The whole school year has been rough; juggling oneself with school stuff, unending examinations and personal turmoils, one just can get enough of it. Good thing I have friends (new ones for that matter) to deal with it.
So after a stressful semester, it's time to get some fun and adventure. My friends Fab and Wam invited me to join them to visit Rachel's hometown, Ormoc City. I was actually reluctant at first because the only thing on my mind was to get home to Davao fast as soon as the final exams are done. But with their constant pleading, I gave in because I remembered my uncle telling me to just let loose, travel and have fun. Perfect example of a YOLO (You Only Live Once) And I sure made the right decision. Ormoc, sure, was a blast!
According to the 'It's More Fun In The Philippines' website, Ormoc City is a placid and provincial place. Ormoc is a first class city in the province of Leyte, Philippines. It is the economic, cultural, commercial and trasportation hub of western Leyte [wikipedia]. It actually reminded me of my hometown in Agusan. Small but bustling with people. Sadly, Ormoc was one of the cities in Leyte that was devastated by the most powerful typhoon that hit Southeast Asia in 2013, Typhoon Haiyan (locally known as Typhoon Yolanda). So, when you get there, the first thing you'd notice would be the wreckage caused by the typhoon. But you'll be surprised because people went on with their lives and Ormoc is slowly standing up and rebuilding itself.
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| Welcome to Ormoc! With Fab and Wam |
We left Cebu at around 9 am of March 31 at Pier Uno via Weesam Express. We were suppose to leave the previous night via slow boat but because we don't want to stand up for hours we decided to leave the next day and get the fast craft so we'd arrive early. Of course, it was a little expensive than planned but I guess pleasure pays much more. We arrived around 11am to almost 12 noon. The sun was too much you really can feel the summer or Dry season as PAGASA describes it. We were picked up by Rachel's brother and mom at the port and went to their home. Driving around the city, you really can see the devastation Yolanda left. Roofs were gone, some buildings destroyed, windows shattered, but the people looked like they've already moved on. So everything was good.
The first stop was Rachel's home to meet up with her father to say Hi. And then we proceeded to our home for 4 days at her uncle's (I'm not gonna be mentioning some names here as I don't know if it's legal without their consent) wonderful Greek / Victorian inspired abode. It's a big place with a big pool and with its own gym and with all the things from all over the world. The first thing that went into my head when I entered the house was, WOW! The owner of the house has a habit of collecting things from different parts of the world from Japanese, Chinese, Thai, etc. Living there was like living at another country. It was nice!
Then we decided to have lunch at Ormoc's Chinese Restaurant, Fat Choi. I'm not yet sure if its the only Chinese restaurant in the area. The food was good. Can't complain. Then we just spent the whole day back at our temporary shelter, touring, exploring and ogling at the owner's collections from all over the world. It was a nice day!
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| Enjoying good coffee, new york cheesecake and good company Photo from Wam & Fab |
Note: I'm not payed to advertise. But if you do visit Ormoc City, you should try the city's best Lechon Manok at Yu's Lechon Manok. Ask for more sauce!
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