Text and photos by Mielyne B. Rayos
I know that you also know what I know:
Metro Manila’s hub for shoe lovers is Marikina.
But let me share another thing I recently knew that you gotta know:
The Tsinelas (Slippers) Capital of the Philippines is Liliw, Laguna.
Allow me to unravel some gotta-knows of this town through my travel experience here. Read on and see what’s in it for me (and for you, as well).
After a lengthy, Baguio-like joy ride on the zigzag roads of far south Laguna, I reached the chilly town of Liliw – located between the slopes of Mount Banahaw and the waters of Laguna de Bay.
The town is known for its quality and low-priced collection of slippers, sandals and shoes of various designs and colors. And it shows! Larger-than-life slippers welcome customers in some stores. This paradise for shoe lovers in the south is at Gat Tayaw Street also known as the Tsinelas Street. It offers a whole lot of choices!
I was awed by the vast number of toe dressers. All sorts of toe protectors were there: doll shoes, leather shoes, sandals, flip flops, home slippers, beach slippers, wedges, heeled shoes and flat shoes. I stood in front of a “shoe wall”. Choosing among the ones in front of me was sure baffling, yet fascinating! For someone who is keen making choices as I am, enjoyment came not just from fitting and buying the shoes, but also from choosing the designs and colors that suited my preference.
Who wouldn’t enjoy shoe-shopping in Liliw? Other than the great number of options, the price is so affordable! Prices range from Php35 (Sold for Php100 per bundle of three) to Php350. Low-cost, aren’t they?
Another feat that I enjoyed during my Tsinelas Street experience was the discovery of something not-so-usual: a family of miniature Esparadilles (casual flat shoes)! It’s a collection of key chains adorned with mini-shoes coming in different sizes and colors.
Good thing I was also given the chance to visit a shoe factory. And there, I witnessed the shoe-making process. Workers manually assemble slippers, sandals and shoes in their designated work areas. The workers have their specialization, of course. One wraps abaca to the soles. Another sticks the sole to the body. A different one stitches the designs. Every skilled hand has something to contribute. The end products are the ones I first saw displayed in store shelves. Now, I know where they came from!
Let me share another gotta-know. Liliw was named after the chirping of a bird. The folk story goes like this: Gat Tayaw, Liliw’s founder, was seeking for a name for the town. He told himself that the first bird that lands on the bamboo will be the town’s name. A raven landed on the bamboo. Not satisfied with the bird’s appearance, he changed his mind – deciding that the next one will be it! Suddenly, another bird came. The problem was that he did not know the bird’s name was. Instead, he settled with the sound of the bird: liw liw liw. Hence, the name Liliw.
According to shoe sellers, stores go on amazing sales during the Tsinelas Festival on the last week of April where shoe prices are marked down to half. It’s a perfect time to go there to shop lots of shoes!
But besides the shoes, Liliw also offers local treats for the buds.
I’m pretty sure you want some pasalubong for your loved ones when you travel. Check out the local Uraro biscuits. This, they say, is a Liliw native. The delight of munching the bite-size, semi-crisp, semi-soft treats was mine!
Another thing that I tried was the frog-lets in teriyaki sauce by Lambarnog. Yes, that’s little frogs in the tasty teriyaki sauce. That’s my first time to try munching frogs. I enjoyed the bites and chews – especially the leg parts. It tasted like chicken, yet was more delicious.
I also had the chance to devour amazing pasta dishes in the famous food hub in Liliw – Arabela, Camello’s Bakehouse and Coffe shop. Bobby Camello, the owner, hospitably received me and my travel buddies during the visit and pampered us with excellent food. He said the food business, named after her daughters Ara and Bela, started as a small family business, but later became so popular even for food fanatics and TV personalities. He attributes this success to their passion and love for good food. Truly, their delicious food justified their popularity!
I also visited the Alakan, winery the Filipino way! This is where the local lambanog or coconut wine. It is a product of freshly harvested tuba (coconut nectar/sap).
Let me enumerate how they do it in Liliw:
1. Magtutuba (Coconut sap gatherer) harvests tuba from coconut trees.
2. The harvested tuba is poured into a very large container, and then heated.
3. The vapor from the container passes thru a tube whose end parts are submerged in water.
4. The cool water outside the tube condenses the vapor and produces lambanog.
5. The lambanog drips into smaller containers and is ready for drinking or bottling/packaging.
The things that amazed me during the alakan visit are these:
* The expertise of magtutuba in balancing on bamboos connecting the coconut trees. And they have to go up and down the trees with their bare hands and feet!
* The endurance of the coconut nectar harvesters. A single magtutuba gets the coconut nectar from approximately 110 trees. The work lasts for around 3 hours every morning!
* The wise mind of whoever first thought of transforming the raw nectar to coconut wine thru the evaporation-condensation process.
* The amazing difference between the tastes of tuba and lambanog. (Yeah, I tried some drips on my tongue). Lambanog sure tastes so different from tuba. More alcohol in lambanog, they say.
For inquiries for possible visits, contact the Liliw Tourism office at (43) 563-1003.