Marveling the Craftsmanship of Sisiman Bay Boat Makers of Mariveles, Bataan

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Sisiman Bay, located in Mariveles, Bataan, offers a closer view of the San Miguel Peak and the famous Sisiman Light house.

But aside from those captivating tourist eye-candies, you will also notice the many colorful boats floating on the waters itself. You'll be amazed of these creations that creates a picturesque post-card image for us to admire. Wait until sunset, and the diminishing light from the skies will further display wonderful hues of different colors. Nothing beats the sight of nature and man-made masterpieces harmoniously blending together in perfect unison.

Mariveles is about 165 kilometers from Manila (roughly 4 hours of travel time) and is located in a cove at the southern most tip of the Bataan peninsula, and obviously composed of fisher folks as seen from the many boats. These boats are mostly hand-made tediously by carpenters who could also be the fishermen themselves. At this particular part of the country, it is best that one is a a jack-of-all trades and knows how to multi-task using their multiple skills.

These boat makers are impressive since they spend several days building boats that would lasts years enough for the fishermen to get back the money they used to buy materials for the boats. I can imagine all that hard work and lengthy times toiled under the sun as they build boats that can handle the waters of Sisiman Bay - through rough or calm waters, and durable enough to carry a heavy load of men and catch for the day.

More photos of boats as they are built can be found below:

Geje Eustaquio Eyes Decisive Finish in Rematch vs Thai Rival

Wazzup Piipinas!

Filipino martial artist Geje Eustaquio has no plans to leave the outcome of his upcoming bout in the hands of the three judges at cageside as he is set to share the ONE Championship cage with fierce Thai rival Anatpong Bunrad.

Both men are scheduled to square off against each other on the undercard of ONE: DYNASTY OF HEROES, which takes place at the 12,000-capacity Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore on 26 May.

Eustaquio and Bunrad first crossed paths in April 2015 at ONE: VALOR OF CHAMPIONS, where the latter took a split decision victory.

“The last time we fought, it was a razor-thin decision,” Eustaquio said, looking back on his close decision setback to Bunrad two years ago.

The 28-year-old Baguio City native Eustaquio feels that a consistent work rate in the rematch will be vital in his search for redemption against his Thai counterpart.

“Maybe I lacked the quantity in striking. There were also cases when his leg kicks, though those were weak ones, did connect. It didn’t hurt as much, but in the eyes of the judges, it had a big impact. So maybe this time, I’ll avoid those leg kicks,” Eustaquio said.

Craving for Vigan Empanada from Ilocos Sur

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Bagnet, sinanglao, tinubong, okoy, ... are just some of the delicacies that can be found in Ilocos Sur. But I believe the real iconic food treat that is most famous aside from their longganisa is their empanada, one of the most favorite street food.

There may be many kinds of empanada, but the crescent moon-shaped empanada is made up of grated green or unripe papaya, mung bean sprouts, mung beans and shredded carrots.  It also shows the Vigan people’s love for vegetables in their cuisine. Its meat filing consist of whole egg and skinless Vigan longganisa which for me makes the empanada a winner.

There are actually two kinds of empanada from Ilocos. There is the light colored and crispier one from Ilocos Sur (Vigan); and also one from Ilocos Norte (Laoag) with the thicker crust and darker complexion due to the achuete added during preparation.
A walk along Calle Crisologo while eating some Vigan empanada (for either snacks, lunch, or dinner) completes an epic experience of Vigan. Well, maybe you could ride a calesa, but be careful that the horse might grab a bite of the empanada while you do your selfie or groupfie shoots.

The empanada was also among the dishes served to us when we got invited by former Governor Chavit Singson at his Baluarte property famous for its zoo where some animals could even roam around free. Nit to also forget his pet tigers where he personally has some at his home.