# 34 UNLI

perhaps the most overused word in recent times in our part of the world.

we like to play around with simple english words, not that we desecrate the word. no, we just have this deep-seated need to create our own term, true to our ingenious nature. there is nothing cryptic about the word as it is clearly a take-off from 'unlimited.'  it is the telecom version of the 'eat all you can' craze of the restaurant industry.

texting is big in the philippines.  very big.  raking-in the-millions kind of  ginormous for the network providers.  we rank high in a list of countries with the most number of text users.  it is said that texting is the national pastime and textology is the new subject in the curriculum.  in other countries, subscribers have plans.  in the philippines, plan holders are a minority. not too many people can afford to subscribe to monthly plans.  in an effort to broaden their network reach, telecom companies invested in the prepaid brand. this caters to a huge faction of the populace singled out as captive market.  phone credits, or load as it is referred to, are added whenever it is needed. not surprisingly, it is needed all the time. in a country where majority of the labor force are minimum wage earners, priorities can go haywire when one is a heavy cellphone (text or call) user.  students who get through each day on a daily allowance spend a huge chunk of it for load.

major telecommunication networks try to outdo each other by offering UNLI promos for as low as PHP25 or  60 cents in US money.  the promo is valid for a day. of course, the networks all claim they started this UNLI mania.

no passing fancy, this UNLI phenomenon is.  designed to cater to the prepaid subscriber base, it is now being offered to postpaid clients. 

cutthroat competition does have its advantages.  with the network war in full blast, consumers are having a field day. time was when calling someone on a cellphone was prohibitive. many a time, one would glance at her watch to surreptitiously (lest someone is looking) check  if  the one minute mark has been breached.  with 20 seconds to go, one blabbers away in a rush to get off the phone before another minute's charge starts ticking. did the other party understand what was being said?  one never knows. 

an endless text exchange, a leisurely chat with someone on the phone.... UNLI !! isn't that awesome? 

# 32 palawan !! (pala)WONDER !!

the philippines is in the news !!  no, it is not the miss universe crown that was an arm's length away from our country's bet in glittering ceremonies aired this morning.  boy,  that was close!!

the news has nothing to do with any act of notoriety.  some losers have somehow ingrained in their sick and twisted minds that the path to fame is best (and quickly) achieved through ill-repute. sadly, quite a few of our countrymen have chosen to follow this infamous path.  thankfully, as well, the news is not about any tragedy that has befallen our country. it has nothing to do with breaking any guinness records, either.  yes, the shortest man on record is a filipino and yes, we just recently caught the biggest crocodile in the world. oh but there are much bigger crocodiles in government. no trap, no matter how intricately laid out or how tempting the bait is, can ever snare these two-legged crocodiles.  just saying.

the philippines is in the news as it attempts to include one of its own stunning natural landscapes as one of the world's new seven wonders of nature. the poll calls for natural wonders not man-made creations. the winners are to be announced on the eleventh of november, just two months away. puerto princesa in palawan (southwest of the philippine archipelago) boasts of the world's longest underground river.  it covers a navigable eight-km stretch and winds through a cave before it opens up to the south china sea.  no cosmetic renovation has changed the landscape of this paradise.  picture-perfect and postcard-pretty are how one would describe such scenes that take one's breath away.  it is perfect and it is pretty alright but it is not a postcard nor a picture.  it is real.  real natural beauty beyond words.
 

 official publicity shot  of the underground river as an entry into the final phase of the competition.  the worldwide poll started with 261 natural landmarks.  the list has been narrowed down to 77 and further down to the remaining 28 finalists.

 

  gugud started off her summer vacation with a trip to palawan.  safety among its visitors is topmost priority on the river cruise.  gugud and her daddy gear up for the ride that would take them through the underground river. 

 they enter the river and are instantly caught up in a world of stalactites and stalagmites. these are stuff that one learns in elementary school.  textbook pages come alive in a flash.  even in the cavernous shadows, the magical sight is enough to throw them overboard in captive awe.

one would think that when God, the supreme artist, used the earth as his canvas, He singled out puerta princesa in palawan as one of His masterpieces.  it was not meant to be an abstract and monochromatic tableau. He carefully pieced together paradisiac details to dream up a perfect harmony of seascape and landscape. glossing it over with a blend of colors, the giant mural that is the subterranean park emerged. gentle waves and whirring murmurs of bats create a semblance of a serene dance of sights and sounds.  it gives one a feeling of walking through an art gallery.  only the paintings are real.

twenty-eight finalists in a worldwide poll. one of our own makes it to the list.  isn't that awesome?