Tacloban City's downtown area is currently brimming with vendors and buyers.  Trade and commerce continues to flourish and that most home-grown entrepreneurs of the city has returned home.  It is no secret that Tacloban City houses almost all known food chain franchises in the likes of McDonald, Jollibee, KFC, Max's, Shakeys, Greenwich and a lot more, but there are quite a number of restaurants born and raised in the City of Tacloban.

I grew up in Tacloban City knowing that there is only one festival that we celebrate and that is, the Pintados Festival. With my first homecoming for a Tacloban City fiesta last year, a new festival emerges (on my own vocabulary), that is, the Sangyaw Festival, and that Pintados Festival is now celebrated simultaneously with the Kasadyaan Festival.  

It was only then that I learned from fellow travel bloggers that the Sangyaw Festival has been celebrated since 2008.  And making my further research to feed my curiosity, Sangyaw Festival was held in the year 1974 and was cancelled in the year 1987.  Why?  Quite political in nature.

Tacloban City is definitely back to business. The recent opening of the attention-drawer facade of one of the restaurants situated at P. Gomez Street is one of the indications.  A signage conspicuously displayed at the gate of the compound with a building painted in light blue can easily attract every passer-by to visit and dine at Chew Love.

Hope emanated on the unpaved roads of the northern-most barangay of Tacloban City with the newly-built houses creating an instant community of former residents of Barangay San Jose, whose respective homes were completely destroyed by Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda).

This is Barangay Sto. Nino of Tacloban City, fittingly named after the patron saint of the city and their children were the new recipients of our project #1pencil1notebook.  

In coordination with my high school alma mater, The Leyte Normal University, the project was a huge success and that an altruistic and priceless moment was felt by everyone involved in the project.  Truly, one of the moments when smile is contagious as we see the facial expressions of the children.

Excitement filled my veins on the 28th of June 2014.  I, along with friends from Manila, boarded the first flight to Tacloban City sleep-deprived.  Ever since typhoon Yolanda struck my hometown, I am inevitably bound to accept that early morning flights will be part of my itineraries.

The homecoming is not only for our project #1pencil1notebook but for the feast of Tacloban City in honor of Senor Sto. Nino, reunion with family and friends and for the annual Pintados-Kasadyaan Festival as well. Despite rumors on the non-holding of the festivities for this year, The Pintados-Kasadyaan Foundation headed by its executive chairperson, Mayor Remedios Petilla of Palo, Leyte, decided to push through with the event.

It was a huge success.

It was exactly a hundred days after Super Typhoon Yolanda turned the City by the Bay into rubbles which caused innumerable lives to perish, when I find myself back into the arms of a place I call home - Tacloban City, Leyte.

The people of Tacloban are now slowly picking up the pieces of their shattered lives although the remnants of the super typhoon onslaught remains.  Barangays San Jose, Nula-tula, Magallanes and Anibong are among the most devastated areas of the city.

In celebration of the 18th birthday of our youngest sister, our family decided to conduct a feeding program and at the same time made the first wave of distribution of our project #1pencil1notebook. Hence, our homecoming.

Tacloban City, Leyte would not be known as the "City by the Bay" for nothing.  An imposing structure perched on the San Pedro Bay is the Pier Tres Seafood Restaurant that is worthy of visit when in Tacloban City and currently living up as a landmark of what kind of city Tacloban is.

Entrance is through the Leyte Park Resort Hotel grounds and definitely there is more than just being a known structure as it offers delectable cuisine and a feast of seafoods on a relaxing ambiance.

One of the emerging tourist destinations of Tacloban City, Leyte is this 18-hole golf course known as the San Juanico Park Golf and Country Club.  

This is truly a paradise for golfers and an eco-tourism site worthy of visit.

Have you ever dreamt of being able to dine in a cruise ship, enjoying the company of friends and even sojourners? One of Tacloban City, Leyte's finest restaurants will make you feel the same without shelling out too much money.  Since a cruise would definitely cost you a lot, why not experience it in the terrains and let your imagination move as if you're dreams have indeed come true.

Located at the Leyte Park Resort Hotel grounds offshore the San Pedro Bay sits a restaurant architecturally inspired by the structure of a boat known as the Bar-Ko.

Before the start of the Pintados-Kasadyaan Ritual Presentation at the Grandstand, together with fellow Pinoy Travel Bloggers, we had our lunch at the said restaurant hosted by the owner, Mr. Jadway Go.  Special thanks as well to Mr. Alex Estudillo, Mr. Joey Maraya and my good friend, udak traveler Agnelli Estudillo for making this possible.

It was indeed a feast!

Last 29 June 2013, the Leyte Sports Development Center ("Grandstand") was transformed into a gigantic stage of superb and colorful display of cultural-religious presentations which made the audience momentarily freeze for seconds, at awe at what is being fed to their senses.  This is the Kasadyaan Festival Ritual Presentation.

This year has six (6) contingents from award-winning festivals of the Province of Leyte.  The Aliwan Fiesta in Metro Manila and the Sinulog Festival in Cebu made these festivals known since time immemorial due to the exemplary performance it stages and even grabbed places and special awards vis-a-vis the equally stunning performances of other known festivals in the country.

Lingganay Festival of Alang-alang, Leyte has been the champion for two (2) consecutive years in Kasadyaan while Buyogan Festival is likewise coming back after two years of rest, also a consistent grand slam champion for this Festival.  Pasaka Festival of Tanauan, Leyte on the other hand has been a consistent placer in the Aliwan Fiesta in Manila, where for this year I was glad I was able to witness it and it awed the audience.

With this briefer, while there may be a few contingents for this year, the show is definitely expected to be a grandeur of cultural-religious presentation staging the best of the best festival presentations in the province and even in the country.

29 June 2013. -  The continuous heavy downpour of rain filled the much-awaited day of my visit to my hometown, Tacloban City, Leyte.  I came home for some family affairs to attend to with the bonus that it's in time for the Pintados-Kasadyaan Festival.  The night before, I was partying with my friends until the wee hours of the morning as if it's the end of the world and everyone at the Leyte Park Resort and the nearby restobars for street parties were wasted.  It was one of the best drinking sprees I had in my entire life.  Nevertheless, I had an early schedule for the intended street dance competition and my senses have to be awakened from a supposed to be deep slumber but I have to succumb.  

Unfortunately, the province of Leyte was placed under signal no. 2 as Typhoon Gorio made its presence known.  Thus, the organizers of the festival deem it fit to cancel the street dance competition scheduled on the morning of that day.  Thus, this means I have to lengthen my time for a deep slumber.

The much awaited ritual presentation however of the Pintados-Kasadyaan contingents pushed through in the afternoon.  And it was the best decision the organizers did.

When in Tacloban City, Leyte for the June festivities, one can never miss the Remedios Trinidad Romualdez (RTR) Plaza.  All cultural and social activities in honor of Sr. Sto Nino are held at this imposing stage right at the center of the city.  With this, the name is automatically converted as the Pintados-Kasadyaan Festival Park.

While planning for a meet-up with fellow Pinoy Travel Bloggers, Eric of Byahilo.com suggested that there is a Bituon han Leyte scheduled at the Pintados Kasadyaan Festival Park on 28 June 2013.  Honestly, for someone who was raised from Tacloban City but unaware of the festivities, I immediately asked my childhood friends what this is all about.  Uninterested of the festival activities as they were only up for drinking sprees, reunions and short get togethers, I wasn't able to obtain a definite answer for my query.  Thus, for my own curiosity to be fed, I have to attend the said event.