Very hospitable people and great food, this is what I can say about Jaro, Leyte.

I went for a vacation at the house of my wife’s grandmother last week which is in Jaro, Leyte wherein they are also celebrating the feast of their patron. It’s an hour flight from Manila to Tacloban then another hour by jeepney from Tacloban to the town proper. I travelled without my wife, as she needs to take care of our little baby in Manila.

I’ve really gained weight staying there as I had a taste of a lot of food:

I brought my wife and her family to Aling Tonyas Seafood Paluto Restaurant earlier for dinner. We always go here if we look for some seafoods to eat, good place, good service, food is great and most of all, it’s 5-minutes away from our house. Aling Tonyas Paluto is located in Seaside Macapagal Boulevard, that’s 5 minutes away from SM Mall of Asia and a minute away from Buendia-Roxas Boulevard.

Here’s a list of the food we ordered:

• baked tahong (baked mussels)
• kinilaw na talaba (oyster cooked in vinegar, it’s not really cooking since there is no heat involved)

We know that Pansol in Calamba, Laguna is the haven for most Filipinos trying to escape heat during summer, and we may call it the “Swimming Pool Capital of the Philippines” as it has a wide array of swimming pools available for rent, wether public or private.

Last sunday, me and my family was there, rented out a private pool that suits our needs.

• 2 pools, adult and kid
• a videoke
• 4 air-conditioned rooms, for my family and my wifes’ relatives
• a refrigerator
• gas stove
• barbecue grill
• 2 shower rooms
• 2 comfort rooms

Me and my family spent the holy week in the city of pines, Baguio city. We left Manila at around 4am last March 20 yet arrive 2pm in the afternoon due to the traffic in several areas like NLEX, Mabalacat, Tarlac and Pangasinan as there’s a lot of travelers wanting to spend the lenten season to provinces.

If you are about to visit Paradise Philippines soon, it pays if you know some tagalog words. Though we are good in english, it is still better if you know how to speak some tagalog words which are mainly used. This will help you dealing more comfortably with the locals.

Here’s some of the basics:

A. Greetings (Pagbati):

The word “maganda” means “good” or “beautiful”. And “po” is a syllable that radiates “respect”·

Good morning – Magandang umaga po (pronounced: Ma-gan-dang u-ma-ga po)·

Good noon – Magandang tanghali po (Ma-gan-dang tang-ha-li po)·