BECOMING RICH

Everybody wants to become rich and everybody wants to know the secrets.  While many are giving their opinions about the right ways to earn, to save and to become wealthy, not all really understand what wealth really means.  What immediately comes in our mind when we say wealthy is basically having the bulky savings, tangible and valued properties.  We can easily recall the powerful names of the business tycoons, industry leaders, owners of the giant conglomerates, and CEO entrepreneurs because they practically own the biggest space where we live.   Although it always associated with money and ownership but we can look richness at the bigger picture and put ourselves in some equations.  Talking about wealth is talking about money. Giving an unsolicited advice about money matter is not my forte.  I am not expert in business, neither a financial expert, planner nor adviser for I would be a financially stable if I am.  But learning that there are people out there who are in debt, in dire expense and trying to make ends meet despite earning far heftier than I am, I feel a bit confident to stand and give my 2-cent about some financial literacy.

Based on personal experience, the big lessons in life that I’d learned the hard way are the rejection from borrowing and knowing your limit.  As soon as I able to survive the toughest financial battle I had, I enforced myself to value the importance of budget.  Despite my smaller earning compare to those I know collecting decent pay, I had able to manage my finance just enough with my needs.  For decades I was never into debt except in recent year when I had a lapse of judgment of obtaining it for the purpose of purchasing a property that was not certain.  That is another story but going back to financial literacy, I am not obsessed in luxuries such as gadgets, perfumes, signature apparels and food trips in fine dining restaurants.   I think many people are too addicted and hyped to join in trends taking for granted to save.

Spending gratifies us, out of control on it will infect us into the epidemic debt.  Managing money is a matter of money mindset.  I am not saying I have a robust savings on my bank account while in fact I don’t really have but at least I don’t have debt due to financial inflation.  But I believe and in fact practicing it that to save, you have to adhere to the equation that goes earning less saving is equal to expenses.  The speed of growing your savings is up now on how much you will less for your savings.

Yes, wealthy is richness.  However, wealth has different perceptions depend on the individual’s opinion.  Our precooked and subjective perception is that it’s about money and property.  But at the end of the day, it is really depends on individual how they define wealth.  For some health is wealth which is really very true.  For what is the value of your hard earned savings if you are just using them in your severe illness?  Treasure your health for if you are well you can work and make a savings.  If wealth is being healthy, some people look at it in a more humanitarian way where they attribute wealth into family and friends.  The love, respect and care you are giving to your family and relatives will make you rich someway.  If you are kind, you will become rich in friends because true friends are blessing that is incomparable to any amount of monetary.  Being kind is wealth that cannot equal to any valued materials for men are not in bread alone.

It doesn’t really has to compete for the biggest savings and assets to call you rich for the real rich are those who can response to their needs anytime they need, whatever it may be.  It really depends on what is your need.  If your requirements in life are to have simple foods ready on the table, attain peace of mind in your social being and well-being, can enjoy simple less expensive happiness and you can easily have them in any given time, then you are rich indeed. It doesn’t really mean you need to have millions of money as long as you have the resource to sustain your chosen lifestyle.  You may just have tenth of million but your lifestyle’s need and requirements fit in a very low cost of living, you are rich for that amount of wealth is more than enough to you.  This might be hypothetical but it can happen.  Learn to live within your means.  I always advise to learn the art of living the simplicity for life should just be really simple.

By Alex V. Villamayor
May 29, 2015

SAGALA

Aside from feast of Saints during the month of May in Philippines, this month is also the season of blooming flowers and in Christendom it is also season of Flores de Mayo and Santacruzan.  In Philippines, these two are also known Sagala.  Through the years, watching Sagala during the month of flowers is always much awaited and anticipated.  Since the occasion is during summer season where schools are off, it is an experience for children looking forward to witness these events that became part of their curious mind as they grow.  For children, it is their humble dream to become part of these momentous events that gives confidence.  Taking part or watching live Sagala is the actual lessons that can only read in books and heard from grannies’ old stories.  I’ve seen the occasions in different times and personalities while I was growing up.  As always, the fine-looking faces, nice dresses and big smiles are marking in my memory.  Back then, the procession was so simple but worth to wait, no competition of jewelleries and accessories, no fireworks, no generators, no emergency lights but only lanterns, candles and torches yet so meaningful, appreciated and unforgettable.

Flores de Mayo is about the flower offerings during the whole month of May as devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary in honour for her purity and holiness.  Part of the occasion is the nine days novena where on the last day of flowers offering is a pageant called Santacruzan in honour of Queen Helena for finding the Holly Cross which believed to be where Jesus Christ was crucified and died.  According to the old belief, three hundred years after Jesus was died, Queen Helena was dreaming of the Holy Cross which she searched and found in mountain of Calvary.  As a Catholic dominant country, the Sagala is held in many places in Philippines where the different personalities were personified in procession arranged in order.  The characters in Santacruzan are Methuselah, Queen Banderada, the Aetas, Queen Mora, Queen Fe, Queen Esperanza, Queen Caridad, Queen Abogada, Queen Sentenciada, Queen Justicia, Queen Judith of Pethulia, Queen Sheba, Queen Esther, Queen Samaritana, Veronica, Mary Magdalene, Virgin Mary, Mary mother of James, eight little angles each holding the letters to read Ave Maria, then the different images of Marian as Divine Shepherdess, Queen of Stars, Rosa Mystica, Queen of Peace, Queen of Prophets, Queen of Heaven, Queen of Virgins, and Queen of Flowers.  And last on the parade is Queen Helena escorted by her son Prince Constantino.

Sagala is a tradition of devotion inherited from our great-great grandparents that we should pass to our great-great grandchildren without changing the context of what tradition has really taught.  It may have different faces and presentation through the years but the message it conveys is the same message back in old years.  Sadly the occasion is changing today.  Santacruzan is a blessed tradition to observe but instead, the occasion becomes platform of presentation of expensive costumes and accessories, grandstanding by inviting famous personality just to recognize the organizers, commercialization with the obvious advertisements of the sponsors.  And with no offense, it becomes instrument for the third sex to show their feminine side.  Santacruzan symbolizes the prominent women of a religion-historical occasion.  Men playing queens is disrespect to the distinguished women who played important role in our devotion.   They are not fictional.  We are giving life to these women, we should respect their femininity and our holy devotion.  It is not fashion show of clothes, glamour and sponsor.   Let us preserve the sacredness and sanctity of our spiritual feasts like Santacruzan and Flores de Mayo.

Joining Sagala, whether the queens, the escorts, the organizers or the supporting watching people is not only for the glamour but more than any display and appreciation of pleasing personality are the lessons of knowing the culture, tradition, community involvement and being cooperative and approachable individual.

By Alex V. Villamayor

May 22, 2015.

THE GRANDEUR OF SAGADA

Sagada is a very nice place to enjoy exploration and adventure in nature and activities. It offers an array of outdoor activities that will dare every guest’s courage, excitement and fondness.  The travel alone challenges you to excite the long crisscross upward road.  Trekking, spelunking, rappelling, and even swimming are just some to enjoy and stun.  But it is not just the physical activities, more than these is the nature itself that pride the place.  The serene Sagada offers a very relaxing atmosphere blended with its temperate weather.  The clear blue sky that domes above the greeneries gives a very pleasant to sight.  From its gigantic mountains surrounding the scenery in green, towering massifs, cliffs, and awe-inspiring caverns, the captivating charm of Sagada is jaw-dropping view and a striking image that captures every guest’s affection, addiction and perfection.  If you are looking for a peace of mind, meditation, or spiritual experience then Sagada is the right place because this place is too far from bustling mega city.

 It starts in the break of dawn to enjoy the breathtaking sunrise at Kiltepan’s perfect viewpoint.  Watching the enthralling sunrise fascinates every spectator to feel the mystique of nature.  It also inspires every eye’s beholder to feel the love of God that reminds another beautiful day has just given to enjoy.  While the sun is rising, the fog slowly moves floating in the air to give zero visibility.  It is artistry to see the falling rays of the sunlight passing between every twig of Pine trees down to the ground.  In morning, the temperate air kisses on your face and embraces the body and soul, a moment simply perfect to sip the hot beverage.  Mountain dew damps window glasses from the fog outside.   As the sun moves toward the 3^rd quarter of the morning, trekking challenges everyone’s endurance.  Stunning Bomod-ok Falls nestling down the hill is a four-hour of non-stop and sweaty kilometres of hiking, walking on the green paddies irrigated by natural rainforest.  It is a long hour of trekking but once down there awaits the big waterfalls inviting to plunge the cold, pure and crystal clear water.  There, all the tiredness and sweat will be gone and will be rewarded by lessons of history and legacy.  Optionally but not recommended with fear in confined space, medical and health condition, accepting the challenge of cave exploration ranging the difficulty level from moderate to hard to very hard is rewarding when accomplished.  For usually four hour inside the cave, the aggressive and brave have to crawl thru small passages, take rope to climb or go down, walk the slippery descending and ascending trails and take short swim if needed.  It all happen in Lumiang and Sumaguing caves.  When endured all these physical and daring activities, the feeling is relief, accomplished, and successful.

But before these nature adventures, Sagada is known for the mystifying hanging coffin in the cliffs made of limestone and going there will never complete without witnessing this old traditional burial of Ifugao, making the place a mystical.  Behind a church is the graveyard while walking further is the solemn site of the hanging coffins.  It is always a strange feeling inside any forest or mountain, but the idea of knowing the place is burial ground, trekking the long way and the echo add the creepy feeling.  But once there, all weariness and fear will turn into admiration.  Hanging coffin is an ancient practice of the indigenous culture and burial tradition for more than 2,000 years.  It is the traditional way of burying a qualified individual, which should be an elder, by putting the dead body in a fetus position to fit in the tight space of the coffin.  It is believed that in this way, the deceased can still watch over their family, easier to raise and go with the Creator when the resurrection comes rather than burying six feet underground.

As the common byword of every guest that goes “I survived Sagada”, I am then now more than a conqueror.  To date, my visit to Sagada is the most daring and physical jaunt that demanded me the courage and confidence to do the extreme.  Sagada in my mind will always be nice place to live in.  Truly a magnificent, majestic, mystique and enchanting place, Sagada imparted me not only its physical features but also its rich culture, tradition, customs and history.   Apart from these, its tranquility, silence, cold weather, lavish greeneries and life simplicity attracted me most to regard Sagada as one of my favourite destinations.

There are two routes going to Sagada.  Take the Manila-Baguio-Sagada-Banaue-Manila route or do the reverse, going up via Banaue and down via the City of Pines.  But a travel via Banuae route is an alternative than the more popularly via Baguio City.

There are quite many bus terminals along EDSA or in some points of the capital Manila.  Since it is a 9 – 10 hours long drive, it is more comfortable to take the night trip that starts at 9PM as you need to rest, or sleep through most of the whole travel, with some regular stopover for meals and personal necessities.  Besides, most of the buses leave at night to catch the early trip when arriving at Banaue.  At the Banaue bus terminal there are jeepneys, and sometimes mini-buses or vans,  waiting to take passengers to Sagada. The ride takes another 3 to 4 hours to get to Sagada.

MAJESTIC BANAUE RICE TERRACES

As a growing child, I have always seen in pictures the awesome and majestic beauty of Banaue Rice Terraces perfectly sitting pretty in the high mountains of Ifugao.  The green paddies in stairway heading to sky design are obviously marvellous, awe-inspiring and impressive.  Oftentimes, the pictures were vividly printed in calendars, notebooks, posters, postcards and magazines.  Since then, I always wanted to see Banaue rice terraces up-close and personal until it happened just recently.  And I will be always grateful having a close encounter with this splendid, spectacular and amazing place that I regard as one of my dream destinations.

Coming from Manila, travelling the 300 kilometers (at least) is pretty long but with the fresh, breezy and cold weather embraces on your body and personality as well, travelling the too long, zigzag and uphill road to Banaue is rewarding and an experience.  Although the early morning doesn't conforms my expectation to witness the natural charm of Banaue rice terraces, seeing it in person nevertheless has paid off the zeal that is worth to feel its presence more than anything else.  At our standpoint, six o’clock in the morning overshadows the panoramic view of the terraces while the sun still rises from her behind.  I believe at least the nine o’clock is where the sunlight will fully expose the true colour of the lovely, marvelous, admirable and spectacular terraces.  But then, it doesn't cause my admiration to cease to this lovely place.

Geographically, the Banaue rice terraces is in Ifugao.  Batad and Bangaan are the two proud mountains covering the terraces and are sharing the prestige of tourists’ admiration. Sitting at 5,000 feet above sea level makes the terraces enjoy the cold temperature.   Measuring 4,000 square miles of the mountain side, the dramatic landscape of the Banuae Rice Terraces has been always dubbed and recognized as the “Eighth Wonder of the World”.  Thru the great craftsmanship and creativity, the paddies that look stairway to sky were carved by the indigenous ancestors’ bare hands two thousand years ago making it their heritage and legacy.  This wonder of Banaue rice terraces is still maintained to date by an ancient irrigation system from the rainforest, a rare instance of bringing back us to the dawn of times.

It was a great experience especially when I first stepped my foot on its brown to red soil, I felt the instant connection in me with nature.  Banuae rice terraces simply wowed me with its powerful, serene, and attractive beauty that wrap the whole highland.  Looking the green sprout grain blown by the breeze and rough wind, it metaphorically depicts the dancing souls swinging left and right.  It is like the tranquil waves waving from side to side repeatedly running from down to up.  I just love the idea of being in the place that many have dreamed too.  Walking the paddies between the rice fields, I feel the preference to stay in a place that is so close to nature.  It brings back my feeling to reach my dream of living in a garden house when I get retired.

I feel how lucky the locals for having own the Banaue rice terraces.  Philippines has 7,107 islands and islets, although each one has its own blessings to call but not everyone has the blessings to own a magnificent legacy like Banaue and nothing can compare the way I feel about this only man made wonder sculpted from this earth.

By Alex V. Villamayor

May 8, 2015

Travelling by land using public commute, there are transportation bus terminals along EDSA and some points in capital Manila regularly travelling from there as your starting point up to Baguio, Sagada, and Banaue whichever is your destination.   Going directly from Manila to Banuae takes approximately 9 hours with regular stops along the way for meals and personal necessities.  Once there, take jeepney ride to take you to your final destination where Batad is the most famous for its majestic rice terraces.

From travel blog site, here is the most common way on how to get to Banaue thu Manila.  Ohayami Transit (Contact No: 0927-6493055 / 02-5160501) is the only bus company that offers direct trip from Manila to Banaue. Their buses depart Manila at 9PM and 10PM daily and arrive in Banaue around 7AM the next day. Their terminal is located along  Lacson Avenue, in the corner of Fajardo Street and near University of Santo Tomas. On holidays and peak season, additional trips are mounted to accommodate the high traffic.