Wednesday, November 07, 2007
TRAVELS TO SUBIC
When we were young, my parents would sometimes entrust a group of us kids -- me and my siblings and cousins -- with the driver and conductor of the bus that would take us to my Tia Isabel's house in Subic. They would be given instructions on exactly where to drop us off, and since we were a bunch of well-behaved kids and Tia Isabel's house was right along the highway, the driver and conductor never had any problem with us.
However, our parents would urge us not to drink too much liquid before and during the trip so we wouldn't yell isbo quite often, in which case the driver would have to stop near some clearing to allow us to get off the bus and relieve ourselves.
And if our parents couldn't come to Subic to bring us back to the city, it would be the same deal on our way back. My Tia Isabel would just flag down a Manila bound bus and while ushering us aboard, she'd give both the driver and conductor instructions as to whom we should be handed over to once we arrived in the bus terminal in Manila.
The striking difference between these trips would always be the bag of snacks our aunt would prepare for our trip -- it would always be filled with boiled eggs. No one wanted boiled eggs. We craved for those boiled saba bananas or the sweet coconut delicacies that vendors in Pampanga would sell. But so as our mother wouldn't get upset to find a bagful of boiled eggs uneaten during the trip, my brother would give it the bus driver and conductor as a token of my aunt's appreciation for watching over us during the trip.
posted by Señor Enrique at 8:11 AM
24 Comments:
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said... I think this photograph will look nicer if one of the eggs is hatching, with a chick peeking out. hehehe.
Reminded me of the times my father would hatch eggs. He had an incubator which my uncle constructed for him.
Anyway, though the incubator looked crude compared to today's standards, it was completely functional - and always successfully yielded 90 percent of the eggs.
I would ask Tatay what day the eggs would hatch. Aabangan ko talaga. I loved peering through the small viewing glass to watch as each egg cracked. Hmmmp! Itsura ng Discovery Channel documentation! I had it live before my eyes then! hehe.-
Señor Enrique said... My Tio Simeon in Subic had one of those incubators, too, but I never got a chance to see an egg actually hatching. You're right! That would be a great photo to take.
My Tio Simeon also dabbled with duck eggs. I remember one summer when there would be dances held in the barrio plaza, I'd help my cousin sell balut until I'd hear Tia Inez cussin' through the crowd of roadside spectators as she looked for me.-
pusa said...
i like buying itlog ng pugo whenever i go out of town, un tinitinda na nakalagay sa plastic ng ice candy :) parang ansarap sarap, pero pag byahe ko lang gusto kumain nun
bad kayo, pabaon sa inyo pos nd nyo kinain! hehehe-
Photo Cache said...
when i as growing up, i imagined subic to be some other worldly place. i really dont know why. it must be all the gis. still would love to visit someday.
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said...
Nice composition though---simple and elegant :-)! I like your anecdote too about childhood trips to the province. I have my funny memories too but this one about bus stops for relieving the bladder has its gems. When i was small, I recall the funniest "easing" area the bus stopped was a huge pineapple field! My mother quipped, the driver should have been a woman.
As to eggs, our female dove is sitting on her second batch of eggs. (it has since been two weeks now and she seldom leaves the eggs.) The first batch of offsprings are now winging their way joyfully in the blue expanse after having been "trained" and weaned by the father dove. After having been witness to such devotion and nurturance from both parent doves towards their young, I have given up the idea of cooking doves' eggs.-
ScroochChronicles said...
Your "boiled eggs" story had me reminiscing about my own childhood trips to the province. We also had our stash of boiled eggs and ham sandwiches (with Lady's Choice sandwich spread) for our trips. I hated eating those eggs too kasi nahihirinan ako palagi. For drinks we had Sunkist in those triangle boxes and you had to peel the paper so you could punch your straw through the hole. Tagal na nun, wala pang tetra pak :)
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mgaputonimimi said...
ang sarap naman ng feeling na nagbabyahe at puro kayo bata.. ^_^ at ang haba pa ng byahe non..
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Señor Enrique said...
That's right, Mimi -- about four hours back then since NLEX didn't exist, yet. There were no air-conditioned buses, either :( Pero masaya din kami kasi exciting and it wasn't as dangerous back then. Nowadays, I'm hounded with trepidation about taking public provincial buses because of holdups.
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Señor Enrique said...
And since we weren't allowed to drink too much liquids, Scrooch, halos mabulunan ka na sa nilagang itlog ... hehehe. Sweets were the best baon back then.
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Señor Enrique said...
Perhaps, that may be the reason why Tia Isabel didn't want us watch how they kill the chicken for our meals, Bernadette. She was probably afraid it might traumatize the kids and never eat chicken ever again ... hehehe.
That's sweet how your doves are doing well in terms of raising their brood. Good luck.
Now, that was nasty about the driver parking the bus at a pineapple field. Those long leaves have sharp, pin-like stuff along their edges, no?
Thanks, Bernadette. I'm trying to learn more about simple compositions.-
Señor Enrique said...
You should have seen the river near my aunt's house in Subic during the afternoon, Photo Cache -- it was like being in Los Angeles -- mostly filled with Pinoy, as well as white and black kids, including the children of Pinay mothers and their American husbands. Strange how our province seemed more westernized than Manila back then.
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Señor Enrique said...
Not those quail eggs are smaller and easier for kids to eat while traveling than those boiled chicken eggs, Pusa ... hehehe.
Yup, that was the reason why my brother would give away the bag of boiled eggs to the driver :)-
Aura said...
Your story reminds me of my own childhood. We are 6 cousins that regularly spend our school holidays with our lolo & lola.
The only difference is we used to take the train in those days coz my lolo was "hepe" in Rosales train station in Pangasinan, which is also the trains last stop. I dont remember what my brother and i have for baon, but like you i also dont like boiled egg,i prefer the quials egg as they are smaller.-
Señor Enrique said...
Glad to know my childhood reminiscing rekindled some of your fond memories also, Aura!
I would have loved to take a train back then but there is no rail system up to Zambales back then until now. And I wonder why the Americans never thought of building one.-
Daisy said...
Hi Senor Enrique.
Funny story. In a recent trip to Subic one of my companions was looking for boiled eggs to eat while we went down for a rest stop at Double Happiness.
Images of men peddling boiled eggs in plastic bags with a basket of chips shouting at the estribo come to mind. But apparently there was none in the bus to Olongapo.
She had to order from one of the counters extra egg ( which was for the congee I think) hahahhaa.
:)-
Señor Enrique said...
Lol ... those were the days, Daisy.
When I was a kid, the windows of the buses were made of lawanit that you'd raise up as a shield against the sun or rain, but once the bus reached a certain place in Pampanga, the bus would stop for a few minutes and the vendors would raise up their goods by the windows. I missed those days!
Double Happiness has some interesting foodstuffs. The restaurant at the far side isn't all that bad, but takes time for them to prepare your order. Baka maiwanan ka ng bus :)-
INKBLOTS said...
When I went home to the province during undas, my elder sisters reminded me of how I craved for fresh eggs for breakfast,lunch, and dinner.
As if it was a learned habit or technique, I should say, I would create a mound of hot and steaming rice, make a hole on top like a volcano, then break the egg on it, then quickly cover it with the hot rice. I would wait for a few seconds until "I knew" it is already cooked. Then I would mix it with the rice. It was yummy!
When I tried it again, I could now say, "yukkkk!" No wonder why my mom and my dad, and my sisters, and my brothers would scold me everytime I cry if there was no fresh egg on the dining table.
I was such a brat!-
-= dave =- said...
Back in college, for my overnight trip from Naga to Cubao, my mother would give me boiled eggs and hotcake as baon. I'd eat them as breakfast when I arrive in the dorm.
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-= dave =- said...
Mango would still be my favorite, but any fruit would be fine with me when I am sick. Another comfort food for me would be soup, especially chicken soup (tinola or otherwise, hehe).
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Señor Enrique said...
Ah yes, mangoes, especially with suman, Dave :) Delicious!
My Tia Isabel also used to make hotcakes for merienda. One time, when my Tia Rosario dragged me to an elementary school in Subic where she taught religion in the afternoon, all the kids' attention turned to me as I ate the hotcake that Tia Isabel prepared for me as my baon. I was too occupied with my munching and only realized their stares midway to my finishing my snack ... hehehe.-
Señor Enrique said...
By the way, Dave, MLQ3 has a response for you on my North Cemetery entry:
http://senorenrique.blogspot.com/2007/10/manila-north-cemetery.html-
Señor Enrique said...
Wow! I've never tried that before, Ding -- only a bottle of sarsaparilla with a fresh egg mixed in ... hehehe. The proponent of power drinks, I guess ... hehehe.
My Tia Rosario used to crack one open, remove the white part, and then swallow the yolk. That I wouldn't even think of trying.-
said...
Your blog entry struck a struck a childhood chord in me. My mother is from San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte, and during December and in summer we would take the bus to go there, and guess what she would always bring for all of us as snacks - boiled eggs. Even at that time I had thought that it was strange to bring those as baon, but then I quickly figured out that it was only because they can fill your tummy quickly and quite well. Staple talaga yun, and in fact they were also available sa mga many stopovers along the way. 8-hr road trips and hard-boiled eggs - winning combination!
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Señor Enrique said...
I know, Raul, but kung minsan nakakabilaok ang nilagang itlog so, we'd often eye those sweet delicacies that those vendoes would sell along the way, especially in the Pampanga area. Even the boiled saging saba we much preferred over those boiled eggs from Tia Issabel's poultry ... hehehe.
Many thanks for dropping by!
