SAN JUANICO BRIDGE TO BE CLOSED for REHABILITATION

 

The so-called Bridge of Love, San Juanico Bridge, in Eastern Visayas will be off limits to people (residents and tourists) and large trucks as the Government overseas a major rehabilitation. For its repair, the government needs 500 Million pesos. San Jaunico Bridge connects Samar and Leyte. During the Super Typhoon Yolanda (Typhoon Haiyan), the brdige suffered damged due to storm surges. It was repaired and was reopened after a month. However, for years, the government has seen structural weaknesses which endangers the lives of motorists and tourists crossing this popular tourist destination. Watch the video of an actual crossing from Samar to Leyte, a video taken months before the government decided to close the bridge which was constructed in the 70s during former Pres. Ferdinand Marcos term, the father of the now Pres. Bong Bong Marcos or BBM 

Wadi Namar: A Man-Made Haven for Outdoor Recreation

by George Pontino Jr.

Featuring: HAGOD Group Filipino Visual Arts Group 

Wadi meaning a valley, ravine, or channel that is dry except in the rainy season.

One of the most visited parks in Riyadh, KSA, Wadi Namar, offers you the closest picnic spot from the city center where you can relax by an wide artificial lake. It's a family/kid friendly semi-natural setting that's only 15 minutes drive from Olaya via King Fahad road. It is where you can refresh yourself and beat homesickness during weekends. Expats and locals love the place that it gets to be congested at around 3 pm. 

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WADI NAMAR SHORT VIDEO

by the author 

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Wadi Namar, located in the south of Riyadh, stretches from west to east until meeting Wadi Hanifah. A wadi is a valley, ravine, or channel that is dry except in the rainy season. The vicinity is a lake dam with a 2 kilometer corniche. It is a rocky valley with overlooking cliffs that offer a panoramic vista. Recently, a man-made waterfalls, a machine driven one, has become an added attraction to the public. But that area is off-limits for visitors as the authorities seems to be aware of making visitors safe. Aside from rocks, accidents do happen specially when you deal with mechanized water installations.  

Wadi Namar, along with Wadi Laban, is rehabilitation project carried out by the Riyadh Development Authority. Its aim is to rehabilitate Wadi Hanifah tributaries, which serves as lungs for Riyadh. Through the Saudi government's initiative, the area now attracts many kinds of migratory birds. Always present are the numerous ducks and doves that feed on fish which are now abundant in the reservoir. Insects like dragonflies can be seen roving around the vicinity.

The corniche or the waterfront of the park is a place full of shade, it's where 520 rows and columns of date palm trees are planted. The area is a no bbg or shisha zone but one can do these activities under the tree just beside the cliffs, away from the pavilion.  

Helpful Tip: If you plan to rest below shade of trees by side of the rocky valley, be careful for possible falling rocks or landslides.

At Wadi Namar, you can rest and relax, breathe fresh air, watch ducks and birds fly by, play skateboards or some ball sports, do some photoshoots, shisha smoking, art session, plein air painting, cook some bbq, walking, drone flying, enjoy the view and do more activities. There are also inflatable playgrounds for the kids set up by some business-minded individuals.

The site can accommodate 800 vehicles and the best time to go there is early in the morning, as the roads and parking lots will be congested by 3 p.m. The corniche can get crowded too as families come in droves. Amenities like rest rooms, food trucks, pedestrian walkways and paved parking lots abound. At night, the area has lamp posts and ambiance lighting.

At 4p.m., when the man-made waterfalls start to operate, you may go to the upper side cliff of Wadi Namar, where you will be treated with a panoramic view of the corniche and a great bird's eye view. Plus, if you like chasing sunsets, the park atop Wadi Namar is where the setting sun can be viewed  at its most grand and beautiful exit. Meanwhile, if you plan to have a photo just inches by the falls, it is actually strictly off limits as park guards wanted to avoid accidents. They warn people from possible falling rocks. If you worry about kid's safety, the observation deck has fences to protect kids and visitors from accidental fall.

MORE ABOUT SAUDI ARABIA:

Restaurant Feature:

Islas Resto and Grill Boodle Fight
Faterat Cheese Shawarma Fast Food

Places to Go on Adventure:

Red Sands Dunes Al Haeer

Edge of the World Tuwaiq Escarpment

 WADI NAMAR LOCATION MAP

My Ghostly Past with WaxWorks: V - PART 1 (A Virtual Photo Exhibit)

Words and Photography By George Pontino Jr.

NOTE: NO PHOTOSHOP MANIPULATION OR EFFECTS APPLIED IN ALL PHOTOS

Every culture has its folklore and undying urban tales about encounters of the other kind. Every All Souls Day or All Saint's day, we get to hear these stories from circle of friends who love the excitement of being scared from gripping details of a visit by a multo (phantom) or a fateful meeting with a kapre (a tree-dwelling monster that loves to smoke). Even the TV networks pumps up Halloween season annually by interrupting their usual broadcasts in exchange for a night of scare fest. The usual suspects they feature are the white ladies, aswang (mananangal), lost souls, haunted houses and roads like Balete Drive or an unexplained phenomenon where WWII soldiers can be heard marching in a certain spooky place. 

"Murto" Model: Dianne Valerie Galvan

Perflab Behind the scenes

Some of you may have elders who have lots of bedtime stories that could make you awake all night, cringing in fear. The headless phantoms, sound of chains, crying babies or tyanaks, tiktik, witch, or the infamous "Tenyete Gimo aswang" could be their mere inventions to make us sleep early or to behave well. But we took them by heart and these became a rural heritage that we just can't forget and pass on another generation even in we're in an urban setting. Well, our dreams turned into nightmarish hell thanks to our elders imaginative minds.

"Bagat" (Ghostly Road Encounter)  Model: Michael Amante

"Sota" of Mt. Kanlaon (Mediator between entities and humans) - Model: Adam Henoch Riolo

In 2009, I was invited by Fundador Tipon to interpret the paranormal entities into a series of photographs to be used for Perflabs Waxworks V: Km13 (Kilometrahe Trese) as promotional materials. So, with my camera gears and lights, I took the creative plunge, met the group at the Negros Museum and with few hours of photography session, we nailed it successfully. Thanks to the actors, actresses and the entire Perflab group, everything was seamless. The effort of the whole group is commendable and shooting became so smooth for me because of their sheer professionalism in acting, makeup, preparing props and costumes.

"Sota", Murto and Bagat

White Lady

Through Waxworks, the urban legends were given new twists and the Negrese audience had the change to experience it virtually through a trip around the Museum-turned-haunted-place during the week pre-All Saints Day. It's a sort of a horror room but with that artistic discipline. A group of willing individuals move from to place to place and get to experience "bagat" as they pass through each themed area. The whole thing is an interactive exhibit complete with creative lights, creepy props, haunting performance, storytelling by wax-like folklore creatures, makeup and sound effects. The characters were Murto (Ghost) from the spanish word Muerto which means a dead person, Sota of Mt. Kanlaon, the mediator of the entities and humans and finally Bagat (Ghostly Road Encounter or apparition along pathways) 

She can't Rest in Peace

After our successful photoshoot session for the first theme

Bagat, a Hiligaynon term for ghostly encounter, is a Filipino culture that's a very popular urban legend. Waxworks V was heavily inspired by this notion and that's why, that year,  the group called it Kilometrahe Trese. Trese being a play on the number 13, an unlucky numeral and Kilometrahe of course is a measurement and in Philippines, is usually a landmark for the travelers." Indeed, traveling alone at night may well be a curse for anyone who meets the paranormal...well, he's just an unlucky one. WATCH OUT FOR PART 2 SOON

LOCATION MAP OF NEGROS MUSEUM:

Desert Adventure in the Red Sand Dunes and the Hidden Valley (with Music Video of Diwata song)

by George Pontino Jr.

If you're a living and working in Riyadh, you probably know by now that when it starts to rain, it means it's time to have some picnic with friends in Al Haeer (sometimes Al Hair) Red Sand dunes located in the outskirt in Riyadh. But just wait for a week or two before going there as the rain creates life-threaning floods in the "Wadis*".
*Wadi is a valley, ravine, or channel that is dry except in the rainy season.

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Al-Haeer Red Sands at the outskirts of Riyadh City center

Most of the times, rain signals the upcoming cold spell in the Middle East. Particulary in Riyadh, you will also know that winter is coming as malls start to sell outdoor gears from tents to grilling cookwares to foldable chairs to bags of charcoal by late September or early October. The drop in the weather provides a "more humane" atmosphere compared to summertime's unforgiving soaring celsius.  The cold season gives everyone a chance to truly enjoy the Al Haeer's natural desert landscape straight from sunrise to sundown. But of course, the cold can  also  bring discomfort to the senses. I advice you to bring some proper winter clothing to protect you from the elements. Staying overnight camping atop the desert sand is an option and you need a campfire to keep you from freezing. (SEE SOME HELPFUL TIPS BELOW)

All-Terrain Vehicles for rent. Quad biking is fun yet risky. 

The northern part but for the Overseas Filipino Workers or OFW / Filipino community, the southern part is usually a favorite choice for a winter picnic spot. The Al Haeer sand dunes, as a whole, not only offer a picturesque landscape to have some selfie, group picture taking or award-winning photography shots, but the site also serves a place for a picnic ground for the group to cook some barbecue. A reminiscent of a popular outdoor activity in the Philippines where people go to the beach on a weekend and bring some raw meat to be barbecued for lunch. Both places has sand but the other has water. Nevertheless, the place is a perfect getaway for some camaraderie and adventure with friends or families, helping cure homesickness and stress from work in the process. You get to relax and enjoy at the same time. For one, it's accessible and near the city center so traveling isn't a hurdle. And also, there's a bakala (convenience store) and a restaurant near the area. (SEE MAP BELOW)
Note: If you eat there, specially with disposable utensils, just please don't leave your garbage. Bring  them home and dispose them properly. Respect nature! 

WATCH THE AUTHOR'S ORIGINAL MUSIC CALLED DIWATA WITH AN "UNOFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO" SHOT
IN THE AL HAEER 

RED SAND DUNES AND HIDDEN VALLEY

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The most popular activity in the area is by renting an All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) or popularly called a quad bike. You can drive to and fro the dunes that has steep topography and very fine sands. A wrong manuever can possible get your vehicle stuck or can get you to an eventful accident either by falling with your vehicle or get being thrown down by abrupt halt and wrog turn. So, be careful when driving through the crazy horizons and uneven landscapes. The closest hospitals or clinics are miles away. 
Meanwhile, the ATV's rent goes up from 50 to 70 saudi riyals per hour when the demand is great; specially when people are coming in droves early in the morning. At 3, in the afternoon, the prize goes down as much as 30 to 10 sar as the number of people dwindle when most of them leave for another place to seek more fun such as  the Hidden Valley or Natural Arch in the southern part or just go home before the sun sets. 

The Hidden Valley during its glorious days

Sadly, the glorious days of the Hidden Valley is gone. The area seemed to be an apocalyptic wasteland where old tires were thrown in many areas. Graffitis left by visitors are still very visible. The silence is so deafening, too. However, you can still appreciate the mountain formations around the vicinity and it takes a good eye to capture these subjects and still tell an interesting story. The Natural Arch, on the other hand, is located more than 100 kilos away from the red sands, reaching its peak is still worth it. You just need a 4x4 car so you can cross the rocky road towards the natural arch's location. 

So close with a dromedary

HELPFUL TIPS:

1. If you have a DSLR camera with multiple lenses, try to change lenses inside a car where you're gears are safe from fine dusts.

2. If you decide to drive an ATV, be careful and don't be over confiedent doing some extreme moves, or else, you might end up with broken bones in a hospital.

3. Be careful with your gears such as GoPro, phones and others. Some fast hands might steal them from you in  a blink of  an eye.

4. You can make the red sand desert as a natural backdrop for your Pre-nuptial wedding photography and videography teasers.

5. Wear your winter garb as the temperature in the place is much colder than in the city. 

6. If rain falls move to higher ground to escape flooding.

7. Don't leave your garbage in the area. Dispose them properly.

8. Put off your charcoal fire when leaving and dispose them properly.

9. bring some foldable tables and chairs, tents or mobile rest rooms/covers. The area has no ready huts. 

10. Be careful with the camels when you decide to have a photo with them. You might get kicked or stomped. They could be sick too.


11. Pls. don't leave graffitis like "Juan was here" or "Jose loves" Maria on natural rocks or trees. 


MORE PLACES TO GO FOR ADVENTURE IN RIYADH:
RED SAND DUNES AND HIDDEN VALLEY IN AL HAEER 
WADI NAMAR IN THE SOUTH (SOON)

LOCATION MAP and GPS:

Once Upon a Time I Designed for Merzci Pasalubong Treats

by George Pontino Jr.

If you are a balikbayan or a frequent traveler to Bacolod, chances are you've come face to face with some food or Pasalubong packaging with my fancy drawings and designs on it. 
Well, I'm talking about my personal story of how I witnessed a brand come to fruition and somehow, how I became a part of its growth and history.  That brand is Merzci Pasalubong Treats and it was developed and owned by CMS and Sons based in Hervias, Bacolod City. At first, it started as a bakery and restaurant until it decided, it's gonna enter the pasalubong market.

Zoom back in early 2000, I had a call from CMS and Sons CEO Jonathan Lo. He was looking for a designer to update his company's restaurant and bakery business. Turned out, a common friend of ours recommended me to him. This event led to a series of fortunate events and it opened a new door of design opportunities for me. Read on...

Otap and Squid Rings product packaging illustrated and designed by the author

As a freelance graphic designer, I was doing design services for different clients. I was designing brochures, maps, invitations for events, giant billboards and even do some photography sessions. One of my steady clients those days was Ayala Land, Inc. which gave me opportunities to interpret the real state industry in different promotional media and marketing materials. Additionally, I did some projects in the clothing/fashion, mall and health industry which consisted of brand recall materials to magazines to store bags to special event visual exhibits. And meeting Mr. Lo and accepting Merzci to be part of my design turf was indeed a great addition to my growing portfolio. Plus though Merzci, I got a chance to try my hands on redefining the design trends in the local food industry.

Bloggers from different provinces inside the Merczi Tour Bus. After a tour in Silay, the bloggers were given some free stuff in one of Merzci's Pasalubong branches. 

Shown are the author's design for Cebu Mango Chips (top right) and Cebu Dried Mangoes (left) 

During those days, Merzci was still spelled Merci (meaning "thanks" in French).  The letter z was added later on its branding so the company can veer away from other brands that bears the same name as the company started to spread out its reach to the international market. My first task was to design some moving advertising signages for the company's trucks. Then I also did some food photography for the menu and outdoor signages for the opening of its Cadiz and Victorias bakery/restaurant branches.
Eventually in 2005, CMS and Sons, through the aggressive vision of its CEO, began to expand and it started its pasalubong business venture Merzci Pasalubong Treats. This time I was hired again to do some packaging, giant billboards and store wallpapers and signages. It was great to be part of the company's history though it was in still its infancy. In span of two years, I was witness to its opening of branches in Singcang, Lopue's Mandalagan, and SM Mall. 

Closer look of the author's design for Cebu Dried Mangoes and 

an advertising designed for a local magazine 

(shown are  some of the brand's early endorsers)

ADVERTISING

Mr. Jonathan Lo challenged me to design something that is Pinoy in style and has that local Pasalubong feel but contemporary as a whole. So I looked up to my childhood idol Larry Alcala whose cartoon drawings on biscuit cans were the popular pasalubong treats in the 80s. He greatly influence me to embrace the world of illustrating comics and cartoons in my younger years. With this, I started to develop my own style of art and I applied them for Merzci's product packaging...trendy yet has the heart of Filipino pasalubong cultural heritage. I drew cartoon images that tell a story about the product and then I incorporated colors of fiesta and local landmarks. Indeed, it was my direct honor for my hero Larry Alcala*, a native of Albay, who lived and retired in Bacolod in his later years until his death in 2002 at the Riverside Medical Center, a hospital in Bacolod. While writing this blog piece on October 24, news came out that the late Larry "Larry" Alcala was inducted posthumously in the Order of National Artist (Visual Arts). ONA is the highest Philippine honor bestowed on practitioners of the Western arts. What a coincidence! 

The author's design for a giant billboard that was installed along Lacson St. 

in Mandalangan for more than a year.

I still look back how Mr. Lo appreciated my works so much to the point he asked me to leave a signature on each product packaging I illustrated an design. (yes, my full name as an artist). 
When you are a designer during a time when computer speed were not that too fast, internet were not yet fiber optics, no touchscreen smartphones yet, no CoWorking Space yet and there was no Dropbox and WeTransfer to transfer heavy files to the giant billboard printer in Manila. You can complain specially when deadline comes and the large file let your computer hang and crash big time. However, in the end, these challenges provides new experiences, techniques and confidence that could last a lifetime. As from the client side, Mr. Lo taught me the value of hardwork, leadership and how to deal with one's self under pressure. He opened my eyes more on the real  world's management and marketing ways even though I'm a holder of business marketing and business management diplomas. 

Circa 2006 wallpaper illustrations designed by the author that was used in 

Lopue's Mandalagan branch (left) and in Singcang Branch (right)

I'm so thankful for the experiences with him and Merzci specially now, being a designer for 12 years in the Middle East and Africa's top media conglomerate, founded by the King Salman's son, I face a lot of challenges when designing stuff that has writings in Arabic and with clients that has a different view on designs.  Indeed, I'm still proud to consider Merzci as one of my great stepping stones "in the real world" of my design career.    

Each time I go home for vacation, I never fail to bring a yellow box with me back to Saudi Arabia. Of course, on it are some of Merzci food fare which carry my designs to the delight of my fellow Saudi-based Pinoy friends who hails from different provinces.

The company supports local tourism activities

 and this paved a way to the Merzci shuttle bus.

Where can you find Merzci Stores? If you are a balikbayan or a visitor, here are maps for you to find Merzci Pasalubong Stores. However, you may also find most of Merzci Pasalubong Treats in malls, town and city markets in the North Negros like in Manapla, Victorias and Cadiz. At the Silay-Bacolod International Airport, you can also purchase a box or two before entering the departure area at the 2nd floor level just beside the X-ray machines. Some grocery stores and convenience stores also carry Merzci delicacies in their shelves. (SEE MAPS BELOW)

MORE STORIES ABOUT NEGROS OCCIDENTAL (BACOLOD)

Capture Nature: Revisiting Don Salvador Benedicto's Sceneries and Fresh Air

Traveling to Bacolod? Here are 5 Gastro Delights and 3 Travel Gear Guide part 1

OctoberFest Bacolod Style: MassKara Festival Guide 

Merzci Pasalubong SMX (North Wing)

Merzci Pasalubong Mandalagan Branch



Merzci Pasalubong Singcang Branch 

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Fastest Serving Shawarma Shop in Riyadh (with video feature inside)

by George Pontino Jr.

For many, shawarma is a comfort food.

Everytime they miss eating shawarma, some seem to get crazy if a shawarma joint isn't available near their place. It seems Shawarma-deprivation is a disastrous thing to many who loves this street and affordable Middle Eastern street food which was based on Ottoman Turkey's Doner Kebab. Even expats from different countries learned to love this.

See, that tahini sauce and thin slices of chicken or beef meat taking over your palate, like soldiers in a battlefield of taste tests, is priceless as if every bite should be savored. 
Not to mention, you can bring a shawarma with you anywhere. It's a handy thing of delight in every bite. 

Automated shawarma shredder to fast track serving of orders.

Now, it's even a popular street food even in America. It even conquered the hungry palates of the Marvel's Avengers when, after saving the world from invading aliens, Tony Stark wanted to go to a Shawarma shop to try it. Just watch the post credit scene of the first Avengers movie and see what I mean. Thanks to this movie's gag, a marketing research and study about its effect was done and the result was that shawarma sales in the US went up more than triple. There was a virtual stampede in some joints when buyers in US wanted a bite of it after it came out in Avengers.

Meaty halal shawarma for the whole family

Zoom in back to Saudi Arabia, a lot of Shawarma stores have their own way of attracting people. Indeed, when demand is too high when the store is in a strategic place, waiting time is usually long and the sometimes the queue is unforgivable. So, what if your hunger couldn't wait any longer? Well, one Riyadh-based resto/shop has a solution to that: (Check out the video below)

WATCH THIS CLIP OF FATERAT CHEESE RESTO's OPERATION and ITS SHAWARMA SHREDDER MACHINE

 IN ACTION:

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Faterat Cheese shop's solution is indeed a fast one. It makes everything a breeze for the staff and customers. This shawarma joint, located in Al Bujairi Square, caters to people who go in groups for a picnic in open spaces which is located within the vicinity. Usually, one person orders not only one but boxes of shawarma good for the whole family. Well, patience is a virtue but for those who are not patient enough, a shawarma auto-shredder like that in the video above can do wonders for everyone. Not only the auto meat shredder helps the staff fast track service and reduce the queue of buyers during peak hours, the machine also gives an impression that the meat is chopped in a hygienic environment even a quick action is needed. It's a far cry from another shops where someone chops them to pieces with his arms and body directly exposed to the high heat.

Where is Al Buajiri Square? 

Al Bujairi square is part of Diriyah heritage park at the Al Diriyah district, Riyadh, KSA, where the now-restored Unesco World Heritage site Diriyah mudhouses are located. The old mud structures include the original home of the Saudi royal family where it lays on the either side of a narrow valley called Wadi Hanifa valley in the Northeastern of Riyadh.  (See Google Map below) Meanwhile, Faterat Cheese is strategically located near the entrance and a few meters away from the round about.  It is adjacent with other establishment like cafes and souvenir shops. Faterat also offers burgers, fries, pizzas to name a few. (continued below)  

Find Hotels Riyadh, Saudi Arabia:

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Neil Pinar, the designer of Faterat Cheese' new logo and packaging, with his family

MAP OF FATERAT CHEESE at Al Bujairi Heritage Park
Diriyah (Arabic: الدرعية )

Shawarma stores are outrageously abundant in Saudi Arabia specially the array of shops in the Filipino market that sells chicken shawarma. (I will talk about this shop later on.) I think it's a cultural heritage and a phenomenon that Shawarma has become a universal quick snack almost to any expats and locals alike in the Mid East. Well, even the Avengers who's so busy saving the world took the Shawarma bait.

FAST FACT: The Arabic word "shawarma" comes from the Turkish word çevirme which literally means "turning," similar to the more familiar Greek term "gyro."

READ MORE  SAUDI ARABIA BLOG FEATURES HERE:

Islas Resto and Grill: Bringing Traditional Boodle Fight in Riyadh 

Reaching the Edge of the World (Saudi Arabia) with tips