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Building a Concrete Block House – part 1

How to build a concrete block house in the Philippines – part 1 Here are the steps for building a modest block house in the mountains in the Philippines. I plan to follow the construction of this concrete block house from beginning to completion and will outline the basic process. The first thing to line [...]

Canigao Island

Canigao Island – Leyte This small island off the southeastern coast of Leyte is an inexpensive weekend get away for locals and tourists. Canigao is overlooked by most of the guide books but is easy enough to get to from Matalom. Pump boats ferry visitors back and forth in about 15 minutes between the mainland [...]

Philippine Dental Clinic

Dental Work in the Philippines – getting dental work done in the Philippines is a good way to save a lot of money and get a better smile. There is a significant cost saving and the work might would likely be as good or better than you could get in a western country. This dental [...]

Tagged: dental clinic

Furniture from recycled wood

Making cabinets from old pallets. Used shipping crates crates are dropped off at workshops on the side of the road in Ormoc City. The craftsmen there tear the crates apart and use the bits to make some decent low cost cabinets. Figure on spending around 2,400 pesos (50 USD) to 3,500 pesos for a completed [...]

Farmer with carabao and plow

Farmer and carabao with mud rake preparing rice field video Rice farming fascinates me so I had to pull over and take a few pictures when I noticed this farmer and his caribao preparing the field for planting. My pocket camera is good for taking youtube videos and candid day to day pictures for this [...]

Traffic Cop in Ormoc City

Traffic Cop in Ormoc City You can’t help but laugh at the antics of this traffic enforcer on Rizal Ave in Ormoc City. He works the morning shift, keeping traffic flowing at this busy intersection by the Petron Station. I made a youtube video of him this morning – directing traffic I have never witnessed [...]

Gasoline and Ice Cream

Gasoline and Ice Cream It takes about 5 hours to drive to Tacloban and back from Ormoc in Leyte. I had to check into a refund on an airline ticket with PAL and was not able to get any reliable info about it in Ormoc City and was advised to check with the ticket office [...]

Buying Plants in Ormoc City

I buy house plants from Mebod’s Green down by the city hall building in Ormoc City. Their prices are reasonable and the plants are pretty nice. I needed varieties that can take a lot of sun because they sit out in front of my windows on the balcony. These plants cut down the heat absorbed [...]

Planting Rice Paddies

Transplanting rice seedlings. Planting rice is a communal activity where everyone gets involved in this labor intensive project. Most of the group works on gathering the seedlings, washing the roots, and tying them into bundles to get ready for planting in the afternoon. This field is just down the street from my place and I [...]

Sugar Cane Trucks of Leyte

Sugar Cane Trucks of Leyte – Philippines It’s cane cutting season in Leyte right now. These pictures were taken yesterday at one of the transfer stations alongside the road near Ormoc. Sugar cane harvesting in Leyte. Sugar cane Rene Tan is the owner of this place – kind of a cool guy that lived in [...]