Around the Country and Around the World

By Robbie Pangilinan

January 16, 2011, 12:59am

Canadian rockies (photo from Google images)

St. Augustine once said, “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” In the past year, I may have “read” an entire chapter as I explored several places in the country as well as in others.

I started 2010 “on fire” in Punta Fuego which literally means “point of fire.”

Punta Fuego is a high-end beach resort and residences in Batangas. The Peninsula de Punta Fuego is truly world-class. I enjoyed the Spanish-Mediterranean villas, the Beach Club, Marina, the golf course, and the Country Club. Of course, I frolicked in the white sand and clear waters of Terrazas de Punta Fuego, probably the best beach in Nasugbu. Batangas itself is a first- class province and a popular tourist destination because of its beaches and dive sites.

The Taal Volcano is another picture-perfect spot in Batangas.

The next month, February, I visited the original Mang Inasal in Iloilo. Together with owner Edgar “Injap” Sia II, I enjoyed Mang Inasal’s secret chicken recipe.

Mang Inasal is the fastest growing quick serve restaurant in the country today, with more than 200 branches nationwide and aiming for 500 branches by 2012.

In March I found myself travelling to the Big D for the Pacquiao-Clottey fight.

Dallas is the top leisure destination in Texas, a stylish, fashionable, luxurious, and prosperous city. Home of the Dallas Cowboys, the town’s pride is the Cowboys Stadium, a $1.2-billion state-of-the-art facility in Arlington where the Pacquiao fight was slated. Its largest and most expensive HD video board, where 40,000 to 100,000 spectators can get a good view of what they’re watching, is definitely a must-experience. I stayed in the humble Knights Inn Arlington, a 1.5-star hotel just 10 minutes away from the Cowboys Stadium. The Inn has recently remodeled so their rooms look new and very clean. The staff were very helpful, offering advice on which restaurants have great food, how to get to places from the hotel, and the sites to see around Texas. The Indian owners personally greeted the guests and were very kind.

I was also breathless at the luxurious Gaylord Texan Hotel and Convention Center, where Team Pacquiao and the People’s Champ were billeted. The “most technologically sophisticated hotel in the Southwest,” Gaylord Texan has a nine-story glass atrium with 4.5 acres of indoor gardens with a flowing river.

Back at the Philippines to spend the Lenten season with the Pangilinan family, we all trooped to Pampanga for our traditional family “panata” and to witness devotees doing their “penitensiya.” The flagellation and crucifixion of devotees in Pampanga have attracted tourists from all over the world. The flagellants believe that the bloody ritual will cleanse them from their sins. Pampanga is also known as the culinary capital of the Philippines, with famous dishes like sisig, tocino and longganisa, and exotic delicacies such as stuffed frogs, mole crickets sauted in vinegar and garlic, andlizard stew.

We then went to the nearby city of Olongapo for an awesome Subic adventure. The children enjoyed visiting Ocean Adventure, a world-class marine attraction.

Ocean Adventure has marine life exhibits, the educational Dolphin Friends Show, Sea Lion Marine Patrol Show and Walk on the Wild Side Show, interaction with whales, dolphins and sea lions, a learning center, Ocean Discovery Aquarium, and a temporary refuge for injured or sick marine animals.

Zamboanga City is another Philippine tourist spot that I visited. I went with veteran sports commentators Chino Trinidad and Quinito Henson for Gerry Peñalosa’s fight in “Golpe Golpe na Zamboanga: The Last Hurrah” at the Zamboanga City Coliseum. Peñalosa beat Thailand’s Yodsaenkeng Kietmangmee as the former two division world champion fought for his friend Z “The Dream” Gorres’ medical expenses. Gorres’ boxing career ended when he had brain injury in 2009 after his Las Vegas fight against Colombian Luis Melendez. There was more to see in Zamboanga, Mindanao’s economic center besides the fight that also featured Michael Fareñas against Korean Jung-Hoon Kim and Jimrex Jaca against another Korean, Jong-Yoon Choi.Wikipedia describes Zambo as  one of the primary hubs in the Philippines and the premier city in the Zamboanga Peninsula Region in terms of commerce, trade, health services, financial institutions and education.

Speaking of boxing, I was one of the official media representatives to the Pacquiao-Margarito fight again in Dallas, Texas. This time I went with seasoned sports journalist Eddie Alinea for the fight coverage. I served as Eddie’s tour guide around Dallas as it was his first time to visit. We tried the different restaurants’ steaks and barbecues, as well as the American, Asian, Italian and Mexican cuisine.

Next destination was Bellingham, the largest city inWashington.  It was a one-day nature trip as I went island hopping from Lummi Island and Portage Island to the Lummi Peninsula, amidst the snow. I found it remarkable that the residents here get their drinking water from Lake Whatcom.

Because Los Angeles is always at the itinerary of the pound-for-pound king, Eddie and I followed him to the City of Angels. We frequented the Wild Card Gym and had a memorable dining experience at a famous Chinese restaurant in West Covina. I also had the opportunity to have a little R & R at the Universal Studios, one of the oldest American movie studios still alive. Janet Jamora, twin sister of Jinkee Pacquiao accompanied me to watch the concert of my cousin Val Pangilinan Villar, who sings R&B and ballads at Gano with the 4828 band.

I likewise had the chance to stay at Calgary, Canada where I had bonding moments with the members of the Filipino community, including former Olympian Rey Fortaleza who now owns the Reyfort Media Group and is the chairman of the Filipino Canadian Cultural Heritage of British Columbia and Tatay Tom Avendano, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Multicultural Helping House Society.I also met one of my idols, singer Joey Albert. Because there are so many Filipinos here, Mayor Gregor Robertson of the City of Vancouver decided to hold a “Manny Pacquiao Day” for the pound-for-pound king.

Calgary is the largest city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is a beautiful city with rolling hills, and grasslands. Wikipedia said that Calgary is a destination for winter sports and ecotourism with a number of major mountain resorts near the city and metropolitan area.

I visited the breathtaking  Rocky Mountains or the Rockies, a major mountain range in western North America.  Someday, I told myself, I will climb Mount Elbert, the highest peak of the 3,000-mile range at 14,440 feet above sea level.

For my visit, I contented myself hiking and fishing. Lake Louise was another place I saw.

It is  a hamlet named after the nearby Lake Louise.

To cap off my year, I attended the People’s Champ birthday celebration at his hometown General Santos City with Eddie Alinea, Gerry Peñalosa, and wife Goody.

We had a feast of the city’s produce, especially their fresh fish and seafood topbilled by GenSan’s sashimi grade tuna.

The year 2010 was a great year. I am glad to have visited the places I mentioned and proud to include them in the “book of my life.”

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