It's the most colorful time of the year. For 2011's Pahiyas Festival we went on the 15th of May, the last and the actual feast day.
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| Team Pahiyas 2011. Missing: two photographers. |
Getting There
A bit farther down the Quezon Province, Lucban can be reached in around three hours without traffic from Metro Manila. We left around at 3am and arrived really early, a little past 6am.
Lucban - The People, The Livelihood, The Houses
Lucban folks earn most of their livelihood from farming. And the annual Pahiyas Festival is their way of thanksgiving and paying homage particularly to their patron saint San Isidro, for their fruitful harvests.
On the month of May, there is a town-wide showcase and competition for households to decorate their homes using different agricultural products. This becomes the most colorful festival in the Philippines. Thousands of individuals flock from across the country to take part on this week-long festivity.
FOOD!
When I first thought of Pahiyas, I associate it with color and houses and decors. I did not expect that Pahiyas would also mean food trip! I mean every street, every house sells a variety of them. A word of caution before reading on if you get hyper and giggly over food especially when presented in awful lot of cute ways. :))
Kiping - Lucban's Icon
Kiping or rice wafer is one of the major products of Lucban farmers. It can be made into a variety of colors. Seasoned with sugar, and it's so delicious let alone colorful and enticing. Almost if not all of the houses have kiping as an accessory in their design.
Cooked Kiping, 1 cup costs Php5 |
Pancit Hab-hab
Another signature product of Lucban is the so-called Pancit Hab-hab. What's interesting is how one would eat it. It is wrapped in a banana leaf and you don't have to use a fork or any utensil but holding it straight to your mouth would do. It is best to add vinegar to it and best to eat while it's hot.
Grab this light snack, Pansit Hab-hab @ only Php10 |
Biniribid
I'm not sure how it's called in Tagalog. But in Bicolano, we call this biniribid. It's minced rice grains covered my melted brown sugar and fried. Yum! It brought back memories of my childhood, how my mom would cook it for our meryenda.
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| Sweet! |
Longganisa
Another option for pasalubong is the longganisa, featuring Lucban's signature taste. Unfortunately, I did not get a chance to buy one.
Here are some cute of the cute arrangements they have done which shows just how creative Filipinos are in makin something special out of shall we say the ordinary.
Eco-Friendly
Another admirable thing about Lucban is how plastics are banned and use of paper and recycled materials is tightly practiced. When purchasing any product, the merchants wrap the goods in old paper. Of course, it's hard when you'r buying stuff that are a bit heavy. So better bring a few plastic bags for convenience.
The Unexpected
At around 11am, after all the strolling, photo op at every house, food tripping, gags, along the fully crowded street, we were ready to leave, have lunch then off to Pagsanjan. When the unexpected happened. My relative who joined this trip, out of a sudden, had seizures then collapsed. I was pre-occupied with something when it happened and was frantically called by one of my friends. That was the fright of my life. Panic, regret, fear and yet I had to be strong for her. Thanks to the policemen and the locals who helped us get to a multicab to take her to the nearest hospital. The hospital would have been able to provide an ambulance to take us back to Manila but because no nurse was available to accompany us as it was a holiday there in Lucban, we were forced to stay for the night.
Higantes
In the afternoon, don't miss out on a mini-Higantes festival parade. Although there was not an ample space to do a formal parade because of the crowd.
Pahiyas At Night
I have to say despite everything that's happened earlier that day, I was fulfilled in so many ways to have spent the night. I was buying food for our dinner and at the same time was trying to steal a few moments to capture some snaps. I just admired the lights, the ambience, the crowd, the cold breeze of the province. I also realized that it's better to stay overnight for the Pahiyas Festival and get to see it in the evening. Even though there still a lot of people, it's not that hot. And there's even a show at night.
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| A shot of the last night of Pahiyas Festival. The house on the right won 2nd place in the design competition. |
Going Back Home & Lessons Learned
This experience was one of the most memorable ones. It awakened me to the unpredictability and vulnerability of life you get to experience while you travel. Sometimes, shit happens. As beautiful the experience of travel is, it comes to a price - of being out there, exposed to conditions that may be beyond your control. And it is what I always feared at the back of my head. It was hearing your mother say "I told you so."
The next morning we were picked up by my parents, my brother and my aunt. Being the organizer of the trip, who would've known I even got to bring my parents to Lucban (except that the Pahiyas Festival was over). Lesson learned is be aware of the prior health condition of everyone you travel with. Especially if you're going to a really crowded and hot place. Bring always extra cash in case of emergency. Bring health cards or avail of travel insurance.
I'm so glad and relieved that my relative is okay after what happened. It was another first, it was traumatizing probably to all of us who were part of the trip. Now looking back, I would've told myself back then, that hey, that's life. Things won't always go your way. But you can't live in fear. You can't let that stop you from exploring and living life to the fullest.
