Pahiyas Festival: Of Colors and Decors
10:58 PM
Every 15th of May, the town of Lucban celebrates the feast of San Isidro Labrador, the patron saint of farmers, to give thanks for a bountiful harvest. They decorate their houses with kiping, a leaf-shaped wafer made out of rice paste. They are usually bright-colored and paper thin.
The road to Lucban was rather hard. We thought we had bargain a lot of spare time when we left Manila at 6:45 am but boy was I wrong. We got stuck in a massive traffic when we got to Lucena, a nearby city. The traffic worsen as we got nearer to Kamay ni Hesus. It seemed like there's endless lines of immobile cars. I started losing my hopes when I saw people walking out of the public vehicles just to reach the town. I asked the driver how long would it take us if we just walked and to my surprise, he said that it would take us like more than an hour. So as helpless as we were, we just maintained our cool and tried not to worry about the time.
We were dropped off by the jeepney driver before he even came to Kamay ni Hesus. So we took a tricycle ride to the town. Unfortunately, all public vehicles were prohibited to get inside the town during the festival, so we then again walked our way to Lucban. We arrived at about 3:45 pm. We have spent a lot of time on the road.
Oceans of people pushed us to directions we didn't even wanna go to. Large number of people were there with their gopro sticks and their insensitivity. People nowadays, have lost the courtesy to be mindful of other people around them. They just raise their gopro sticks just to take selfies. So we just turned the other cheek and just move to some narrow alleys with decorated houses. Luckily, there are streets with minimal number of people so we had some time to take photos of the houses and we had enjoyed talking to some locals who actually live there.
The road to Pahiyas Festival was not easy, but it was really worth all the hardships we've gone through. It was my first big national festival and it has exceeded my expectations. I just wished I had more time to roam around the town and immersed myself more to what the locals do. I love knowing people and their stories. I love colorful and vibrant festivities. So clearly, I have loved Pahiyas even before I have visited it. Seeing it in pictures is a lot different than experiencing it in person. The magic of the dreamy lighted houses and the romance in the cold breeze can't be felt by just looking at pictures.
So, I'm daring you to get out and experience things like this. Have the guts to gamble your time, because it will be worth it. It will be a great story to tell when you get back home.
We were dropped off by the jeepney driver before he even came to Kamay ni Hesus. So we took a tricycle ride to the town. Unfortunately, all public vehicles were prohibited to get inside the town during the festival, so we then again walked our way to Lucban. We arrived at about 3:45 pm. We have spent a lot of time on the road.
It's the first time my mom joined my friends and I in traveling.Guess she'll be a wanderer like me from now on.
Oceans of people pushed us to directions we didn't even wanna go to. Large number of people were there with their gopro sticks and their insensitivity. People nowadays, have lost the courtesy to be mindful of other people around them. They just raise their gopro sticks just to take selfies. So we just turned the other cheek and just move to some narrow alleys with decorated houses. Luckily, there are streets with minimal number of people so we had some time to take photos of the houses and we had enjoyed talking to some locals who actually live there.
Loving the drama of black and white.
I love all the efforts put in making these decorations. They are all ready for show. Even those who won consolation prizes could pass off as grand prize winners. Some houses also allow tourists to come inside their homes to take photos. That takes a lot of guts to trust strangers to come inside your house. I admire them more for that.
They are also selling a lot of novelties and other decorative stuff. I have bought myself some ref magnets and key chains as remembrances while my mom bought flowers for our home.
Kiping, up close.
I also ate pancit habhab, a renowned Lucban delicacy. With just 10 pesos, I have enjoyed eating this noodle dish. It was really tasty. Adding peppers gave it a little pinch of spice.
As the sun set and the breeze cooled down, the lights of the houses put everyone in a deep trance. It was like a magic trick waiting to happen. We were like these children in Disneyland, in awe of what's happening around us.
I also took photos with bokeh effect. I love taking photos like these. They're so dreamy.
As the night grew, the lights began to devour the dark night skies. It became like this so-called Christmas wonderland, with lines of houses decorated with lights of different colors.
I was saddened to leave Lucban. The night was just starting and I was about to leave. I could have seen more of the magical lights or I could have met a few more locals and shared stories with them. I felt like I was robbed a lot of hours because of the traffic. Local government should really work on that matter, because even our way back to Lucena was really tough. We couldn't get a jeepney to take us back, due to the tangled lines of tourists wanting to go home, as well. We took another tricycle ride to Lucena and have spent another hour and a half on the road. And by the time we got to the terminal, the line was so long it took us almost three hours to get inside a bus. We arrived home at roughly 3 am.
So, I'm daring you to get out and experience things like this. Have the guts to gamble your time, because it will be worth it. It will be a great story to tell when you get back home.
I'm Eden Morales. A UI/UX Designer by day but a full-time dreamer. To travel and explore outside my comfort zone are the things I crave to do ever since. These are the chronicles of my first-hand experiences from all the places I have gone to and will go to in the future.
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