Arizona Filipino Forum Publishes My First Travel Article

I volunteered to write for a local Filipino community newspaper called the Arizona Filipino Forum. My friend's wife is the editor-in-chief and they are both very active in the local community -- they are inspirations! My first travel article was published in this month's issue, and I'm so excited! Here is a scanned image (thanks, Jamal!) and the full text.



Discover Durango
Historic mountain town offers scenic train ride and a journey back in time

I didn’t know quite what to expect heading into the city of Durango, Colorado. Driving eight hours from the desert of the Grand Canyon State to the alpine terrain of the Centennial State, I had visions of a town nestled in the Rocky Mountains, with restaurants and souvenir shops lining Main Avenue awaiting the usual throng of summer tourists.

Little did I know that Durango was much, much more than that.

We arrived late on a Friday afternoon to the downpour of a summer thunderstorm, cleansing, sweet-smelling, without the aroma of desert sand as I had gotten used to. It lasted all of 20 minutes. And then the shiny, wet streets were bustling once more.

Durango with its population of 14,000 is larger than your average mountain locale. On this Friday evening, Main Avenue was a throbbing vein of locals and tourists alike. Smiling young adults chatted and laughed as they headed towards the local bars. Live music tinkled through the mountain air as local bands jazzed up the atmosphere to something akin to a party.

Tourists ambled down the sidewalks to explore their dining options. My adventurous taste buds marveled at one culinary find: few towns offer the option of a Himalayan kitchen, and that’s where I ended up seated at a table, sampling the tasty delicacies of Tibet and Nepal from half a globe away.

Begin to discover Durango’s past and you will see that this historic town has kept its old western roots that make it one of the destinations of choice in southwestern Colorado. Downtown Durango is a Nationally Registered Historic District, one of many significant and preservation-worthy sites on a registry administered by the Department of the Interior. Boutique hotels from the 1800’s line Main Avenue with their nostalgic architecture in full display, taking one back 120 years to a more lawless, yet somehow more innocent time.

Durango does not just dwell on its past; there is always something for the here-and-now. Perched at an altitude of 6,512 ft above sea level, the town’s location offers a climate that thrives with activity year-round. Hiking, biking, rock climbing, fishing, kayaking, golfing, horseback riding, and glider and balloon rides are available for the outdoor enthusiasts. Museums, stagecoach rides, jeep tours and other guided visits are on hand for the history buffs. And for souls in need of a peaceful respite, there are hot springs, spas, and numerous shops and art galleries to discover the local flavor and enrich the spirit.

In the fall, one can simply visit the town to marvel at the changing colors of autumn. And in the winter, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, dog sledding, ice climbing, snowboarding and sleigh ride opportunities are up for grabs.

But the crown jewel of this town’s attractions is one that will take a full day to enjoy and a lifetime to wrap one’s head around: a train ride on the historic Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad.

Completed in 1882, the line was originally built to carry silver and gold ore through the San Juan Mountains between Durango and the historic mining town of Silverton. Today, it carries travelers on an authentic coal-fired, steam-powered locomotive through breathtaking canyons, with spectacular views of the Animas River as the train follows it upstream.

I took the 9 a.m. train on a Saturday morning, enjoying a hot chocolate from the concessions car as we inched away from the station at 35 mph, eventually speeding up as we left the congestion of town. Before long, the view of rural neighborhoods and pine forests opened up to striking, picturesque canyons, with dramatic views of the hundred-mile long Animas River. The train ran beside the flowing water through the forested mountains; sometimes the river’s shimmering surface was a steep hundred-foot drop below, sometimes it was a mere ten yards outside my window.

Three enchanting hours later, the tiny town of Silverton came into view. I stepped out of the train car onto a dirt road in a sparse locale, with multihued buildings on all of three streets exuding a quaint, old air straight out of an old western. Everywhere I looked, the vista ended at the foot of a rocky, pine-covered hill that rose even higher than where I was at 9,300 feet.

I had a few hours to have lunch and explore this town whose famous visitors once included Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday. Restaurants were few, souvenir shops were aplenty, and just as I like my mountain towns, no familiar store chains were to be found. At 3:15 p.m., the train sounded four whistles that signaled imminent departure, and soon we were chugging down the railroad once again, this time following the Animas River downstream.

I sat and lazily welcomed the three-hour ride back to Durango, watching the afternoon sun break through the peaks and trees, often illuminating a wide abyss on one side as impenetrable mountain rock stared me in the face on the other.

As my mind settled in to enjoy a second helping of the scenery, it wasn’t difficult to ponder the colossal effort it took to build such a passage through the mountains. But to boggle the mind and squeeze the heart, I knew for certain that there were women like me, women I would never come to know, who saw these same magnificent views, jostled about in the exact same seat, smelled the same whiff of soot and ash, and wondered at the efforts of the same railroad workers, while traveling on these same tracks 120 years ago.

Such is the gift of a journey to a town like Durango. It isn’t just about a ride through the mountains, and neither is it about a trip back in time. It is much, much more than that. And I shall leave it up to you to find. #

Hong Kong 2008, Day 2 - Whampoa Garden

 
Friday, Feb. 22, 2008. Hong Kong.

The Harbour Plaza Hong Kong is a gorgeous hotel, one of Fodor’s Top 10 in Hong Kong, in the unusual setting of Whampoa Garden. Surrounded by a few strips malls, high rise apartments and department stores, it gave me the opportunity to find a few things on my list:
(1) A convenience store where I could buy a phone card and communicate instructions to my family who were arriving from the Philippines the next day;
(2) A store where I could get some shampoo, laundry detergent, Kleenex, and other stuff for living out of a suitcase for three weeks.
(3) A good, inexpensive place to have breakfast to avoid the pricey hotel buffets.

I had the whole morning to myself as Billy used the treadmill at the hotel’s exercise facility. Knowing I had to walk around solo in a foreign country, I dialed “0” on the hotel phone for some advice. The lady assured me this was a very safe area to explore by myself, and told me where to find a nearby department store named Jusco which had its own grocery store. I remembered how department stores in the Philippines were one-stop-shops for everything, too, unlike in the US. Must be an Asian thing.

I walked around the block, feeling the cool morning air on my face, anticipating the frequent spring drizzle that we would encounter for the rest of our stay. Whampoa Garden was clean and close enough to several apartments that people would be coming and going at all times of the day and night. I found a place to have breakfast (Café de Coral) that was reasonably priced, and made a long distance call to the Philippines at a nearby 7-11. Down the street there was even a Pacific Coffee Company coffee shop with Internet stations. I loved Whampoa Garden!

I then walked to Jusco and hesitantly entered the doors into their crammed and very pink Girls Clothes section. I took the escalators to the lower level and as promised, found a full service grocery store that even had fresh fruit!

Proud of my solo adventure in a foreign land, I took home my prize purchases and surprised Billy with a few bananas. He didn’t seem to appreciate the big-deal-ness of my morning; I was giddy with excitement and very pleased with myself. I don’t walk around solo in a strange land very often!

We had brunch at the Cafe de Coral and then took the train to see the immense statue of the Tian Tan Buddha.

(To be continued.)