We’re temporarily closing our blog. Yep, Team KT’s been very, very busy with a lot of things lately (visit our Facebook address to see what’s up). BUT, our WordPress posts will still be searchable and visible, to continually accommodate research about alternative travel places in the Philippines.
This temporary closure is necessary, though, to let us prepare for a bigger, better, and more active website. 2013 will be a great year, for sure. ABANGAN! 
text | Carla Ocampo
photography | Lester Valle
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(This is the ullalim, the story, behind the fatok etched today on my forearm, and Lester’s. I have tried my best to recall everything clearly by memory, as I had no chance to write things down during the blur that was: these were days we were working as audio-visual artisans under the direction of young filmmaker Lauren Sevilla Faustino, shooting a persona-driven documentary on the woman called Fang-od, the last of the Kalinga “mambabatok” elders.)
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From Quezon City, we got to Tabuk after about twelve hours, delayed by road repairs and engine failure.
Near the prominent Puraw nga Nuang (White Carabao) landmark at the city center, a pick-up truck was already waiting for us; courtesy of Ma’am Claribel Camarao, a Tabuk elder and teacher, whom Direk Lauren met during a project with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.
It is Marco’s first time in Kalinga, and the ascent to Buscalan would be his first real trek up the Cordilleras. He began rolling his 60D as our truck cruised along the spanking new Canao Bridge in the outskirts of Barangay Bulanao. From there, he was to record several interesting snippets of our road trip to Tinglayan, as directed by Lauren, but more because he found everything so new. Read the rest of this entry »
text | Carla Ocampo
photography | Carla Ocampo
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(This is the ullalim, the story, behind the fatok etched today on my forearm, and Lester’s. I have tried my best to recall everything clearly by memory, as I had no chance to write things down during the blur that was: these were days we were working as audio-visual artisans under the direction of young filmmaker Lauren Sevilla Faustino, shooting a persona-driven documentary on the woman called Fang-od, the last of the Kalinga “mambabatok” elders.)
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Traffic on Kamias Road was as usual that evening, August 29th. Usual, meaning heavy and blood-curdlingly hopeless. What could have been five short minutes from Sikatuna BLISS (the current KT headquarters) to the Victory Liner Station in Kamuning, now ticked at an alarming 35 minutes. “Manong, maiiwan na po kami ng bus,” an uncharacteristically worried Lester intoned, with his watch announcing 6:53PM; and the bus leaving at 7PM flat. Read the rest of this entry »
text | Carla Ocampo
photography | Erwin Barrientos, Yo Muan and Lester Valle
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On the road to greatness, everybody’s got to start somewhere. At times, that “somewhere” fills your quota of darndest moments for a month. Especially if you go talking about SURFING.
Flashback to Perth, Western Australia, February 2012. KT frontliner Yo Muan was carrying his surfboard ashore. The day was perfect: sun of the right heat, waves of the right size, the wild wind on his face. It felt good. In the midst of ecstasy, he was distracted by a strange sensation of clapping.
Flesh. Clapping flesh.
text | Carla Ocampo
photography | Lester Valle
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Now it can be told. Team KT teamed up with the CCI Asia Group (Living Asia Channel) to churn out a short info-docu about the Philippine Pili Nut. The shortie was commissioned by the Department of Trade and Industry – Bicol Region.
As we may now garner from recent news on Philippine exports, the country has been building up the image of the Pili Nut as a premium product, to rival the macadamia, the almond, and other more popular nuts in the world market. Bicolanos have been wildly proud of this development, and are pulling out all the stops to herald their flagship commodity all around the world.
KT lensman Lester Valle lends his visual style to the 9-minuter, as main videographer. Carla Ocampo takes the reins as producer, writer, and post-production director. CCI Asia’s Thess Visda and Ian Agawa complete the crew as production manager, and production assistant (slash-official Bicol lokal!) respectively.
Now, if you happen to be a Filipino who still haven’t tasted a single kernel of pili, well, by all means you should. Huwag maging dayuhan sa sariling pagkain, ifyahknowwhatwemean.
Ladies and gentlemen, lapis and fountain pen (a Gary Granada joke, hehe, wala lang), MEET THE PILI!
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© 2012 CCI Asia Group and The Kayumanggi Trails | All Rights Reserved
text | Carla Ocampo
photography | Lester Valle
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Last KT post: April 2012. Then nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Did the KT blog die just like that? Au contraire. We got off the keyboards, caught life’s lemons, and made lemonade. Yes, we drank it, too. Suffice it to say that Team KT members “beefed up” each of their resumés, got a taste of “the korporado life”, wore high heels and well-ironed polos, and then had enough.
We decided to live. Somehow.
Of course, we’re still doing things that would, you know, help us buy our daily bread (and shampoo, among other things). But we’ve reworked our priorities in such a way that, if and when we get to live to see our grandchildren, we won’t be telling them stories about slaving all our days away inside white office cubicles. We’ve read Dilbert enough to take care of that nightmare.
So, what has transpired for the last five months of relative silence? A lot. Apologies for the delayed posts, but we all know what happens when life whizzes by so fast. The gasping and dropping of jaws happen by the second, that you can’t even describe the experience through words anymore. It’s just a mad march of “HWRRAAAHH!”, “YEAHHH!” “WHOOOAAA!” and the occasional “Aray.“
Thankfully, we’ve got videos, and photos, to remind us of every amazing thing that happened.
We’re posting all of these in the next few weeks. AND, we’re relaunching our website come 2013, to give you a better, more dynamic (there goes that word) KT experience.
Stay with us, folks, and thank YOU for keeping the faith.
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© 2012 The Kayumanggi Trails | All Rights Reserved
text | Carla Ocampo
photography | Yo Muan, Carla Ocampo and Lester Valle
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LOCATION | TRAILHEAD: Mt. Arayat National Park | Bgy. San Juan Baño, Arayat, Pampanga
ELEVATION | DIFFICULTY: 1,030 meters above sea level (MASL) | Class 2
COORDINATES: 15°11’47.94″N 120°44’37.68″E
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The Filipino hiker is quite unique. Beyond following the established Leave-No-Trace principles, we also add another facet to respecting the Great Outdoors.
With animistic spirituality, deeply ingrained in the Filipino psyche, we make it a point to pay our respects to deities — spirits — that may be inhabiting the trails we tread on.
Some offer silent prayers before the start of every trek. Some call out “Tabi po!” excusing themselves for disturbing the ground. Even the most hardened atheists — and Catholics! — among local hiking circles do not question these practices, if only in the name of camaraderie.
These spirits, it would seem, appreciate sincerity. For one, Aring Sinukwan (or, The King, Sinukwan) was such a benevolent deity during Team KT’s trek up his lushly vegetated home, Mount Arayat.
Perhaps, as a token for our hushed behavior, the spirit king and his daughter Mariang Sinukwan gifted us with great weather, a spectacular sunset, and a clear view of the farthest plains of Central Luzon.
But we’ll tell you the story later. For now, here are the particulars. Read the rest of this entry »
Watchasay? :D