CROSSING BRIDGES 7 - Western Visayas, Philippines 18-25 Nov 2010

[ed9119]

Introduction of Plot

Crossing Bridges is an annual photography trip aimed at fostering relationships with photographers and admin/mods from around the various online Photo Forums in Asia.

2010 is the 7th edition of this gathering.

Participating photography forums are

Singapore - Clubsnap.com
Malaysia - Photomalaysia.com
Indonesia - Fotografer.net
Vietnam - Photo.vn
Philippines - Photoworldmanila.com (FPPF)

These 5 forums host a combined community of more than 500,000 photography enthusiasts from around the region. More forums over the next few years will be joining this bridge-building , community enhancement activity

Crossing Bridges began in 2004 and is organized on a rotation basis by each country each year

2004 - Central Java, Indonesia
2005 - Hong Kong and Macau
2006 - Hanoi and Sapa, Vietnam
2007 - Semporna East Malaysia
2008 - Siem Reap and Angkor Wat Cambodia
2009 - Padang West Sumatra, Indonesia
2010 - Western Visayas, Philippines

What do we do during these trips?

We go out daily shooting at various places but more importantly:

1. photographers and admin/mods from different countries/forums get to know one another better

2. total photography immersion ..... every year, we eat, sleep and errhmm... everything photography

3. we learn about the different cultures, habits, shooting styles of different countries

4. there will be a photo sharing session or two

Do I need to be a Pro or admin/mod in order to participate ?

NO, but it would be good if you are someone who is serious about photography as a hobby or as a job

NO Girlfriends/Boyfriends, NO Wives/Husbands allowed to tag along

Is this expensive?

This is a strictly non-profit program and participants pay a land cost that covers
daily twin sharing accomodations (3-4 star accomodations)
all meals (proper restauraunts)
all transport and sea transfers
all local taxes, admission fees, local guides' fees
opening and closing dinners
THIS trip will cost you US$450 per head for above .......... dont ask me how they stretch this amount out over 8 days with the above thrown in ... I have no clue.

This year's trip is 8 days (7 nights) and includes a domestic internal flight as well as inter-island ferry transfers

How do I get there?

You will need to buy a round trip plane ticket to get to the start point Cebu City, Philippines

I will be using Cebu Pacific Air
departing Singapore to Cebu on 18 Nov 2010
departing Cebu back to Singapore on 28 Nov 2010 (I want to spend 3 extra days AFTER the official trip to continue shooting other places there)
BUT of course you can go back to Singapore on 25 Nov Thurs if you want to .....

NOTE: Some Cebu Pacific flights from Singapore to Cebu will transit at Manila for a couple of hours.......... so not ALL flights are DIRECT Singapore to Cebu

Note Note : I understand that the Indonesians , Malaysian might want to spend an extra day or two too in Manila ........... you are free to tag along with them if you want to

WHATEVER IT IS......... DAY 1 starts on 18 Nov and Day 8 (end) is on 25 Nov

 

[Daoyin]

Is there a limit to number of participants from each country and when is the closing date?

 

[limtt]

I am interested. How to register and payment to be made to who. Thanks.

 

[sigg]

1. sigg

 

[SMC]

1. sigg
2. SMC

 

[ed9119]

DAY 1
November 18 (Thursday):WHOLE DAY - Arrival of delegates in Cebu/pickup from Airport/shuttle to Hotel/Registration and Room allocations

7:00pm - Welcome Dinner

DAY 2
November 19 (Friday):

7:00 am – Assemble at Capitol, Escario Entrance then depart for Compostela

7:45 am – Arrive in Compostela in front of Municipal Hall for breakfast with
cultural presentation. Compostela is a 4th class municipality in the province of Cebu, Philippines.

9:00 am - Depart for Danao. Danao City is well-known for its gun industry. The industry started around 1905-1906. When World War II came, the Danao gunsmiths went underground, joined the guerrilla movement or were inducted into the USAFFE. Their main task was to re-chamber the Japanese Arisaka rifles to fit the US .30 caliber round or to keep the original Japanese rifle in good service. The industry went on, still underground. In the 1960s, the term paltik was given to the homemade (and illegal) guns. In the early 1990s the industry was legalized by the government, with the creation of two organizations of local gunsmiths. The organization now left with proper permit is Workers League of Danao Multi-purpose Cooperative (World MPC), in Dungguan, Danao City.

9:20 am – Arrive in Danao Fishing Port

10:00 am – Depart for Carmen

10:20 am – Arrive at Our Lady of Manaog Shrine.

11:20 am – Depart for Sogod

11:50 am – Arrive in Sogod, Borussia, then proceed to Alegre Resort for lunch with
cultural presentation. Alegre Beach Resort is set amidst 7 hectares of lush tropical gardens. Alegre is known for its natural beauty and quiet luxury.

1:30 pm – Depart for Borbon
2:00 pm – Arrive in Borbon

3:00 pm – Depart for Tabogon
3:30 pm – Arrive in Tabogon, cultural presentation, snacks

4:30 pm – Depart for Daanbantayan
5:45 pm – Arrive in Daanbantayan, church visit then municipal building

6:45 pm – Depart for Medellin
7:15 pm – Arrive in Medellin Hideaway, dinner, cultural presentation

8:30 pm – Depart for check in at resorts


DAY 3
November 20 (Saturday):

8:30 am - Breakfast in San Remigio Beach Resort, cultural presentation

10:15 am – Depart for Hagnaya Wharf
10:45 am – Arrive at Hagnaya Wharf and board boat for Santa Fe. Santa Fe is a 5th class municipality on Bantayan Island. The main Bantayan Island is about 7 miles wide by 10 miles long. About 20 of its islets stretch for another 5 miles long with some being accessible by foot from the main island at low tide. It is considered as Cebu’s fishing ground where shiploads and boatloads of fish are transported daily to Cebu City and Negros. Tons of guinamos (salted fish) and buwad (dried fish) are delivered to Cebu City and Cadiz, Negros for further distribution to as far as Mindanao and Manila. Equally important is the thriving poultry industry with hundreds of thousands of chicken eggs produced daily.

12:30 pm – Arrive at Santa Fe Wharf and transfer boat for Ogtong Beach Resort
1:00 pm - Arrive at Ogtong Beach, lunch, cultural presentation

2:30 pm - Depart for Madridejos. Madridejos is a 4th class municipality in the province of Cebu. It is one of the three municipalities that make up the island of Bantayan.

3:15 pm – Arrive at Lambayan Farm then proceed to Kota Park, cultural presentation

4:45 pm - Depart for Bantayan.
5:15 pm – Arrive at Bantayan, dinner at plaza, cultural presentation

7:00 pm – Depart for check in at resorts

DAY 4
November 21 (Sunday):

6:30 am – Breakfast at resort

7:45 am – Proceed to Santa Fe Catholic Church for those who will attend mass

9:15 am – Depart for Santa Fe Wharf
10:00 am – Depart Santa Fe wharf

11:30 am – Arrive at Hagnaya wharf
11:45 am – Depart for Bogo.
12:00 Noon – Arrive at Bogo plaza, cultural presentation, lunch

2:00 pm – Depart for Catmon.
3:15 pm – Arrive at Catmon, Las Flores, cultural presentation
4:30 pm – Depart Catmon for Liloan
6:00 pm – Arrive in Liloan, cultural show
7:30 pm – Depart for Cebu City
8:30 pm – Arrive in Cebu , dinner

Day 5
November 22 (Monday)

4:00 am – Check out of hotel
4:30 am – Bus departs for Toledo City
6:00 am – Arrival in Toledo City
6:00 – 6:30 Breakfast in Toledo

Toledo lies on Tanon Strait across from Negros Island and the city of San Carlos. It is home to the Philippines' largest copper mine, owned by Atlas Consolidated Mining and Development Corporation. Toledo is connected to Cebu City by two stretches of road that crosses the rugged spine of the island: the Naga-Uling Road and the alternate Manipis Road. A ferry runs between San Carlos and Toledo. During harvest season, migrant sugar workers from Cebu Island travel from Toledo to San Carlos to work in the sugar fields of Negros. A small seaport provides Toledo with commercial inter-island service.

7:00 am – Boat leaves Toledo for San Carlos City
9:00 am – Boat arrives in San Carlos
9:30 – 11:30 am – Shoot Body Painting
12:00 NOON - Lunch
2:30pm - Depart for Bacolod via Don Salvador Benedicto
- Shoot along the way

4:00 pm - Arrive in Bacolod City
4:30 pm - Proceed to the Ruins. The Ruins in Talisay City, Negros Occidental is what remained of the grand mansion that Don Mariano Lacson built, following the death of his first wife, Maria Braga. The mansion was reduced to its skeletal frame when in the early part of World War 2, the United States Armed Forces in the Far East (USAFFE), guerilla fighters during the Japanese occupation, set the mansion ablaze so it will not be used as headquarters by the Japanese forces.

4:30 – 6:00 - Shoot RUINS w/Masskara Dancers.
6:30 - Check in at East View Hotel
7:30 - Dinner at Manokan Country

DAY 6
November 23 (Tuesday):

5:30 am – Take off from hotel for Silay City
6:00 am – Shoot Silay market
7:00 am – Proceed to Balay Negrense for Breakfast. Have requested Silay rondalla with dancers in Maria Clara/native costumes as entertainment and photo op.

8:00 am – Shoot old houses, cathedral, plaza of Silay
9:00 am – Proceed to Hacienda Adela. Will set up **** fighting, tuba gathering, cane harvesting with carabaw and cart
11:00 am – Leave Silay and proceed to lunch
2:30 pm – Take boat going to Iloilo
3:30 pm – Arrival in Iloilo
4:00 pm - Proceed to Freedom grandstand
4:30 pm - Tribe performance of Dinagyang & Kasadyahan
6:30 pm – back to hotel

DAY 7
November 24 (Wednesday):

7:00 -9:15am - To San Joaquin
9:15 -10:00am - Shoot San Joaquin church
10:00 -10:15am - To Campo santo (cemetery)
10:15 -11:00am - Shoot Campo Santo (old cemetery)
11:00 -11:30am - To Miag-ao. Lunch
12:30 - 1:15pm - Shoot Miag-ao church
1:15 - 1:45 pm - To Indagan
1:45 - 2:45 pm - Shoot community of Hablon weavers
2:45 - 3:15pm - Back to Miag-ao
3:15 - 4:30pm - To Guimbal - Shoot Guimbal Church or Tigbauan church
4:30 -5:00pm - To Iloilo City Amigo hotel
5:00 -6:00pm - Preparation for Dinner
6:00 -9:00pm - Culminating dinner

DAY 8
November 25
6:00 am – Check out of hotel
8:00 am – Flight out of Iloilo to Cebu (Cebu Pacific) or to Manila
8:40 am – Arrive in Cebu

Participants can then depart Cebu on their own schedule.

 

[ed9119]

Other previous participants of Crossing Bridges ...........Suhaimi (lost count of the number of awards this guy has garnered) Willie Foo (his 1st prize Far Eastern Art Competition was from a subsequent outing with Indonesian friends after Crossing Bridges) , Sigg, Will03 (William Chua) , Biscuit (pro sports photog) , Ron Lee and Larry are also among the early batches in earlier editions of Crossing Bridges.

HOW DO I GET ON THE TRIP ?

Clubsnap (Singapore) has been allocated only 15 slots . I am taking ONE slot for myself

This leaves 14 slots available..........

YOUR SLOT is confirmed by payment of USD450 either in CASH

or TT/Transfer SG$630

IF you are transferring Singapore Dollars 630 please as in the last 6 years, transfer into my POSBank SAVINGS account 021-12076-6

THEN SEND ME A PM or EMAIL (eddie@walkeast.com) WITH A TRANSACTION NUMBER (REF NO.) SO THAT I KNOW THE $$$ SENT IS FROM YOU

I have had rich jokers send me money in the past without identifying themselves......

I am using a conversion rate of 1.40 (hope it is OK with you guys , I wont get rich on the difference) ....... I have NO idea where USD/SGD rate will head between now and Oct/Nov when I pay the organizing committee

 

[biscuit]

1. sigg
2. SMC
3. biscuit

 

[ed9119]

ADDED BONUS on 26/27 Nov after the trip:

The Mayor of Carcar in Cebu has openly invited us to his city, 40km south of Cebu City

The Heritage City of Cebu, Carcar is home to various Spanish to American period structures. The Carcar plaza alone hosts several Heritage structures, the Church of St. Catherine of Alexandria dominates the area. Within the complex various structures stand. Walking towards Sta. Catalina street one will surely be astonished with the quaint houses and their distinctive architectural details.

A visit to Carcar wouldn't be complete without sampling its mouth-watering delights. Surrounding the Rotunda and in the public market one will find the famous Carcar chicharon, lechon, ampao, bucarillo, gogorias and puso are just some delectable delicacies worth tasting

I understand that we will be visiting a lechon making facility (BBQ meats factory)

NO ADDITIONAL COSTS involved (of course that night hotel back in Cebu we will need to pay ourselves)

 

[LOTUSfairy]

:vhappy: kudos..

 

[sigg]

An Interview With Nature...... Crossing Bridges 6 in West Sumatra

 

[FireRawkz]

Repost due to cross posting

 

[Dan]

1. sigg
2. SMC
3. biscuit
4. FireRawkz
5. Dan
6. Tung

 

[FireRawkz]

1. sigg
2. SMC
3. biscuit
4. Dan
5. Tung
6. Firerawkz

 

[ed9119]

hi

dis include air ticket from Singapore or excluded

I wish....... this does NOT include international air flight tickets to cebu and back...... the cost above is for domestic only and covers ALL within that itinerary from the moment you step off your plane in cebu to the moment you get back on the plane back to singapore

 

[laokayu]

1. sigg
2. SMC
3. biscuit
4. Dan
5. Tung
6. Firerawkz
7. LaoKaYu

 

[ed9119]

"Danao City is well-known for its gun industry.

The industry started around 1905-1906. When World War II came, the Danao gunsmiths went underground, joined the guerrilla movement or were inducted into the USAFFE. Their main task was to re-chamber the Japanese Arisaka rifles to fit the US .30 caliber round or to keep the original Japanese rifle in good service. The industry went on, still underground. In the 1960s, the term paltik was given to the homemade (and illegal) guns. In the early 1990s the industry was legalized by the government, with the creation of two organizations of local gunsmiths. The organization now left with proper permit is Workers League of Danao Multi-purpose Cooperative (World MPC), in Dungguan, Danao City."

I CANNOT IMAGINE how we are going to shoot gun-making workshops at Danao ...... am checking if we can do this safely

 

[airforce1]

Re: CROSSING BRIDGES 7 - Western Visayas, Philippines 18-25 Nov 2010

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1. sigg
2. SMC
3. biscuit
4. Dan
5. Tung
6. Firerawkz
7. LaoKaYu
8. airforce1

 

[robotech]

Re: CROSSING BRIDGES 7 - Western Visayas, Philippines 18-25 Nov 2010

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1. sigg
2. SMC
3. biscuit
4. Dan
5. Tung
6. Firerawkz
7. LaoKaYu
8. airforce1
9. robotech

 

[BananaDiver]

CROSSING BRIDGES 7 - Western Visayas, Philippines 18-25 Nov 2010

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1. sigg
2. SMC
3. biscuit
4. Dan
5. Tung
6. Firerawkz
7. LaoKaYu
8. airforce1
9. robotech
10. BananaDiver