Hyatt Hotel Manila

A three day workshop for malaria training curriculum was held at the Hyatt Hotel Manila sponsored by the Global Fund Project through Tropical Disease Foundation and ACTMalaria. The accomodation and food are excellent. The hotel staff are very courteous and helpful. The hotel location is in the heart of Manila. It is a walking distance from Robinson Mall, Manila bay, and very near the airport. You can explore Manila on foot from here. Wear a casual dress maybe a short and light shirt and hit the road. From the hotel lobby you can turn left and it will be the Manila Bay. It is just about 300 meters. If you choose to turn right it will be the train station called LRT (short for Light Railway Transit. It is an elevated railway system running north-south direction extending about seven kilometers. Take the train ad explore the vicinity of each station through foot. In this way you will get lost in Manila. That is the very basic in exploring Manila. Be street smart. Take care of yourself.

Calamba, Laguna

Calamba City is the birthplace of Philippine National Hero Dr. Jose P. Rizal. It is an hour trip from Manila. In here you can find a lot of resorts and hotel that cater to the resident of Manila to cool down the summer heat. From Manila, take a bus to Sta Cruz but get down at Calamba City. It is the commonly called crossing. The road here goes straight to the market place and then to the shore of Laguna Lake. It is also the place where the home of Dr Jose P. Rizal is located. It is an old cozy house which is converted into a museum. The interior of the house is made of wood. The dining set is long and with big fan overhead operated manually. Near the kitchen is an old well which has dried up already. The house is a national landmark already. Take a little walk and you will fine passenger jeepneys, Take a ride with Los Banos sign and get down at Pansol. This trip will only take you about ten to fifteen minutes. Get downa t Pansol. The place is full of resorts and hotel and the main attraction is the swimming pool. In the country a picnic is not complete with out a pool. You can have a choice of resorts. There are private resort which you can hire on a daily basis and there are also resorts that only charge entrance fee and you can enjoy their amenities usually the swimming pool. Other amenities like billiard has a separate pay. Food is no a problem in the area. There are a lot of food stalls in the area. All you have to do is shell out a little cash. Night life in Calamba is joyous. You can never be alone in the city if you fine the right place. To get more information, contact Dr. Lazaga the tourism officer of the city.

Walking through Los Banos Laguna

Los Banos is literally the baths of Laguna translated in English. It was named after the hot springs in the area but actually the town of Calamba has more hot springs. Los Banos can be reached from Manila by taking a bus ride at Pasay City. The bus station is located a the corner of Gil Puyat and Taft Avenue. Ther are several buses stationed a the area. all going to souther Luzon. Take the bus with Sta Cruz sign board. Tell the conductor you are taking of at Collage. It is the road leading to the University of the Philippines at Los Banos. The trip will take around 2 hours. Get of the bus at Collage and take a leisure walk towards east following the road to University of the Philippines Los Banos or UPLB. The road is about a kilometer long. The end of the road is the gate of UPLB. You can enter the campus and look around. The mountain behind the campus is the Mount Makiling. Half of the mountain belongs to the UPLB land reserve. The Collage of Forestry occupies the upper part of Mount Makiling. It also has a botanical garden wherein wild species of flora and fauna are preserves at their virgin state. The entry to the botanical garden has some fees to pay. You can stroll the whole garden at your own time. The stroll of the whole campus will take you a day but if you wish there are some jeepneys that passes through the whole campus. The fare is 7.50 pesos per ride. When you have enoughof the campus you can take a jeep to the town. Take a jeepney ride with the sign Los Banos Bayan. This will take you to the town proper and you will observe the daily lives of the people in the community. If you get lost, never hesitate to ask for direction. People there are warm are as in other areas of the country... conversant in English. At the end of the day you can take a ride back to Manila. The bus service to manila is available until eight in the evening. The bus with the sign LRT Taft will bring you back to the bus station in Taft Avenu in Manila. If you wish to spend a night in Los Banos at the Aines Hotel. It is along the road leading to UPLB.

Health and Travel in Philippines

Philippines is a tropical country and a third world one. Third world connotes that the services, infrastructure, sanitation and a lot more are not in good condition. Tropical country connotes some exoticism with it, If you have been in the Philippines you will see a lovely country with extremes to offer. You will not be enjoying the best or the worst of the country if you are in bad health. Here are some tips to take of your health while in the Philippines.
First and foremost you must be healthy before going into the country. That means you are not harboring any disease that can be introduced into the country like avian flu or SARS. There are tourist that has been in other country but is not yet sick when they arrive into the country because their illness is in the incubation period. That is unfortunate since the host country can be blamed for his illness and that is bad for the tourist industry.

There are several endemic diseases in the Philippines that can be dangerous to tourists. The Philippines has tropical diseases that can be contracted by tourists. Philippines is endemic for malaria, filariasis, shistosomiasis, capillariasis and several other diseases. The risk if malaria is very low since they are now under control and most are located in the forested areas. There is no need to take prophylaxis anti malaria drugs. Should you develop fever upon your retrun tell the physician you had been in the country and malaria must be one of the diseases to consider. It is also true with filariasis.
Schistosomiasis is confined in some areas in Mindoro island and in Mindanao. They are present in some rivers harboring the snail intermediate host. Prevention of schistosomiasis is through avoidance of wading in infected water. The greatest dangers are from diarrhea. There are many organisms causing diarrhea. The key to prevention is to have clean food and water. Make sure the foods are well cooked. Avoid raw food and take only distilled bottled water especially when you are out of your hotel. Do not over eat when you travel. Avoid meat as this will reduce the bulk of your stool. Eat plenty of whole grain bread, rice or plenty of vegetables but well prepared, cooked as much as possible.
Avoid crowded places especially depressed areas. Tuberculosis, dengue fever, cholera, and other exotic disease can be present there as well as harm from inhospitable inhabitants. You will enjoy your stay best in the countryside where the people are courteous and helpful. You only need to wear a smile always. Once you get ill there are plenty of local physicians who are more inclined to diagnose clinically rather than through laboratory test. They are use to that since most of their patients cannot afford laboratory procedures. Take care of your health and have a pleasant stay.

Travel to Zamboanga City Philippines

I got the chance to travel to Zamboanga City because of a malaria epidemic management training with participants from Sulu and Tawi-Tawi. The trip took an hour and a half from Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Manila) to Zamboanga City. A van from Garden Orchid Hotel is waiting for our arrival to the city and a brief travel to the hotel followed. The hotel is just a stone throw away from the airport. It has good amenities, swimming pool, nice hotel worker and a good accommodation. There is centralized air-conditioning with warm water at the tub.

Moving around the city is particularly frightful during that time. Three teachers had been kidnapped the previous day while the three Red Cross Volunteers are still in the hands of the kidnappers demanding ransom. I asked one of the hotel guards how to go to the church and he instructed me to take a jeep with Caneras - Airport sign. This is the jeep to the city proper. I went out and took the jeep at an early morning. I think by that time the would be kidnappers are still in bed and i will be able to attend church service. I reach the church in time and find the place peaceful. I move around a bit after the service and see for myself the market. I bought some Sarong and shawl to present it to my wife on my return home. (She has gone crazy with my travel to this place.)It is still early during that time and the market is already busy. Many people are not mindful of the risk of kidnapping as this place is several miles away from Basilan, Tawi-tawi or Sulu. It is a beautiful city and you only have your thought of fear which will interfere on your enjoyment of a beautiful place like Zamboanga City. I ride the same jeep and I arrive safe and sound at the hotel.

During the conversation with one of the participants from Sulu, he really said that way back in Sulu, they are very careful because the Abu Sayaaf is no longer an ideological group but already a group that kidnaps just for money and nothing else. They are composed of young people in their twenties and it will be a long time if nobody will control their activities. To my friends from Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Basilan take good care of your movements. I hope to see you again in once piece and breathing.

Travel Subic, Zambales, Philippines

My travel was courtesy of malaria training. We handled the training of workers
from Pilipinas Shell Foundation Kilusang Ligtas Malaria of Palawan Province and Health personnel of Palawan Provincial Health Office. We stared at the College of Saint Benilde Hotel in Arellano corner Estrada Street in Manila. It was a very good hotel. It was established as the training facility of the Dela Salle College for Hotel and Restaurant Management course. The food and acomodation is excellent, the people are courteous and polite and you will feel ambiance of a five star hotel. WE stayed in the hotel for 3 days. The hotel has surveillance camera installed. It helped us recover a cell phone left charging and forgotten by one of the participants. The replay of the recording we were able to identify the person who got it and luckily it was returned. Thanks to the security cameras of the CSB hotel.
On the fourth day we traveled to Subic, Zambales. It is a former American Military base which was abandoned after the eruption of the Mount Pinatubo, We took a hired van to reach the area. We stayed at Subic Park Hotel. It is a low cost hotel but the service and location is fine. It is along the beach overlooking the shipyard of Hanjin Corporation. The purpose of the venue here is field practicum. The mountain in Subic is endemic for malaria and the malaria situation is aggravated
by the migration of workers into the area attracted to the work opprtunites by the shipyard industries. This situation is expected because of movement of population. There are several entertainment site inside the Subic Base Metropolitan Area (SBMA). There are food establishments, hotels, casino,specialty restaurants, SPA and a lot more. Your budget may find its range here. You have plenty of choice. There are former US military personnel who revisits the area for rest and recreation. During our stay there are two big US Military Vessels docked at the port. SBMA is now being transformed into a special industrial zone as well as a recreation area. To reach Subic and Olongapo from Manila, take a bus along the EDSA Street in Cubao with Olongapo signboard and alight at the Terminal in Olongapo. Find your way into the SBMA through the Friendship gate. I must give you a warning that prostitution is one of the attractions.

Emergency Trip to Real, Quezon, Philippines

The office called up and directed us to go to Real, Quezon, Philippines. The driver fetched us and we travel to Real. It is an hour drive passing through the towns of Kalayaan, Paete, Pakil, Siniloan and Famy. Once on Famy we took a right turn going east. We are heading through Sierra Madre mountains. It id a zigzag ride but the road is well maintained. We pass through forested areas, streams, and rows of bamboo houses. It is a place formerly endemic for malaria. Malaria is gone now for more than five years. It is raining when we travell to Real. There are forest products along the road. There are tree ferns. It is use to culture orchids. There are also roots of dead trees dug and converted into furniture. These are odd shaped single piece furniture from the roots of old trees. Shape of the roots dictated the design of the furniture. Once we get over the other side of the mountain range we can see the open sea. It is the Pacific Ocean. The road is along the sea and it is lined by several beach resorts. There is not much guest in the resorts. It is rainy season in the Philippines. The people usually frequented the resort hotels during summer time which is from April to June. Now is the best season to visit this resorts to escape winter in temperate countries.
The climate in Real during December is very nice. It is pleasant, cool and relaxing. During summer the temperature her reach more than 30 degrees Centigrage. There are also residential houses along the roads. People here are hospitable and they love to entertain foreigners. You can enjoy your stay here. The weather is just fine and the people are warm. Fresh fish from the sea is available every morning except during
monsoon rains where people cannot go to fish. Enjoy your stay in the beach. Enjoy Philippine sun during your stay.