May 15, 2010. My friends and I went to Lucban, Quezon to experience the famous Pahiyas Festival. Meet up time was at 4am at McDonald’s Q. Ave. With only 3 hours of sleep, we boarded the bus and were off to Quezon by 4.30am. The trip was organized by NATURE AWARENESS & CONSERVATION CLUB, Inc.
Almost everyone was asleep throughout the trip. I guess the traffic in SLEX, due to the fire in Alabang, was a blessing in disguise since it gave us more sleeping time.
By 9.30am, we were already wandering the streets of Lucban. The very first house we saw was the grandest one. The whole wall was decorated. It had giant statues up to miniature figurines. I was in so much awe and thought “hey, these people really prepare for this festival!”
While walking the streets I noticed these really colorful leaf shaped things, stuck in a barbeque stick on a griller. It’s called Kiping. Apparently, it’s a delicacy made from rice flour. We did not get the chance to try it but I heard someone say it tastes like rice crispies. They use this to decorate the houses too.
After experiencing Lucban, we had lunch at Majayjay and shot photos at the church. We were there for about an hour and a half and then we were headed for Liliw.
In Liliw, we were given halo-halo for snacks and we went around a bit to shop for shoes. Liliw is famous for footwear. They’re really cheap compared to the prices back in Manila. Unfortunately, I was not able to buy any since I got pissed off at the salesman. He wasn’t accommodating! We were at Liliw for half an hour and the last stop was the sunken cemetery. It closes at 4pm so we were just able to take pictures outside the wrought iron gate.
It was my first time to experience Pahiyas. It was a verrrrryyy tiring day, yes, but it was fun! I am proud to be a Filipino. We are blessed with a rich culture, nice people, and a lot of historical sites. We have a whole history behind us. I will surely make it a point to visit other festivals. After all, it wouldn’t hurt to know the history and culture of my country.
Vida loves travelling. She will take you to those places at http://vids05.blogspot.com/
Photos courtesy of Dyan Hermogenes and NACCI members
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