A festival of thanksgiving for a bountiful harvest, Filipinos decorate their houses with fruits, vegetables and flowers, transforming the town into a visual spectacle. Drawing upon their roots as an agricultural society, these festivals are highly anticipated by the locals. After visiting all 3 festivals, my camera and I were happy – and here are 10 reasons why!
Who would have thought to use vegetables as art-and-craft materials? More than that, their life sized dolls were impressive. Perched on a ledge, many dolls depicted farming scenes. What’s especially creative was that the locals printed faces of local celebrities and stuck them onto the dolls!
Around the town of Gumaca, the Araña’t Baluarte festival had 18 gigantic, eye-poppingly colourful baluarte structures with fruits, vegetables, and even live chicken hanging from them. Once the procession had passed, everyone could jump and grab the freebies hanging in the air.
I was completely thrown off guard when I first saw candyfloss-coloured chicks. Pink and orange baby chicks running around a cage…what? Then, I saw a furry plant which my friend actually stroked. After this, yellow chicks running around in the open don’t surprise me any more.
From the infamous fake cockroaches to beach hats, watches and sunglasses, you’ll be guaranteed a good bargain. My friend bought a fake cockroach for 5 pesos ($0.15) – that’s how cheap it is!
Of course, no trip to the Philippines is complete without trying their infamous street food – balut. Balut is a developing duck embryo that is boiled, before its shell is peeled open and the duck is eaten. Commonly consumed with salt or vinegar, most people get cold feet at the thought of eating a developing duck embryo. We were treated to this delicacy in Sariaya, and that’s enough to last us a lifetime.
There were stages set up in Lucban, and though I didn’t get a chance to watch, there were probably performances later on. With the electrifying atmosphere, if somebody were to breakdance in the middle of nowhere, the rest would join in!
We love how localised the harvest festivals are: they are celebrated on May 15 in the towns of Lucban, Tayabas, Sariaya, Gumaca, Tiaong and Lucena City, Quezon. You can fly to Manila via Cebu Pacific Airlines, before taking a bus to Quezon. Be sure to spend a whole day there, with the morning to walk around and the afternoon to watch the procession!
I’m not kidding when I say that Philippines is even hotter than Singapore, and given that you’ll be spending the whole day in the hot sun, it’s best to give your skin some protection.
We’re used to Singapore’s security, but in the Philippines, it’s best to wear a sling bag and nestle it in front of you like a baby. I was carrying a backpack, and a policeman advised me to wear it in front!
You wouldn’t want your slippers to break halfway or have your toes trampled on, do you?
The sky was deceptively blue and we were caught unawares by one or two light showers. If you’ve forgotten to bring an umbrella, there’s always the option of squeezing into a tricycle like we did. It looks small, but it can seat up to 4 people.
Considering how it’s like a smaller scale Chingay, but in the small towns of Philippines, I thought it was impressive. One of the locals summed it up best – the Pahiyas festival is “happy pandemonium”!
This post was brought to you by Cebu Pacific and the Department of Tourism (Philippines).
Old MacDonald had a farm, but we bet it isn't as close to SG as…
Boozin' by the beach in Bali sounds like a good plan.
There is a free service where you can get professional advice on what to do…
The white beagle is making its way to Singapore.
This toy mall in Bangkok is your next spot to hunt for Labubu and limited-edition…
Includes kid-friendly attractions and exhilarating rides alike. Nearby accommodation options range from affordable and fuss-free…