Focus: 10 Reasons to go to Belgium (BusinessWorld)

 Originally published in Businesssworld Weekender on August 5, 2016 (click here for original story)

Focus: 10 Reasons to Go to Belgium

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By Jennee Grace U. Rubrico

Belgium, a tiny country in western Europe, is easy to overlook. Nestled among bigger and more popular travel destinations, the de facto capital of the European Union rarely comes out as the first — or second, or even third — option of holidaymakers when they plan a trip to the continent.

Few seem to know what Belgium can offer that its neighbors do not already do better. It has a fashion capital in Antwerp, for instance, but it is Paris that is widely recognized as the City of Style.

Belgium is overshadowed by other European countries in terms of tourism readiness. In the 2015 edition of the World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Rankings, which looks at countries’ tourism environment, infrastructure and cultural resources, Belgium takes the 21^st spot out of 141 countries, lagging behind most of the countries with which it shares borders. France comes in second, Germany, third, and the Netherlands 14^th. The UK, at fifth place, also outpaces Belgium. The only neighbor that Belgium overtakes is Luxembourg (26^th).

The recent terrorist attack on Zaventem airport and the Maelbeek subway station in Brussels have not done the country’s tourism sector any favors.

But if Belgium is eclipsed by the tourist magnets that are its neighbors, it is because the country is judged on standards that play on the strength of others. Enveloped in an irreverence that borders on flippancy, Belgium revels in its role as the eccentric sister in a family of aristocrats that is Europe.

Belgium’s reputation of being cold, apathetic and boring is contradicted by its graffiti-embellished walls, famous comic strip characters, and a beer-making industry that has spawned hundreds of beer varieties. When a country’s national mascot is a little boy urinating, it cannot be completely oblivious to fun or devoid of personality — even if this can be on the unconventional side.

VIEW OF the canal and buildings in Bruges, about an hour away from Brussels. — FREEPIK.COM

Here are 10 reasons to visit Belgium: 

Terengganu’s understated charms (BusinessWorld)

Originally appeared on the March 27, 2015 issue of BusinessWorld. Posted late because I only just discovered that this story came out last year. Click here for the original article and more photos

By Jennee Grace U. Rubrico

Terengganu’s understated charms

Posted on March 27, 2015

SCULPTING a section of wood that will form part of the hull of a 50-foot boat, the shipwright says that the vessel, when completed, can travel the seas for up to a century.

  

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Terengganu sights: a shipwright builds a boat at Pulau duyong

“It is made of cengal,” the man, whose withered face makes it difficult to ascertain his age, declares through Syed, our tour guide and translator, as he dusts off wood shavings. “Yes, (it will last) up to 100 years.”

The boat maker from Pulau Duyong (Mermaid Island) in Terengganu cannot tell us what makes cengal (pronounced che-nguhl) special. But Syed, a staff member of the local campus of Malaysian university UCSI who used to work for the tourism board, says that the hardwood, endemic to Malaysia’s forests, has been the timber of choice of the state’s shipwrights for generations.

Duyong Boatyard builds yachts and fishing boats, the shipwright says as he takes out pictures of the vessels they completed over the years. It takes a year and a half to build a big vessel, three months for a small one.

Patrons pay a premium for their work. “The price of one fishing boat is 800,000 ringgit,” Syed says, adding that a yacht can go up to 5 million ringgit. The shipwrights build the boats one at a time.

Two relatives join the boat maker at the dry dock. He mentions that the shipwrights of Terengganu build boats from memory and do not use plans. The trade, he says, was learned from their fathers and passed on to their sons.

Nowadays, orders come in trickles. The artisans say that only one other family still makes boats on the island. “They are closed right now, because they don’t have projects.”

Provincial beauty (Businessworld)

First appeared in the Aug 7, 2014 issue of Businessworld. Click here for the original story 

Special thanks to family for bringing us around and opening our eyes to the beautiful lass that is Negros occiental.

Text and photos by Jennee Grace U. Rubrico

Provincial beauty

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Negros Occidental greets its visitors with a sunrise that paints the sky pink and purple, and sugarcane plantations that turn both sides of the highway into seas of green. Its people speak in soft voices, their inflection melodious, and one wonders if they ever get into a fight.

One of the rivers in Mambukal where bathing is allowed.

The breeze ruffles the trees and blows some of the summer heat away, and makeshift one-room houses with earthen floors and a Singer sewing machine still stand in subdivisions, beside mansions with multi-car garages.

Its capital city of Bacolod, known for its chicken inasal, pastries, and the Masskara festival, is opening up and hosting new malls and peak hour traffic along Lacson Street, its main thoroughfare. Bars make for a lively nightlife in a section of the city, while on parcels of land farther away, the state of its economy is seen in new villages being built by the country’s biggest real estate companies.

But even on the cusp of urbanization, Negros Occidental holds on to quaint provincial pursuits. And like the refined country lass that it is, Negros Occidental does not flaunt its beauty, choosing instead to let suitors discover for themselves its many attractions.

ROMANCE IN THE RUINS
In Talisay City, less than an hour away from Bacolod, stand the ruins of a mansion that hints at the opulence in which the landed gentry lived. Story has it that The Ruins, which is touted as the Taj Mahal of Negros, was built by sugar baron Don Mariano Lacson for his first wife, the Portuguese Maria Braga.

To see it up close is to know why a skeleton of what was once an elegant home that was burned down by the US Air Force in World War II could draw so many visitors -- and catch the eye of the makers of a local teleserye about star-crossed lovers who are born and raised in an hacienda. The multi-storey structure, which looks more like an unfinished building than a victim of arson, bewitches at dusk with its Italianate architecture and egg-white glossed neo-Romanesque pillars.

In one wing on the ground floor, a glass chandelier hangs from the ceiling, belying the extent of the damage done by the fire on the building’s integrity. Although the floor is cracked, the staircases are intact, and the sections are held in place by intricate columns.

Sky Ride at Campuestuhan

The second storey, where a belvedere is located -- to allow the owner of the mansion to gaze at his property, according to the tour guide -- the damage dealt on the building is more telling. At the landing, a section of the floor that is covered in plastic indicates renovation work and only allows for a path that is about a foot wide for people to walk through. The cement floor is broken in places and when a girl jumped off a raised platform after her picture was taken, the building shook.

From the vantage point, the grounds and a classical fountain that has been fronting the building since the 1920s evoke romance. How many parties have the grounds hosted? How many dalliances has the fountain seen in the 90-odd years it has stood there?

The building itself holds a secret that betrays the owner’s affection for his wife -- on the pillars that hold it up, M’s that are rotated sideways to face each other are embossed. The initials are said to be Don Mariano’s way of showing his love for Maria.

HIGHLAND ADVENTURES
Talisay knows how to have a good time, being home to a mountain resort that offers fun and adventures for children of all ages. Campuestuhan Highlands is a carnival for kids, complete with playgrounds, park rides and swimming pools. For the adventurous, a suite of outdoor activities covering an obstacle course, horseback riding, zip line, and canopy walk are available. Those who require an extra boost of adrenalin can try mounting a bike and cycling on a tightrope with the Sky Ride.

The squeals of delight may drown out Campuestuhan’s quiet grace, but those who pause to take in the view of the mountains that abut the property on one side and the valley that stretches out on the other are blessed with a glimpse of the resort’s substance. Wait for that magic hour before sunset, and on the platform for the canopy walk, see the property bathed in diffused orange light that brings out the inner radiance of everything it touches. This, along with the breeze that blows feathery kisses on the face, makes the stretches of dirt road one needs to maneuver to get to the resort worth the effort.

TOUGH TREK
Meanwhile, an hour’s ride down a road through sugarcane fields on a well-maintained highway would take one to the foot of the dormant volcano Mt Kanlaon, where a sanctuary of a different kind rests. Mambukal Resort is a natural showcase of 12 waterfalls that requires stamina, determination and sense of humor to explore.

The ruins of the mansion of sugar baron Don Mariano Lacson, also known as the Taj Mahal of Negros.

The mountain trek starts out difficult for beginners and only becomes more challenging, but those who embark on it can turn back at any time. Sometime after setting out, a suspicion that the waterfalls serve more as markers of progress rather than the destination for the journey sneaks into the mind. From the base of the trail, where guides are available to assist adventurers, to the first waterfall takes 10 minutes for the moderately fit, more for the sedentary. To climb all the way to the 12th waterfall would take three hours, according to the estimates of John Rey, our guide.

Between the second and the third waterfalls, the trail turns into an obstacle course that requires arm and core strength, smarts and a healthy dose of self-depreciation to get through. The gaps between the footholds are too wide, and arms are needed to pull one’s weight to close them. Looking like a monkey that has just started learning to swing on trees while navigating the section is not only allowed, it is likely.

The trek is on rocky ground lined with boulders, with the mountain on one side and a continuous flow of bodies of water on the other. It has a slope that starts out benign and turns into a challenge to the mind and body by the third waterfall. But it is worth enduring not only for the satisfaction that comes from measuring up against nature, but also for the song of the brook that accompanies the trekker, the serenity that the waterfalls offers, the trees that rise from the walls of the mountain, and the rejuvenating pools that are sprinkled with stones piled to look like people to ward off the spirits.

For those who cannot rough it, Mambukal’s vantage area for bat watching allows visitors to be mesmerized by the normally nocturnal flying mammals the way a certain ancient vampiric count with the same disposition placed ladies under his spell.

Restoration can be found in the resort spa and the dipping pools that draw water from the volcano’s hot springs. But heed the warning of the closed off section that cautions visitors of sulphurous boiling mud -- it has been known to burn the intrepid.

Drive out of the resort at sundown to be blessed with evening grace in a horizon that is bathed by the sun’s last rays. Be humbled and inspired.

Like a lady who knows her worth, Negros Occidental does not draw attention to itself. Only those who pursue it would realize that the sunrise of bursting colors that greet them when they hit Negros airspace, and the sun-kissed fields of sugarcane that wave to them on the highway are but the beginning of a journey into beauty.

Bohol, as the dust settles (BusinessWorld)

Posted on 07:01 PM, July 17, 2014

First published in the July 19, 2014 issue of BusinessWorld.  Click here for original article

Special thanks go to my sister-in-law's family's hospitality, and to her father for driving us around. Without such hospitality, this story would not have been possible. 

By Jennee Grace U. Rubrico

Bohol, as the dust settles

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The broken highways, damaged hotels and the rubble that centuries-old heritage buildings have been reduced to continue to bear witness to the devastation wrought by what the Bol-anons dub kinagrabihan -- the worst catastrophe to hit Bohol in recent history.

Damage caused by last year’s earthquake to the Church of San Pedro in the town Loboc, Bohol. -- AFP

Eight months after the magnitude 7.2 temblor hit the island on Oct. 15, 2013, workers continue to sift through the ruins of Spanish-era churches that had been held together by a mortar of egg white, arranging and labelling stones based on the sections they occupied in the places of worship in an effort to save what they can of the landmarks that helped secure for Bohol a prominent place in the annals of Philippine history and tourism.

“We have not yet been able to take out the multicab under the rubble in front,” a worker at the ruins of the flattened Loon Church -- the biggest in Visayas and Mindanao before it collapsed -- says in the vernacular. “We also cannot move those pillars,” he adds, pointing to wooden columns at the center of the closed-off property that can be reached through a highway that has been rerouted due to rehabilitation work on impassable roads.

“They’re so big, machinery will be needed. We don’t even know how they placed those when this was being built. They’re too heavy for people to carry.”

Behind the ruins of the church that is said to have taken all of three minutes to crumble, locals who have built temporary shelters beside fallen houses point to sink holes that swallowed entire classrooms then spit out sulphuric mud that skinned the soles of their feet.

“We cannot rebuild, because we have been told that the area is still dangerous,” the mother of the barangay captain says.

She points to the ocean behind the homes. “The land has risen, the sea has receded, and there are many cracks on the sea floor. Ninety per cent of our livelihood here is fishing, but fishermen don’t want to push to sea because they are afraid that the cracks will suck them in.”

In the neighboring town of Maribojoc as well as in the towns of Loboc and Baclayon, churches, their belfries and stone buildings in different states of ruin are similarly awaiting a verdict on their future.

“We don’t really know what they plan to do with the church,” a local from Maribojoc who was at the site of what was the San Vicente Church said. “They’re gathering the stones, but we don’t know if it will be rebuilt here or in a different location.”

In the capital city of Tagbilaran, where hotels are renovating, the capitol building stands with a partially collapsed wall at its right wing.

Locals involved in tourism note that the toll that the industry took from the earthquake was aggravated by the effects of Typhoon Haiyan, whose impact in the neighboring island of Leyte affected power supply for Bohol.

“The power outage meant that hotels would not have air-conditioning. It was too hot for tourists, and the hotels could not afford generators,” says a local whose trade is to drive tourists around Bohol’s landmarks and attractions.

The devastation can be gut-wrenching. But in the midst of the ruins, the island’s beauty and hope shine through.

Villagers of Maribojoc, Bohol island use bamboo ladders to cross a bridge that was toppled by the 7.2 magnitude quake that hit the area on Oct. 15, 2013. -- AFP

On a Friday afternoon, mass is being heard at the partially damaged Tagbilaran cathedral, whose left wing is covered in scaffolding. Worshippers in office clothes approach the portal, make the sign of the cross, and join in as the congregation sings the hymn. At the plaza fronting it, squealing children chase pigeons around, oblivious to their parents’ call to prepare to head home.

In Carmen, the Chocolate Hills that were eroded by the temblor are now back in shape, and the viewing platform, though much smaller than it used to be and a lot more dangerous, has been cleared of debris and is now accessible.

Even with the bell that used to tower over the platform now standing mute on the ground, the pride of Bohol remains stunning in the sunset, with the fog that envelops the hills creating a mystical aura that transcends disasters natural and man-made.

The Tarsier sanctuary has also kept its appeal. The world’s smallest primate continue to evoke fascination, if not affection, from visitors, ensuring that while they have yet to draw back the many guests who used to drop by, it would only be a matter of time before they will have done so.

And behind Loboc’s gutted church, river cruises continue to operate. On a chilly evening, a coconut-shaped barge plies the river from a jetty in Loay, in search of fireflies.

The insects, when they choose to appear, sparkle in the void, making for both an eerie and fascinating sight, and one may be inclined to think the area enchanted. Adding to the experience are sightings of gleaming egrets that roost on trees, and the sumptuous native food that provides onboard nourishment.

Panglao’s beaches remain pristine and rejuvenating. On a sunny morning at the Dolphin Sanctuary near Balicasag Island, a dozen motorized outriggers sit on azure waters, waiting for the cetacean mammals to appear. Tourists aboard the vessels look around with bated breath, afraid to disturb the very rhythm of the water and scare off the creatures.

Minutes later, a pod of six or seven dolphins bob in and out of the ocean, and the spectators erupt in cheers for what will turn out to be the first of many groups to make an appearance.

Not everyone is impressed. “I expected them to skim the water with their tails and balance balls on their noses,” someone says.

Some feel pity for the dolphins that are being pursued by the boats as soon as they are sighted, although others argue that the creatures must like the attention, or they would not swim so close to the boats.

A snorkelling expedition in the same waters traces the edges of an underwater cliff and showcases the wonders of marine life. Sea creatures of all shapes, colors and sizes swim around the coral reef, which is an explosion of hues against the ocean’s deep shades of blue.

The guide signals, and everyone stops to look down -- many feet below, where the waters are purple, a sea turtle swims, oblivious to the excitement its appearance has caused.

The sun rises over boats in Panglao island in Bohol. -- AFP

The group passes three divers who are exploring the abyss several feet away from the cliff’s edge. Later, the guide directs everyone away from the open sea and closer to the reef, where three giant oysters are resting with their shells open. The guide dives and touches one, and it clams up instantly.

Someone asks for permission to follow suit. “Don’t put your hand near the orifice. There’s a very good chance you will lose it,” the guide warns.

The experience stirs a desire in each individual to take up diving. To witness such beauty is a privilege.

The boat drops anchor on Balicasag Island, and tourists navigate rocky ground to unpack picnic baskets, rest, and swim in the coral filled sea. The smell of grilled fish permeates in the sea breeze and for a moment, life’s little issues are blown away.

On the far end of the island, an East Asian woman takes pictures as her two children play in the water, while in a hut, three white men in beach shorts take a break from the ocean.

A vendor of accessories comes to peddle her wares. After minutes of haggling, the price of two mother-of-pearl necklace-bracelet-earrings sets is halved and a trade is made.

“Salamat kaayo (Thank you so much),” the vendor says. “Kamo pa jod ang among buena mano (You were the first sale we’ve made).”

When the boat lifts anchor a few hours later, it is to set out to Virgin Island, a sandbar off Panglao. On the strip of sand that is visible in the ebbing tide, a buko (young coconut) vendor reveals the secret of the starfish to a clueless visitor as others frolic under overcast clouds and watch a jellyfish and sea urchin fight in seaweed-covered waters.

As dusk settles and staying out at sea is no longer feasible, Panglao offers its coastal beaches. With its placid waters, picture-perfect beach and a cotton candy sunset, the Dumaluan Beach Resort entices weary frolickers into its shores. There are videoke rooms for those who wish to relax to music, but if they end up being occupied, a musician with a harp goes around the cottages, playing classic tunes for change, to pipe in a festive vibe to the tranquil setting.

The serenity of the night brings to mind an earlier conversation with the locals of Balicasag Island. As batik-painted clothing billow in the wind outside a sari-sari store that sells snacks and water to tourists, a woman manning the store looks out to the ocean before offering a glimpse of the catastrophes’ impact on Bohol’s tourism.

“There was a time after the incidents when tourists did not arrive in the island at all,” she says. “Now, it really is not the same since the earthquake and Yolanda, but at least we are seeing some visitors coming back.”

- See more at: http://www.bworldonline.com/weekender/content.php?id=91107#sthash.QHUDtVFJ.dpuf

Villa Escudero: Glamorizing country life (BusinessWorld

Written for BusinessWorld Weekender, published May 16, 2014. Click here for original article

Travel & Tourism

Posted on 06:18 PM, May 15, 2014

Text and Photos By Jennee Grace U. Rubrico

Villa Escudero: Glamorizing country life

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IT IS a place where buffalo rides are comfortable, feasts are held beside a child-friendly waterfall, and guests can dip their feet in a stream on a hot day without worrying about getting bitten by mosquitoes or other bugs.

(from top)LABASIN LAKE, where guests can go bamboo rafting; the facade of the AERA Museum, which is built to look like a church and Who’s Sexy, the cart or the carabao? One of the buffalo-pulled carts used in Villa Escudero to transport guests.

Villa Escudero Plantations and Resort, a tourist destination south of Manila, gets up to 1,000 visitors a day during peak season for glamorizing country living.

The lack of gilded gates to announce the property’s presence sets the stage for the Villa Escudero show, the easy-to-miss wooden sign by the highway that points to the dusty road leading to the plantation drawing guests deeper into the charade.

In Villa Escudero, the “carabao ride” does away with the leathery-hide-against-seat-of-the-pants experience in favor of the classier and infinitely more pleasant roofed-cart-with-cushioned-seats variety.

It sprinkles a dash of romance into the frenzy of the barrio fiesta by moving the festivities out of the house and into an aquatic setting. Visitors set plates laden with Filipino food down on tables which rise from a pool filled with ankle-deep water that is cool to the feet and teeming with fish small enough to delight toddlers. The man-made waterfall that children bathe in and lovers use as a background for selfies, mushy or otherwise, looms over the revelry.

It is this promise of a fun, hassle-free time in a rustic setting that gained the 40-hectare resort -- carved out of a 300-hectare coconut plantation at the border of Laguna and Quezon provinces -- its reputation as a popular destination for unwinding.

Leaving Quezon City at 7:30 a.m. on a Friday got my group of four adults, a one-year-old toddler and a three-month-old infant to the plantation at noon -- just in time for lunch at the waterfall.

After being met with a welcome drink of sago’t gulaman by a lady wearing a tapis, we went on a short ride to the lunch venue on Sexy -- though it was not clear if the name/adjective pertained to the spacious cart which looked like a jeepney without an engine, or to the robust albino buffalo pulling it, because while both looked handsome, neither was particularly alluring. The coachman said 22 dedicated buffalo take turns pulling seven carts around the park and that after each round, the load is removed from the beast, which then rests in a pool to await its next trip.

Though our ride didn’t last more than 10 minutes, entertainment was on hand -- another tapis-attired lady and her equally traditionally garbed guitarist serenaded us with familiar folk songs such as “Pipit” and “Paruparong Bukid” from the back seat of the cart. 

The all you-can-eat lunch made the day tour fee of P1,400 per adult worth paying. Grilled tilapia, vegetables cooked in coconut milk, fresh tomatoes, raw mangoes, steamed okra, peeled turnip, grilled pork belly, and steamed rice, among others, competed for attention. But what won my heart and palate was the bagoong (sautéed shrimp paste) in the clay jar which, though flavorful on its own, made other dishes it was mixed into taste even better.

As is expected at any town banquet, crowds formed at the buffet tables, but staff were on hand to keep order and help guests with everything from securing eating space to getting their drinks. The waiter who took our order of fresh coconut juice was quite the professional -- when he found out that the remaining stock of young coconuts contained less liquid than normal, he got back to us and asked if we still wanted our drinks. Waiters of a lesser calibre would have brought in the order and hoped the guests would not notice the difference. 

After the meal, we burned off the calories by walking to the venue for the cultural production that the resort stages on weekends. Regional dances, including the Singkil, Manglalatik, and Fandango sa Ilaw, were performed to live music. Perhaps the most engaging number was the Sayaw sa Banko, where two pairs of dancers performed increasingly daring stunts on narrow benches while keeping the tempo of the music. The dancers intentionally fell from time to time, prompting heckling from the other performers and eliciting laughs from the crowd.

Guests who wish to get more exercise or take a closer look at the scenery can have a go at bamboo rafting in the man-made Labasin Lake. The rafts, which can seat two people, do not come with a boatman, so those who are up for the challenge are sure to work up a sweat. 

For culture and art aficionados, the AERA Memorial Museum is a must-visit -- but be warned that it is not for the faint-hearted. Housing 300-year-old relics, old dolls, stuffed animals mounted on walls, skulls and coffins -- even a shrunken human head in a jar -- the museum is crammed with the stuff that horror stories are made of. However, there is more to the pieces than their shock value, and the place also houses items that do not necessarily induce nightmares.

Built to look like a church, the museum is a sanctuary for religious art. 

Among the attention-grabbing relics are ornate altars that tower over the ground floor, and larger-than-life images made of ivory.

A barnacled jar that is said to have been fished out of the Sea of Corinth hundreds of years before Christ stands on its own on one side of the museum. Tucked in a corner, an illustration created out of the words of the New Testament is perhaps the most popular item in the building -- the work garners quite a bit of mention on Web sites and online reviews.

On the upper floor, the weapons, armor, traditional costumes and numismatics showcase, along with the clothes that former Philippine presidents wore to their inaugurations, take guests back to different points of the country’s past.

On the grounds outside the museum, tanks, a fighter plane, and cannons that hark back to the world war serve as installation art.

The museum prohibits photo-taking, and children below the age of four are not allowed entry.

Taking the electric jeep would bring guests to the village that plantation workers call home. According to the driver of the e-Jeep we took, 70 families, all of which have one or more members working in the plantation, stay in the village.

The route passes a quaint chapel that is known for being the venue for the wedding of celebrities Lorna Tolentino and the late Rudy Fernandez. After we had a snapshot taken in front of the altar, the driver hastened to mention that Villa Escudero offers a wedding package for those who want to get married in the chapel -- and it comes with a horse-drawn carriage.

Villa Escudero also has pool facilities -- perhaps as a concession to guests who would want to take a dip after a long day of sightseeing. There are two pools for children, and two for adults, one of which has a Jacuzzi. One may want to think twice about the pool, however, during peak season. 

Sharing the pools with 1,000 other guests -- the average that the resort gets on summer weekends, according to one of the staff -- may not be the best way to spend the day at Villa Escudero.

While some elements of the Villa Escudero experience could come across as contrived -- those cement statues of rural folk and farm animals that dot the grounds and give unsuspecting guests a scare at night, for instance -- the hospitality extended by most of the staff at least seems genuine. A minor altercation with a poolside employee threatened to mar our otherwise pleasant day at the resort, but the supervisor we talked to about it handled the situation well.

A day tour is sufficient to sample what Villa Escudero has to offer, but those who wish to stay longer can book rooms in the property. According to its Web site, other activities in the resort include bird watching, cycling, and watching coconuts being harvested.

For details visit http://www.villaescudero.com.

See more at: http://www.bworldonline.com/weekender/content.php?id=87461#sthash.v4tM45MB.dpuf

published on the July 5, 2013 issue of BusinessWorld. Click here for the original story

Focus

Posted on 06:11 PM, July 04, 2013

Text and Photos by Jennee Grace U. Rubrico

Langkawi: Eagle's eyrie

The eagles swoop down, curious about the fish that the water taxi captain offers to them. Their hunger has long been satisfied, having already participated in this spectacle a few times prior to our arrival. Yet the russet colored predators that are smaller than their western cousins continue to survey the area -- gliding, taking turns diving, then taking back to the skies, some to look back below, others to deposit their loot at the eyries that tower over the nearby islet.

The feeding is more for the pleasure of the humans who crane their necks from inside the boat to get a better view, cameras of varying sizes fixtures on their faces, to snap photos of the birds. Engineered to hunt with their talons, sharp vision, and beaks, the birds of prey need no assistance to feed. That so many of them condescend to show up in full avian splendour to play to the audience is a surprising but deeply appreciated gift from the kings of the sky -- after whom the Malaysian paradise of Langkawi is named.

An archipelago of 99 islands off the state of Kedah in Malaysia, Langkawi has harnessed its untamed beauty to gain a chunk of the tourism sector without giving too much of itself away.

The island grouping follows its own weather, preferring to splash a dose of sunlight during traditionally cold months when the capital city of Kuala Lumpur, which is less than an hour away by plane, hosts somber skies.

"In Langkawi, it’s sunny from December to March," the taxi driver that ferries us out of the airport and to our hotel says.

The island has everything that sun worshippers and beach bums dream of: sandy shores bordering emerald seas that sparkle under the sun.

Be it in the tourist-filled town of Pantai Cenang on the main island, or the many islets of the archipelago, beaches in Langkawi are within easy reach.

BEACHES AND A HIDDEN LAKE
A half-day tour around the islands gives visitors a glimpse of the archipelago’s natural treasures for as low as RM30 (around P450). Besides communing with the eagles on the waters of Pulau Singa Besar (Big Lion Island), the tour includes a swim at the white beaches of Pulau Beras Basah (Wet Rice Island).

A thick forest hides the rest of the uninhabited island from adventure seekers, and there is not much on the island by way of facilities beyond some tables, a water pump to wash off the seawater after a swim, a store to buy snacks or the all-important bottled water from, and a toilet of unknown character.

But Pulau Beras Basah’s cool, clear waters prove irresistible on a stifling December day. The water’s gentle slope make it safe for people of all ages, and swimmers and snorkelers are rewarded with glimpses of the island’s biodiversity as schools of fish swim by. Sea urchins, though, may provide a bit of a sting to an otherwise pleasant experience.

Stronger swimmers can look forward to a vigorous workout at another stop, the Lake of the Pregnant Maiden, which lies in the island of the same name (Pulau Dayang Bunting). The freshwater lake that is separated from the ocean by a narrow wall of rocks is extremely deep, and the only way to keep afloat after plunging -- yes plunging -- into it from a platform is to tread water. Life jackets and buoys are available for rent, as are jet skis.

Those who prefer to remain dry will not regret trudging from the dock to the lake -- and possibly tussling with monkeys over a container of food -- for the view. With the high verdant walls isolating the lake, the place could be a lost world. Mermaids could live here, as could dinosaurs or the Loch Ness monster.

One would think that a lake this huge would have warnings about crocodiles or water snakes. Otters, however, seem infinitely more alarming, as a placard tells visitors to watch out for their bite.

There is power emanating from the island, so named because from afar it looks like a pregnant woman lying on her back. Legend has it that this is a maiden who buried her dead child beside the lake. If one is to believe the tales, barren women would conceive after taking a dip.

The journey to the mystical islands of Langkawi begins and ends on the wharf made picturesque by white birds dotting the blue skies and yachts doing the same to the similarly hued sea. Bookings for the tour can be done everywhere -- from the lobbies of the hotels, to the cab drivers that ply Langkawi’s circumferential road, to the roadside tour operator.

Upscale versions of the tour are also available for those who want privacy or want to experience Langkawi’s sunset in a Jacuzzi aboard a yacht.

DINING AND SHOPPING
The sea is also instrumental in Langkawi’s gustatory offerings. In the low-key town of Kuah, visitors are spoiled for choice at Trimula, a cluster of restaurants along Jln Persiaran Mutiara. Crabs and prawns that are housed in tanks at the restaurants before they are cooked are the best introduction a visitor could have to Langkawi. Pork and alcohol, both haram (prohibited) to Muslims, are also served in the area.

In Pantai Cenang, the Beach Garden Restaurant offers gourmet food right on the beach. Meals can be pricey, but the huge basket of home-baked bread that comes with the breakfast is worth the money.

Kuah, the commercial face of duty-free Langkawi, is also best place to shop. The town has everything anyone could think of buying -- kitchenware and houseware, plush toys, branded goods and imitation items. Among the shop houses, the best known general merchandise stores are owned by the Haji Ismail Group. The stores, which are sprinkled all over Kuah and are sometimes just a few meters apart from each other, are said to offer the best prices for alcohol, chocolates, houseware and kitchenware.

For resort wear and souvenir shirts, general goods stores and roadside boutiques are the best options. Langkawi Saga sells batik dresses and "I love Langkawi" tees for as low as RM15. Beside Bayview Hotel, a shopping center called Plaza Langkawi sells a wide array of cool cotton clothes. The prices of the items fall as one goes deeper into the shopping area, so shoppers would do well to hold off purchasing until prices are to their liking.

Flea markets tucked in back streets also sell souvenir shirts and resort clothes, but the prices are padded. There is room to haggle in flea markets, though not much to try on the items.

For branded sportswear, Al Ikhsan is the best bet. The sporting goods store sells a range of original sporting goods from shoes to swimwear at cutthroat prices, especially during clearance sales. Just outside its doors are rows of roadside shops that sell imitation goods, providing a contrast that works in the favor of the all-original fashion chain.

Langkawi also has a proliferation of spas. Belli’s, which operates around Kuah, offers a range of relaxation treatments that work like magic after a full day of shopping or sightseeing without necessarily piercing a hole through pockets. A two-and-a-half hour treatment that includes foot reflexology, a full body massage, and a body scrub sets one back by RM138 -- perhaps too steep a price to pay for a good night’s sleep, or not.

Getting around the main island is a breeze -- taxis, the bane of Malaysia, are better organized in Langkawi, with stops located a few steps away from any shopping mall or hotel and official tariffs posted in public to avoid overcharging. Those who prefer to drive can also rent a car right after stepping out of the plane -- at the airport, a number of car rental companies have booths that tourists can approach for their temporary ride. Walking is also an option, as accommodations in Kuah are right in the heart of the shopping district, and roadside shops in Pantai Cenang are right outside the hotels.

Langkawi is also called the Pearl of Keddah, perhaps for its beauty and for being the treasure trove of good finds that it is. But more than a gem birthed from the marriage of sand and oyster’s saliva, the archipelago is embodied by the eagles from which it owes its name: compact and powerful, naturally fascinating, sometimes predatory, always a sight to behold.