MY TAGBILARAN CITY
Take it from me. Tagbilaran is truly a city that never sleeps contrary to some blogs that claim otherwise.
A city as buzzling as this locale Tagbilaran perhaps is more suited to be tagged as a 'compact city' in a province full of life and activities in general, but not a Sleepless-in-Seattle distinction of urbis plotted in some movies, nor a reputation NYC has had since time immemorial.
Nightlife considered - but not highlighted - this proud city can claim a comparable accolade as a widely-stopped and extensively-explored destination, whose tourism effort is second-to-none (whether it's at par with international standard is of course another issue) relative to its neighboring islands or cities: eight flights a day to and from the capital city of Manila, a flotilla of fast and pre-modern crafts mooring at its dockside, an endless sight of the so-called pumpboats or outrigger canoes (and motorized ones, too) conveying island-hoppers from one to the other, the seemingly infinite cavalcade of tricyles (they're truly inventive!) that could give you the impression of them as either nuisances or works of art on parade (or perhaps even the Christian church's way of spreading God's good news), the always-streamlined versions of the old thames and open-sided buses (which are long gone!) and sights of endless procession of people like those you find in truly mega-cities, that sometimes you're almost tempted to scream and shout, "what-in-the-world-has-happened-to-this-place!" An ultra-modern version of a pueblo transformed into a ciudad almost in overnight fashion! Heck! There's no such thing anymore as peace and quiet, or people taking "siestas" in this otherwise ghost town that it used to be. But what a super-lovable place this place is!
Artistic and colourful tricycles all too often bearing a Saint's name or a quotation from the Bible
Open-sided buses that were popular in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and even in the early 90s
Ergo, with just these facts I can already re-claim the idiosycratic reputation of Tagbilaran as a non-sleeping city.
While the local population has long been influenced by the so-called "night wingers" (my personal definition of "bat" people), most of Tagbilaran's citizenry, I should say, are still a well-disciplined lot not too different from those who came from the provincial towns. They are mostly hard-day workingpeople who for the most part don't waste their time and pockets going around window-shopping and all (again it's an altogether different story for those born in the X and Millenia epochs). Or perhaps because of the country's economic woes, again, since time immemorial, the majority still avoid this luxurious habit of munching around what with this extensive lists of "tourists" food or cuisines you see everywhere, and yet most people could hardly afford to do so. Or perhaps it's their no-nonsense approach to life the fact that there are other pressing needs or financial obligations that are first and foremost on their list. It's true, while life is worth celebrating, the list of activities and celebrations are simply piecemeal.
My second ergo, needless to say, is that most people still hit the bed quite earlier than what most young people tend to do on a nightly basis.
As to the young generation of the era X and the Millenium, hitting the flat bed anywhere between midnight and jogging time at 4 A.M., needless to say is a far and strange thought to behold. It's a "cultural slang" that never seemed to have crossed their innocent minds. Kuno. Or perhaps they maybe just acting like adults asking the young but with a weird inexplicable look in their eye as if they've never been young or teen-agers once. Or is it that playful and youthful look too ignorant to fathom what some lie-ing-parents pretend to claim to have not gone through when they were their age? But, needless to say, these strange and vulnerable lots do really exist among us, much like the multitude that seem to scatter way deep into the night in mega cities like Hongkong, Manila or Bangkok. The so-called children of the night. Literally. These strange lots, however, are not the people I'm talking about... that make a city not sleep or what-have-you. After all, these people, too, will eventually will succumbed to deep lethargy after you give them a few hours to find their way home. (LoL)
Tagbilaran - a city that never sleeps is an altogether different story and conversation. It's state of mind, so I've heard...
See also TUBAG BOHOL
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