Talk about love and anger in one city and you will surely be amazed with Tabaco City in Albay. Dubbed as a city of love, this place also prides itself with the best bolos called "tabak" and will give Batanguenos a run for the title of a place with the best bolo.The rage of the tabak aside, Tabaco City is also dubbed as the City of Love because it is said that once you visit this place, you will be enamored by the charms of a Bicolana and you may want to stay there forever. I dunno, when I was walking past its street taking snaps, a pretty lady approached me and asked where I am from and that she wanted to get out of that town and she is willing to go away with me. Teasingly of course, but it only goes to show that Tabaco ladies are full of love.
Three things are definitely noticeable once you are in Tabaco City. First is the Tabaco Church also known as The Church of San Juan Bautista. Located in San Juan, Tabaco City, this church is one of the most impressive religious structures in the province of Albay. The construction of the present church started in 1864 and was completed in 1879. What makes this church unique among other Philippine churches are the stones used to build the church as they bear the distinct marks of the Masons. It was designated as National Landmark by PD. 260, August 1, 1993.
The second one is Padyak (locally called Sikad), which is a bicycle with attached sidecar that dominantly roam the streets that is why the city is also called the Padyak Capital of the Philippines. And of course, the third one is definitely the Bolo or Tabak. In fact, the name of the city was derived from this sharp tool used by the natives to defend themselves against the Spaniards. Here are some shots I have taken of the place:
More of Bicol on my next post. This is my entry to the weekly meme My World, to see other contributions from all around the globe, please click here.
Kakaiba ah, City of Love, pero sabagay malalambing ang mga Bicolana eh.
ReplyDeleteactually one of the places that i want to explore in bicol! maganda nga talaga ang tabacco.
ReplyDeleteBasta mga old churches magagamnda talaga ang structures... gusto ko ata bumili ng tabak as souvenir ah... hehehehhehehe... pero ayos na rin ako sa shirt....lolz
ReplyDeletenice shots... lots of Spanish influence in this place !
ReplyDeletethe belfry is beautiful. it looks like the church is a newer structure compared to the belfry. got one of those bolos from Tabaco. i bought it from a Tabaco vendor in one of DTI's OTOP fairs.
ReplyDeleteHahaha, this is one place I wont let hubby go alone then...lol. The place looked like a there's a long and interesting history behind it.
ReplyDeletewhen we were in college all i could hear were tabako, daraga, etc bec my two best gal pals were from that area. i am kicking myself for not going home with them. maybe there's still time to visit.
ReplyDeletegreat coverage. didn't realize that the name of the city came from the bolo.
must be one nice historical city!! i wonder how the tapak festival looks like :) must be great i assume =p
ReplyDeletemy friends and i stayed there for a week back in college. part of our thesis reasearch. :) ganda nga diyan. i have lots of fond memories. pero bakit wala namang lumapit sa akin na babae? hahaha..nice, nakuha mo ba number atty?
ReplyDeleteParang gusto ko tong puntahan ah. San ka naglakad ng may nagtanong sayong chicks?
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I got inspired by your posts about Sagada and my family decided to go there this August. Is it safe to bring our own car there?
ReplyDeleteThe Church Belfry is beautiful. I love old architecture.
ReplyDeleteBicol really have some of the best places to wander. Cool shots Atty.
ReplyDeleteAnd I thought Tabaco was so named because of cigar :)
ReplyDeleteHi Norman! That chucrh looks fabulous!! But I wouldn't take that door handle to my house... ;)
ReplyDeleteThere is a weird post at Blogtrotter Two... Enjoy and have a great Sunday and a gorgeous week ahead!
na curious ako bigla kung anu yang sa 1st pic. kung postcard or what kind of promotional piece of paper. ganda kasi....something that we lack sa Pinas to promote out tourists spots.
ReplyDeleteWow
ReplyDeleteCity of love
Sounds exciting at romantic ah
Hehe
Ano yung nasa first pic? Book ba yun?
ReplyDeleteI noticed the plenty of tabak during my visit. I didn't know it's being associated as the City of Love. Your encounter with the lady was funny.
ReplyDeleteSi, probablemente lo sea
ReplyDeletei find this post really interesting, 1st,I never heard of tabak, 2nd, I ddnt know Tabaco is the city of love. hmmm...I should go there, maybe I could find love or love will find me! haha :D
ReplyDeletechic magnet ka pala tlga atty! oh well, it's expected! apir! :D