Taal, Baguio and Facetripping

Kara's into architecture / interior design and so - like any encouraging dad - we try to do things and visit places that support that.  Found out online about the town of Taal and how they've a number of preserved heritage homes and B&B's open to visit.  

Took the two hour trip down south expecting a quaint little town and was surprised by the number of tourist buses and yuppies with cameras and iPads exploring the town.  Well, there went our quiet sojourn.  We'd been brought back to those 80's movies - stereotyping Japanese tourists with their Nikons. 

We'd been guided by a reverser architect (20 years abroad), Robert Arambulo, who'd fallen in love with the town and bought a dilapidated bahay na bato and turned it into an inn.  I'd been reminded of that Margaret Mead quote about how it's actually small groups of people who make the changes in the world when he'd recounted how it was a circle of them who banded together - with negligible local government support - to come up with a tourism thrust.

Today, it's a collection of about a couple noteworthy restaurants, seven guest homes and the newly opened treasure, Paradores de Taal ("A Place in Time").  

The visitors to the town were still no match, of course, to the horde that invaded Baguio during our January visit.  

In both cases, conversations with locals and others brought out these conclusions:

- Taal and Baguio became closer because of STAR Tollway and the extension of SCTEX, respectively.  

- The booming economy is humming along for certain sectors of society.  

- Because of the BPO industry, millennials are now traveling.  Evidence, perhaps, of that demographic sweet spot they talk about ("....the country was in what some economists call a demographic sweet spot, in which millions of young people will be entering the work force." - NYTimes - Aug. 3, 2014) .  

- It's their generation and we're just getting out of the way of their selfie sticks.  It had been a topic of conversation with my colleagues and something I'm quizzing others about is the fact that social media is driving Filipinos to travel - a mixture of wanting to show off, being envious and that fear of being left behind.  

Unless anybody out there has a better term, we're calling that Facetripping. 

Taking out my crystal ball (no, it's not an app) and I see this traveling trend growing and to locations that are experiential in nature and are, of course, selfie-friendly.    

Dinosaurs and Millennials

If asked to describe myself in one word, it'd be this: Therizinosaurus. Yup, I'm a dinosaur.  

www.walkingwith.wikia.com

There's a nagging feeling I'd fit fine if I was born 40 years earlier.  I'll cover a bit more about this shortly, but, for now I'd like to share about a forwarded article from my father in which in his own jejemon style ordered me: Write something.  

  

Its main points:

- By 2020, there will be 4 billion people connected to the internet.

- Renting is up, buying is down:  Music, movies TV shows, even games and books are moving towards an access model.  

- It's an On-Demand Economy:  On-demand food, shelter and transportation (Uber, Lyft, etc) are the obvious ones.y 2020, there will be 4 billion people connected to the internet.

Closer to home, I'd experienced the whole social media thing (note my misplaced tone of indifference) when out of exasperation in recruiting for potential employees for our manpower outsourcing company, we'd decided to hire the services of a digital advertising group.  The results have been nothing short of phenomenal:  For a mere P3,000 we were able to garner more than 100 resumes (and counting) in just over a week - speaking of "on-demand."  

So, am I a believer now?  Well, I've always been, but, now was truly able to experience what the hoopla is all about.  

Lastly, thought of introducing you to the world of illustrator Adam Ellis who seems to have tapped into the world of millennials and their experiences in this digitally connected world (you can check out more of his work here.  A must).

Pet Peeve

 

Which got me thinking:  In danger of going extinct like the dinosaur, are we paying enough attention to the digital world in what we do?  

While you're mulling over that, make the summer heat a bit bearable with music by Toots and the Maytals.  Enjoy the rest of the season!

My Uncle Went on a 150 Km Pilgrimage and All I Got Are These Nine Observations

My uncle, Rafa Cacho, 66, went on a ten day trek on the Camino de Santiago with his wife, Teresa, my parents and some friends.   Also known as The Way of St James, the pilgrimage originates in France and ends at Santiago de Compostela in Spain.  

Some of the things he brought back with him and I thought be perfect for this Holy Week:

1.   Learn to be patient and you shall overcome:  The trials we experienced came courtesy of the weather – heat, cold, rain – and exhaustion. 

    2.   Meet different cultures and be friendly:  We smiled at and greeted strangers.  Be ready with “hola,” and “buen camino.”

3.   Hopeful for the youth:  I’d observed there were many young people at Mass in the town of Portomarin in                    .

    4.   Everyone is helpful to one and all:  My in-laws, Joaquin and Nie Nie, had lost their way and a farmer showed them the right path.  If your intentions are pure, people will give good advice.

    5.   Nature’s beauty is all around:  All you need is to notice it and see God’s way and love for all. 

    6.   Find your weakness:  Recognize them and you will find your Camino in life.

    7.   Your Camino in life would be made purer if you try to walk in Christ’s way:  Do this through prayers, studying Christ’s life and to read up. 

    8.   Don't allow thoughts to linger in your mind about your needing to be recognized:   Thinking of the good in others is better. 

    9.   Recognize that there are events that are meant to be:  Teresa, Nie Nie, Joaquin and I went to a small church as we left the town of Arzua.  A lady of 88 years old gave Teresa a Camino shell made by a father named Paco who had lost a son.

A while later on the road, we’d met a trio of Americans who were two doctors and a medical assistant.  We had a nice conversation about how good Filipina nurses are and their work values. They’d noticed and asked Teresa about the shell given to her by the  old lady.  She’d explained how it was made by a father in memory of his lost son. 

It was then that the medical assistant shared that she, too, had lost a son.  Teresa gave her the special shell and both hugged and cried knowing in their hearts that the special shell was really meant for her. 

Did they both meet by chance or was it meant to be?