Tour of the M/V St. Francis Xavier (Manila)

MV St. Francis Xavier

The M/V St. Francis Xavier (SFX for short), launched last March 19, 2014 at Manila’s North Harbor, is one of 2GO Travel’s (the Philippines’ biggest shipping company) biggest ships.

It is also the third ship of 2GO (the other two are M/V Joan of Arc and M/V St. Michael the Archangel) to ply the Manila-Bacolod City (Negros Occidental) route.  

Its top man is 50 year old Capt. Leo L. Inocencio, a father of four and 16-year ship captain of 6 ships.

The ship's hotel-like lobby

The car deck

This 11,191-ton vessel, with a maximum speed of 19 knots and a capacity of 1,910 passengers and 180 TEU (twenty-feet equivalent units) of cargo (160 huge containers), is 150.87 m. (equivalent to 10 buses joined end-to-end) long and 29 m. wide.  

It was acquired in 2013 for US$16 million from a Korean company (it was built in Japan in 1991); dry-docked, repaired, refurbished in Subic for 3 months to become domestic cruise ship (a breakthrough in the local shipping industry).

The ship's bridge

Capt. Leo Inocencio

One of the most technologically advanced ships to dock at North Harbor, the SFX was also equipped with new technology and safety features that pass international standards and impressed the London Protection and Indemnity (P&I) surveyors that reviewed the SFX a day after its maiden voyage.  

Aside from the standard 3 radars, automatic radar piloting aid (ARPA), a gyro compass and echo sounders, it also has a Global Maritime Distress System (GMDS), a sprinkler system for passengers, and a water mist system (used to expeditiously control and extinguish  fires and protect shipboard machinery spaces).

The economy class restaurant

Salon and spa

As part of 2Go Travel’s “Sarap Maglakbay” slogan, the 2GO group decided to upgrade the SFX (as well as some of its other vessels) to provide the ambiance of a cruise ship, thus giving passengers a more comfortable and enjoyable trip.  

Redesigned to look “affordably chic,” its beautiful interiors were exquisitely designed and upgraded by One Urban to become an extravagantly comfortable floating hotel.  

It features 4 suites, 12 state rooms, 8 cabins, 8 Business Class rooms and 12 Tourist Class rooms, all of which have ensuite toilet and shower rooms and 5-channel flat screen TVs.  It also has 18 Mega Value rooms, 2 Super Value rooms and a contingency room, all with clean and separate restroom and shower rooms for male and female.

The first class restaurant

The open air deck

To entertain passengers when they travel between 19 to 25 hours, a bar features a comedy show and other performances.  A multi-events hall, formerly an empty, high-ceilinged space atop the deck, now features a mezzanine floor. 

A conference hall during the day, it can be transformed into a 500-pax karaoke club or party area at night. 

At its open air deck, guests can converge for island sightseeing and stargazing. Other amenities on board the SFX include spacious, brightly-colored economy and first class restaurants; a relaxing salon and spa; and a 24-hour convenience store.

A typical suite

The multi-events hall

The ship also serves as a training vessel for students taking up tourism and maritime courses.  It undergoes quarterly and yearly audits and it is accredited with the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) as well as internationally-certified with the Bureau Veritas and also American Bureau of Shipping.

The SFX serves the Visayas ports of Bacolod City, Iloilo City (Iloilo) and Dumaguete City (Negros Oriental) and the Mindanao port of Zamboanga City (Zamboanga del Sur). 

Every Wednesday, the SFX plies the Manila-Bacolod City-Iloilo City-Manila route and, every Saturday, the Manila-Cebu-Dumaguete City-Zamboanga City-Dumaguete City-Manila route.

2GO VP - Passage Business/Chief Commercial Officer Mr. Stephen Tagud (center) with VIP guests

2GO Travel: 15/F, Times Plaza Bldg., United Nations Ave. cor. Taft Ave., Ermita, Manila. Website:  www.2go.com.ph. Customer Interaction Center (for schedules, rates and ticket delivery): tel: (+63 2) 528-7000 (trunkline), e-mail: info@2go.com.ph; Website Coordinator (for online ticketing): tell: (+63 2) 528-7209 (trunkline); Tours and Group Sales: tel: (+63 2) 528-7840 (direct line), mobile numbers: (0905) 478-6596 (Globe), (0919) 894-3926 (Smart) and (0922) 205-1963 (Sun), e-mail: Tours_and_Groups@2go.com.ph. 

"Walk This Way" with Carlos Celdran

Carlos Celdran: "The Pied Piper of Manila"

Our tour begins .......

In 2002, Carlos Celdran founded "Walk This Way," a one-man, multi-venue costumed performance that leads  patrons through the walled city of Manila, with Celdran,  the producer and director, also  alternately acting and narrating along the way.  

To explain Philippine history (from the Spanish and American eras up to the Japanese Occupation) in an interesting way, Carlos infused this fascinating performance with a fine-tuned script and theatrical elements as well as comedy, costumes and music, placing special emphasis on issues surrounding Philippine arts, culture, and international geopolitics in order to place Philippine history within a global context. This tour received a thumbs-up feature in a 2005 issue of Time magazine.

The gate of Fort Santiago

The inner walls of the fort

An infusion of comedy

It just so happened that Mr. Celdran, seemingly in a good mood, offered his half-day, weekend Intramuros Barter Tours wherein we just paid a discounted rate of PhP400 (which covers the cost of museum admission, kalesa or pedicab ride, snacks, etc) instead of the normal PhP1,100 (Php600 for students) per person.  However, we also had to trade in something creative and from the heart.  In my case, I traded in a new, autographed copy of my fifth book, “A Tourist Guide to NotablePhilippine Museums” (New Day Publishers, 2012). 

Jandy joined us and Cheska brought along Kyle, my grandson, who needed to be breastfed every now and then.  We arrived at Fort Santiago, the assembly area, at a few minutes past the 4 PM scheduled start of the tour, having been delayed by traffic due to road repairs along the way.  Mr. Celdran arrived even later, also caught up in our same predicament.   The weather was rather perfect, not too hot and the sky was clear.

Talking about our National Hero beside the Rizal Shrine

Carlos arrived wearing the Spanish-colonial garb of an illustrado plus his signature bowler hat (he was to do a number of costume changes according to the era) on his shaved head. Our rather huge tour group consisted of 25 – 30 individuals and I was surprised to see that almost half of the group were Filipinos. We all gathered around "The Pied Pipier of Manila" who began his performance with the singing of the National Anthem. I kind of loved the American wartime tunes that came out of an old stereo cassette player which he played while we walked from one area to the next.

Carlos talks about the bombing of Manila

Carlos then took us back in history with his witty remarks and theatrical storytelling. There was never a dull moment as our legendary tour guide gave us a brief yet comprehensive account, from a totally different point of view, of the beginnings of Manila and the dynamic development of Intramuros.  

Carlos then took us back in history with his witty remarks and theatrical storytelling. There was never a dull moment as our legendary tour guide gave us a brief yet comprehensive account, from a totally different point of view, of the beginnings of Manila and the dynamic development of Intramuros.  

Why don’t we have those amazing wonders from our neighboring Asian countries (Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Borobodur Temple in Indonesia, or Ayutthaya in Thailand)? Well, according to Carlos, we simply didn’t have the raw materials - all we had was highly-flammable bamboo and indigenous volcanic rock and ash. Every now and then, Carlos was shelling out the very iconic, uniquely Filipino ChocNut bars (a childhood favorite of mine) for everybody to sample.

Bulwagan ng Panunulat (Chamber of Texts)

Silid ng Nalalabi (Reliquary Room)

Kyle's first kalesa ride

Inside a tunnel turned airconditioned audio-visual room, Carlos gave us a compelling and unforgettable description of a bombed-out Manila at the end of World War II.   Did you know that it wasn’t the Japanese who destroyed the heart of Manila? 

It was the Americans who bombed, under orders from Gen. Douglas MacArthur himself, Intramuros into rubble, killing Japanese soldiers as well as 100,000 Filipino civilians who were treated as collateral damage.  After Warsaw (Poland), Manila was the second most devastated city in the world during World War II. 

From Fort Santiago, Carlos asked us to choose, as mode of transportation to Intramuros, between pedicabs  or the kalesa (a Filipino version of a horse-drawn carriage), paid beforehand by Carlos for us to ride (providing these operators with additional income). 

We chose the more interesting latter, a first time experience for Kyle and a second for the rest of us.  With these modes of transport, we passed by the ruins of the former St. Ignatius Church and the former Ateneo de Manila before reaching our destination - San Agustin Church (a UNESCO World Heritage Site).  There was wedding in progress when we arrived.

San Agustin Church: A UNESCO World Heritage Site

Enjoying our halo-halo as Carlos continues his talk

Presenting Carlos with an autographed copy of my book

Mr. Celdran pointed out the 4 lion sculptures (fu dogs) by the doorway (donated by Chinese who converted to Catholicism), a quirky mix of foreign influence within the designs of the church which include an Italian-inspired painted ceiling, Greek-inspired pilasters on the facade (that doesn’t support anything) and the ornate carvings of the images of St. Augustine and St. Monica on the wooden door. 

We all then crossed over to Casa Manila where, to the delight of the crowd, Carlos capped the tour off with glasses of refreshing halo-halo (translated as “mix-mix”), another traditionally Filipino dessert made with shaved ice, evaporated milk, assorted fruits, gulaman, and sweet, red mungo beans. While we were enjoying this, he incorporated this final sweet treat in his talk, telling us that Filipinos and their culture has become a conglomeration of various cultural (Spanish, American, Chinese, Malay, Indian, etc.) influences. Remove these influences and we just might not be the culture-filled and multilingual people, with such colorful backgrounds, that we are today.  Mr. Celdran ended the 3-hour walking tour with photo ops with guests.

Photo-ops with Mr. Celdran

NOTE:On October 8, 2019, cultural activist and artist Carlos Celdran died of natural causes in Madrid (where he lived in lonely, self-imposed exile, since January 2019, after being convicted of blasphemy), Spain at the age of 46. Before he died, he was conducting the Camino Real Walking Tour which traced Jose Rizal's footsteps as an immigrant in Madrid.

Walk This Way Tours: Tel: (632) 484-4945.  Mobile number: (0920) 909-2021.  E-mail: celdrantours@hotmail.com. Website: celdrantours@blogspot.com.

Resort Feature: Dasoland Family Adventure Park (Dasol, Pangasinan)

The resort's swimming pools

Flamingos at Zooland

The sprawling, 62-hectare Dasoland Family Adventure Park, a new eco-tourism destination set in vast and remote mango plantation, has a number of theme areas, around 3,500 mango trees plus a Japanese Garden, Cactus House, Bamboo setum (a showcase of different kinds of bamboo varieties) and Flower Park.  

It also has two authentic, pyramidal-roofed  Ifugao houses, knocked down from its original home in the Cordilleras, transported here and then reassembled.  For those who want to stay overnight, there are airconditioned cottages with bath and, for recreation, there are two swimming pools (adult and kiddie), a boating lagoon, gazebos, picnic huts, children's playground and mini-golf course.  

You can also explore the resort through horseback riding and biking.   The Nativity and Santa Village has an enormous collection of Santa Claus bric-a-brac ranging from the life-size to the miniature.  Around it are life-size dioramas of Nativity scenes. 

The Villa

The resort also has a display of World War II memorabilia (Willys jeeps, trucks, ambulance, etc.), kalesas (horse-drawn carriages used in the Philippines) and farm implements (plows, carts, etc.). 

For animal lovers, Zooland has a collection of ostriches, pink and orange-colored flamingos, snakes, cassowaries, cockatoos, horses, a dwarf pony, etc.  while the Butterfly Garden, built to show the life cycle of butterflies, features some of them in free flight and swirling around us. 

The two-storey Villa, a faithful reproduction of an ancestral bahay na bato (stone house) with a fountain in front, sliding capiz windows, grand staircase and a showcase collection of century-old Philippine furniture collected from around the country. It is also a venue for painting exhibits and folk dancing and singing. 

Dasoland Family Adventure Park: Brgy. San Vicente, Dasol, Pangasinan.  Tel: 816-3875. Mobile number: (0917) 545-5343. E-mail: dasoland@yahoo.com.