Robbie in and around Tacloban

INTRODUCTION I have been living the he Tacloban area continuous for approximately three years. I am married and have a young daughter.  I have not worked during his time because of a serious illness. With the help of my sister I made the journey back to Australia for three weeks. I wanted to see my sister, son and two grandchildren Three years does not seem such a long time but changes in Australia were significant. PHILIPPINE IMMIGRATION   Having been in excess of six months in the Philippines you need a clearance to leave the country. This was done at the immigration office in Tacloban City . It is recommended you apply for this clearance a week in advance before travel. I had the clearance processed within an hour on the same day. I must admit the immigration office in Tacloban offer a very good service. TRAVEL WITH PAL AIRLINES FROM TACLOBAN I hear many complaints about PAL Airlines and have had a few myself. The main complaints have been ground staff althou...

DULAG A SIGNIFICANT TOWN IN LEYTE AND PHILIPPINE HISTORY Introduction As a foreigner I have been living in a Dulag Barangay (village) now for a number of years. If you visit Dulag one would think it is just another provincial rural town. These were my thoughts as well until I started to conduct research. I was amazed at what I discovered and would like to share. The article is a summary but links are supplied if readers are interested in additional information. Dulag boundaries  Dulag covers just over 11,000 hectares of land on the eastern side Leyte fronting the Leyte Gulf. If you visit Dulag it is approximately 36 km (22 miles) from Tacloban via the Maharlika Highway. Travel time depending on traffic is around 45 minutes. The town is bounded 12 kilometers to the north by the municipality of Tolosa, to the west seven kilometers to the Municipality of Julita and seven kilometers to the south to the Municipality of Mayorga. Location map from Tacloban Population of Du...

TYPHOON YOLANDA INTERNATIONAL NAME HAIYAN AN EVENT IN HISTORY  ONE SHOULD NEVER FORGET 08 NOVEMBER 2013 A foreigner’s personal story – that will stay in my mind for ever! I had just been married for 6 weeks. The wedding was held at Tadyaw Resort in Tolosa which was a beautiful setting for such a happy and great day. I had return to Egypt from Tacloban to the mine site about two weeks before typhoon struck. i was working at a mine site as an Australian Expatriate. At the mine site we had cable TV and I was fully aware the typhoon was massive and it turned out to be the biggest storm to make landfall in known recorded history.   I lost contact with my wife on the day Typhoon Yolanda struck. I was 5000 miles away and felt so helpless.   This was one of the most stressful and worrying times in my life. Link to personal story Life after Typhoon Yolanda International name Haiyan I t has been 4 years since Typhoon Yolanda hit Tacloban 08 November 2013 in w...