actorenescritor

Flute music from Europe all the way to Asia

2009-11-01T22:52:00.005+08:00

My love affair with music was reignited when I was invited to play a piece in electronic organ in a recital in Batangas last May. I practically grew up with music and drifted away from the craft for several years due to the demands of studies and work.

Now that I am at it again, I always see to it that I am able to check out free performances around Metro Manila as much as I can.

Just last September, Instituto Cervantes de Manila organized a mini-concert dubbed "El galeon de Manila: Music from the Manila Galleon Route."

The show featured Pedro Santiago Bonet and Belen Gonzalez. Bonet is a professor of flute music at the Real Conservatorio Superior de Madrid, while Gonzalez is a concert and recording flutist.

The interesting aspect of this performance is that Bonet and Gonzalez played traditional and classical tunes from Europe and Latin America -- which probably dated back 300 years ago -- which somehow evolved as they travelled half the world to Asia including the Philippines.

Music travelled with goods from China, the Philippines and other neighboring Asian countries to Latin America, Africa and Europe and vice versa through the Manila galeon route, thanks to the discovery of "tornaviaje" by Spaniard Fray Andres de Urdaneta in 1565.

The two musicians used about 16 kinds of wooden flutes -- some are probably at least two feet long, while the others may be as small as a piccolo (about six inches long).

Some of the songs that they played include Cancionero de Uppsala, Dos himnos a duo sobre Ave maris stella (probably by Antonio de Cabezon who lived between 1510-1566, not sure since my Spanish is limited and I can barely understand the programme written in Spanish); several marches and minuets by anonymous composers; a song from Bolivia, France, and China; just to name a few.

The tunes actually reminded me of flute music that are commonly played as background music in movies set in Elizabethan England.

I managed to record the whole thing in my MP3 so for copies (which are not for sale and solely for personal satisfaction), please feel free to e-mail me.

These were the flutes used by Bonet and Gonzalez at the performance. I saw a couple of spectators went onstage after the show and took some pictures. Nobody reprimanded them so I took liberty in taking some shots as well.

Bonet (left) and Gonzalez (right) in one of their performances. Photo courtesy of Instituto Cervantes.

Will be right back

2009-06-21T00:07:00.002+08:00

It's just really difficult striking a balance between work and passion. Surely my work as a journalist is enjoyable to a certain extent. But at the same time it is stressful that it takes much of my time, leaving me with little space to share to the world my (mis)adventures as a globetrotter wannabe.

I'm just terribly busy as of the moment but I'll be back really soon as I never run out of stories to tell. Stories on my pursuits as an artist and traveler, that is.

I'll be right back, soon. Really soon. :-)

Daytrip to Luxembourg

2009-03-05T22:18:00.008+08:00

This story appeared at the March 6-7, 2009 edition of BusinessWorld. Check out the original story here.

The Facade of the Palais Grand Ducal

Daytrip to Luxembourg

It is easy to see why Luxembourg is one destination that is often overlooked.

The mere mention of my intent to visit this small country drew similar reactions: there seems to be nothing worth visiting in this fortress city.

"Why go there when you can just check out Brussels or stay longer in Paris?" asked a fellow Filipino I met on the plane going to Frankfurt when I told her of my Germany-Luxembourg-France itinerary.

Some did not even know where this country is located, while others were surprised to find that a country named "Luxembourg" actually exists.

Too bad for them. Luxembourg is both scenic and historic, and shutter-happy travelers will definitely enjoy a day-long photo session while athletic tourists might want to take a jog while basking in the city’s rich history.

The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is practically a crossroad at the heart of Western Europe, this hilly territory surrounded by Belgium in the west and north, Germany in the east, and France in the south.

With my coverage in Paderborn and DÜsseldorf, Germany practically a stone’s throw away from the border of Germany and Luxembourg, I opted to spend a whole day in this country of less than half a million inhabitants before going to Paris.

I took a three-hour train ride from Cologne and arrived in Luxembourg City, the capital, at night.

The 10-minute bus ride from Luxembourg Gare (the train station) to my hostel at Plateau AltmÜnster served as my sneak peek to this beautiful city. After passing a couple of blocks at the city center, there appeared structures that looked like castles out of a fairy tale.

I got off at what looked like a Roman aqueduct or a bridge supported by several arches and walked down the hill to my hostel.

As it turned out, this city is teeming with similar structures worthy to be UNESCO World Heritage sites.

The following day, I learned that most of the hotspots — some 74 of them according to the tourist map — can be reached by foot from the hostel. It would have been fun seeing the city on a rented bike for €15, but I thought it would be difficult to enter shops, restaurants and churches if I had one.

I started at the Montée de Clausen, a boulevard that provided sweeping views of the structures at the low-lying areas such as the Rham Plateau and the Wenceslas Wall, an ancient fortification.

On the same boulevard lie the remains of the Bock Promontory, which was used as a watchtower during times of war. Underneath is the Bock Casements, once a 23-kilometer network of tunnels where soldiers kept their arms but that now provides breathtaking views of the river valley.

Unfortunately, I was unable to access the casements as they were undergoing restoration works at the time.

Just a few steps away is the Chemin de la Corniche, aptly tagged as "Europe’s most beautiful balcony" for providing beautiful views of the river valley with pastel-colored houses as backdrop.

The street parallel to the Corniche is Rue du St. Esprit, which also provided a different angle of the city. It is also where the Luxembourg City History Museum is located.

Remains of the Bock Promontory

After passing through small, pedestrianized cobbled alleys, I knew that I was already at the city center when I saw the Palais Grand-Ducal or the Palace of the Grand Dukes, the seat of the government.

One won’t see moats and thick walls surrounding the royal residence. Instead, the Palais practically blends in with the surrounding buildings, differentiated only by its Neo-Classical architecture and the guards marching in front of its doors.

Right across is the Place Guillaume II, former site of a Franciscan monastery that now serves as the town square with the equestrian statue of Grand Duke William II as the focal point.

Located nearby is the Place d’Armes, a park fronting the City Palace, the Notre Dame de Luxembourg and the National Library.

Already tired from walking, I went to the Place de la Constitution where other tourists — just a few of us at the time — were also taking a break. Right underneath the square is the Pétrusse Casements, but more notable are the views of the Pétrusse Valley and the Adolphe Bridge.

I decided to go back to the city center and found myself in the middle of the shopping district.

Also nearby is the Place du Theatre, a plaza right outside the Capuchin Theatre where plays are staged.

When I thought I had already seen all that the city center has to offer, I retraced my steps to the Bock Promontory where I found the Law Court, the three towers — the same castle-like structure I found the night before — and the Spanish turret, which reminded me of the bastions of Intramuros.

It was only 3 p.m. and I still had a lot of time to spare before my train for Paris left at 6 p.m.

A day is more than enough to check out the interesting places in the city if you’re not really intent on seeing them up close.

But for the breathtaking views, historical structures and rustic charm not found in bustling European cities, this country is worth a visit — even just for a day.

The real Paris

2009-02-20T12:43:00.006+08:00

Second of two parts.

(This story was published at the Feb. 20-21 issue of BusinessWorld.)

There’s more to Paris than just the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower.

I found this out during a walk around the city center while the witty remarks of my free walking tour guide transformed them from mere structures to places of historical significance.

But as I was told, I barely scratched the surface.

Germany-based Sandemans New Europe Tours GmBH, a group that offers "free" tours in key cities in Europe, defined the quitessential Parisi

an culture as terraced cafes, romping bars and clubs, can-can dancers, street artists and performers, bourgeois-bohemian apartments and tiny cobblestone streets.

And these can all be experienced

not at the posh 6^th Arrondissement or Ave. Champs-Elysees but at the artsy Montmartre.

Montmartre is located in the northern portion of Paris at the 18th Arrondissement. It is said that this is where the authentic Parisian life can be found given Napoleon III’s goal of making Paris the most beautiful city in Europe. This resulted in the relocation of the original settlers to the suburbs, among them Montmartre.

So even if my legs were still aching from the three-and-a-half-hour walk from the Latin Quarter up to the Eiffel Tower earlier that day, I decide

d not to forego the walking tour of Montmartre scheduled that night even if it cost me 10 euros.

The tour was led by James, an American who decided to linger in Paris for a while after several months of studies.

He started by talking about Moulin Rouge, which was just across the Blanche Metro station.

Moulin Rouge was not as grandiose as depicted in the movie of the same title, and its expensive fees and stage shows make it appealing only to a limited crowd.

Our next stop was Cafes des Deux Moulins, which was popularized by the movie Amelie. But popularity comes with price — we didn’t enter since we were wary that we would be charged for merely staying there.

We then walked to a building where Vincent Van Gogh once lived. Just a few blocks from it is another landmark made famous by another artist. At the cabaret du Lapin Agile, Pablo Picasso used to exchange his paintings for food.

Right across Lapin Agile is the Montmartre Vineyard, the last authentic vineyard in Paris.

Another attraction in Montmartre is the Moulin de la Galette, a mill that used to produce flour and that has since been immortalized in the works of Picasso, Van Gogh and Renoir.

Our guide James pointed out that it was saved by the people from destruction in the early 1900s.

The monument of St. Denis may be easy to miss in the night, but one should know that Montmartre — or "mount of martyr" — got its name from him. The sainted bishop was beheaded while preaching, and legend has it that he continued talking while holding his head.

A few more steps uphill brought us to the bronze memorial of Dalida, a beautiful Italian singer who made a name in France sometime in the 1950s but lived a miserable life.

As we turned right, I didn’t realize that we were approaching the back of the Sacre Coeur, perhaps the crown jewel of Montmartre with its white dome overlooking Paris .

The church is a work of art that also teems with history. It was built as an important monument for the French after the Prussians left France in the late 1800s.

As this is situated at the highest point of the city, the patio of the basilica provides a breathtaking view of the city. Paris is indeed the city of lights, James said.

As we made our way downhill, we passed by the Artists Square , which even at night was still full of tourists wanting to have sketches drawn of themselves. The Square has rows of restaurants and cafes but none of us in the group — budget travelers all — bothered to check them out since the cheapest set menu was 14 euros.

At Rue des Trois Freres is Maison Collignon, formerly known as Au Marche de la Butte, also made famous byAmelie.

Just so I could say that I bought something from the place where Amelie (played by actress Audrey Tautou) shopped, I got a slice of brie that I brought home as a pasalubong (gift) for a friend.

To cap our tour, we were accompanied by James to a bar near Place St. Michel for a glass of wine.

Still reeling from the classy, artistic lifestyle of the Parisians, I dined at a quaint restaurant at the Latin Quarter where I ordered a 10-euro meal that consisted of pate de la foie (a huge slice of goose liver), vegetable soup, lots of fries, chicken grilled the French way, and two scoops of ice cream.

So how does one describe the average Parisian life? Bohemian yet fabulous, which explains why Paris is a premier destination in Europe .

Au Marche de la Butte, the grocery store made famous by "Amelie."

A view of the Sacre Coeur from Dalida's monument.

The facade of Sacre Coeur.

Sacre Coeaur up close: the ceiling of the porch leading to the main entrance of the basilica.

Paris on Foot

2009-02-14T00:14:00.012+08:00

(This article was published at the Feb. 13-14 edition of BusinessWorld. Or you may click here. And yeah, it's possible to see Paris' attractions by just walking.)

"How will you go around Paris?" asked Simon, a Venezuelan backpacker who was also lodging at the same hostel I stayed in two weeks ago. I told him I might join a guided tour to save me from the hassles of having to guess the must-see places.

"Well, you can check the places all by yourself," he said.

It’s obvious why Simon, like the rest of the new generation of travelers, was averse to joining a guided tour. After all, these travelers, many of whom go to places on a tight budget, would avoid unnecessary expenses including fees for tourist guides.

And, with the most jaded of tourists complaining about tour guides giving them just enough time to check out a certain place, guided tours are definitely out of the itinerary.

But for someone like me who had only 48 hours to spare for one of the most visited cities in the world, a guided tour was exactly what I needed

I have to admit, though, that what caught my fancy was the brochure screaming "free walking tour" offered by a Berlin-based firm, Sandeman’s New Europe GmBH. It never occurred to me that it might be a scam since it was endorsed by the hostel.

Nothing’s free nowadays, and here’s the catch: the tour is tip-based, meaning participants can give any amount they want based on their appreciation of the tour.

And so after that brief conversation with Simon, I took the Metro Line 4 going to Place St. Michel at the historic Latin Quarter where the three-and-a-half-hour walking tour was supposed to commence.

As it turned out, quite a number were interested to join the tour as the guides had to split us into two groups of 15 persons each.

My group was led by Amelia, a Mexican national who, like other Sandeman tour guides, decided to stay in Paris for a while after several months of studies.

The tour proved to be very interesting as her in-depth knowledge of French history gave life to what would have otherwise been a pile of centuries-old edifices in the middle of the gloomy, chilly weather.

Amelia started talking about the Latin Quarter, called such since students at the Sorbonne University spoke Latin during medieval times.

A few steps from Place St. Michel is the famous Notre Dame of Paris which according to Amelia was saved by Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame from being torn down in the 1800s for being in a state of disrepair.

Also nearby is the Palais de Justice. If we were not told that this was where Marie Antoinette was detained before she was led to the guillotine, would be just one of the many elaborately decorated buildings in Paris.

The banks of river Seine by ile de la Cite would have been a tiring walk if we were not told that it was where the medieval city of Paris was founded.

I could have easily dismissed the buildings along Boulevard Saint-Germaine at the 6^th Arrondissement across the Seine as a row of cute classical residential condominiums without knowing that it is the most expensive neighborhood in Paris.

As we walked on, we were told that the expressive faces etched on the Pont Neuf or "new bridge," the oldest stone bridge in Paris, were not mere ornaments. They are actually faces of King Henry V’s wasted friends after he commissioned his artist to do their sketches after a drinking spree.

"This is probably the first Facebook," Amelia quipped.

Institut de France, also a beautiful building not far from Pont Neuf, is still the home of academies, the most famous of which is the Acedemie Francaise that serves as the vanguard of the French language until now.

Fans of the hit TV series Sex and the City will be delighted to be at the Pont des Arts, just across the Institut, where the famous Will-you-marry-me scene of Carrie and Mr. Big was shot.

We also passed by the Louvre, which is not just the home of the Venus de Milo and the Monalisa as it is also an artwork in itself and the former residence of several French rulers.

Amelia said it would be impossible for one to see the entire Louvre in a day as looking at each artwork for 30 seconds would take three months.

Next on our itinerary was the historical Palais Royal, where we saw the same café where the birth of the French Revolution took place.

Next was the Jardin du Tuileries, named since it was previously the site of a tile factory. Sadly, the garden with replicas of statues that can be found at the Louvre looked like a sandy, deserted beach in the winter.

We also passed by several important buildings like the Musee de L’Orangerie, which is a repository of Impressionist artworks by Cezanne, Monet and Picasso; the Obelisk at the Place de la Concorde, which was given by the Egyptian government; and the Hotel de Crillon, the most expensive hotel in Paris, where winners of the Tour de France are billetted.

We viewed the Arc de Triomphe from afar before heading to the Grand Palais and Petit Palais where the walking tour ended.

I joined some of the other participants who opted to continue walking to the Eiffel Tower after we were told it was just three blocks away.

And the verdict? For the very entertaining tour teeming with historical insights, I would have given Amelia 20 euros. However, I gave her only half but promised to join the walking tour of Montmartre that night.

To be continued

Here are some pics that were not included in my story. The weather was kinda gloomy at that time so these are natural sephias.

Pont Neuf, the oldest stone bridge in Paris.

The Petite Palais, just off Avenue Champs-Elysees.

My take of the Notre Dame de Paris.

A view of the River Seine.

A view of the Latin Quarter as I emerged from the St. Michel station of the Metro.

Bookworming: Something old, something new, something borrowed

2009-02-12T01:00:00.009+08:00

It was some sort of a great accomplishment when I finished reading One Hundred Years of Solitude just last month. I tried to finish the book for the third time and alas, I succeeded.

So after that, I had the pleasure of basking in the presence of my latest acquisitions as well as the old and borrowed ones that I needed to read.

1. German in Your Pocket
My friend and colleague Maricel lent this to me, concerned that I might not survive in Germany without the basics of the language. But hell, Germans were so nice, that even if I didn't bother to greet them "morgen," they still bothered to help me even if they had a hard time talking in English whenever I was in trouble looking for certain places or food to eat. But nonetheless, this book at least gave me idea on how to pronounce names of streets, establishments and certain places.

2. Passport to French
I actually got this book sometime in 1994, when I was in grade 5. Fast forward to 2009, who would have thought I'd be going to Paris? I got too excited, that even if this book consumed precious baggage space, I wasn't able to browse and memorize some words while I was in France. As a consequence, I had a hard time communicating with Parisians who normally refuse to speak English to travellers like me who are too lazy to say "bonjour."

3. Lonely Planet Germany
There was a downpour of gift certificates during the Christmas season and one of the things that I acquired with those was this travel guide. As a budget traveller, the Lonely Planet series proved useful for me, my first experience of which was when I toured Southeast Asia in 2008. Europeans may be efficient in terms of providing tourists with the right information to the extent that I didn't have to carry this heavy book while I was roaming around Germany, but this gave me ideas and the right perspectives on which cities would be interesting to check out.

4. Cover to Cover: Through the Bible as it Happened by Selwyn Hughes and Trevor J. Partridge
I got this book last Christmas in a party organized by my churchmates at Victory Christian Fellowship. This was a prize in a game where I won. This is supposed to be a daily devotional guide of sorts, but sadly I totally forgot its existence just until I decided to take pictures of my books. I'll have to start reading on this soon!

5. After Dark by Haruki Murakami
Japanese author Haruki Murakami is one of my favorite writers, having enjoyed reading his Sputnik Sweetheart, Norwegian Wood, Kafka on the Shore, and Wild Sheep Chase. I actually bought one of this and gave this to a friend, and then decided to buy one for myself when I was shopping for Christmas presents for some of my closest friends. I brought this with me to Germany in anticipation of the terrible boredom during the 12-hour flight. But goodness, like the language books, this ate up precious baggage space as I was able to catch a lot of sleep during the long-haul flights and never had the chance to open this book.

Europe, Europe!

2009-02-03T14:05:00.003+08:00

Been travelling around Germany, Luxembourg and France for two weeks so give me time to edit my photos and gather my thoughts for my stories. :-)

Casa Rap!

2008-12-29T23:05:00.012+08:00

Do I have to go far to look for interesting places? Being a true blue Batangueño, I would naturally look for interesting places within the Ala Eh country. In search for a garden-slash-art-gallery-slash-organic-restaurant-slash-emote-place, I found Casa Rap, which is practically a stone's throw away from my place.

Casa Rap is proprietor Sister Ema Alday's playful take on the Batangueño expression, "kasarap," which, in "normal" Tagalog, is the same as "masarap" or delicious.

The place is just a quick 15-minute jeepney ride from the Lipa City bus stop. If you're coming from Manila and exiting at the Lipa City Exit of the Star Tollway, the bus will drop by the place. It's along the highway, just a few meters before the fork to San Jose town and Batangas City.

I was just amazed that such a place exists just nearby my mom's house in Lipa, so here, check out my photos.

(Disclaimer: These pics were taken from my N70, since I forgot to bring my ever reliable film-powered Nikon FG at that time.)

One of the artworks for sale.

The other artworks for sale.

Real cacao! This is what the tableya chocolate tablets are made of. If you haven't experienced a real hearty chocolate drink, they do serve an honest to goodnes one at Casa Rap.

The Angkor Wat Temples

2008-12-01T01:05:00.020+08:00

My two whole days in Siem Reap were so packed, that I thought writing about them would only make a long, wordy entry. In this case, there's no better way to tell the story than through pictures.

As early as 5am, Angkor Wat, the gateway to the Angkor Wat complex, is already teeming with tourists. The lake which probably served as moat during the heyday of the Angkor empire is misty as the sun is about to rise.

Angkor Wat is not a mere facade. It's made up of three clusters of majestic temples, and this structure is located at the heart of the temple. It took me a while to take this photo as I had to wait for other tourists to clear the area.

A courtyard at the Angkor Wat.

Next to Angkor Wat is the Angkor Thom. These carvings mark the walls of the Terrace of the Leper King (or Terrace of the Elephants?).

Inside the Angkor Thom is this structure called the Royal Palace. A Khmer kid told me of these intricate carvings. So mean of me, that I didn't even hand her a dollar.

The Bayon is also a part of Angkor Thom. This may look like a heap of stones that are about to crumble from afar, but this is definitely one of the most beautiful among other temples within the complex.

The "halls" of the Bayon appear like a maze. The action is really upstairs, where visitors can take a closer look at the stone faces.

The carvings at the walls of Bayon. This one depicts apsara dancers.

Two of the 200-or-so humongous heads at the Bayon.

Inside Ta Prohm is where the battle between man-made structures and nature takes place.

Still inside Ta Prohm, tourists are allowed to enter at some portions of the temple. I've read somewhere that there are intricate carvings in the interiors, but I wasn't actually able to see as I was so amazed at how the roots of the trees are overtaking the stone structures.

The is the site made famous by Angelina Jollie. It took me a while to be able to take a picture of this. At that time, there were lots of Koreans lining up to be photoed. Ta Prohm is one of the most visited temples, especially after Tomb Raider.

Visiting the Angkor Wat temples? Here are some tips:

2008-12-01T00:05:00.008+08:00

A view from Banteay Srei.

I'm not actually intending to give a detailed account on how my two whole days in Siem Reap went. Simply put, those days were so packed, that I would just end up posting a wordy entry that you might not want to read.

So I decided to just come up with several tips that you may find useful if you’re planning to check out the Angor Wat temples:

1. The Angkor Wat complex is so huge that it’s imposible to see all the temples in just one day. You may do so — in five days. But you may check out the “must-see” temples in just a day, and the other interesting ones for a total of three days. The “must-see” temples, according to Tales of Asia, are the Angkor Wat (the “main” temple), Bayon (my personal favorite for the 200-or-so heads), and Ta Prohm (that Cambodian structure made famous by Tomb Raider) . I haven’t seen all, but I guess I have to agree with Tales of Asia’s opinion. Also note that there are other beautiful temples that are outside of the Angkor Wat complex that are worthy to be visited, particularly Banteay Srei and Kbal Splean. You just have to ask your tuktuk driver to take you there, of course for extra fee. And maybe it's just me, that after checking one ruin after the other, I felt I was fed up. I didn't seen all of them temples but I think what I had is already sufficient. Going to Siem Reap river to check out the floating river is also another story, but my driver didn’t ask for extra fee since I finished taking rounds of Angkor temples earlier than expected.

The back side of Angkor Wat.

2. If possible, bring a liter of water. There are food stalls inside the complex but everything’s just damn too expensive. Just to give you an idea, a bowl of noodles is $3, and a bottle of 8 ounces of mineral water is $1-2.

3. Bring spare batteries for your camera. And film as well, if you’re still into film cameras like me. Four pieces of Energizer AAs’ worth $8 at the gate of Angkor Wat. Haggle with the Khmers and that’ll go down to $6. Compare that with supermarket prices. Enough said.

4. Sweaty or not, bring extra shirt/s. I went to the Angkor temples during the peak of summer, and whoa, I emerged from each of the temple drenched in sweat.

5. Caretakers and children running around the temples normally talk to tourists, and they give insights of the place, give tips on where the nice carvings are, etc. They’re not for free, though. If you don’t have a dollar or two to spare, ignore them.

6. I just came across a seller of books on Angkor Wat temples while entering a temple. It’s some sort of a coffee table book. To other sellers within the complex, that book’s about $12. To others, it's only $1! I still regret not buying that book. If you're a book person, it’s definitely a good buy!

7. The Angkor Wat itself is so glorious at dawn. My two whole days at Siem Reap started early in the morning. I think if you’ve already seen the sunrise, aim for the sunset the following day. I’ve read somewhere it’s nice to take pictures at Bayon late in the afternoon, and stare at the on the sunset at one of those Greek structure-looking temple (I'll post the photo soon, I just forgot the name of the temple). Please note that Angkor Wat itself is best photoed during sunset as it faces west.

8. The tuktuk that will take you to various temples for an entire day costs about $15 — that is, if you booked the tuktuk driver through your hotel/guesthouse. This is actually a bit expensive because hotels/guesthouses get a cut for every booking that they make. You may save a dollar or tow if you simply holler a tuktuk a day before your journey and ask the driver to pick you up in your hotel/guesthouse.

Pathway at the Terrace of the Elephants, Angkor Thom.

Saigon to Siem Reap by land

2008-11-16T17:54:00.009+08:00

Cambodian immigration at the Mocbai-Bavet border. The spindly rooftops and detailed carvings here are a prelude at what awaits at Siem Reap.

Perhaps going from one country to another by land is one of the most interesting things to do when exploring Southeast Asia. The land travel from Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam to Siem Reap in Cambodia, for instance, could be a bit tiring as it entailed long hours of sitting in a bus, but it made the entire Southeast Asian adventure cheaper. It also provided insights on what Cambodia looks like, not to mention that only a handful of Filipinos are adventurous enough to do the same if they’re traveling abroad.

One should try doing this at least once in his lifetime!

Traveling by land from Ho Chi Min City in Vietnam to Siem Reap in Cambodia is easy and safe, and far cheaper compared to taking a plane. Be forewarned, though, that the trip could take about 12-14 hours. But not to worry about pee breaks as the bus driver willingly obliges to halt when prompted (we stopped more than six times during the whole stretch of the trip for this).

I bought my bus ticket at the Sapaco office located along Pham Ngu Lao Street in Ho Chi Minh. Travel guides indicated that my guesthouse can easily arrange the trip. But as I was wary of extra charges, I decided to go personally to their office, since it was just a block away from my guest house in Bui Vien.

The ticket was only $22.

A fellow blogger recommended that I take the Sapaco bus line, since he had a good experience with it and proved it to be a safe option. I’ve read somewhere that other bus lines that ply the same route allegedly ask their passengers to get off halfway the trip and leave them hollering for a ride in the middle of nowhere.

***

I was told to be at the Sapaco office at 6am the following day. When I got there, I was escorted to a van that brought me to the bus waiting two blocks away.

A few minutes after the trip commenced, the bus conductor collected our passports. As we were about to approach the borderline, a funny thing happened.

The conductor, in his broken English, announced that we would have to get off the bus in a few minutes for the immigration.

But to my surprise, someone hastily shouted, “Dadalhin ang bag? Errrr… should we bring our bags?”

While the conductor replied that there’s no need to bring our belongings, I was trying to suppress my laugh — well, the downside of traveling alone.

So when we alighted, I decided to follow the person, and in my very pretentious American accent, I asked him if he is a Filipino. He said he is, and I replied, “Nagulat ako biglang may nag-Tagalog. (I was surprised to hear someone speak in Tagalog).”

The fellow Filipino told me he works in Phnom Penh. He was with his family for a few days in Ho Chi Min. They were also headed to Siem Reap to check out the Angkor temples after a couple of days in Phnom Penh, I was told.

So we all went inside the immigration office and waited for our passports to be released.

***

I thought the structures within the border are interesting, especially the façade of the Cambodian side with its Angkor Wat theme. A good prelude to what awaits me in Siem Reap, so I thought. Later on, I found out that most structures in Cambodia have that same motif — roofs with spires, detailed carvings, and all that stuff.

A monument that marks the Mocbai-Bavet border. The pic looks eerie, though, t'was about to rain at the time.

I was actually intending to take pictures of the border but since I was the last one to be called by the immigration officer, I wasn’t able to steal a few seconds for photo ops.

We hopped in to the bus again, and got off at the Cambodian side of the border. The approval of visas/passes is actually a quick process. Or is it because Filipinos are visa-free?

***

You’ll know you’re in Bavet when you see a number of casinos. And you’ll really know that you are already in Cambodia when gates of establishments have those intricate stone carvings reminiscent of the Angkor Wat, and patios of homes have small Buddhist monuments with smoky incense sticks.

After a few minutes, we stopped at what seemed like a bus stop with several carinderias selling cigarettes, noodles, softdrinks, junk foods and fruits, and lingered there for about 20 minutes for quick bites.

After an hour or so, we stopped again, and I realized that we were about to cross the mighty Mekong River. It took quite a while before my bus took its turn to go aboard a ferry, which is similar to that of Roll-On-Roll-Off (RORO) system in the Philippines. The Mekong crossing lasted about 15 minutes. I got off to check out this iconic river. There's nothing special to be seen, but hey, at least I knew that this river that I've read way back when I was in fourth grade actually exists.

***

Phnom Penh
I arrived at Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia, at around 1:30pm. All of the passengers were asked to take their belongings as they got off the bus. At the bus stop, myself together with a young British couple were escorted to an office similar to that of Sapaco in Saigon.

An office personnel helped the three of us to a tuktuk that took us to another bus stop, located in front of the Cultural Center of Cambodia where a bus bound to Siem Reap is waiting.

I did not pay extra for the tuktuk and the second bus. The $22 is for the entire trip.

At that point, it seemed that I had no choice but to have my luggage kept at the compartment of the bus even if I’m wary of losing my belongings. Remember, I brought a luggage, a backpack for my laptop, and a small bag for my cameras, and it would be uncomfortable if I try to squeeze in my luggage with me inside the bus.

As for my experience, it’s okay to leave bags at the compartment; I didn’t lose a single belonging.

***

Phnom Penh to Siem Reap is a seven-hour long trip.

The roads are paved, and the view of the countryside is almost similar to that of the Philippines. If the South or North Luzon Expressways present views of mountains and rolling rice fields, that of Cambodia is flat for the most part. The reddish soil is planted with rice and other crops, and towering palm trees serve as dividers or markers in between rice paddies.

Angkor Wat-like Buddhist structures pop out from time to time — small temples/monuments in the middle of farm lands, intricately carved stones (or cement?) at school gates, and even graves that shaped like the spindly rooftops of Angkor Wat!

All throughout the trip, the TV in the bus showed videoke/music video of Cambodian songs, which actually sounded like jukebox music in the Philippines. Cambodian teenagers served as actors for the videos (I therefore conclude that Pinoy actors look better-groomed but in general, Cambodians and Filipinos don’t differ that much in terms of looks).

The Cambodian countryside. This photo was taken during one of the many pee breaks.

Halfway the road from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap, we stopped at another eating station where there were lots of fruits and other carinderia food items for sale. I even saw a woman with a tray on her head containing what looked like fried tarantulas, while another one was carrying a basket full of lotus seeds. I would have tried eating any of these, but I reminded myself that I couldn’t be too adventurous since I’m traveling alone. If ever I have to be brought to the hospital, no one would take care of me. Horrors.

I was so hungry at that time since I only had noodles during the Bavet stopover. I was afraid to try the Cambodian foodstuff, so I ended up buying wafers just to sate my hunger.

***

I arrived in Siem Reap at around 7:30pm.

As I was about to hop off the bus, a lot of tuktuk drivers and touts were blocking the doorway, but I managed to slip through without having been pestered. I picked up my luggage at the compartment, and no sooner was I able to get a tuktuk that would take me to Rosy Guesthouse for $2.

So hungry was I, that I ended up ordering two sets of meals at the café-slash-restaurant of Rosy.

_______

Up next: a photo essay on the Angkorian temples.

Tiramisu Recipe

2008-11-03T10:57:00.011+08:00

Christmas is only less than a month away and up to now, I still haven’t decided on what to serve my folks. Ever since I’ve learned to concoct my own version of Puttanesca and Waldorf salad, I’ve become the official chef of the family during Christmas and New Year as these two dishes have been staples. For this year, I thought the time has come to develop further the palates of my family.

I came across Giada de Laurentii’s show at the Food Network a few weeks ago, and at that time, she taught viewers how to make Tiramisu. I thought this one’s so easy to prepare, and this would be a good Christmas treat.

But what really convinced me to try the recipe on my own is because of the requirement to use espresso.

I happened to own a mocha pot, which a bought from a colleague a couple of years ago for about P1,000 (I consider it expensive!). I used it only twice because I thought espresso is just too strong for me. So this time, I said to myself, why not find a worthy use for this expensive gadget?

So here are the ingredients. I was so happy that it turned out really well. Beginner’s luck, as they said.

2 cups espresso coffee
4 egg yolks
1 250-gram pack Mascarpone cheese (I got this at the supermarket of Robinson’s Galleria for only P271. I tried to scout for other sources. Terry’s Selection at the basement of The Podium sells this for about P380, while that from Santis Delicatessen’s about P500).
3 tablespoons white sugar
Lady finger cookies (locally known as Broas. I got the La Pacita brand. What’s remarkable about this brand is that although it’s a bit expensive, the cookies are dense and not just filled with air.)
2 tablespoons rum
Unsweetened cocoa powder (Ricoa Breakfast Cocoa will do.)
Dark chocolate (for garnishing, Giada said, but a good choice of chocolate will actually make a difference on the whole thing. For this one, I used Meiji Black. Good thing this complemented the recipe.)
Strawberries or blueberries (optional, for garnishing.)

Procedures:

1.) Using a hand mixer, combine egg yolks and about 2 1/2 tablespoons of sugar. Beat until thick and pale (yeah, the sunny yellow color of the yolks tend to become pale when beaten).
2.) Fold in the Mascarpone cheese. What I’ve noticed was the consistency of the whole mixture was not as creamy as what the others in YouTube have done. My mixture’s a bit lumpy. Maybe I should have brought the Mascarpone cheese out of the fridge hours before I prepared the thing? I don’t know. But I proceeded anyway.
3.) Add a tablespoon of espresso to the mixture. Set aside.
4.) On a shallow pan or dish, combine the espresso, a dash of rum, and a little bit of sugar (just a little bit of sugar. The cookies are already sweet).
5.) Soak the lady finger cookies on the espresso-rum-sugar mixture. Please note that the cookies will disintegrate if soaked for long.
6.) Arrange the cookies in a baking pan. On top of it, spoon in the Mascaporne mixture. Sprinkle the cocoa powder on top using a strainer.
7.) Still on top of the mixture, add another layer of cookies, then the Mascarpone mixture, then the cocoa powder. Then top with scraps of dark chocolate and/or strawberries and blueberries.
8.) Refrigerate for 2-8 hours.

Lessons learned:
1.) Don’t be too excited. The colder it is, the better. If you could freeze the product a bit, that would be better.
2.) I actually used 2 tablespoons of sugar on the egg-mascarpone-sugar mixture. It tasted like a diabetic-friendly cake, which my folks actually appreciated. Try to add a little bit sugar if you want it a bit sweeter.

If you want the original recipe (which is a bit complicated), click here.

Who says there's nothing to do in Quezon?

2008-10-20T10:06:00.023+08:00

One of the many cascades at Kubli springs, right at the foothills of Mt. Banahaw.

I was actually guilty of that accusation. And why not, the province is not as famous as the other destinations in the country for more-than-the-usual natural wonders or man-made tourist attractions — well at least I wasn't aware of any, or probably no one hasn't really discovered them as of yet.

Save for the mystical Mt. Banahaw, I know Quezon province for the pahiyas festival, pancit habhab, and my uncle’s private beach resort tucked in the far-flung part of Infanta town.

But it's me and my underestimating self again, little did I know that the foothills of Mt. Banahaw itself has a lot to offer.

The option of exploring Dolores, Quezon surfaced when I came across an article written by another journalist friend of mine about Kinabuhayan Café and Bed and Breakfast.

The place is owned by the husband of one of our editors, and some of my colleagues said I would love it there since it’s a place that seemed to have been built specifically for the artsy-fartsy crowd.

But more than that, my curiosity was piqued by raving reviews at online fora and blogs — and of course the nice article written by my friend about portions of the so-called “Viaje del Sol.”

And so one fine day, when I got so stressed at work and needed a place that's secluded but not too far away, my friends and I decided to check out Kinabuhayan.

We were only commuting, and the directions stated at Kinabuhayan’s Multiply site was not at all hard to comprehend. One doesn’t even have to look at a map for reference.

We took a JAM bus bound to Lucena. The terminal is located at the corner of Gil Puyat (better known as Buendia) and Taft Avenues. It’s actually at the Buendia station of LRT 1 so it’s not actually hard to locate.

The fare up to the NEW Market of Tiaong was P157 per head. I asked the conductor to let us know if we’re already at the New Market of Tiaong. Take note that it’s NEW. The OLD market in Tiaong is a different thing.

The trip should be about 2 1/2 hours from Manila, including the perennial traffic at the South Luzon Expressway.

When we got to the market, I asked around for jeeps bound to Dolores. I sat beside the driver and told him to take us to Dejarme Street. Be forewarned, though, that there are no street signs. The marker would be a signage that says, “Paaralang Sentral ng Dolores.” If you’ve gone past the parish church, you’ve already missed the place.

From the signage, Kinabuhayan is the one in front of a Bayad Center. The place itself is marked by a porch, and next to it is a tree house.

The porch. See the purple flowers? They found their way to our salads come lunch time. Yum!

The jeepney trip is P20 per head, and lasted about 15-20 minutes from the New Tiaong market.

The Multiply site also said Barangay Kinabuhayan is quite far from Kinabuhayan Cafe so we were forewarned that if ever we're going to ask for directions, better not ask for Kinabuhayan. But why the name? Jay Herrera, the owner, later on told me that it's a nice name, and that it depicts of "new life" or whatever.

That was the intention of my weekend getaway, anyway — to empty myself out and get some sort of a new life and renewed vigor given the stress of daily deadlines and the global financial market turmoil that's already spilling on my personal concerns.

Upon entering, guests will be greeted by a billiards table, and several small tables with little trinkets. The wall to the left has traditional Filipino papier mache horses called taka, while a sungkaan — a traditional game common among Malaysians, Indonesians and Filipinos (I found lots of those when I went to Malacca, Malaysia. And I have one at home) — rests at one of the tables.

The place is well-lit as natural light seeps through the glass ceiling.

But the structure with the porch is just the beginning.

Walking further and outside of the "main building," one will see several huts where guests can lounge, sleep, dine, emote, reflect, or do whatever they want.

One of the huts (please excuse the overexposure. Amateur fotog here).

Walking through the outdoors, one will be greeted by the other cast members of Kinabuhayan: a pot-bellied pig named Onion, who behaves like a dog when scratched; a Daschund named Muning; another dog named Chongki, who's too excited to greet guests as they arrive (if you're afraid of dogs, it doesn't bite but beware.); a cat named Tweety; a number of pigeons, hens and chicks; and other pets that I might have failed to meet during my stay. We were told later on there's a snake in an aquarium and 2 turtles under a hut.

The hut where we slept doesn't have four walls, so to speak, but guests keep their privacy given the abundance of plants around.

The hut's also got a hammock (must try!), a 14-inch cable TV, the owner's personal reads and some more trinkets.

The bathroom is open to the skies, but the owner assured that guests can still have privacy while doing their business.

The sleeping quarter is at the loft with a mattress and mosquito net. I missed the olden days when we have to set up the kulambo!

The side view of our hut.

Since we arrived a little before lunch time, our host immediately asked us to prepare to go to Kubli Springs for lunch. Be ready to get wet, he said.

The way to the Springs was a 5- to 10-minute jeepney ride. Jay took care of the jeepney rental.

As we descended to the stream, lo and behold: there was a bamboo dining table and benches submerged on the water, while adding to the ambience of the place was a portion of the cliff adorned with bamboo tubes where water spring water pass through.

The eating part was actually one of the most anticipated part of this trip as Kinabuhayan has been well-known for Jay's gourmet cooking.

For lunch, we had grilled liempo on top of a healthy serving of risotto rice with what looked like Shitake mushrooms. The side salad was made up of carrots and other sliced veggies that I didn't recognize, topped with purple mayana flowers (that I never thought was edible) and vinaigrette dressing. Yum!

I forgot what we had for dessert, but as far as I can remember, that's some sort of macapuno topped with dill. We also had barako coffee and lots of lambanog shots with orange and mango juice. Gourmet dining at the batis capped by Jay and his buddy Ralph's hilarious stories? Memorable.

And so afterwards we trekked the stream to check out the three falls. It was not really a difficult trek, except for the fact that the three of us had to float (if not swim) at some portions of the stream just to get from point A to B. Please take note also that we were a bit drunk, so it's a little bit more difficult. The water was kinda rough so I went home with some bruises.

Going to the three falls, the water was too deep that I had to leave my camera and camera phone somewhere just to get to the place. But I managed to get some shots along the way.

Ever wondered what it's like to be in a washing machine? Try having a dip below this cascade and see for yourself.

On our way back to the cafe, Jay picked up some herbs that later on graced our platters. I saw him pick up medicinal wild grass called pansit-pansitan, katuray, and some wild balimbing or star fruit.

He also showed us a tree that bore Philippine cherries, and picked some ripe fruits for us to try.

While Jay was preparing dinner, a masseuse came in and gave each one of us a relaxing massage. She said it was called "relaxing" massage, but whatever that is called, I really appreciated it compared to the kind of treatments that I'm getting in Manila.

Dinner was spectacular. The table was fabulously set with candle lights and simple flower arrangements. We were served with chicken (I don't know what it's called) again on top of rich risotto rice. Greens on the side were the pansit-pansitan, katuray, decorative but edible flowers called Impatience, among others. There was also tokwa't baboy on the side.

The dessert was ice cream with some herbs on top.

And of course, the evening ended with Jay and Ralph's stories of magic realist proportions.

The following morning, I woke up with the scent of dew, the smell of burning dried leaves, and the crow of birds and fowls in the area. It may sound annoying for someone like me who would rather sleep the whole morning, but that really gave me a sense of being so far away from Manila.

My friends and I had a stroll at the Our Lady of Sorrows Church, which was only two blocks away from the cafe. At the background was the scenic Mt. Cristobal. I've read somewhere that stained glass windows in this church discreetly bore the name of a certain Fr. Benjie, but I couldn't find it. Takes a magic eye to see them, maybe, or I wasn't actually paying attention since I was still sleepy at that time. Pupungas-pungas pa, as they say.

The verdict? I'd definitely come back there. Not because I still haven't seen Santa Lucia falls, but I want to experience that probinsya feel again, taste Jay's creative cooking and hear their incredible stories. Five stars.

For more information — prices, other testimonials (if you didn't believe me), contact numbers and some more photos, click here.

Sneak peek at Opera

2008-10-13T23:51:00.007+08:00

Before reading my post below on the latest opera performance here in the Philippines, here's an interesting (ehem) review that I wrote in 2006 about a production of the Philippine Opera Company. This one's about Master Class. The show's restaged and is running until Oct. 25, with Cherrie Gil, one of the icons in the local TV, film and theatre scene, playing the lead.

So here's my review, which should encourage everyone to see the ongoing show.

* This piece appeared at the Weekender/Arts and Liesure section of BusinessWorld on July 21, 2006.

Opera 101: A sneak peek at opera

THEATER REVIEW
Master Class
By Terence McNally
Presented by the Philippine Opera Company
July 21 and 22, 8 p.m. (2006)
Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza, Ayala cor. Buendia Aves., Makati City

To those who do not have the discerning ears - or perhaps the patience - to appreciate classical music, the mere mention of the word "opera" triggers boredom. It may be because the arias are in unfamiliar languages, or, it may be the high-pitched birdlike voices that lull some to sleep. Because they are not willing to take the chance on it, a lot of people miss the great things that opera has to offer - the music and the magic combined on stage, the experience that the privileged few, so it seems, get from every performance.

With its aim of increasing the Filipino's awareness and appreciation of opera, the Philippine Opera Company makes a good first step to introducing the art to more Filipinos with its production of Master Class.

The production is very apt as the company's season opener. Since this is a play on opera rather than a full-length classical piece, watching Master Class does not require one to be a buff to comprehend what playwright Terence McNally wants to convey.

Master Class gives one a glimpse into the life of the legendary soprano Maria Callas (played by Jay Glorioso), touted to have been one of the greatest opera singers in the recent history for having revived the bel canta heroines of some of the greatest Italian composers. The play focuses on the latter part of Callas' life, that is, as a teacher giving a series of master classes at the Juilliard School of Music. While she did in fact conduct the master classes, the events in the play are of McNally's imagination.

While biographical sketches similar to this often result in travesty or comes out as a mere retelling of a famous figure's life, McNally was able to creatively weave Callas' musical genius together with the drama of her personal life.

The play shows a master class featuring three music students. This is where McNally is able to tell the people, for instance, that art is not detached from real life. This is best exhibited in one of Callas' lines - "You don't just stand on stage, you own it," saying that performing is not about pretending but being the person that one portrays at a particular time and place.

Such insights into music and performances are complemented by monologues that Callas delivers when she mentally moves out of the scene and airs out the miseries of her personal life.

McNally structured the play to include the audience, with the proverbial invisible wall between the actors and the audience eliminated. With the audience essentially included in the class, Glorioso as Callas, is able to inject a comedic touch as she delivered quips to the audience throughout the play.

The class does not become a mere showcase of the vocal prowess of Karla Gutierrez as Sophie de Palma, Anna Feleo as Sharon Graham, and Juan Alberto as Anthony Candolino with their renditions of some popular arias. Callas, after all, interrupts them after their first notes - sometimes even before they start singing. And even when they sing the pieces in their entirety, the renditions subtly turn to recorded versions. Rather, these actors were able to give remarkable acting performances in their respective moments.

In the brief vocal exhibitions, Gutierrez was the most memorable as her dynamics never failed to amaze, despite the fact that she was only required to sing a short portion of the aria.

Feleo's voice is equally striking, and I hope her character has become more solid through the production's run than it was during press night. Same with Alberto who looked a bit inhibited in his movements onstage - but his singing was a different matter!

The role of Maria Callas requires a strong actress, and Glorioso, in my opinion, was a good choice to play the part. As the role requires, she is an authentic singer. However, some people think that a stronger actress could have been cast as the role requires only minimal singing. But still, although her performance may seem to need a little more heft as compared to Baby Barredo's in Repertory Philippines' production some years back (I was
told Barredo had firsthand experience of a master class under Callas), I believe Glorioso will be able to give a stronger delivery throughout the rest of the run.

Full of insights on Callas' life and the basics of opera, complemented with equally impressive sets and lighting, Master Class depicts how art - opera in particular - truly becomes a magical reflection of life.

Disclaimer: I wasn't paid to make this post, or am I close to people at the POC. I just want to share the experience.

Finally, an Italian opera in the Philippines!

2008-10-13T22:48:00.006+08:00

A couple of years playing classical music when I was in my teens has made me a sucker for anything classical. Name it: Mozart, Beethoven, Lizst, anything with piano and violin, or even harp or glockenspiel, I'd like to have a CD or MP3 of it. So this, together with my undying love for the theatre arts, made me wonder what would be it like to watch an opera -- a real opera at that.

And then I had a chance to have an interview with Philippine Opera Company (POC) founder Karla Gutierrez. She herself was trained in Rome, with a course that's something like a masters degree in opera interpretation. She told me that a good career as an opera performer awaited her in Italy (she has what it takes to be a star: VERY good singing and a pretty face) but she said she'd rather put up an opera company here. So to make the long story short, POC was born.

Going back to the interview with Karla, I was trying to write a story about the potential of opera in the Philippines. By the way she described me her vision -- a major theatrical production with elaborate sets, an orchestra, and a material that is sung all throughout -- I was convinced that I really wanted to see one. And with the oversupply of talent in the country, there opt to be lots of such productions here in the Philippines.

So when I've heard POC's doing Puccini's La Boheme, I begged for a free ticket from my friend (hehe).

This was the same piece were Rent (read: the movie and the musicale) was based. Not to mention the tagline, "The Greatest Love Story Ever Sung" as an added come on, I was really itching to see it.

So I went to the CCP Main Theatre last Oct. 3 to see POC's La Boheme. It was the opening night. Bloggers were invited to have a sneak peek during the dress/tech rehearsal last Oct. 1, but I opted not to go since I'm not yet an established blogger.

Review
The production was not as grand as what Karla described to me, but it was a good show, all in all. With the singing as the centerpiece of any opera, I think the talented performers did a good job, and they did not fail their audience made up of high-profile personalities (read: the patrons of the arts).

I thought the director was being snob for not putting subtitles. The entire piece was sung — in Italian — and I couldn't make up what they're trying to tell.

My friend who attended the press conference said there was a debate among the producers and the artistic staff if they should put subtitles. The director argued that the attention of the audience will be divided if they do that, and that the audience should have done their homework by reading up about the opera.

For me, I think the move was one sure way to bring the arts much farther from the people. In this society where art is barely appreciated, I thought the producers should have done something to at least bring it closer to the Filipinos.

But then, another friend told me that that's how it is done in Europe -- even in non-Italian speaking countries. The objective is to simply listen to the singing and the music, and from there one can have an understanding of what's happening on stage. Let the singing touch your heart, my friend told me.

So this is what is called audience development -- you try to introduce new things to your audiences, and develop their appreciation for such things.

I wasn't able to comprehend the libretto of the opera, yes, but if I'll rate my experience based on the singing, I'd say it's superb!

The cast was made up of some of the top-notch performers in the country. That night I saw Jennifer Uy as Mimi and Gary del Rosario as Rodolfo. I've learned from the souvenir program that Gary is an accomplished opera performer abroad and only came home to do this (something like that).

But in terms of both singing and acting, Ana Feleo was a showstealer as the sexy Mussetta. Her stage presence, as in her past performances (I was able to work with her in Tanghalang Pilipino's Oraciones in 2003) was really something amazing.

Also noteworthy were the performance of the three "alipores" of Rodolfo's -- baritones Lawrence Jatayna and Jesus Baang who played Marcello, Joseleo Logdat who did Colline, and John Ocampos who played Shaunard.

One comment, though. The show intended to contextualize the piece to Modern-day Manila. Yeah, the effort was there with the sorbetero and all that. But all in all, I didn't feel Manila. And the second act with the chorus in what was supposed to be a carnival of sorts, I was kind of confused on who to look at on stage, and that in my opinion, the scene was badly blocked.

But nonetheless, this project should be the start of more to come in the Philippine theatre/entertainment scene. Bravo, POC!

Good Morning, Vietnam

2008-09-27T19:02:00.019+08:00

The facade of Vietnam's Reunification Palace

May 12-14, 2008

Vietnam served as my jump off point for my two-week adventure in Southeast Asia.

I left Manila a little before midnight via Cebu Pacific, and arrived at Ho Chi Minh City at 1am (that was Manila time, I think. We're an hour ahead).

For my two-week Southeast Asian trip, I alloted just two nights and one whole day in Vietnam.

I wasn't actually interested in going to Vietnam, thinking that it is simply a third world country shabbier than the Philippines. This was my attitude towards Vietnam despite the fact that the country is always teeming with tourists, compared with the Philippines with only a handful.

I would not have passed by Vietnam if it were not my entry point to Cambodia. There are no direct flights from Manila to Siem Reap as of yet, but my friend who used to cover the transport beat said talks are ongoing between the Cambodian and Philippine governments, so expect a direct flight really soon.

But when I set foot on what I thought was a war-torn country, I realized that I underestimated Vietnam.

Than Son Nhat International Airport itself was a big revelation. Peering from my window in the plane, I thought it was an architectural wonder, a quintessential modern edifice with wide glass panels, white-washed walls and big halls.

I took a photo of myself using my camera phone even if I was forewarned by some friends that taking photos inside the airport is prohibited. My attempt was successful, but my camera phone failed to capture the real beauty of that structure.

My "day zero" in Vietnam was greeted by a funny encounter with a Vietnamese immigration officer. The officer asked me to explain what is the "Ñ" in my last name. Then he drew a letter "J" with a line on top of it and said, "Philippines?"

I was actually freaking out and managed only to reply, "It's actually Spanish."

After some thought, the officer stamped the entry permit on my passport.

I marched outside and looked for a cab. A fellow blogger told me in an e-mail that taxis from the airport going to the city should cost about P300. But my below-sea-level bargaining skills failed me, and I ended up paying so much (don't ask how much, but it's really expensive that I considered myself mugged by Vietnamese).

But the moral of the story is, wherever you are, avoid touts.

My impression of Vietnam at night was that it was a place similar to the Sampaloc district in Manila -- marked by old, shabby structures and dirty sidewalks, that is.

The "lobby" of Yellow House Hostel

I got to my hostel, Yellow House Hostel, where I pre-booked a mixed dorm-type accommodation at www.hostelworld.com for $6/night plus a booking fee of $2. The hostel is located at Bui Vien St., which is right at the heart of the backpackers' district called Pham Ngu Lao.

Bui Vien, I found out the following day, is lined with cafes and restaurants as well as stores selling cheap artworks, souvenir items and clothes.

It was already 2am but since I haven't had a decent dinner, I tried walking along Bui Vien to check if there are restaurants open. I found a cafe (that sounded a nice idea since, I was told, coffee in Vietnam is simply the best), but I need "real" food. I found Chin Chin Chin (999), probably Vietnam's answer to 7-11, and grabbed instant noodles. I also got bottled water, instant coffee, and a chocolate bar in anticipation of the spicy treat that I am up to.

Having failed on my plan to get a decent meal, I just decided to call it a day and promised myself that I would wake up early the next morning to catch the tourist bus.

Day One
I woke up at 7am as planned and had breakfast at the hostel (yeah, breakfast, which consisted of coffee, jam, butter, French bread and banana, was included in the $6!), only to find out that the tourist bus leaves at around 730am!

In my frustration, I just asked for an itinerary and decided that I would check the highlights of the city on my own. When I stepped out of the hostel, a motorcycle offered to bring me to five destinations for $10. The guided tour offered $8 to six destinations (if memory serves me right), including snacks and lunch. But not bad, at least I thought I wouldn't be pestered by the fact that tour guides often ask tourists to rush.

But more than this, riding a motorcycle proved to be fun. It gave me a real feel and different perspective of the city as the motorcycle meandered through hidden and main streets. It was fun being in the middle of tree-lined streets, pass by parks with lush greenery, and see lots of heads with helmets.

My driver gave me about an hour for each of the destinations and agreed at a particular time to meet outside afterwards.

I checked out the Reunification Palace and the War Remnants Museum. The Notre Dame of Saigon was interesting with its beautiful facade and the presence of statues of Chinese saints (but of course I still think churches in the Philippines are better). Just across the Notre Dame was the Post Office, which looked like a train station but really was interesting. They have beautiful souvenir items there such as masks, stamps, and hand-painted bamboo bookmarks, the latter which I got for $1 each. These items cannot be found in the market so better buy right there if you find interesting items.

Vietnam's take on halo-halo, with free iced tea.

Then I had lunch at Ben Thanh market. I random-picked a carinderia-looking eatery where the chicken tasted beyond my expectations. For desert, I once again random-picked a halo-halo looking desert with green stuff inside which came with a small glass of iced tea (which didn't taste good). So adventurous of me to food trip just like that!

After that, I visited Binh Tai (not sure if I spelled it right), then to a Buddhist temple.

Binh Tai market wasn't actually in the itinerary of the guided tour. The driver told me goods are cheaper there but I wasn't really able to buy anything except for half a kilo of ground coffee, a fan worth about P5, and a bottle of coke which cost $1.

So when in Vietnam, make sure you have dong in your pocket even if stores do accept US dollars. Merchants don't bother to give change if you pay in US dollars -- even if goods cost less than a dollar.

My road trip ended at about 3pm, so I decided to take a break and spent half an hour chatting with fellow sojourners.

There were 10 beds in my room. All of them were occupied but I met only three from Australia, two from England and a Chinese girl. There were only two of us Asians in that room.

In those conversations, I realized that backpacking is a concept that is totally alien to Filipinos, save for the adventurous few. Perhaps I was the only backpacker at the time who had a "real" luggage instead of a backpack, three pairs of footwear including a white Lacoste tennis shoes, and a laptop. And based on the stories of my fellow backpackers, my two-week trip was probably the shortest they've ever encountered compared to one of them who has been away from his country for seven months already and will only come back as soon as he runs out of funds.

Not only that, I was probably the only one with an organized plan of how my next 13 days will be.

After the chat, I decided to check out the water puppet show at the Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theatre at Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, which is not far from my hostel. The ticket was $4 (as far as I remember).

My room mate said the show's a crap, but I thought otherwise. The stage is made up of a scaled-down Chinese-looking pavilion and a pool of murky water in front. On each side of the stage, there were three players of traditional Vietnamese musical instruments, who also served as the voices of the characters. At the end of the show, six (or eight?) others would reveal themselves as the ones controlling the water puppets.

Tourists would not understand a single word the performers were uttering but the show gave me a peek at the musical and artistic traditions of Vietnam. The music is a mix of Chinese and other Asian influences with the flute, an instrument that looks like an Asian violin, a timpani, a stringed instrument that looked like that of Korea's, and other gong-sounding instruments which made the entire package akin to the musical traditions of Cambodia, Thailand, Southern Philippines and Indonesia.

I thought the show was fascinating -- and it would be for kids. Their dragons even came with firecrackers on their mouths.

To cap my Saigon day, I asked the motorcycle driver to take me to Huong Lai Restaurant, which is also not far from the puppet theatre. I just got the idea from my Lonely Planet Southeast Asia.

Inside the Huong Lai restaurant.

I highly recommend this restaurant so for those thinking of going to HCMC, better check out this place. The setting was on the second floor of a colonial-looking house, and the set-up is quite similar to the upper floor of a typical bahay na bato in the Philippines -- wooden floors, wooden furniture, yellow light flooding the whole space, etc. It would pass as an ideal "date place" for me.

The food was not so bad. I took the cheapest set meal, which consisted of what looked like Vietnamese pancit canton, purple yam soup, and another dish that I couldn't remember, plus a desert called "che," which is sweetened mung beans.

At $7, it was not at all bad. It's that good that I wanna go back there.

The servers were former street kids, so going there would be like helping these young people.

After that, I had to rush to the hostel to sleep early because my bus ride going to Cambodia the following day would be at 6am.

Quite long for a blog entry? I think this is proof enough that indeed, how I regret that I underestimated Vietnam, tsk tsk.

A view from the balcony of the Reunification Palace.

Facade of the Post Office.

The city hall.

The busy Bui Vien Street. Note the motorcycles on the sidewalk.

Bookworming

2008-09-24T23:58:00.012+08:00

Before I chronicle my adventures in Southeast Asia (I know, it's loooong overdue already), let me first share the joy of acquiring new reads.

I recently got the chance to visit the newly opened branch of Fully Booked at the ground level of Edsa Shangri-La Hotel in Mandaluyong City just to feel the ambience of what seemed from the outside a cozy cafe and bookstore.

It's interiors were well lighted as seen through its clear glass panels, and I thought it could be a very relaxing experience to have coffee inside. So after a stressful day, on my way home, I decided to drop by the bookstore.

It was probably the first time that I really browsed every title in the shelves of a bookstore. I'm a book lover, yes, but I don't have the patience to look at every title and author in front of me while in a bookstore. And that probably explains why I don't get to buy books from stores such as Book Sale, because my five-minute attention span would not let me dig into the shelves.

But since I wasn't really in a hurry, I decided to take a closer look at what's inside the store. I wasn't really intending to buy anything since I still have a lot of books in line, but I ended up with two new books: Laura Esquivel's Malinche and Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children.

Laura Esquivel would probably be a natural choice since I'm a fan of the magic realism strain.

Take note that magic realism differs from fantasy in a sense that unusual things like flying, magic and exaggerated incidences are treated as real and normal stuff in magic realist stories, compared to fantasy pieces where characters are struck with wonder and awe upon seeing or experiencing such things.

I remember reading Esquivel's Like Water for Chocolate which eventually became one of my most memorable reads (how can I forget one character who got literally too hot after eating Chicken in Rose Petal Sauce?).

On the other hand, I've always planned on acquiring a Rushdie, especially after I've heard raving reviews of his Satanic Verses. Rushdie's Midnight's Children piqued my curiosity because first, there's no Satanic Verses available at that time. Secondly, it's thick, and I thought it would be a challenge for my short attention span. And lastly, it's another of those magic realist stories, where this boy born at midnight suddenly discovers that he's able to communicate with other children born at midnight.

But my book-shopping spree didn't end there. Still fresh from my Fully Booked splurging, I dropped by the Harrison Plaza branch of National Bookstore by chance, which appeared to be on sale. Although it's not the flagship store of the bookstore chain (it's actually one of the shabbiest), the Harrison Plaza branch was reputed to have great selections on bargain as my college professors told me that the store sells hard-to-find classics for only P10 (2001 prices, take note).

So I checked out their books on sale and found one interesting book: Li Po and Tu Fu. These two Chinese poets were among the pillars of Chinese literature, as far as I can remember from my World Literature. I presented a Li Po poem in college and from what I can remember, this author is fond of using vivid imagery of nature, wine, and stuff (he's a drunkard).

And since the blurb of the book tells of an introduction which leads readers to the historical context where the two authors lived, not to mention pages of artfully rendered Chinese calligraphy, I grabbed the book without opening it (it's still sealed up to now). After all, I got it for only P100! (original price was P405).

But before I open my new acquisitions, I still have to finish Gabriel Garcia Marquez' One Hundred Years of Solitude. I remember getting this book in February 2003 as my gift to myself. This is currently my third attempt at finishing the book. I remember getting started at it and finishing it in the middle. But this book should be read without stops as much as possible because names of characters are confusing (they're all Jose Arcadios and Aurelianos in the novel), not to mention that the events and instances presented are too incredible that you really have to have a lot of focus on what's happening (the patriarch being tied to a chestnut tree for 50 years, the grand daughter's beauty that literally kills, etc.).

Sounds too cheesy, but reading this book is really one heck of an experience.

And oh, I read the Bible on the side. I recently finished reading the story of Samson (Judges chapter 13). And I'm about to read other stories that I grew up with, just to freshen up my memory. And of course, the Bible is THE Word and it's supposed to be food for the spirit and not simply a collection of literary pieces.

Grand overture: Boracay Island, Philippines

2008-06-11T23:41:00.028+08:00

May 9-11

I thought exploring my country would be a good prelude to my Southeast Asian adventure. It is, after all, the "pearl of the orient." Indeed, a trip to Boracay Island in the Visayas proved to be a great one — not to mention that it's an all-expense paid trip hosted by the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines where I am a member.

The sky was dark with a storm brewing somewhere north of Philippines at the time. But
what the heck! With its powdery white sand and party atmosphere, Boracay is still Boracay.

As this was my second trip to the island — the previous one being in 2004 — I've already had a taste of what it's like under the sun with the powdery white sand on your feet and the Boracay party vibe that Caucasians, Asians and Makati yuppies go for. With all the stress that I've had in the past few months, I've decided to just sit back and enjoy the view, and be a beach bum for once in my life, as my companions went island hopping and gone shopping for souvenirs and pasalubong at the market. But before I could "empty" myself while lying down on one of those artsy beach chairs, my curiosity was piqued by those half-sized surfboards that native kids play with on shallow waters. I approached a 10-year old boy and learned that it was called a skimboard. With a knack for trying new things, my friend and I tried our hands on the thing. For 150 pesos for an hour's rent plus "free" crash course from the kid, that's not that expensive at all.

But the seemingly graceful glide that kids show was just mere perception as skimboarding is not at all easy to learn — at least for me and my friend.

We were told of the right way of throwing the thing on the water, waiting for the right timing before we let go of our boards. As we were told, we should throw the thing at running distance before waves could gently ebb, then chase it later on, stepping with the front feet first (if you're a lefty, the left should be your "front") and the hind feet afterwards. Then strive to make a balance while gliding.

After sliding for about 12 inches, we would slip, pick up the thing, and start all over again. Do this repeatedly for an hour, and surely you'll get muscle pains come nighttime.

After a few attempts in perfecting skimboarding, the kid provided my friend with a board that's got rubber on it so that she wouldn't slip easily. It may have made a bit of a difference, but my friend still ended up slipping and starting all over again.
But I thought one hour is not enough to learn skimboarding. I was kind of making progress, as my 12-inch glide became longer and longer, but my one hour finally came to an end. I could have continued skimboarding for another hour but my muscles were already complaining, not to mention that my back and shoulders were already burning for having been exposed to the hot afternoon sun.

So this somehow proved that it takes time for me to learn such kind of thing. I remember in 2003, a couple of months after I graduated from college, a classmate invited me together with another classmate, to her family's resort in Calapan, Mindoro. I got to try jet skiing, which was really cool. Later on, my classmate asked me to try the wakeboard. And try I did, with the jet ski pulling me, only to end up with aching arm muscles while my nose got that feeling of being drowned for having been dragged on the water repeatedly.

But still, the whole thing — my skimboarding experience, I mean — was really fun. At least I would stop being envious of those who are into water sports who seem to have a grand time while on the water, being pulled by parachutes, jetskis or whatever they've got. For sure, they had the body pains that my friend and I got on their first try.

Prelude

2008-06-06T00:01:00.012+08:00

I just got home from a 14-day tour of Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore. I'll be posting more soon so please watch out for my photos and stories.

Wall carvings at the Bayon in Siem Reap, Cambodia.