RIZAL: My Guide to the Angono-Binangonan Petroglyphs Site

 

RIZAL: My Guide to the Angono-Binangonan Petroglyphs Site

Why Visit the Angono Petroglyphs

1. To see the oldest known art works in the Philippines, dating back to circa 3,000 BC.

2. "Petroglyphs are more rare in Southeast Asia where most rupestrine art is done through handprints or paintings." (source: http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5018/).

3. The Philippines, through the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, has submitted this site in 1986 to the Tentative List in preparation for its Nomination for inclusion to the UNESCO World Heritage List.

How to go there:

1. Use waze (https://www.waze.com/livemap)

Place the destination as Angono Binangonan and just follow the directions in your smartphone waze app. WAZE WAS VERY ACCURATE IN LEADING US DIRECTLY TO THE ENTRANCE OF THE SITE.

2. Use google maps

Below is the landmark you will see BEFORE turning right 

towards the Angono Petroglyphs tunnel as indicated in the google maps above.

A closer look at the sign above

The road going to the tunnel entrance to the Petroglyphs site

The entrance of the tunnel

Contrary to the sign, ADMISSION IS FREE.

ADMISSION RATES:

Starting July 1, 2016, all the National Museum of the Philippines and all its branches is PERMANENTLY FREE.

This includes: (List of Branches of the National Museum)

1. The National Museum

2. The Nartional Art Gallery

3. The Planetarium

4. Regional Museums in Angono, Padre Burgos, Kabayan, Kiangan, Magsingal, Bolinao, Palawan, Butuan, Tabaco, Cebu, Fort Pilar, Marinduque, Jolo. (List of Regional Museums)

News article on this topic: Entrance to National Museum permanently free.

PARKING:

Plenty of parking space in front of the tunnel
You can see the tunnel at the right of the photo.

THE PATH LEADING TO THE ANGONO PETROGLYPHS SITE

THE TUNNEL

Inside the tunnel, it's very windy and cool.

The terrain of the tunnel

The end of the tunnel

After walking through the tunnel, you walk again through a forested path 

My tip: Make sure to bring an umbrella.
You walk along a path without shade before you reach the Museum.

This is the museum grounds.
The petroglyphs can be viewed by going up the stairs in the center of the photo.
But first, you must go to the gazebo on your left for information on the site.

THE GAZEBO

So you can properly appreciate the petroglyphs, you must visit the gazebo first to get information about the site.

The information inside the gazebo

DISCOVERY

• The discovery was made by National Artist, Carlos "Botong"Francisco.
• Date discovered: March 1965
• How it was discovered: During a fieldtrip with boy scouts, he discovered the carvings on the wall while resting on a rock-shelter known to have been used by World War II guerillas.

THE ROCK ART

• The site is a shallow rock shelter.
• It is formed in volcanic tuffs. This means the rock is soft enough for the engravings to be made by a denser stone.
• 127 drawings are visible.
• 51 drawings are distinct, suggesting it was made by several individuals.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATION

• March 1965: The rock art was discovered.
• October and November 1965: Archaeological excavations in the rock shelter were started.
• What was found in the area: highly fragmented earthenware, 2 pieces of obsidian flakes, 2 pieces of chert flakes.
• What was found outside the mouth of the rock shelter: 2 pieces of flake stone tools (a stone core tool, and a polished stone adze with a blunt stone edge)
• Significance of the objects found in the area: The objects found suggest that the rock art was made before metal was introduced into the country during the Neolithic Age. It therefore suggests that the rock art was made prior to the Neolithic age, at least 1000 BC. 
• NOTE: The guide we found in the area informed us that the objects are no longer found in the museum grounds. It has been brought to the National Museum in Manila.

A NATIONAL CULTURAL TREASURE

• August 1973: Presidential Decree 260 declared the oldest known work of art, the Angono Petroglyphs, a National Cultural Treasure.
• 1985: it was included in the World Inventory of Rock Art together with other World Famous prehistoric rock art

CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE

It is culturally significant because it has HISTORIC (being the oldest rock art in the Philippines), SCIENTIFIC, AESTHETIC and SOCIAL VALUE.

Photos of the excavations

THE VIEWDECK

The view deck as seen from below.

From the view deck, you can see the gazebo below.

The 2 paths going up the view deck is seen on the left and on the right.
The gazebo is shown on the right

FIRST PATH TO THE VIEW DECK

This path is best used by the eldery or persons with disability on wheelchair.

This is the flooring of the first path.

SECOND PATH TO THE VIEW DECK

This path is best used by able-bodied persons.
It's usually the path most visitors use since it's the one nearest the gazebo.

A closer view of the rough path

View from the left side of the rock shelter.

There's a guide stationed at the site who pinpoints the carvings to tourists.

View from the right side of the rock shelter

THE ANGONO PETROGLYPHS

What are petroglyphs? Simply put, it's rock art or any form of engraving on rock.

The text below is taken from the description submitted by

the National Commission for Culture and the Arts to UNESCO:

"These petroglyphs are of animate figures interpreted as representing juveniles or infants on a rock face in a rock shelter. The shelter is located southeast of the city of Manila, three kilometers from the town of Angono, and some 235 meters above sea level.  The shelter if formed by quaternary volcanics, located on the eastern limb of an anticline. The cave faces 305 degrees west and measures 632. 84 meters, 4.68 meters in height and 8.2 meters in depth. The cave was formed at the close of the Pleistocene, early part of the Holocene, at a period when the quaternary alluvium was not yet extensive. 

The petroglyphs occupy 25 meters of the rockwall with a height of 3.7 meters from the floor level. The engravings are executed into all the available space on the wall with no orientation nor association with one another. There are no relationships in scale and size, and no baseline.

The engravings are made on the tuff layer of the wall with "v" and "u" cross sections, depending on the sizes of the images, the largest of which is 63 centimeters. There is no attempt at making relieves. The general typology of the images is a rounded head on a narrow neck, rectangular body with a lower taper, linear flexed limb with three digits each. There is a total of 127 still discernable figures. There are non-cognitive incisions. There are 51 distinct types.

The engravings are not decorative but are symbolic representations, executed by different individuals using a single mental template, apparently with the same cultural persuasion.  Associated with healing and sympathetic magic. 

The dating of the petroglyphs is probably late Neolithic Age. Only highly fragmented low-fired pottery was recovered, a number of Paleolithic cobble and flaked tools, and Neolithic Age polished adzes. The Philippine Neolithic ranges from 6000 BC to 2000 BC." (source: http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5018/)

There are 127 drawings visible at the Angono Petroglyphs. 

JUST CLICK THE PHOTO TO VIEW ITS FULL SIZE

(Warning: Photo size is large so you need to wait for it to load. I couldn't compress without sacrificing the visibility of the petroglyphs.) 

You can see where they carve the drawings: on the "roof" of the rock shelter

Close-up photo of the drawings

The rightmost portion of the rock shelter is where you can find drawings of "the family".

A close-up photo of "the family". The guide said they called these drawings "the family" because it looks like a stick drawing of a male, a female and a child.

AMOUNT OF TIME NEEDED FOR THIS TOUR:

1 hour

HOURS OF OPERATION

Monday to Sunday: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Note: We went on a Saturday and there were very few people visiting.

CONTACT

Angono Tourism Office: 661-3646

Official facebook page: National Museum Angono-Binangonan Petroglyphs Site

Note: Call before visiting just to make sure it's open and no maintenance activity is being conducted.  

BAGUIO: How to book the Victory Liner Bus Online

BAGUIO: How to Book the Victory Liner Bus Online

The Victory Liner Bus going to Baguio from Cubao and Pasay terminals can now be booked online. Before this method was introduced, you can only buy tickets at the terminal from where you will depart and not from any other terminal or branch of Victory Liner. This means, you cannot buy the ticket in advance unless you're willing to go to Baguio, to book your Baguio to Cubao/Pasay trip,  and vice versa. Most people just wait till the day of departure to buy tickets. This is inconvenient when it's peak season of travel and you're not sure of getting a ticket when you arrive there.

With this new method of booking, you can book in advance from any location and be assured of a seat when you arrive at the terminal. 

WHAT YOU NEED TO BE ABLE TO BOOK ONLINE:

1. You need to have a VISA and MASTERCARD credit card that you can use to pay for the seat.

2. The passenger who will use the ticket must have a valid government ID. 

After you pay and book online, a voucher is emailed to you. The passenger whose name appears on the voucher, must present the voucher and a valid government ID to be able to claim the ticket at the ticket booth in the terminal.

3. A senior citizen/person with disability/student, who wishes to avail of discounted tickets, CANNOT BOOK ONLINE. He/She must purchase the ticket at the terminal. Discounted tickets cannot be booked online.

HOW TO BOOK ONLINE:

Go to www.victoryliner.com.
NOTE: As of this writing, ONLY BAGUIO TRIPS are available for booking online

You can book the ff. routes:
Cubao-Baguio, Baguio-Cubao
Pasay-Baguio, Baguio to Pasay

The earliest trip you can book is a week in advance.
This means, if today is July 17, the earliest you can book is July 25.
If you want to book a trip from July 18-24, you need to go to the terminal to buy the ticket.

The latest trip you can book is 2 months thereafter.
The bus company makes available for booking 2 months of trips.
This means you can book trips as early as 1 week to 2 months in advance.

You can book a minimum of 1 person up to a maximum of 10 persons in one booking.

You can book only SELECTED TIME slots,
not all trips available for this route.
The other time slots not included online can be booked at the terminal.

You can book both regular aircon bus trips and first class (non-stop) trips

You must fill out all blanks to be able to go to the next page.

You are required to choose your seat.

Regular aircon buses have 45 seats.

First class non-stop buses have 29 seats.
The blank space you see on your right is where the toilet is located.

Check out my post for more details: Victory Liner First Class: Nonstop Bus from Manila to Baguio

You pay a booking fee of 50 pesos per way.
To be able to pay, you need to click the TERMS AND CONDITIONS portion first.

This contains instructions on how to exchange your voucher for a regular ticket.
This also shows the cancellation and rebooking policy.

Click "I AGREE" to be able to go to the next page.

Click "Pay with Peso Pay".

You can pay using VISA or Mastercard.

The cardholder does not have to be the passenger.
Victory Liner does not require the presentation of the credit card when claiming the ticket.

After payment, the voucher will be emailed to you.
Present the email and a valid government ID
at the ticket booth at the terminal
to be able to claim the ticket you will present when boarding the bus.

NOTE: Tickets booked online are NON-REFUNDABLE but rebookable with restrictions, as shown in the terms and conditions. Tickets bought at the terminal are refundable but with 10% surcharge.

NOTE: Not all times are available for booking online. There are more schedules available for purchase at the terminal.

Is Marcos Highway, Marikina to Rizal, Exempt from Number Coding?

Is Marcos Highway, Marikina to Rizal, Exempt from Number Coding?

I felt the need to make this post because I still see a lot of motorists being caught in a small area along Marcos highway that's not included in the exemption.

The number coding scheme of the Metro Manila Development Authority, known officially as the Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program, "is a traffic decongestion scheme which bans private and public utility vehicles from plying the roads on weekday peak hours." (source: MMDA site). For more details, see All about number coding.

Under the rule, Marikina is exempted from the number coding scheme. Since Rizal is not part of Metro Manila, the number coding scheme does not apply to them.

Marcos Highway, know as MARILAQUE highway (Marikina-Rizal-Laguna-Quezon highway) is a 110 km road that connects Metro Manila to Quezon. The name creates the impression that the highway traverses only these areas, not knowing that a very small portion of the highway traverses Pasig, which is NOT EXEMPT from the number coding scheme. Motorists are caught in this small portion of the highway when they use it beyond the window hours of the scheme. (For window hours, see here)

This is the location of the portion where there is no color coding exemption.

Below is the Marikina boundary.

The yellow road seen here is Marcos highway.
The pink area is the Marikina boundary.
The yellow road outside the pink area is Pasig.
That is the area covered by the number coding scheme.

Click the ff. see it in Google Maps: Marikina boundary




The ONLY PORTION of Marcos Highway covered by the number coding scheme starts from the area across Sta Lucia East Mall...

 Click HERE to see Google view of the area.

.... until the pedestrian walk way of the  LRT-2 Santolan station.

Click HERE to see Google view of the area.

THE PASIG PORTION COVERED BY NUMBER CODING IS ONLY AROUND 2 KM.

  

ANTIPOLO: Brunch at Eggs for Breakfast Cafe

ANTIPOLO: Brunch at Eggs for Breakfast Cafe

My daughter and I found this lovely place in Antipolo where you can eat good food, basically an all-day breakfast affair, surrounded by peace and quiet in a nicely landscaped garden. Great for bonding!!!

INSIDE THE CAFE

My tip: Call for reservation if you're a large group. As you can see, the place is only and may accommodate only 30 people

View of the garden from inside the Cafe

WHAT WE ORDERED

French onion soup: 155 pesos
Yum!!!
Highly recommended!

Eggs Benedict: 330 pesos
2 slices of smoked back bacon on poached eggs on top of 2 toasted English muffins, glazed with freshly homemade hollandaise sauce, served with side salad and vinaigrette.

Highly recommended!
The egg was poached just right and the muffins were toasted perfectly.
The salad was so fresh.

Eggs Benjamin: 375 pesos
2 slices of smoked salmon on poached eggs on top of 2 toasted English muffins, glazed with freshly homemade hollandaise sauce, served with side salad and vinaigrette.
Highly Recommended!

Funky Monkey: 155 pesos
Made up of milk, banana, chocolate and peanut butter

For the complete menu: Check out zomato here

WHERE IT IS LOCATED

The view along Sumulong highway going east

(photo courtesy of Google)

When you see this Villa Cecilia subdivision sign, turn right.
The street leads to the entrance of Eggs for Breakfast.
(photo courtesy of Google)

Enter this road until you reach the dead end.

(photo courtesy of Google)

When you enter the street shown in the previous photo,
you encounter a dead end with this sign.
Turn left.

This is the entrance to the parking of Eggs for Breakfast.
The parking area can accommodate around 6 cars.
You can also park on the street.

HOURS OPEN

7:00 AM -5:00 PM, Mondays to Sundays

Food Tripping at UP DILIMAN: The Galley at the Main Library

Food Tripping at UP DILIMAN: The Galley at the Main Library

If you wish to find healthy food in UP Diliman, go to The Galley. They offer sandwiches with vegetables in whole wheat bread, ciabatta or focaccia bread, with meat, fish or chicken with mozarella cheese or pepperjack cheese.

THE MENU

THE BESTSELLERS:
Yellow Sub: Cheddar, Mozaarella on Whole Wheat: 75 pesos
Lifesaver: Tomatoes, Basil Pesto, Mozarella on Ciabatta: 90 pesos
+ 20 pesos if with chicken
Dory Mi: Dory, Tartar Sauce, Mozarella, Lettuce on Whole Wheat: 90 pesos
Bouy: Smoked Ham, Sundried Tomato Pesto, Mozarella on Ciabatta: 125 pesos

Voy-egg-er: Egg Salad, Basil, Japanese Mayo, Pepper Jack Cheese on Whole Wheat: 90 pesos
Bon-ion Voyage: Emmental Cheese, Caramelized Onions on Whole Wheat: 110 pesos
Salvavidas: Tomatoes, Eggplant, Basil, Garlic Mayo, Pepper Jack Cheese on Focaccia: 110 pesos
Tsunami: Crabstick, Mango, Lettuce, Japanese Mayo on Whole Wheat: 85 pesos
Sharkbait Tunanana: Tuna, Hets, Spices, Mozarella on Focaccia: 99 pesos
Captain Nemo: Sundried Tomato Pesto, Tuna, Arugula, Cheddar on Focaccia: 115 pesos
Skipper: Nutella, Cream Cheese, Cinnamon on Whole Wheat: 75 pesos

WHERE IT IS LOCATED

It is located at the Bulwagan ng Dangal compound.
The Galley is shown encircled in white.

This is the walkway going to the UP Main Library
The Galley is shown at the right.

WHAT WE TRIED

Captain Nemo: Sundried Tomato Pesto, Tuna, Arugula, Cheddar on Focaccia: 115 pesos

Lifesaver: Tomatoes, Basil Pesto, Mozarella on Ciabatta: 90 pesos
+ 20 pesos if with chicken

My tip:

If you were to try The Galley for the first time, go for the Life Saver and the Salvavidas. It's our favorite.