What Is Tawas Powder?

Tawas powder is a popular deodorant used in the Philippines. I've always been curious about it but I just didn't understand the differences between that and regular antiperspirant deodorant. 

From what I've learned;

• alum is another name for tawas
• it has cosmetic, medicinal, and industrial uses
• it is natural
• it has antibacterial and whitening properties
• tawas also comes in solid crystal form

If you're looking for an alternative and trying to steer away from antiperspirants, tawas powder (or crystal) is right for you. It's easy to apply; pinch a small amount and rub it into your armpits. So many people swear by it so I've decided to give it a try. It is a hot day; 31 degrees Celcius in my room and I've applied some about an hour ago. So far so good, my kili kili (Tagalog word for armpits) are odourless and feel dry. We'll see how I do for the rest of the day.

This 50 gram container only cost 6.50 PHP (0.15 CAD). 

But I was just wondering; which one is most effective? Tawas powder? Or tawas crystal? Let me know what you think!

Wish you were here!

The Last Paper Postage Stamps?

Naga City has one post office which is located near City Hall. Is it like that all over the Philippines? Is there only one post office in each city.

A few weeks ago I went to the post office to mail some postcards and I was disappointed to discover that they don't use postage stamps! They just use an ink stamp to mark it as paid. In my opinion, the stamp you send your postcard with is just as visually important as the postcard itself. I guess this has become the standard because the ink is cheaper than the paper. When I asked about buying postage stamps they only had one design so I bought a sheet of those. It costs 13 PHP (0.30 CAD) to send one postcard internationally but these ones are worth 7 PHP each. I was hoping that they would have stamps worth 1 or 2 PHP each. It makes mail so much more colourful. The one on the right is dated from 2009! I wonder if these are the last paper stamps in circulation. Hey stamp collectors out there, do you think this is worth saving or should I use them?

Wish you were here!

UPDATE: 20 April 2011


I went to the post office yesterday to mail a letter and I asked again about stamps. They had more! My bad, they didn't stop making them after all! They must just be scarce sometimes.

Sunrise in CamSur!

When I was in the Philippines last year (2010), we took a family trip to Caramoan for the weekend. Caramoan is an hour drive and a two hour boat ride away from Naga City. We woke up very early and made the trip to the port in Sagñay. The sun began to rise as we were embarking and that's when I took this picture.

It was a beautiful morning and a great start to our trip. 

Wish you were here!

Cutting Keys

I needed to have some keys cut today so my aunt, Tita Dayday, took me to centro to have it done. We parked around the block and walked the remaining distance. It had never occurred to me that keys could be copied by hand. I'm so used to going over to Canadian Tire and handing them over to an attendant who will insert the original and a blank key into the machine and press a button. A few minutes later, I've got a duplicate!

This time was different. When we got there, the entire sidewalk on one side of the street was set up with numerous locksmiths stations. Each station was brightly painted yellow and displayed a multitude of either keys, door knobs or padlocks. We took a moment to appraise our choices and decided to go with number 15, Willy Boy. His station had about a hundred keys all threaded on to a bent piece of wire.

We presented him with three keys for which we needed copies and he selected matching blanks keys. He worked with a file and a calliper, while we left to run another errand. He was all done by the time we returned less than 10 minutes later. He averaged just over 3 minutes per key, that's comparable to his machine-like competitor! He charged 40 PHP (a little less than 1 CAD) per key which is a much better rate than at the mall where it can cost approximately 80 PHP per key.

Although he seemed to know what he was doing, I had my reservations about whether or not the keys would work. He assured us that if they didn't work, we could always bring them back and he would copy them again. When we got home, we tried all three and every attempt was a successful one! So I certainly recommend giving this a go next time you're in need of duplicates. It was accurate, quick, and affordable.

Wish you were here!

Naga City's Wet Market

Today, I accompanied my grandmother, Lola Nen, to the wet market in centro. I had never been there before but I had heard about it's smells and sounds so I was curious to see what it was like.

When I came downstairs all ready to go, Lola Nen took one look at me and told me that what I was wearing was inappropriate for the market. My tank top was fine, but my knee length shorts and flip flops just wouldn't do. I was instructed to put on pants and to wear closed-toe shoes. I didn't understand the reason for this but it became evident once I arrived.

We took the tricycle to centro and climbed the stairs of the market building. The first thing I noticed were all the bright lights hung by every stall and the floor was soaked in fish juices and water! There was fish everywhere! Lola wasted no time. If she saw something she was interested in, she would personally inspect the freshness of the item by poking it and by checking under the gills. It had to be pink to red in colour; if it was darkened, it was no good. Lola taught me to make sure that the scale was set to zero before having items weighed. This was to ensure that we would be getting everything we paid for. We bought maya-maya, bangus, tilapia, and squid.

Moving forward, we stopped for some vegetables and then on to the red meat! We bought a large piece of pork tenderloin which was then finely sliced. It will be later marinated and tenderized to make tapa. We were also sold two pork legs. Those will be prepared to make crispy pata. After they cut the toenails off and wrapped them up, we were on our way home!

If it wasn't for those shoes, I definitely would've been marinated in some kind of wet market soup. It was an insightful look into daily life in Naga City and I would definitely go back.

Wish you were here!