Tagged balayan

Batangas: Rediscovering My Hometown

“You’re the weirdest Batangueno I have ever met!” declared my friend Andre after learning that I didn’t know how to swim. We were on the way home. “Wow, jumping to conclusions,” I objected. “Well, for starters, you don’t have the accent,” he explained. “Batangas is known for beaches and dive sites; you don’t even know how to swim. Batangas produces the best beef in the country; you dislike beef. Batangas is home to kapeng barako; you’re not a coffee fan. You haven’t even been to the Taal Volcano.” Hmmm. As hard as it was to admit, he was right. (Except…

The Road to Death

Our house in Batangas is along the national highway. It can get really busy. When I’m home, I always have to close the windows tight so the noise could not distract me from doing my usual activities comprised mainly of watching TV and err… watching TV. Open the window a little bit and your viewing experience is ruined. But the noise is not why I call this “The Road to Death.” The noise is tolerable. It’s been there before us so we have no right to complain. What’s relatively new is the long island in the middle of the road.…