by private individuals and institutions who believe that through the museum, conservation and protection awareness can be shared.

People who were invited to grace the opening were glad they came. They never thought that such a museum would open in Davao City.  “This could be one of the city’s prime destinations.” As if echoing the words of the Department of Tourism, one visitor said, “Indeed, it’s more fun to visit Davao City.”

Fatma Idris of the research division of the Bureau of Fisheries of Aquatic Resources, thanked Blatchley for his collection at the museum that would raise awareness in the conservation of not just the marine species but also those found in land and air.

The D’Bone Collectors Museum is located at San Pedro Street. It is open on Mondays to Fridays only – from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Entrance fee is R50 for adults and R40 for students and children.  For reservations, you may call 0919-6240744 or e-mail: crocodiledd1@yahoo.com.

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MANILA, Philippines — There’s no shortage of helpful advice out there when it comes to traveling. You learn from others. You also learn from their mistakes, in this case my mistakes. I can’t complete a list of 10 “what not to do” and I hope it stays that way.

Thou Shall Not Forget to Print

Budget airlines are under pressure to make a profit and are able to keep costs down by charging you for extra services. Sure you get to travel thanks to cheap airfare but if you’re not careful, you may end up paying more for other charges. One way they earn is by charging for overweight luggage, so don’t forget to weigh your bags. But there’s one other thing you shouldn’t forget: To print. Ryanair, which offers cheap flights in Europe, charges passengers who forget to print their boarding pass at home. You’d think since everything is already electronic, it should be paperless. Not if you’re flying Ryanair. You pay a hefty charge of EUR €60 per person for boarding pass reprint. According to about.com, “Even if you have printed your boarding card, you may still be fined due to bad quality of print out, damaged page or missing page. You must print everything, including the advertisement.”

While I didn’t pay Ryanair, I paid a hotel for printing my boarding pass. I compared the cost and it turned out cheaper. My friends didn’t have printers and there were no Internet cafés in Paris, or at least none that my local friends were aware of. I ended up printing my ticket at the business center of Louvre Hôtel in Paris. The five-star hotel is located at

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MANILA, Philippines — There is much more to Lanao del Norte than just being the Motocross Capital of the Philippines.

True, it prides itself in being the prime location for the extreme sport, with its world-class and expansive dirt track at the Mindanao Civic Center (MCC). Viewers are able to watch every twist, turn and crash of the racers from the comfortable vantage point of the spacious grandstand in front of the dirt track.

Lanao del Norte hosted the first-ever international motocross event in the country in December 2010. Being a rider himself, Lanao del Norte Governor Mohamad Khalid Q. Dimaporo (a third generation governor from the traditional political leaders of the province, the Quibranza and Dimaporo families) included motocross as one of the highlights in the Araw ng Lanao del Norte celebrations. SEL-J Sports, the prime advocate for the rehabilitation of motocross in the Philippines, conducts its motocross races here.

But, that is not all there is to Lanao del Norte. A website description reads: “From its many majestic waterfalls, relaxing coastlines to rugged plateaus and verdant mountains rich in flora and fauna, the province of Lanao del Norte pulsates with electrifying cultural diversity of gentle and proud people – one of the many windows into the soul of the often misunderstood Mindanao.”

The famous Maria Cristina falls is located in Iligan City. Nicknamed the City of Majestic Waterfalls, Iligan has over 20 waterfalls. Maria Cristina is 320 feet high and spills 130 cubic meters per second of water which provides electricity. Near the majestic falls is the Macapagal-Macaraeg Ancestral House where former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo spent part of her childhood. Another popular falls is the Tinago Falls with its

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MANILA, Philippines — Imagine a spectacular range of mountains covering a 6,834-hectare of total surface area of several forest-type characteristics harboring endemic, threatened, rare and economically important species of flora and fauna.

Visualize that within 225 hectares of this lush sanctuary thrives a rare mossy-pygmy forest with century-old wild trees growing to an average height of only four to five feet.

The stunted growth of such unique vegetation is due to the soil’s high concentration of minerals like chromium, iron, nickel and magnesium. An Almaciga (Agathis philippinensis) has the highest average height of only 2.4 m. Other abundant species are Cedar, Lokinai, Yakal, Dapdap and Bitanghol. Within this area dwells an amazing hidden lake, or Tinagong Dagat as well as others falls and creeks.

The Mt. Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary has been declared by the Philippine government in July 2004 under the Republic Act 9303 as a protected area under the category of wildlife sanctuary. Located in Davao Oriental in Mindanao, it is a priority site for conservation as designated by Conservation International in view of its high level of biodiversity and unique and significant biological and physical attributes. It became a component of the Philippines’ National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) pursuant to R.A. 7586 of 1992.

Hamiguitan spans two municipalities and one city, namely, the municipalities of San Isidro and Governor Generoso, and the City of Mati in the Province of Davao Oriental, at altitudes ranging from 170 to 1,637 meters above sea level.

This protected sanctuary belongs to 15 biogeographic zones in the Philippines considered to have the highest land-based biological diversity in terms of flora and fauna per unit area, including the largest and most unique area of

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MANILA, Philippines — Ever since man had the impulse to look up to the sky, there has always been the dream of flight. Soaring through the heavens, feeling the cold high-altitude air free from the burdens of gravity has been a sensation that sits idling within the hearts of most.

Now that ingenuity and technology have made it possible for earth-bound beings to navigate through the atmosphere’s limitless expanse, man has increasingly pushed the boundaries of flight. From balloons to gliders, propeller planes to jet powered aircraft, the sky has literally been the limit for modern day aviators.

To share this delight for flight and keep the passion for flying burning, the Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta will once again take to the skies. From February 9 to 12, the Air Force City at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in Clark Field, Pampanga will turn into a giant playground for aero-sports and aviation professionals and enthusiasts.

“Sharing the joy of flight with everyone, that is what the Hot Air Balloon Fiesta is all about for 16 years,” says event organizer Captain Joy Roa. “Finding the passion for flying from the old generation to the new generation of aviators who help build the industry up, that is what everyone here is trying to do,” he adds.

Already on its 17th installment, the event expects a bigger influx of visitors this year from last year’s figures of over 80,000 which has made the event the biggest sports and aviation activity in Asia. These spectators will once again get a chance to witness a myriad of hot air

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MANILA, Philippines — Weeks after its unveiling, the Department of Tourism’s (DoT) new campaign, ‘It’s more fun in the Philippines’ has reached meme status, piquing the interest of netizens worldwide. Now that the campaign has gone viral, the front-end of tourism enthusiasm – through and by the people – is in place, it’s the government’s turn to step up to the plate.

“We challenged for attention and we got it. Now, let’s be competitive,” said Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez. “We’re doing things differently now. The DoT is going to launch more aggressive initiatives, together with other government agencies, that’ll reinvigorate the industry and shift attitudes.”

The DoT is currently lobbying for the granting of visas on arrival to those with visas to Australia, Japan, Canada, United States, United Kingdom and Schengen countries and what used to be a 21-day visa will now be a 30-day visa. The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), on the other hand, reported that there will be a rollback of the R750.00 airport terminal fee to its original rate of R550.00 starting February.

“Another significant development, which my predecessors worked on and I support until now, is the pocket open skies. It has multiplied the possibilities of entering the Philippines. In 2011, we signed air agreements with Taiwan, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, and Sri Lanka,” Jimenez said.

The DoT also expects to be busy with air talks with Europe and the US once the FAA downgrade is lifted. It persuaded the Department of Finance to review the Common Carriers Tax (CCT). The DoF, in turn, wrote to Congress to say that it no longer interposes any objections to the revision on the law of CCT.

The industry will also be competitive

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MANILA, Philippines — Over the shimmering emerald expanse of Panay Gulf, Inampulugan, “Mother of All Islands”, uncoiled like a crocodile lugging three mountains on her back.

It was the biggest chunk broken off Guimaras, the Mango Country, tucked away to the Southeast of Iloilo City, amidst fishing grounds that yielded blue crabs for Japanese tables, squids, stingrays and groupers for the locals. Its mountains nurtured virgin forests. Bamboo, coconut and mangroves flourished on its sugar-white coasts.

My destination actually nestled between Inampulugan’s beaches and mountains, the 1,067 hectare Costa Aguada Island Resort. It was almost dusk when I got there after seven hours of travel by land, sea and air.

While there was light, I padded along the beach. Tiny tunnels pockmarked the white expanse, each with sand piled neatly to one side. I went down on my knees to play hide and seek with pale sand crabs.

When I straightened up, I startled a group of herons. They flapped up a higher perch among the bleached skeletons of half-submerged trees.

To the west stretched a forest of centuries-old gnarled mangroves that transforms itself to a sunken wilderness with each incoming tide.  On its end stood a 5,000 square meter stone fortress – the holding pen of almost half a hundred endangered, two-year-old hawksbill turtles.

I walked on until I ran out of coral beaches and blundered in the midst of whispering bamboos. It felt like intruding in an enchanted throng in conference. In the windless, deepening darkness, I watched the bunched trunks nod and creak.

Up ahead, the mountain beckoned to me. I don’t have the luxury of much time, however. So, I asked the resort manager’s permission to

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