Traveling with Mona

Today, May 15 Lucban celebrates Lucban San Isidro Pahiyas Festival or simply called Pahiyas Festival. It is a colorful festival honoring the patron saint of farmers San Isidro Labrador.

Yearly, several houses have kiping decorations. Kiping is a brightly-colored, leaf-shaped wafer made of rice paste and used as decoration (wikipedia). Actually, it’s like a competition because the most beautiful house with kiping decorations will receive huge prize. The festival is not only popular in the places nearby but foreigners from different parts of the world are visiting Pahiyas festival yearly.

I wish to witness this year’s Pahiyas festival but it’s really hard if you have a kid with you. It’s really hot and I am telling you there are many people and tourist from different places come to witness Pahiyas festival. 2010 when I last witnessed Pahiyas Festival. I was with my classmates in Caregiving that time. Here are some of the photos during Pahiyas Festival 2010.

There are different resorts in Lucban, Quezon that you can visit and enjoy. Mainly, because it is located near in Mount Banahaw so they are blessed to have number of falls and blooming resorts business.

Going back to Lucena from our trip to Liliw, Laguna I’ve seen these people who are enjoying in the river. The place is located in Lucban, Quezon but sorry I can’t provide the actual place. I just took the photo while we are passing by the place. I learned that you need to pay for only 10 pesos to enjoy the place. The blue and pink small houses are actually the cottages. My brother said the water here is so cold and sometimes you can’t stay in the water for longer hours if you can’t beat the coldness of the water. I guess the water comes from Mount Banahaw.

I realized the true meaning of happiness upon looking to these people. To other people visiting other places and paying for expensive accommodation will find their true happiness. For me, I just appreciated the true happiness is not the cost of accommodation so whether expensive or not the important is how you enjoy the place and the experience.

Th church of Lilio also known as Saint John the Baptist Parish is located in Liliw, Laguna. The front wall of the church is made of red bricks. The church was founded in the year 1605, so I think more than 400 years already. In the year 1880 strong earthquake badly damaged the church and partially burned by a fire in 1898.

This is the view of Mount Banahaw. I took this photo when we went to Liliw, Laguna. It is located between the provinces of  Quezon and Laguna. The trees below Mount Banahaw  are  coconut tress;  you can see thousand of coconut trees in Quezon province. Anyway, this Mount Banahaw is well seen in my window especially during sunny day.

Mount Banahaw is very popular most especially during Holy Week because many said it’s a holy mountain. Hundreds of mountain climbers and pilgrim groups are visiting this place. During my college days I had the chance to visit near Mount Banahaw. We planted tress in Dolores, Quezon located in the foot of Mount Banahaw. I wonder now what happened to the tress we planted.

Last April 29 we went to Liliw, Laguna known as Tsinelas capital of Laguna. This is our second time to visit the place. As usual our purpose is to buy shoes and slippers that we could sell. That time people are busy because they will be celebrating their 11^th Liliw Gat Tayaw Tsinelas Festival 2012. As I am sharing this post the festival is happening already starting from April 30 till May 6. Different activities are line-up with regards with their festival.

We haven’t experience how they celebrate their festival because as I said we went there before the actual festival luckily we had the chance to take photo of some of the huge sandals  that are feature in their festival.

I am linking this post in Color Connection