Pinoy Central Bangk(ok?)

2008-08-22T19:27:00.000-07:00

Interesting Vernacular Architecture in our Subdivision

For several years now, I continue to be amazed by the architecture I encounter in the various suburbs in the Philippines. I am not talking about the high style that can be found in the posh and gated villages in Makati, Greenhills and Alabang but rather in homes around lower costing villages in and around Manila.

Perhaps this goes back to the days whenever I would go home to the Philippines, I would wake up early in the morning so I can go around our subdivision with my Mom during her morning walks. My mother remained quite active until her eighties and she would usually have her morning walks around our subdivision.

In those days, I would go around with her so I would see how other occupants of the village are renovating and expanding their basic low cost housing structure and over the years several very interesting structures went up. Every time I go back home, this continues to be a source of amazement.

One thing noticeable is the love of use of loud and vibrant color. If not much improvement can be done, at least liven up the colors. Our subdivision bursts in very bright colors from yellow, red, green, purple. You name it we probably have it. Color is a very important theme in the vernacular architecture. Some even come up with very strange an refreshing combinations that my eyes were feasting on these.

Reflecting how people feel about their security, grill in various shapes abound. Some are very creative in how they use the metal grills to decorate the entrances as well as the windows thereby adding to the interesting shapes in the various homes. Grills provide a very practical solution in making each of the homes secure and I do not need to elaborate the reason why this is necessary in the Philippines.

It is easy to see where some owners are prospering, they either build extensions to their homes, some built upwards or built a newer structure at the back part of their homes. Some even have 3 storey houses with a deck at the top. I am wondering what they can see from their top deck. I wonder if they are already getting a view of the Laguna de Bay from that vantage. Despite these structures, some could not help but make their homes as ornate as possible.

Somehow, I could not help but love this place because of the freedom the owners are to express themselves in fashioning their homes. No one seems to mind what you do with your home, what color you use be it loud, ornate, garish, minimalist or just fun.

Best of all there are no monthly dues to be responsible for and no so called covenants that strictly tells you what you can do or cannot do. So long are you are not violating the building code of the Philippines, you are probably allowed to do whatever it is that you please.

One of the surprises on my latest visit was the community church. I remember before my mother died, the parish priest at the time was very busy raising funds for the church. It has since been finished and I like the way it looks outside. It is also very surprisingly have a very spacious interior.

2008-07-02T09:34:00.000-07:00

Kalayaan 2008
Some picture from the Independence Day activities at the Philippine embassy. It was again very successful with the evening being capped by the crowning of the year's Mutya ng Kalayaan.

2008-04-30T04:30:00.000-07:00

Rose and Isis visits Tito Chito in Bangkok

2008-04-15T06:51:00.000-07:00

Rose Anne Carla Bucud

Rachel Mae Bucud

Risha Marie Bucud

graduation pictures of Rose Anne Carla, Risha Marie and Rachel Mae

2008-04-14T23:52:00.000-07:00

The twins in Bangkok

2008-04-14T18:04:00.000-07:00

songkran 2008 I had not been paying attention to this holiday for the last few years. One year, I went off to another country. Sometimes I would join a friend's road trip. This year my nieces Rose Ann and Risha were visiting me so I had to make sure they experience Songkran. Here are pictures that I had taken on the holidays. We went to Khaosan Road which was filled with people. On the second day we spent in Silom Road which had been cordoned off from traffice because of all the revelers. The party went into the night with people dancing to music and sounds they were making. I haven't experienced this much fun in a number of years. Below is a short clip we had taken of the crowds in Silom. The girls at the end of the clip are my nieces.

2008-04-13T16:22:00.000-07:00

Raymond Graduates BS in Nursing on April 7, 2008

Our nephew, Raymond had been very very busy the last few years because he had undertaken studying at the Centro Escolar University to earn his degree in BS Nursing. While he was commenting that he was really having a hard time, he never wavered nor indicated that he wanted to give up. One thing we are proud of is that Raymond always works hard and perseveres. So we were all very happy for him on his graduation day. The graduation was held at the Manila Hotel. As with most Graduations in Manila, only official photographers were allowed in the commencement area. Otherwise you could just imagine the resulting pandemonium if all were allowed to take their own pictures. On that day only the graduating class of the CEU College of Nursing graduated and there were at least 500 graduating students. The lobby of the Manila Hotel was filled with graduating students. After the ceremonies, we all went to Max's for our graduation salu-salo as we were also killing time before I left for the airport together with Rose Anne and Risha.

Congratulations again Raymond and study hard for your board review!

Below you can click on the video clip I took of Raymond after his graduation.

2007-08-18T03:01:00.000-07:00

happy birthday 2007

2007-07-06T21:15:00.000-07:00

Paalam, Tatang Teofisto!

I was doing my usual routine upon getting into the office on June 27 morning when I saw a message from my sister Bing informing me that Tatang Teofisto had passed away the previous night. I immediately called Kuya Rex to offer my condolences and told him that I will try to fly to Manila on the weekend for the last night of the wake and for the burial on Sunday morning. Thankfully Cebu Pacific had started flying from Bangkok to Manila at a schedule where I could arrive early Saturday and leave late Sunday evening. It would also give me a chance to visit with my brother's family.

I remember Tatang mostly because of my Mother's sister, Tita Conching. I know she loved him so much that she doted on him. I also remember my mother mentioning to me that we had to be careful about the spellings of our names in public documents to make sure that all match. Apparently, all the University records of Tatang were written under the name Quintos instead of Quintas which resulted in having to file affidavits to correct the spelling of his name. I also remember that he went to Japan on a scholarship. Tatang Teofisto was an engineer (I think a mechanical engineer if I am not mistaken). He spent most of his like working for the Azucarera Central owned by the Dolor Family in Balayan Batangas, at one point heading the operations for them.

I was told that Tatang who was working as a consultant for the Azucarera joined in a party across from their house. Ironically, it was some sort of a remembrance of another colleague that had passed away. As would happen in this gathering, people would talk about happy and funny times. It seems like Tatang was laughing very hard at one of these stories that he ended up having a heart attack, one he would not survive. He was a few weeks shy of his 81st birthday.

So I hope everyone else would do a much better remembrance than I, who had been away from the Philippines since 1990. But I had to go home and condole personally with my cousins who for the most part had always been there when my own mother was going through a difficult time when her kidney started failing and her recovery from her fall had been very slow. My cousins in Manila would visit her regularly and this made the last months a happy one. So to Kuya Boy, Ate Linda, Kuya Rex, Kuya Steve, Marj in Sydney, Kat in New York, I offer you my sincerest condolences.

I felt that it would be more appropriate if I placed the funeral pictures in a separate like for other people to be able to see the pictures taken during the funeral and the burial. Click here to view the pictures of Tatang Teofisto's funeral

2007-07-06T21:10:00.000-07:00

Artist Society Presents...Left in Transit

2007-07-06T21:08:00.000-07:00

Thanksgiving at Tank

2007-07-04T08:52:00.001-07:00

Dance Night!

2007-06-25T06:56:00.000-07:00

Fiesta at the Philippine Embassy, Bangkok 6/17/2007

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Dear Corette,
I am sorry I still have not been able to post your letter where you went diving somewhere in Mauritius. I promise to post it after I finish all the posting on this batch of pics as these just can't wait. First of all I hope you are getting settled in Penang! I am sure you are finding the old houses in Georgetown a feast to the eyes. But then I am now digressing. Remember a few weeks ago, I told you of the big Fiesta being planned at the Philippine Embassy to celebrate the Philippine Independence Day this year? It turned out to be a very big party with over a thousand Pinoys and their friends attending. Everyone had a lot of fun! The embassy grounds itself was festooned with garlands and pahiyas that was put together by Lois. The ambassador said, she was very meticulous in having each and every piece of paper cut to the exact shape otherwise she will throw a big fit. Of course I could not imagine that because she is actually a very sweet person. Artistic she really is because I when the girls from the embassy visited me at my home she helped me pose them so I could make their portraits special. I really think you should invite her when we have another portrait session when you return to Bangkok. Anyway back to the party.

San Miguel was a major presence in the Fiesta, not that you are a big beer drinker, but then most Filipinos are except perhaps you and me. Many many people were selling different types of things and most importantly food from dinuguan, pancit, lumpia, halo halo. There was even lechon, lugaw and many many other things that I could no longer enumerate. Did I mention that entrance was free and each person coming in was given a voucher worth THB100.00 so spend on the different booths around. With this alone you can have a satisfying merienda and dinner already. And of course nothing could stop you from buying more things.

I arrived a bit earlier and saw Bernie Kongswasdi who headed the executive committee that organized this whole affair, together with Nancy Pacag milling about making sure that everything is going smoothly and are properly organized. They were even making announcement on moving cars out of the way so that the Ambassador's car can get out and pick him up. Otherwise it would have been a big disaster if the car could not leave and Ambassador Rodriguez and Madame Janet were stuck at home. At 3 pm the car park at the back of the embassy was already getting full. I was going to park there but I missed the entrance and parked in front of Ceres' former apartment. Security was strict when coming in but friendly. I was asked to fill up a form and at the door I already met Mang Dennis and Dolly. I also saw Alice promoting a new face cream that was supposed to do wonders on any type of skin. And her sales pitch was " Would you believe that I am already a Lola?" On the way in, I was given my raffle ticket and my hand was stamped. Just like when you go inside a disco di bala?

I saw some friend who came in early because they were helping with the arrangements. Cecille was there with her mother who just arrived from the US the night before complete with a full fledged jet lag! Soon I saw Ceres with a new do. I saw Lois, Grace and Cherry. Pretty soon I started taking pictures. I am glad to say that I was not alone this time. Jose Maria Lim, Zane and Anton and their children came equipped with cameras and flashes galore that between us we were able to cover every square inch of the event with pictures. Before we even got started, the rain started to rain. Of course the optimist in me said that this was Heaven blessing us and in not time at all the place was packed with Pinoys from different places in Bangkok, everyone in groups and exchanging notes, stories and what have you just like what I am trying to do with you now. Everyone had the time to catch up with everyone. In one of the tents I saw ate Sally and ate Lita catching up with each other while enjoying a meal. Many brought their whole family and there were so many children milling around and playing about. As the afternoon went, the Ambassador arrived and the celebrations went full swing. I am amazed that everyone seem to know everyone. At least most everyone. Ambassador Rodriguez and Madame Janet went around to greet the many Pinoys that dropped by to join the celebrations.

I was actually waiting for you to arrive soon at the party as you had promised. You told me that you would not miss it in the world even if you have to ride a broom. Probably Harry Potter's broom was not available that day. At any rate, I took so many many pictures and the afternoon culminated with the celebration of the Holy Mass for those who still did not hear the service during that day. But that was not the end of the celebrations for it was just starting. I promise to write you all the details in my next letter to you. Try not to stretch yourself too much in Penang and enjoy the place. I was wondering if you had started diving again. Talking about the sea, Cocoy missed the whole thing because they spent their time staying in their beach house in Rayong. That is just too bad because my pictures could really not replace the experience of the big Fiesta and it was just starting. Better things were in store during the evening! I promise to write this to you in the next couple of days.

Meantime, take care and my regards to Ian!
regards,
Chito

2007-06-22T18:57:00.000-07:00

Flag Raising Ceremonies, June 12, 2007, Phil. Embassy, Bangkok

Every 12th of June since last year I had been lucky enough to be invited to the flag ceremony to mark the Independence Day celebrations of the Philippines. This year was more special because it was leading up to the big party that was being arranged for the Filipino community wherein various Filipino associations had worked together for a party that everyone will remember. For now we had a formal celebrations wherein the address of the Philippine president was read by the Ambassador. Most attending the breakfast get together were dressed up in their national costumes and everyone mingled with each other during breakfast. There were a couple of us who had took pictures. As always, I do not have a picture in here of myself. You can find more pictures of the event taken by Jose Maria Lim at Siam Pinoy I am sure I have a picture of myself in there somewhere.

2007-06-16T03:39:00.001-07:00

PLG's party at Crystal Lounge
I decided to go at the last moment. Ceres told me she has a ticket for me. So I took the opportunity to use up the remaining roll of film that had been in my camera since January. For one thing, it was not a great idea to use a Leica in a dark place because it is very difficult to focus the lens. However sometime a little softness in focus does not hurt.

The highlight of the evening is the announcement from Nancy Pacag that the association had now been properly registered which was a cause for a lot of celebration. For more picture, try this link at SiamPinoy taken by Jose Maria Tan. Cheers everyone.

2007-06-16T03:03:00.000-07:00

Teddyboy Locsin visits Bangkok
Congressman Locsin visited Bangkok on a private visit and my friend Ceres took time to introduce me to him and his lovely wife. With the half hour that I have with him, I took a couple of pictures of the visiting Congressman from Makati. I later found out that the congressman is also very interested in cameras. Mrs. Locsin teased him though that he is not fond of reading manuals.

2007-04-08T06:38:00.000-07:00

Visita Iglesia in Bangkok

While attending the Holy Thursday in 2006, an acquaintance told me that they just came back from Visita Iglesia. I recall only going through this experience in Manila with my father when I was still a little boy. All I remember was that it involved a lot of walking. However this lady told us that they took a van to visit the different churches around Bangkok. So that evening I looked up the different churches that dot Bangkok and there I discovered that there were a couple that dot the Chao Phraya River. It was Songkran and the traffic in Bangkok was quite nice. So I asked a friend to drop me off to the first Church, St Francis Xavier and then I figured that it was quite near one of the ferry station. So I did a mental note on it.

The Visita Iglesia is a Lenten tradition practiced in the Philippines as well as other countries in Europe and South America which involves visiting 7 churches. I do not know the exact practice but the way I did it this year was that with each church I visit I would pray with my Rosary and then go through 2 stations of the Stations of the Cross. Then this will continue to the next stations in the next churches you visit. Last year, I said my Rosary and did the complete station of the Cross for each of the Church that I visited. I started early in the morning and finished in time for the evening services at the Holy Redeemer Church.

Instead of driving to the first church (this year Holy Week is not at the same time as Songkran so it was a regular working day in Thailand), I took the ferry from one of the stations nearest to my home and headed towards the Krung Thon Bridge. I tried walking over the bridge towards Charoen Krung Road but the fumes from the cars and buses got the better of me so I decided that it would be better for my health to walk back to a bus stop to take me over the bridge and from there I walked towards St. Francis Xavier.

St. Francis Xavier is over 200 year old. It was a church established for the Vietnamese communities that had resettled the area. The first structure was made of bamboo but this was destroyed during one of the storms. Then after that a wooden structure was made. The latest version was built in stone because a bigger church had to be built because more people need to go to church.

The Immaculate Conception church can be reached by going through the entrance of St Francis Xavier (this is assuming that you entered St. Francis Xavier church through the back entrance as that is the nearest to Charoen Krung road) It is just a short stroll through the sois. If lost, ask the corner store. This was exactly what I did and I was told to just follow the small soi that was leading from the street in front of St. Francis Xavier and turn right at the end of the soi and turn left on the first soi. And then there it was, the Immaculate Conception Church, again you see the back of the church and what struck me are the dragons that decorate the top of the church. Originally the church was built for the Cambodian settlers of Bangkok and then later served the Portuguese and much later on the Vietnamese community that lived in the area.

From Immaculate Conception, you can exit to the road that leads back to the road going to the Krung Thon bridge where you can go back to the ferry station. Or else you can take a cab to go to another ferry station which was what I did. I took a cab to go to Phra Arthit Road. From there I headed towards the Sta. Cruz Church.

The previous year, the ferry stopped at the Rachinee pier. This year the express boat stopped at the memorial bridge. Nevertheless, this gave me the opportunity to walk through the Pak Klong market where the vegetable and flower wholesale market is located. From there I made my way towards the Pak Klong Pier where the ferry that would cross towards the Thonburi side of the river. There stands the Sta. Cruz Church. This year the ferry no longer stopped the pier in front of the Church and just stopped at the Wat next door. This meant that I had to find the way through Soi Kudeejeen which was where the original Portuguese settlements were located in the 19th century. This worked out for the best because this meant that I got to see the interesting community that led to the Church. It was here that I found out that not all churches were opened during Holy Thursday. A man from the village told me that the church was closed and will only open in the evening for the Holy Thursday service. But then I did not give up easily, afterall it took a lot of effort to get here. I noticed that the rectory at the back of the church was opened so I asked if I could enter through there. The caretakers told me that they would open the church front door for me. After leaving my shoes at the front door I was allowed inside. It was a big contrast to last year when the church was busy. I recalled that villagers were busy preparing the images which is probably for their procession. They were wiping the Santa Intierro and the image of the Virgin with perfume. This time the church was closed until I arrived.

After Santa Cruz, the easiest way was to make your way back to the Memorial Bridge Ferry station and from there board the ferry to go to the Harbour Station and from there it is a short walk to go towards the Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Church. This is also known at Bot Kalawar. It is located beside the original offices of the Siam Commercial Bank.

From the Rosary Church, one could either walk, take a cab or take the ferry to go to the soi of the Oriental Hotel because that was where the Assumption Cathedral is located. I remember a few years ago I wanted to take pictures inside of the Cathedral and the guard stopped me until I was able to ask permission from the Rector of the church. This time around I just took a picture of the front of the church. Again the church was dark but a door at the front was opened and a few people were doing their stations of the cross. The Assumption Cathedral is the last church beside the river that I included in my Visita.

I also noted that life in the olden days were closely linked to the Chao Phraya river because the entrances of all of the 5 churches beside the river were oriented towards the river. This explains why nowaday you tend to enter the back of the church coming in from the main roads. Perhaps people travelled via the river during the 19th Century Bangkok. From here I headed back towards the Charoen Krung Road and walked through the Bang Rak Market to reach the Thaksin Bridge station of the BTS station. From there I went to the next stop which is the Surasak Station.

This is an easy stop. From the Surasak station you walk towards the St. Louis Hospital. You will pass by the Papal Nunciature, which is the Embassy of the Holy See. The entrance next to this is the church which I am calling St. Louis because it is near the St. Louis Hospital. Again my timing was good because there were people making preparations for the Holy Week services. This church was meant to be airconditioned which at that time was turned off. After visiting this church, it is best to take the cab to head towards Soi Ruam Rudee to go to the Holy Redeemer Church.

However if you wish to take the BTS, you can get off the Sala Daeng Station and walk towards the Silom station of the MRT and make your way to the Lumpinee Park. From the entrance where the statue of King Rama VI is located walk towards the corner of the park where Wireless Road and Sarasin Road. From there you can go up the walk way that can take you all the way to the Tobacco Monopoly. But you need not walk that far and go down when you see the Holy Redeemer Church nearby. Again as with the other churches, the front gate of the Church was closed and so were the front doors. But since there were several cars inside the church yard I figured that the gate at the back was opened. I then noticed that the door was also opened. This was the seventh church that I visited and was my last stop.

I following this Filipino Lenten tradition here in Bangkok. It took me through interesting communities. It is also nice to take the ferry to do your pilgrimage for the day. It is best to take an umbrella because of the heat. There were a lot of 7/11's along the way to buy bottled water from. If you cannot read Thai, it is best to bring your own prayer books as most of the books available in the churches are in Thai. I started my journey at 7:30 am and I was able to complete it at 3:00pm. The aerial maps that I used in this blog was taken from Google Earth.

Happy Easter everyone!

2007-03-31T08:25:00.000-07:00

Lourdes visits Bangkok

Lourdes left a few years ago for Las Vegas, Nevada to migrate and get married. 3 years later she visits Bangkok together with her husband. There were 2 parties where we got together. First was on a Friday evening at Ate Mads house to celebrate her daughter's birthday. The following evening we were attending a pyjama party being thrown by Lourdes' sister Gloria and her husband because it was their anniversary. There were many other guests but all our friends were there. Sonia even flew in from Korea to be together with everyone. Food was good at both parties and everyone had a lot of fun.

2007-03-14T07:00:00.000-07:00

FVR comes back to visit

FVR visited Bangkok once again. He was given an award by the Siam University and as always when he visits Bangkok, he arranges to meet members of the Filipino community. He gave a speech touching on the importance in choosing the right candidates for the upcoming elections. He reminded us that we should choose candidates that will help the Philippines to grow rather than just voting for candidates just because they are famous.

After his speech everyone was treated to a dinner arranged by the Philippine Embassy. During his speech, he mentioned that part of the campaign is "Kodakan" where candidates will have their pictures taken with the people. He did mentioned though that his picture has been taken a lot of times and never saw a copy of these. I was happy that I got invited to this dinner because it gave me a chance to give President Ramos a copy of the photograph that I took of him in 2005. He even authographed a photograph of both of us taken during a previous visit.

After dinner then he started going around the embassy ballroom so that everyone will have a chance to have their pictures taken with him. Here are some of the pictures I took during the event starting with my friends Cocoy, Cecille and Ceres. Everyone had a great time.

2007-03-02T07:23:00.000-08:00

Day 8- flying back to Bangkok

I must say this trip had gone quite efficiently. However, I am looking forward to getting home to my apartment and having a long nap. Nardo was parked in front of the hotel at the agreed time. The hotel was quite efficient in processing my bill and in 20 minutes time I was at the airport. The flight was pleasant but was quite full. With the exception of the high school girls who kept taking pictures of themselves with their cameras’ flash firing every half second oblivious of how they are irritating other passengers, the flight was quite fine. By afternoon, I was home, in my bed taking a long afternoon nap. No more running around, just restful sleep. Now this is what a vacation should be!

2007-03-02T07:21:00.000-08:00

Day 7- Highlands and Bibingka tasting

We took it easy although I took time to take the pictures of Lulu and Louie. The light was diffused so we had to work on slower shutter speeds. In addition, there is the reality that the first pictures taken in portrait sittings are always warm up sessions until the sitter relaxes and let’s their personality come out for the photographer to take. Otherwise the result is stiff, posed and contrived. I must admit a lot of the pictures I take are just like that until I catch them relaxing a little and letting me in to their real selves.

A lot of times, my subjects wonder, I take almost three rolls worth of pictures and in the end I just return to them a few photographs. They do not realize that there was a warm up process involved where most of the pictures might not be useful and there is the editing process where pictures that are less than stellar had been weeded out. After our session, we went to the Highlands where we had the best view of the Taal Volcano. We had lunch at the clubhouse of the Highlands while I took some time to take pictures of the golf course on top of the hill.

After lunch, we headed back to the house and then took the car to go back to Manila. Of course I was looking forward to this because I wanted to see Louie’s new project which is Marciana’s Bibingka. He had been laboring on the recipe for six months before finally introducing the product in two locations last December. I had tasted their bibingkang galapong and it is quite good even if you heat it up the day after. I is packed in a printed box that I was able to put it in one of my carry on bags to Bangkok because I wanted Soon to taste the bibingka as well. Louie eventually plans to be able to franchise Marciana’s bibingka after he has set up his owned outlets around Metro Manila.

2007-03-02T07:19:00.000-08:00

Day 6-Tagaytay!

I was looking forward to this because I haven’t spent time with Lulu and Louie for a long time. We go back more than 2 decades when we used to work in the same office in Ayala. Then in the nineties, we found ourselves being assigned in Thailand. Lulu by then had married Louie and he was sent to head their office in Thailand just a few months after I had moved to Thailand as well. The other coincidence was that the apartment he took was just on the next street from my apartment!

We had invited other friends to join us but unfortunately they had pressing issues that would prevent them from joining. I was looking forward to enjoying the scenery in Taal. I had been looking towards being up close to it but then since I am just tagging along, I will have to just follow what my hosts had planned.

We then spent the afternoon going on a real estate visit. For what it is worth, it was nice looking at those show houses. I do appreciate good architecture when I see one. But at the end of the day when the sales staff were trying their best to close their sale, we were doing our best to be non committal. The remainder of the day was a blur. All I recall was that we were taking on the Magic Sing till past midnight.

2007-03-02T07:17:00.000-08:00

Day 5- Baclaran, Intramuros and Luneta- go figure!

I have at last cleared out my schedule except that I will be meeting my brother at his office for lunch. I also wanted to take a photo of ourselves in front of his office. In the morning after much thought, I once again boarded the MRT to go to Baclaran Church. I faintly remember the church anymore but I do remember tagging along with my mother on some Wednesday and walk through a very crowded market to go there. I must say negotiating the MRT station in Taft is like going on an obstacle course that I then notice that I am no longer as fit as I was five years ago. I had to drag myself to walk throught the walking street at the foot of the Baclaran station to go to the Church of our Lady of Perpetual Help being run by the Redemptorist Priests, same people who run Ruam Rudee.

It was Thursday and the church was less crowded. But then it reeked of floor polish which I found hard to get used to. However I was able to spend some quiet time in the church. Then I found my way to the front of the church. In those days, you see the bay across from the church. Now it is just reclaimed land. I took time to take pictures of the buses and the jeepneys.

Unfortunately, the photograph that I really wanted to take still eluded me. I then went back to Ayala to meet my brother for lunch. In the afternoon, I went to Intramuros where the Manila Catherdral is.

I also found time to visit the old church of San Agustin and finally cap it with a visit at Rizal’s Monument near the old Luneta. Rizal Park still remains the park where people from all walks of life visit. However the parks that I used to love like the Japanese Garden (already gone) and the Chinese Garden (very run down). Worst of all the map of the Philippines did not even have any water surrounding it.

I walked towards the UN LRT station. I noticed that the old Jai Alai is now filled with shops. I was trying to figure out how to go to the old church of San Marcelino which I know is just around there. Anyway, I was just glad I was able to negotiate the stairs going to the station because there were no escalators and went back to Makati.

When I got to the hotel I noticed that Lulu and Louie had texted me telling me that they will move our meeting time to 10pm. I thought that was fine because I was still trying to buy some things in the shops. I was contemplating on getting another massage when I decided to just stay in the hotel room and lie down watching “American Idol”. It was slightly past 10 when Lulu and Louie arrived. It did not take us too long to go to their House in Tagaytay because by then the traffic had become much lighter. But we were chatting till past midnight. One thing I remember is that I slept very well in Tagaytay. Perhaps it was the air or the firmer mattress but I slept very well.

2007-03-02T07:16:00.000-08:00

Day 4- Ash Wednesday: Quiapo and Santa Cruz, Manila

I woke up very early on Wednesday morning to make sure that I can attend the mass at the chapel in the middle of Greenbelt which is a short walk from the hotel I was staying in. I noticed that unlike in Thailand because of lesser number of Catholics, around the church were stations where lay persons were distributing Ash. I did some more personal stuff in the morning and found time to visit my brother at his office in Ayala. Then it was time to rush to visit our Manila office because I had asked some of my friends there to join me for lunch.

After changing to a more suitable street clothes, I took a sentimental journey to go to Santa Cruz and Quiapo Church to see the places where my father would take my brother and I to church when we were still little boys. One thing noticeable was that the church was busy throughout the day. People were streaming in and out of the church after their foreheads had been marked with ashes made from burning the palms used on the previous Palm Sunday and mixed with oil. Manila has changed quite a bit from the Manila I used to remember.

Avenida Rizal is now under the shadow of the tracks of the LRT. Most of Avenida and Carriedo had now been converted into walking streets. But one thing has not changed, around Quiapo Church, the sellers of herbs, candles, fortune tellers as well as the street urchins are still there.

2007-03-02T07:09:00.000-08:00

Day 3- From San Pedro, Laguna to North Edsa

With all the documents I need, I was ready to devout another day on chores. Our plan was to first go to Everest Hills to visit my mom and dad’s tomb. But then I did not find a place to buy flowers from, so we had to alter our plan a bit and went to San Pedro, Laguna itself. The municipal hall is right in front of the church so to save time I went there to settle the property tax that I owed. After walking about the market, we were told that someone was selling flowers beside the church so we found the lady and I bought a bunch. We then went to Adelina so I can visit our old house and the house next door that I bought last year. The old house is becoming more run down. The house next door is still colourful.

I borrowed a can from Nardo’s wife to put the flowers in so we can finally make our way to Everest and visit my parent’s tomb. It was a beautiful morning and the sun was shining brightly. The memorial park is well maintained and the breeze is cool even on that sunny morning.

After saying prayers for them we went to Manila Southwoods to clarify matters with the managers of Southpoint. Finally since there was some time we went to Southpoint.

There seem to be more houses now but the place was not yet full. I had to rouse the caretaker from his sleep to find out the location of my lot only to find that even the road was overgrown with weeds! In addition to this there was no water in the swimming pool and the clubhouse was looking a bit run down. It goes to show that when real estate companies show you the subdivisions when they are selling you the property, this is used as a come on. However once all lots are sold, deterioration sets in. I wonder if I could complain about this?

That afternoon, we headed towards SM North Edsa. I had arranged to meet up with Ate Lou and Mommy Nena, my sister’s mother in law. I thought it would take us longer than expected but we were there ahead of time. In fact we had to wait half an hour before Ate Lou arrived and shortly thereafter Maritess and Mommy Nena arrived. I figured, the easiest way was to wait in front of National Bookstore.

Afterwards we went to Goldilocks to have merienda and catch up with each other. I gave Ate Lou the fresh tamarind that she asked me to bring for her and gave Mommy Nena the photo album and the wedding gown and barong that Bing wanted to take to Australia. It was a pleasant chat and before long it was time to go back to Makati.

That evening I had arranged to have dinner with my cousin Kuya Rex.

Carnival in Rio, a letter from Amy

Before turning in to bed I decided to check emails in my blackberry. Among the e-mails I received came from Amy and her notes on the Carnival in Rio. The carnival is an old tradition practiced in many Christian countries where fun and revelry rule the day before Ash Wednesday, which officially marks the period of Lent. Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday is still a very big event in New Orleans. In rio it is the Carnival. Amy writes about her experiences in the Sambadrome and the preparations being done by the Cariocas to prepare for the parade. The pictures above were sent to my by Amy.

Amy writes:

in total, 13 samba schools participated in the parade, each school
consisting of thousands of participants, with the biggest group
having about 5,000! each school had over an hour to parade at the
800-meter sambodrome and show their stuff. each school had a theme or
story and this was played out in the floats, costumes, and the theme
song. the theme ranged from portuguese history to african jungle to
man's creativity. around 350,000 people depend on the carnival for
their livelihood, and making the floats and costumes is a year-long
process for all the carpenters, dressmakers, technicians and the
organizers of these event. amazing!

watching the parade was quite an experience. we made eye contact with
some of the participants who posed for pictures and gladly and
soulfully did their samba for us as they sang their samba song over
and over until the rhythm amd melody got to us, despite not knowing
the portuguese lyrics. truly an experience to remember!

Unquote:

After all the revelries die down then, Ash Wednesday follows when we are reminded that it is dust where we came from and it is to dust we will one day return!

2007-02-28T06:58:00.000-08:00

Day 2 Manila
I spent the first day doing chores. I was just so happy that I was able to do the POEA stuff at the airport when I arrived and the staff at the airport were very helpful. It was a much better experience than having to spend half a day going to the POEA office in Ortigas. First thing monday morning I went to Caita to visit my bank and when I finished my stuff there, I headed back to Makati to visit my other bank and tried setting up a checking account. It is not an easy process to do this in any bank anywhere. It was good I was able to contact my cousin who also works in the same bank and she helped me get my account set up.

On the way back to Makati, it was much easier to jump into one of the FX's taxis that work more like small buses and takes on as many passengers that the car can stuff into it. Unfortunately in this case the fx was also hot as in the aircon was not working well. Poor kid in front of me was entertaining himself with a toy. The young lady in the second row was very grumpy and I do not blame her because the fx driver tried fitting four people in the second row when it was really built to seat 2 people comfortably and perhaps 3 people would still be okay, but 4 full figured people???

After finishing up my business with my bank in Makati, I had to hurry to meet my friend Portia at the Greenbelt Starbucks. I got there ahead of her but did not wait too long before she arrived. Off we went to lunch and did a lot of catching up with each other. She is almost finished with her Law degree and I am very glad for her. In addition to this she also does Tarot readings which she did for me that afternoon.

I took this photo as we were heading back Ayala before I went to visit my sister's former colleagues in the German bank she used to work with in Manila. It is not easy to take pictures of yourselves. But then it can be fun.

It did not take me long to do my chore at my sister's former office. I then headed to Olympia Tower to have a massage. They offer shiatsu (which is probably very similar to thai). I opted to have a swedish oil massage to see if I can get some relief on the pain on my shoulders and back. It was a good session. But then it just gave me enough time to walk to the MRT station to head towards Megamall and meed my cousin, the banker, Ate Ruth. As this was the rush hour, it took a lot of effort, pushing and squeezing to get into the train. In fact 2 trains went past before I could get into my ride.

It took me a while to get to her because it was a bit of a walk to got to megamall from the station. We both did not realize that it was better to meet at the Shangri-la Edsa because the bank branch she was working in was right at the back of the hotel. Well you learn from experience. I asked about Tatang Jerry, Ate Ruth's father who is also my uncle. She told me that there had been some improvement in his condition. We also talked about her other siblings who I have lost contact with. Then at past 9 we called it a night and bid each other goodbye and back to the hotel I went using the MRT. This time the trains were not as cramped.

2007-02-26T06:49:00.000-08:00

Day 1 - visiting with kuya bert in Pampanga

arriving on late saturday, I went to Pampanga with my nephew Raymond who is working towards a degree in Nursing in Manila. When I arrived Kuya Bert's house in San Matias, I finally saw my nieces who have grown up quite a bit since I saw them two years ago. Rishia and Roseanne just had their junior senior prom and they delayed returning their rented gown so that I can take their pictures. I was glad I took my gear with me and we converted the front room into an impromptu studio using some old fabric as part of the backdrop. Before I left, I took a picture of our group in front of the ancestral house which is slowly falling into decay. I hope my brother, sister in law, my nephew and nieces and of course Bing my sister in Australia will like the results.

You should pass by Guagua on the way back to Manila.

I remember Guagua as the stop where my mother and I would get off on our way their home in San Matias. We would go to Tondo to board the La Mallorca bus that would pass through each town along the old Highway. This was before the North Diversion Road was built. During those days, it took three hours to get to Guagua. My mother would insist that we rise up early in the morning and board the jeep to Azcarraga (now Recto) and board the wooden seats of La Mallorca to go to Pampanga. I would know we would be near once I smell the foul air from the sugar mill near Betis then it would not be long before we get to Guagua. From there we would ride a jeep to go to Santa Rita and then into Becuran or San Matias.

Guagua has since been bypassed by the big highways as so many other quaint towns in Bulacan and Pampanga. I still remember the bakeries where we would go to before we headed back home. So on this trip we passed by Guagua. The two major bakeries are still there and still seem to do brisk business. Apung Diung is the older one dating back to the late 1800’s while La Moderna had been around since the 1930’s (making it more modern in comparison to Apung Diung) Unfortunately Apung Diung ran out of pastillas de casuy so after paying for the arrowroot biscuit, Raymond, my nephew took me to La Moderna across the street. Yes they did have some Pastillas de Casuy. They also have macaroons and empanaditas (which is so delicious that if I get the chance to go back there, I would get some more of these) I hope their business continue to do well because their sweets are really delicious. Should you end up passing by Guagua, La Moderna is located across from the statue of Rizal in the Town Plaza and Apung Diung is somewhere to his right, on the same side where the Baliwag Transit terminal is located (which by the way was the terminal of La Mallorca in Guagua in the ‘60’s).

On the way back to the highway, Raymond decided that we should go by the longer way. I am glad this happened because we passed by the old houses. I saw that the church of San Miguel in Betis is still as it was before. We even chanced by a parade as my sister was calling Nardo’s cell phone to see how we were doing. The trip did not take long. But then when we hit Edsa, the traffic was bad and it was already getting dark when we got to Makati. Not too bad though because we still made it in time for the 6PM mass at the greenbelt chapel. I had dinner with Raymond and then afterwards he went back to his dorm in the University belt.

2007-02-10T07:49:00.000-08:00

a day at the beach

The sky was clear, the sun was shining. Earlier than morning the there was a cold spell (perhaps cool but felt cold to me)
More photos on our trip to Pattaya thanks to Albert.

2007-02-06T07:17:00.000-08:00

More photos from Amy's cruise
I had been following with interest Amy's cruise. She had left with Henrik to go on a cruise that would take them to Australia then to Chile then now to Antarctica. I am glad Amy is taking a lot of pictures and are sending these to me together with stories of the places she is visiting. The latest email I received from her says that they are now in Buenos Aires and are enjoying the fascinating city. Perhaps when Amy gets back to Bangkok, she will show us a couple of tango steps she as learned. Below are the pictures of her trip in to the Antarctica.

the chilean fjord

2007-02-06T06:40:00.000-08:00

sanctuary of truth

I was no too keen to go there but Cocoy was really enthusiastic in trying to make it there. It turned out to be the highlight of our otherwise ordinary weekend trip to Pattaya. They started building the Sanctuary of truth in 1981 and up to this date the temple has not been finished. There seems to be something that need to be added or repaired. the base in itslelf is a 100 meter square and the height is 100 meters as well. The place is unique because it is made of wood and that even the nails that put it together is also made of wood. Once inside you see massive columns of timber and more carvings of Hindu gods and godesses. Because of the sea breeze and the height of the structure, the interior is quite cool. It costs THB500.00 to enter the place. Late in the afternoon, the place also has a dolphin show.

2007-01-23T06:46:00.000-08:00

at ratchpruek fair

2007-01-17T05:53:00.000-08:00

new year 2007

my new year will not be complete without my polkadot shirt, my 12 fruits and gladioli blossoms.

2007-01-17T05:45:00.000-08:00

at the ratchapreuk 2006

2007-01-17T05:32:00.000-08:00

PLG's Halloween Party 2006

I was asked to be the photographer of PLG's Holloween Party. Hopefully the pictures I took will be published in their newsletter. Here are a few pictures that I liked plus I have to make sure I include Gary and Helen so my friend Portia who stays in Manila can see them.

2007-01-17T05:23:00.000-08:00

post coup pictures

Last September the military held a coup that toppled the Thaksin government. Part of the exercise was sending a few tanks in front of the government house which houses Thailand's Parliament. This was the last day the tanks were in front of the government house. The following day the soldiers were called back to barracks. However, lately the soldiers are once again out in the streets because of the bombings that happened over new year's eve.

2007-01-17T05:14:00.000-08:00

my australia 2006 pictures

At last I was able to post my pictures in Brisbane, 5 months after coming back!

2006-12-14T03:53:00.000-08:00

a letter from amy

Amy recently celebrated her birthday. I last saw her during my birthday party last August. At that time she said that shortly she was shortly leaving for a round the world trip and most likely we will not see her here in bangkok for her birthday. I sent her an email to greet her on her birthday and got a nice response with some great pictures of Easter Island. I am printing her email for our other friends as who I am sure will be interested in Amy's travels. Happy Birthday Amy!!

hi chito,

thank you for remembering....

we were at easter island on my birthday. i wasn't sure when to celebrate it because it was the 11th here and 12th dec in manila, there's now a 13 hour time difference to manila from where we are. so i told henrik it was my birthday on both days :-)

being in easter island was quite an experience. its one of the world's most remote inhabited islands, its halfway between tahiti and mainland south america, over 4,000 kms away from both the east and west! seeing the moai (huge stone statues) all over the island was fascinating. up to now, it remains a mystery why the statues were made, how they were moved from where they were built (most statues weigh over 100 tons, the largest is 180 tons!), why the natives stopped making them and why they all fell down from the places where they were erected. there are many theories, but that's what they are, just best guesses. there was even a theory that the statues were brought by aliens from outer space :-) there are about 800 moai found
in various stages of completion all over the island.

rapa nui is the local name of easter island, it was named easter island by a dutch explorer who found the island on easter day. the natives believe that the moais are representations of deceased people/ ancestors that's why they have no legs (except one statue found which was in a kneeling position, believed to be a priest).
each moai looks different, some have big noses and some small, some have big foreheads some have them narrow, some have fat bellies others are lean, etc. only the king, village chief and people in authority were allowed to have a moai made. through DNA testing the rapa nui people are believed to have come from tahiti, not south america.

we went to the mountain where the moais were 'manufactured'. the statues were in different stages of completion, they were all carved out of the mountain using a hard stone (some statues are still attached to the mountain) then transported to ceremonial platforms - how they did this is still a mystery! all completed statues have been toppled down (no one knows why) and the ones standing have been put up over the recent years. the 15 moais standing in a row near the coast and facing directly the mountain from which they were carved was reconstructed/ erected by the japanese government in return for getting a statue to japan and having it tested. the statue has since been returned to the island and is a few hundred meters from he 15 moais.

these 15 moais were originally toppled down, then an earthquake in chile caused a tsunami at easter island and washed away the staues farther inland that's why they were re-constructed, our guide told us.

so interesting... there's even the story of the bird man competition where every year, the strongest among the different tribes compete to have the right to control the distribution of the island's food and resources. the competitors have to run down the steep mountain, go over the jagged rocks, swim across the shark infested waters to motu nui island and get the season's first egg laid by a sooty tern bird.
the first swimmer to return with an unbroken egg is proclaimed birdman of the year.

and its still a mystery why most of the island has no trees, wild grass just grows on most of the rolling hills. some say the rats brought by the europeans caused it, some say the natives cut down the trees until they were no more, they used the trees to transport the huge moai, its still anyone's guess....

enough of these stories now, time to see the pictures!
hope you enjoy them as we did.

cheers,
amy

2006-09-15T06:50:00.000-07:00

bing at the blue lake
Sonny said that these grass were called "black boys" but now it is no longer politically correct to call them as such. At any rate the sun was shining nicely and the grass were a nice back drop so I asked Bing to pose for a picture. It was a long walk to go inside Blue lake but truth be told we should have been happy with Brown Lake which is a much nicer place to visit.

2006-09-13T08:12:00.000-07:00

official birthday photos

Above is our official photo for 2006. This sort of evolved into a tradition with Cocoy and me because we had our pictures taken on our birthday since 1999. This year we decided to put together a composite at the rooftop of Pitak Court.

Above was last year's photo. We did not have any party so we thought that it would be a good idea to do a party spoof with a muffin for a birthday cake.

2006-09-13T07:55:00.000-07:00

august birthday celebrants
This year Cocoy, Ate Aida and I arranged a combined birthday party. Cocoy and I share the same birth date while Ate Aida's birthday was on the 24th. Most of our friends were able to drop by. We also met some new people. Filipino food filled the table with dinuguan, pinakbet, macaroni salad, sinigang and of course pancit for long life. Thanks to Ate Aida for cooking the nights food. At the end of the evening, Cocoy insisted that we open our gifts. I think the real reason was to see how Ate Aida will react to his gift. I cannot be sure as to Ate Aida's reaction because she seem to be upset that Cocoy's gift is too small! Cheers!

2006-09-13T07:46:00.000-07:00

independence day party

Last June the AFT held a Philippine night to celebrate our country's independence day. It was an opportunity for me to use my barong. Most of the people who attended were wearing the national costume. We stayed late because of the great music, we just could not stop dancing!

2006-09-13T07:38:00.000-07:00

western night
FLG had an afternoon bash held at the disco of one of Bangkok's hotels. I was so excited to finally find a use for the checkered shirt that was given to me by Rosella. I got a cheap kerchief at the entrance counter. While most of the ladies were dressed to the western nines, it seems like I was the only guy who made the effort to put on western drag, Needless to say I won an award that night. With the gift certificate, I bought a photo book from Central Department stores. Thank Rosel for the shirt and thanks Nancy for sending me the pictures!

2006-09-13T07:27:00.000-07:00

FLG induction

I am finally trying to catch up with my posting. These are the photos taken during the induction of the new officers of the Filipino Ladies' Group in Thailand at the Philippine Embassy. That was the night that I became an honorary member of the club. I attended the induction to cheer the appointment of ate Aida as 2nd secretary of the club. Nancy Lewis is the incoming president. Anyway it was a night to celebrate with friends and a lot of food.

2006-05-05T09:05:00.000-07:00

Bing's Despedida, March 2006

My sister has finally taken a big step in her life. She has started her life to join her husband in Brisbane, Australia. I posted pictures of her wedding in Brisbane when I started this blog. In between that time, she went back to Manila so that she can apply for her visa to migrate to Australia. She finally got her visa last December just at the time when I went back home to visit. Because of her commitments with her employers, it took her till March to make the move. I am sure Sonny, her husband is just too happy that she is finally moving to join him in Brisbane. Here are some pictures of what we did on her last days in Manila.

One evening we met up with some of her friends. They actually met in as seminar called "Life Dynamics" and through the years developed a close bond and friendship. That evening they remembered the fun times that they had. They also remembered those of their group who already passed away.

We had a hectic morning and I will not go to the details. We finally had lunch in a mediterranean food in the Fort. It was a pity that we had to rush.

The reason for the rush was because we had to meet up with our aunt, Tita Nena and our cousin Marilou. Both Bing and I have not seen them for ages. But they live somewhere in Quezon City. We made an appointment to meet at 2:30pm. We ended up seeing each other by 5:30pm. Meantime Bing was being feted by our maternal cousins in Makati so the best option was for us to invite them to come along with us and meet up with our other cousins at a chinese restaurant in the Glorietta in Ayala.

After all the things had been cleared out of Bing's apartment as the truck that was leaving for Pampanga was being filled up, I took this photo of Bing with our nephew Raymond beside the street sign to remind them of the last few years they had spend in Javalera street. That night, I left for Bangkok, but not after I had finished sorting through my things and papers and deciding what to keep, to throw away, to bring back with me to Bangkok or leave behind.

We had been keeping close touch with each other. Bing is finally with Sonny. She is bonding with Tita Nena, her mother in law. She is preparing for her practical exams so that she can get her drivers license. She is also studying so that she can get her Real Estate license. Best of all she already has a job and is once again ready to pursue her dreams. Good Luck Bing!

2006-04-29T09:36:00.000-07:00

swimming party

The weekend before Songkran, we got together at a friend's place. Instead of bringing my swim trunks, bathers or what have you, I decided not to swim and have fun with my camera while my friends were having fun in the pool. More pics in www.daddywasabi.blogspot.com

2006-02-09T02:49:00.000-08:00

Luang Prabang Day 11, 6 February 2006

It was raining through the early parts of the morning. and it was still drizzling at 6:30 am. I had already packed most of my things the night before except for my sleeping clothes and the clothes that I will be wearing when I leave the resort.

Pat and I agreed he will take me to see the elephants bathing. He arrived a little late so I thought it was off. It was lucky that he caught me on my way to the restaurant otherwise he would have missed me. When we got to the boat, he rowed to get to the point where the elephants will be. But then his friend told him that they were already on the other end of the camp. He tried getting the boat motor going but it refused to do so. I was getting to be stoic about it, perhaps it was not meant to be. No point in pushing for it. Then suddenly the motor started and we were off to see the elephants. We just caught up with them. It did not take long before the elephants finished with their bath and started to move on.

Back at the restaurant, I ordered my breakfast and took some pictures of the misty mountains as the sun was starting to appear. While having my breakfast, the other guest of the resort approached me, he was an old british man vacationing with his wife. He was asking me where to go in Bangkok to look for CF card readers and I gave him directions to the shop in Panthip Plaza where I got my multi format reader. I then headed back to the cottage so I could take my shower and finish my packing. I also double checked to make sure that my chargers are safely put away in my bag. I also want to make sure that I did not accidentally leave anything behind. I was getting several messages from Cocoy in Bangkok, I still have not yet left Luang Prabang and Bangkok is already catching up with me. I stopped by the town to go to the internet shop before going to the airport. I got there before the tour groups arrived. I had lunch at the airport shop and I bought a black and white photo postcard taken by a Thai photographer. I wrote my note to Auntie Gloria telling her of my trip to this wonderful place, the royal city of Luang Prabang.

Me having a "something about Mary" moment at the Luang Prabang airport.

2006-02-09T02:17:00.000-08:00

Luang Prabang Day 10, 5 February 2006

I was feeling much better this morning. After breakfast, I went back to Ban Xing Lom. This time I had both the digital camera and the hasselblad and a meter with a fresh battery plus a spare just in case. The villagers seemed friendlier this time, I would greet people that I would pass and they in turn would greet me. As I was taking my pictures, I noticed that there was only one bar in my 10d. It did not help that I could not charge the batteries because I left the chargers in the guest house and Miss Vanh promised to get these for me yesterday before she attends her friend's wedding. At first I was trying to take pictures of homes but these did not look as interesting so I started taking pictures of the villagers while doing their daily activities. I was received with a lot of giggles. But they did not tell me not to take any photographs. I even managed to take a couple of portraits that I only had 3 frames left in the hasselblad when I left the village.

It was already 11:30 am when I got to the resort. Pat passed by and asked if I would be interested in trekking to a town that can only be reached by walkin. I told him to tell me how much it would cost and he got back with information he received from Ms. Vanh and I agreed to the trekking. I took a nap after my lunch and at 2:30pm I was ready to do some trekking.

Pat showed up on time. He was acting as my guide this afternoon. To make the trek a bit easier for me, we took the boat to where the waterfalls were and there was a stairs that would take us up to the start of the trail to the village. It was a series of uphill climb and plateaus. I took some pictures of the trees because I was confident that I had 2 spare rolls of film in my pocket. We got to a clearing where we had an impressive view of the mountain and I took a few photos. Along the way we saw some huts around which rice was planted. Obviously, trees were felled and burned to make way for these fields. As we get closer to the mountain, it gets even more impressive. When we got to the road leading to the village we met a man from the village we were going to visit and Pat told me to greet him "Smailer" which is the equivalent of "Sabai dee" When we got to the village, I took one last shot with of a boy looking out of the fence. He was patient enough for me to adjust his hat and let me tinker with my camera before taking the shot. I then took out the exposed roll and took out the last roll. and loaded it in the film. I was not paying attention that the film did not have the black wrapper around it, so I broke the seal and loaded it in the camera. When I was rolling the film in the camera, the paper got torn, I took out the film cartridge and tried rolling it out and I noticed some film had already got out. It was then that I realized that the film was already exposed. So I immediately returned it to the camera back and closed it. That was it, there was no more film to take any picture. I may have lost a few images in that exposed film, but it was still better that I realized it at this point because I could have ended up with a roll of double exposed images.

The sun was already starting to set and Pat said that we better start making our way back to the resort. We did a brisk walk. It was good that this time we were walking on either a flat surface or was going downhill. As we got nearer to the resort, Pat pointed to me the location of the Elephant camp. We also met 3 men who were hunting birds for their dinner. It was past 6 when we got to the resort and I asked Pat to let the restaurant know that my massage will be rescheduled at 6:30 pm. I needed to take a shower first.

2006-02-09T01:45:00.000-08:00

Luang Prabang Day 9, 4 February 2006.

My sleep last night was not continuous but I did not have any problems getting back to sleep again. I got up at 7:30 am. By 8am my breakfast was delivered. It was my first full meal after my diarrhea. I was feeling very hungry so my breakfast did not last long. I continued taking the medicine we got in town. I was feeling strong enough by 9-am to walk about. At first I wanted to rent a bike but decided not to do so because there are no paved roads in this part of Luang Prabang. Ms Vanh recommended that I visit the village of Xing Lom which I could reach by following a trail. Ms. Vanh's assistant Pat showed me the trail that I should follow. The trail itself was easy to follow. It was also quite busy because the villagers use the trail to reach points of the river to ride their boats. Even so, it was still a challenging walk because I would still have to go up and down the hill. As I pass villagers along the trail, I would greet them "Sabai dee". There were also a lot of activity in the river as people were traveling up and down the river.

I finally reached the Ban Xing Lom. People were already up and about, mostly doing their morning chores or else chatting in front of their homes or the corner store. I spotted an old woman with her grandchild. The little girl was wearing warm clothes and a cap. Then her grandmother put her in a pail and carried her past me. I thought this was quite amusing and was very glad that I was allowed to photograph the baby in the pail. The only trouble was that my meter was set to EI100 and my film was ISO400 so I am sure the photo would be overexposed. Well, worse things had happened before this and a picture still came out. When I got to the wat the light was so beautiful. Best of all, there were some clouds in the sky. As I was about to take this perfect picture, my meter died down on me. I did not want to estimate the exposure, so I just went back to the resort using the already familiar trail.

I tried going back this time with a digital camera. An elephant was bathing in the river. I tried to hurry up to get to the river bank and by the time I got there, the elephant had also gotten out of the river to the other bank and walked away into the camp. I tried to walk towards the village once again but this time, I was not feeling well, so I decided to just go back to the resort to take a nap.

My lunch was delivered at noon. However, I did not have a good appetite that I could barely finish half of the vegetable fried rice that I ordered. I then continued reading Coelho's book. I was getting to the exciting part of the book when Kaew turned up in my bungalow. He told me that his boss lent him the motorcycle, we had some small talk and I invited him to go with me to the boat ride that I scheduled that afternoon. Then I took a nap.

When I woke up it was time for our boat ride. We decided to go upriver. I was getting bored with the scene but the boatman said there are villages upstream. He was right, here I saw how the villagers depend on the river for their livelihood. It is their means of traveling from one place to another, they use the water from the river to water their vegetable garden. The Kam river is also full of seaweed which the villagers collect and pound into paper which are included in their meals.

Upriver, we stopped in one town. I was told that there was a festival in this town. It turned out to be the death anniversary of someone in town so women were cooking a feast. Near the bridge we saw people washing the entrails of the pig while on the other side of the river there were women bathing. We went further up the river a bit more before we decided to turn back. The sun was already setting and we arrived the resort at 5pm. Kaew told me that he has to go back to town because there are still a couple of empty rooms in their guest house. We said goodbye and I thanked him for all his help during my visit.

2006-02-09T01:01:00.000-08:00

Luang Prabang Day 8, 3 February 2006.

We had an early start. I did not sleep well last night because of a bad bought of diarrhea. I think it was because of the grilled fish. But then again it could have been the water used in making the sauce of the miang in yesterday's lunch. It was pretty bad because aside from the regular trips to the toilet, my stomach was aching pretty badly. So this morning, I did not eat nor drink anything. I pushed myself to walk to the boat landing. Early in the morning the town was covered in mist. Even the Mekong is not visible from where we were standing. Kaew was doubtful if we can leave early because it may not be safe for the boat to start a trip if visibility is poor. So we had to wait. Little by little the boat got filled up with enough passengers, some taking things they could sell in town. One even brought with her a goat. Finally close to half past eight, the boat started its trip to Luang Prabang. The air was pretty cold. Kaew kept on asking me to take a nap at the back of the boat. I told him, I better not because if I do, I may throw up. I did not join them for breakfast this time. It may be better for me to play it safe for the time being. I would take a few cat naps here and there. Then I noticed the boy sitting beside me. He did not seem to be as lively as the sons of the boatman who were very lively at the front of the boat. He would just sit down and he would not move at all, it looks as if he had a frozen stance. So I started to prepare to take his photograph. As I was ready to release the shutter, he moved away from the light. So I then went back to where I was sitting and once again waited.

The trip to back to Luang Prabang felt like it took longer than I had expected. It is probably because we are going against the current of the river. We finally arrived Luang Prabang at past 10am. I asked Kaew to go with me to the guest house so I can settle my bill with him. I found out on arrival at the guest house that Ms. Vahn had already arrived to pick me up at 10am. So I just put together my things and prepared to check out of the guest house. I settled my bill and then said goodbye to Kaew and was on my way to Lao Spirit, a resort located in Ban Xing Lom about an half an hour away from the town of Luang Prabang.

I was given bungalow No. 3 because it had a double bed. One of the first things I wanted to do was to take a shower. It was disappointing to find out that the water pressure was a bit low. Prior to showering, I ordered boiled rice with vegetables from the restaurant, I specified that I did not want oil or any spices on the boiled rice because I was still having a stomach problem. Unfortunately, my instructions was not carried out, I was given a thai style khao tom complete with oil and toasted garlic. So I had it returned and corrected. What I got back was better although it still had traces of oil in it. Because of the water situation, Ms. Vanh had me moved to Cottage no. 2 where there were 2 twin beds. I actually did not mind because the beds were as big as the beds in the guest house I stayed in town. Because of my stomach condition, I spent the afternoon sleeping. Then I went to the restaurant to schedule a massage and once again ordered plain boiled rice with vegetables.

6 pm, the masseuse arrives with an entourage of 2 people. She did not speak English but is able to understand my limited Thai. Anyway, Trip, the waiter accompanied her to translate just in case it is needed. Trip's English was quite good and I complimented him on this. In our conversation, he told me that he learned English while a novice in one of the temples of Luang Prabang. He stayed a novice for at least 5 years and just recently got out of the temple to work. He mentioned to me that several families sent their sons to the temples to become novices so that these boys can study in the schools in Luang Prabang. In addition to this they are being schooled in the temple about Buddhism. Life in the temple is not easy either, the monks and the novices are up at 4 am in preparation for the morning prayers, then comes the walk around town to receive the offerings of the townspeople. I have seen this in the town of Luang Prabang, I have seen this in less populated towns. Novices have to attend to chores and to go to school and finally at the end of the day is the evening prayers before they retire for the evening. While I was conversing with Trip, he sat in a lotus position. He told me that up to now he still meditates and says the sutras. I told him that for myself I had been trying to learn how to meditate but my mind is like an undisciplined monkey that I have not yet managed to tame. After my massage, the boiled rice arrived, this time done correctly, without oil and without garlic and onions, just vegetables and it tasted good. I was asleep by 8:30 PM.

2006-02-08T19:57:00.000-08:00

Luang Prabang Day 7, 2 February 2006

I did not have any problem sleeping last night. By 10:30 pm, I was asleep. Problem was by 3am I was awake. I kept on trying to get back to sleep and was having a hard time getting back to sleep. So I continued reading Coelho's The Alchemist and did some updates to my diary. At past 4am I dozed off again. I was awakened by my phone two hours later. It was Kaew sending me a message. It was time to get up.

After putting on street clothes, I went by Kaew's guest house to tell him that I was having breakfast at the patongko shop if he wants to catch up and join me later. The shop was not as full as yesterday and this time the shop owner was very attentive to me. After finishing my breakfast, I went to the market and on the way back to the direction of the river I saw Kaew. He told me that he was going to buy chicken for the basi ceremony that his mother will hold for me. He was able to get most of the things he needed from the market except for the chicken which was coming out to be too expensive. He said he will have to go to another market for this. I told him, why don't I go back to the guest house and take a shower and get my things ready.

With my rucksack of camera gear I was on my way to the boat landing when I saw Kaew on his bike telling me he still did not get the chicken. I told him that I can spend the time while he was going to another market to take pictures of the main market in Luang Prabang. He can send me a text when he was ready. It took a while and I was able to take a lot of pictures in the market. But then I got a call from Kaew telling me to make my way to the boat.

A couple of people were also making a trip back to Thong Tai village. One of his sisters was there on the trip with us. The boat more or less had enough passengers to make a profitable trip. We arrived an hour and a half later, which I felt flew very quickly because I was taking pictures of the passengers as well. None seem to mind. Behind me was a baby named Namfai.

Kaew's house was a bit of a walk from the boat landing. When we got there, there seemed to be a lot of people milling around. A lot of people were standing by the windows looking in. Kaew' father then turned their tv on and started playing a vcd of one of the Thai comedy shows and the kids were sitting down on the floor watching and laughing at the show even though they have seen the same show several times already. I decided to take a nap while lunch was cooking on account of my erratic sleep last night. When lunch was ready, this was served on the mats on the floor and we had to be seated on the floor and eat the food miang style. They had grilled the huge fish that Kaew had brought back with him.

After lunch we headed out into the sandbar near the river where the women were panning gold. All the panners seemed to be familiar with Kaew and were very cooperative when I was trying to take my pictures. I noticed that there were a lot of plants that looked like mangrove that grew in the sand. It was near these plants where the women would dig up their sand and place them in their baskets. Then they would put a basked in their pan and take out the stones. After this, they will then remove as much clay as possible by swirling the sand in the pan. Once all of the clay has been removed, they put the remaining sand into the a bucket. At the end of the day, they will continue panning the sand this time mixed with some detergent and what to me looked like mercury. If they are lucky, they will find a gold bit for their day's work.

When I was walking with Kaew to their home just right after we arrived, I noticed that there were a lot of water buffaloes in the area. I commented that perhaps most are used for working the fields and when the animal is old it is then sent for slaughter. He gave me a rather interesting response. He said that buffaloes are like people, some can be trained to do tasks in the field and others cannot be trained because they do not learn. These are the ones that are sent to slaughter.

The boys the were watching TV in Kaew's house was in the field as well. They then started running after the buffaloes and started riding them. Sometimes to the disgust of the buffalo. Then they would all laugh when they fall off as the buffalo trots away to safety. I did not get pictures of the buffalo because I could not get near enough to them, they would head off as a heard when they see me nearbly even though I do not have any intention of riding them. After having their fun, I took pictures of the boys who were wet because they just swam in the creek where the buffaloes also bathe.

At dusk, we headed home. Kaew's mother was already starting preparations on the basi ceremony. They were preparing the banana leaf offering cones, a candle, strings of cotton twine and leaves of the San Francisco plant. In another tray are insense wrapped in cones of kip notes. I took some time to clean my camera and then went ahead to take a shower. The bathroom was rather primitive with a huge pool holding the water supply. There was also a squat toilet nearby. When I got dressed up, the elders were already arriving one by one. Kaew's handed out the sashes we are to wear on our shoulders during the ceremony. After a couple of pleasantries, the ceremony started with everyone saying their prayers and then one by one the village elders would make a wish and tie a cotton twine on my wrist. Later on I found out that this was a tradition being done by the village elders when one of the villagers are going away for a long time, either because of work or because of studies. The ceremeony ended with the elders giving us a slice of the chicken and other things from the tray and we were asked to eat something from what was given to us. After this, dinner was served. Lao beer was served to everyone. As the night wears on, everyone started having more fun. By 9PM everyone had already left. So I started to prepare to go to sleep. Exept that I had bad case of food poisoning and I was visiting the toilet several times that night. It was a very long night.

2006-02-08T18:56:00.000-08:00

Luang Prabang Day 6, 1 February 2006

Kaew invited me to breakfast so I was up early. before I went to his guest house, I went to the read just by the Mekong river and sat down by the enbankment. I figured, I could practice on my panning, something that I still do not do very well. Everytime someone would pass whether riding a vehicle or on foot, I would point my camera on them.

Pretty soon it was becoming quite frustrating because it is very difficult to focus on a subject that passes at random distances from the camera lens. I was told that to pan successfully, you should keep both eyes opened, one on the camera and the other on the subject as you are panning. Easier said than done.

As I was panning away, Seng passed by and I greeted him. He was on his way to see Kaew. Something about a handphone. I showed him some of my panning pictures and he says he likes them. Unfortunately I was not really pleased with most of them.

I then went to see Kaew and asked him if we are going to have breakfast. He said, he is too busy at the moment. Besides, I do not think he could get away because his bosses are also busy working in the guest house.

So back I went to the patongko place. When I got nearer the place, I saw this magnificent assortment of Vespas lining both sides of the street. The shop was packed! I had to squeeze myself into one of the available spots on one of the benches so I can order my breakfast. I ordered the usual and went on to update my diary. I had already written a couple of pages, and my order came in, only it was wrong. I was being served coffee when I ordered ovaltine. So I told them to correct their order, then I wrote some more and the my orders still did not come. One of the Thais noticed I was still waiting and he asked the shopkeeper to follow up on my order. I thanked him and asked if they are touring in Luang Prabang. He said that he is part of the Vespa rallye. This explains why there were so many Vespas on the street that morning. It seems that they came from different places in Thailand. The one I talked to was from Nongkhai, just accross the river from Vientiane. The other one I talked to beside the street was from Bangkok. After breakfast, I took more pictures of the Vespas in the street. Later in the evening, as kaew ang I was heading for dinner, we saw the vespas lined up in front of a club. But for this morning, they were on their way to the other side of Mekong. I hope they had a photographer with them because this is a unique road trip that has to be documented.

The vespa guys had actually given me a good idea, I will also go to the other side of Mekong so I can take black and white shots of the place while the sun is still low enough and was illuminating the place. This time I will just take my hasselblad. Seng was standing by the other boatmen and I asked him if he already has a client. He told me that he was still free. So I asked him how much it would cost me to cross to the other side of the river and be back before noon. After a few haggling, we agreed on the price. I went to the area where there were many boats docked for repair and where the women were doing their laundry and washing their onions. Then Seng took me to the sandbar where there was someone mending his net and there was a woman planting new onions into her field. She had a little boy with her. I asked the mother's permission if I could take his picture and she consented. As I was positioning the the boy so that I can have a better background form him, he changed his mind and went to his mother. The mother was laughing and said that he got a little scared.

So I then walked on to the end of the sandbar and found a man mending his fishing net. He told me it was okay for me to take his pictures. So I took a couple of pictures while he continued working. I also took a couple of pictures of the fields and the huts. I even found a man collecting onions in a puddle of water. When I got back to the spot where the boat was, I saw that the kid and the mother was standing on their field looking the other way, so I positioned my camera and waited. Finally the kid turned around and faced my direction and I got my shot.

In the afternoon, I just biked around the different temples of Luang Parabang. I went back to Wat Xing Thong becuase of the wooden buddha statues lined by the wall of the funerary temple. This time I stopped by the back of the main wat and found the Tree of life fresco so I took a picture of this as well. The next two temples are where a lot of novices stay. I had a conversation with one of them. He told me that he was trying to learn english so he appreciated if someone would talk to him in English. I then took their pictures by the tiger statue in front of their main temple. This time no senior monk got angry with us. The other novices were studying their books. I saw some playing chess and others were taking their baths. Pretty soon, they will be starting their chores before their evening prayers.

It was already late afternoon when I biked back to the river enbankment by the Mekong. I wanted to go back to the man that sold locally brewed Lao which had snakes, centipedes and spiders in their bottles. While I was there an old italian couple also stopped by and looked at what I was doing. He seem to recognize my hasselblad. We talked about photography for a while. He seem to also enjoy this hobby. If he could not understand what I was saying in English, I would speak in halting Spanish and we would seem to understand each other. So I finished my pictures and went on to the spot across the patongko shop. There I found Seng with the other boatmen tackling a serious business at hand, a bottle of whiskey. They offered me some but then I declined. But I tasted a slice of grilled goat meat they were eating. They were having a good time amongst themselves. Once in awhile a couple of tourists, perhaps previous passengers would also drop by and have a conversation with them.

After finishing my roll of film, I went back to the guesthouse to drop off my camera and then made my way to the Red Cross for a massage. Since it was still early, I also added a session in the sauna. I was given the same masseur who gave me once again a good massage. Then I went to the back of the building to have my sauna. The sauna itself was the size of a huge wardrobe. Packed inside are some rowdy Laotian young men. It seemed to me that the sauna was woodfired and there was steam coming from below the seats. After a few minutes of this I got out and went out and took a very cold shower. I then left to meet up with Kaew for dinner to finalize the arrangments on our trip to his hometown tomorrow.

2006-02-07T06:42:00.000-08:00

Luang Prabang Day 5, 31 January 2006

This morning I found a place near the market swarming with Thai tourists. I had been craving for hot chocolate since last night so I was so happy to find this corner in the market seving hot chocolate and pathongko. Pathonko are huge batter fritters. In a cold morning it is nice to dip a morsel of these fritters in the hot chocolate, the eay I would dip pan de sal in coffee when I was little. It did not seem to be rude to do this because everyone was doing the same thing. On the way back to the guest house, I passed by Bong's place to make sure our photo session was still on. I found him chatting with neighbors. He told me his daughter was not available. So it would only be him and his wife. The light was dappled so it was a challenge to position their faces. We managed to do some solo and shots of them as a couple.

I decided against taking the bike and asked Bong to take me around Luang Prabang again. I figured the places I will be going today were too far for me to bike. We visited Ban Xang Long, a village famous for weaving mudmee silk as well as making mulberry paper. Our first stop was the wat. There did not seem to be many monks in this place. So I started taking pictures of the wat. Then some women carrying brooms came in to sell brooms to the head monk. After they finished their transaction, I asked one of the women if I could take her picture. I was glad that she had agreed. Then the novices started to approach me to while I was taking a picture of the wood pile in the middle of the temple courtyard. I then asked if they wanted to have their pictures taken. Later on, as I was going back to meet Bong so we can leave the village, I saw the same novices in the street, walking and they told me that they are on their way to school.

The town's biggest weaving factory was a few doors away from the temple, so I just made my way there. Their work looked pretty good. They have some nicely colored silk scarves so I chose one for my sister. I then asked if I can take some pictures of their weavers. The owner consented to my picture taking. I took black and white pictures of the weavers in this shop. I also notices how intricate the tapestry weaves that they are doing. No wonder the prices are so high becauses of the intricate weaves that they were doing.

It was almost lunchtime when we finished. We found a restaurant in the middle of the Kham river, right in the middle of the vegetable patches on one of the larger sandbars on the Kham River which is quite near by the old wooden bridge. It seems we over-ordered this time because we ordered miang, a sort of vegetable salad where you wrap different things in lettuce leaf and eat it. By the time the huge grilled fish arrived, we were already quite full and I just asked Bong to take the fish home.

kham river scenes

After dropping off the broiled fish, the afternoon was equally slow. Bong took me to the nearby Vietnamese temple. I noticed that there is a flag under the bo tree. While taking a photo of the banner, a novice approached me and started to converse with me. He told me that the banner commemorates a dead person. He also told me that all the monks in this temple are ethnic Vietnamese while all of the novices are Lao. I also asked him why he was not carrying bags of cement like the other novices. He told me that today he was having stomach problems so the monks told him to do lighter chores. The place did not cover a huge area but there were several little temples within the place. There is one huge Buddha statue facing the Mekong river. When we were leaving the place, 5 novices were preparing to put sand in their sacks when I asked if I could take their picture. They said I can do so provided I send them a copy of their pictures. It would have been an easy one had the temple helper not kept of trying to get into the picture as well. So I started positioning everyone including the helper where he could be easily edited out of the viewfinder. I was trying to take a second photo when the head monk started scolding the novices. So I bade them goodbye, it was time to leave and Bong was chuckling as we left the temple hurriedly.

I told him to pass by the bridge so I can take a picture of the golden stupa. I found out later that a group of buddhist nuns stay in this temples. As I had not visited this particular temple, there is no way for me to confirm if this was actually so. Once again the sun was already setting by this time. I just asked Bong to take me back to the guest house. He then told me that we may not see each other before I leave because the following day he was leaving for Van Vieng to get rice for his family.

Lugging the heavy rucksack filled with camera accessories was getting to be difficult so I left most of my gear at the guest house and only took the tripod and my digital slr. Most of the boats are now docked and people were just doing some chores and some are bathing. Then from behind me I heard Seng call me. Today was another busy day for him because a Canadian hired him to go to the buddha caves. I invited him to go to dinner together with his brother Kaew.

Kaew promised to take me to another massage place. It turns out he was referring to the Red Cross in front of Wat Visount.
While they used less oil for their massage, the quality of the massage was quite good and it only cost $3.20 for the hour.

At 8, I was at the gate of the Red Cross waiting for Kaew. We then headed off to the same barbeque place that we went to yesterday.

2006-01-31T07:43:00.000-08:00

Luang Prabang Day 4, 30 January 2006

This morning I caught the sai bat ceremony in the street. It seems that this is a daily activity among the locals. Lining the streets were the Thais and the Laotians. But this particular morning I saw a couple of westerners also participating in the ceremony. It was over soon. I was in a hurry to get some breakfast and head back to the guest house because I am meeting up with Kaew.

I first met Kaew when I was looking for a guest house when I arrived at Luang Prabang. He had an available room in front of the house which I did not like because it was likely to be noisy. So I ended up not getting any room in the guest house where he is working. He seemed to be a sport about it because when I passed by the next morning to inquire about the bikes, he said hi to me because he remembered me. I was planning to go to the Pak Ou caves or the buddha caves to I pased by his guest house to enquire whether he can make any arrangement for me. He said it would be expensive. It cost $30 dollars. I figured, this would be the same cost as entering Disneyland in 2001 only the place I will see is probably better. We arranged to meet at his guest house at 9am.

So 9am on the dot I was on my way to his guest house and he was riding a bike from somewhere and he greeted me in the street. He led me to the boat pier and he told me that we are going in his half brother's boat. The boat is not bad. It was actually longer than the boat that Cocoy and I took to go around Tonle Sap and it cost the same for half a day per person. First stop was going across the Mekong river. The people were very busy with their morning activities. People were tending to their farms, washing their clothes, men were fixing their boats, some women were washing their onion leeks before these are sent to the market.

Then we went up to go to the temple. I thought that I would not be climbing up any mountain today but I was wrong. Along the way, we had to pay an entrance ticket to the abandoned temple. The the little kids were selling flowers or birds. One of them was a little girl called Muan. She was so persistent that she followed us up the hill. I told her that I can take her pictures and she obliged. Anyway she looked so cute holding the basket holding the birds in her hands. I hope her pictures come out nicely.

Then it was a walk downhill to go to the next temple and the temple in the cave. It was hot in the cave and we did not stop there fore long.

I was also in a hurry because Seng had been calling twice. So we had to cross the sand dunes in the middle of the Mekong to reach his boat and we were on our hour and a half trip going to the Pak Ou cave. The trip was quite pleasant. The scenery mostly green. Then with the constant drone of the boat, I was lulled into a nap. Until I remembered that I still have not yet updated my travel diary so I did some writing.

I think it was a good idea for me to hire the boat by myself because, I work slowly when I take my pictures. In fact a lot of people whom I have taken pictures of complain that I take too long a time. If I joined a group, the people I will be going with will not understand the time I am taking so in this way it was worth it.

We finally got to the cave. The cave was really small with the opening looking like the opened mouth of a dragon with the stairs zigzagging up to where the buddha statues are. I took some colored and black and white photos here. It is just annoying that some people do not care that they are blocking the light. So I have to patiently wait. Finally both brothers indicated to me that they were hungry. After all it was already 3pm. So we headed across the river.

The restaurant we went to belonged to an elder sister of Kaew. A younger sister is working with them. We ordered the usual fare. The surprise though was the somtam which tasted differently and was quite spicy. The two brothers ordered lao beer. Pretty soon both of them were turning red, not because of exposure to the sun. After our meal we have to head back to Luang Prabang. We stopped by the sand dunes where the rocks are because I wanted to take a picture of the mountains with the rocks on the foreground. I also asked Kaew if he wanted his picture taken. He agreed to do so. I asked if Seng wanted to do so as well. But then he had already taken off his clothes and was bathing in the river. So I continued working on Kaew picture and soon a freshly bathed Seng joined use and he also agreed to have his pictures taken. I think I took 2 pitures of Seng in Black and White and the other photo of Kaew was taken in color because the hasselblad already ran out of film.

After this we were on our way back to Luang Prabang and watching the scenery turning gold basking in the light of the setting sun.

I met up with Kaew and Seng for dinner. They led me to a very popular Korean barbeque place. In cold weather, this is actually a good idea because the charcoal is providing some heat to you as well as cooking your food. We ordered more Lao beer for both brothers. He was selling me the idea of going to his home town. I told him, I will pass by his guest house the next day because I will borrow a bike after I visit Bong's family to take their pictures. I went to the market to buy some oranges and tamaring. I am quite tired. I headed back using a tuk tuk who was trying to volunteering to take me to a disco. He was even trying to pick up more passengers along the way. When I got home, I changed to my jammies and went to sleep.

2006-01-30T07:00:00.000-08:00

Luang Prabang Day 3; 29 January 2006

I had a late start. Moving to a very clean guest room which was very quiet made me sleep very soundly that I could hear myself snore. I missed the monk offering parade this morning. But then I had the crazy idea that today being the start of the new Lunar Year, I should try to scale Wat Phou Si. This is a small temples at the top of the highest hill overlooking Luang Prabang. So I took each step as slowly as I can and when I get tired, I would stop and take photos of the winding stairs and the frangipani trees. This way I can catch my breath. So little by little, I was able to make my way up to the highest point of the hill. As I was getting higher, the path was becoming narrower and narrower. But there are many aged frangipani trees lining the way so I felt very safe going up.

When I reached to top, I felt a huge sense of achievement. This is because lately, I feel more like an old man. I can remember the time that I could do this in a breeze. At the top, several Laotians came to make their offerings. I am wondering if they celebrate the Lunar New Year, because they do have a Lao New Year which is celebrated at the same time as Songkran. I also noticed that when they left, they would ring the bell 3 times. So after they left the shrine, I took my turn in ringing the bell 3 times. I also found out that there was another way down from the person handling the entrance tickets. However that takes another 100 steps. So I decided to go down the way I went up. Besides, I was in a hurry to go back to the guest house because I needed to meet up with Bong so we can go to Kwang Xi waterfalls.

I was late in meeting Bong. I got back at the guest house at 9:30 am. When I passed by his house, I saw him talking to neighbors. He was quite relieved to see me. I told him that I need to go back to the guest house first because I need to take a shower. Besides, I still did not find the time to have breakfast. So when I met him, he took me to the same place we had lunch yesterday. I just ordered a quick fried rice so we can be on our way. I asked Bong if it might be a good idea to order food to take with us. He said that there are eating places in the area we are going to. So off we went.

The trip was fine enough. We saw a lot of tourists on bikes. Bong thought that they are on their way to Kwang Xi waterfalls as well. But then the suffering started when we hit the dirt road when my head and my back started to get jarred. My teeth was chattering from the jarring and I thought I was having a headache at the same time. It was good we took several stops so I can take some pictures because this provided me with some relief. On one of the stops, we met 3 girls, probably friends who are were playing on the road. They started talking to us. They seem to understand my Thai. I asked them if I can photograph them and the more aggressive one agreed for the three of them. I told them to smile and the leader broke into laughter when I clicked the shutter. We then said goodbye to them. Each of them said they were glad to meet me and asked me not to forget them. Unfortunately, I did not ask for their names. But I am sure I will not forget them because of their sweetness and innocence. I will always remember them as my 3 little friends.

On another stop we met farang who was walking with his bike. He was quite sweaty by this time. He told me that he had been biking for 30 minutes and was just going where the bike will take him. He asked how far away the waterfalls is and Bong said another 30 kilometers. In a bike, he will probably get there by the afternoon.

We got to Kwang Xi waterfalls by past noon. I was not yet hungry so we started looking at the waterfalls and see what pictures I can take. The first thing that caught my eye were the two monks sitting in the balcony overlooking the waterfalls. The one that I noticed was the monk with the tattoo on his arms. I asked loaded my hasselblad and started putting the tripod base which has become very difficult to do. It seems that my hasselblad was a bit devirginized and the tripod base is not big enough to fit the hasselblad screw hole. When I was ready I asked the tattooed monk if I can take his photo. They agreed but they seem to want to take a photo together and the monk I approached covered his tattoos with his saffron cloth when I posed them for their photograph.

The older monk explained to me that his friend was a tour guide and he fell ill. So he is accompanying a Swiss man on his visit to Kwang Xi falls. He also told me that he had been a monk since 1995. What a coincidence. That was the year I started working in the current company I am affiliated in. He mentioned to me that he came from a town in the northern part of Laos where only 70 families live. He is the only member of their family that managed to obtain higher education. I noticed that the Swiss was waiting to leave, so I excused myself from the monk. But I got their e-mail address promising them to send them their pictures if these come out well.

Bong and I had lunch at one of the eateries. The food was not great. In fact later, Bong and I agreed that we should have ordered food at the restaurant in Luang Prabang to bring toKwang Xi.

After lunch, I took some photos of the falls with a couple of them with me and Bong together. I let Bong stand at a spot so I can focus the camera on him and I can use the self timer and run beside him before the camera takes the picture. I was finished soon enough. So I was ready to go back to town.

Bong had other ideas. He asked me if I want to go to the top of the waterfall. I told him that I will try. At first the way was made of steps carved out of the side of the hill. Then they becamed steeper and higher. Finally when we got to the mid point, we found a very long wooden stair which was a little broken at the last step.
It did not help that the way it connects to was so narrow with a very deep drop. So I was literally crawling when I got to this point, till it got better. There were a few local kid running up behind me. There were even a couple of tourists who passed us by. I was taking my time because I want to reach the top.

When we got to the top, the sun was shining intensely, that there was dappled light on the ground. We did the roundabout way to get to the top of the fall. There were a couple of puddles that we had to go through. At last we found the way to the top f the fall. There was nothing special about the place itself. But then it was the second hill I climbed today so I took another photograph of myself in the water before it falls.

We descended the same way we came up. There was one lagoon where the water was quite green. Bong told me that Laotians are afraid of this type of water because people who fall into this water are never seen again. After taking my pictures, we went down the hill. By the time we got to the parking area it was already 5:30pm. I told Bong I will not stop to take another photograph. I broke my promise twice. But then midway, he stopped at a hmong village. At first I started taking pictures of the children, pretty soon everyone was asking me to buy their friendship bracelet. In a panic I backed out. Before I went, I gave the two girls who posed for pictures 1000 kip. What a difference from the girls we met that morning.

We got back to the guest house an hour later. Business seemed to be good for them because they told me that all their rooms had been taken.

2006-01-28T03:31:00.000-08:00

Luang Prabang Day 2; 28 January 2006

I awoke early this morning. In fact too early to the sound of a drum beating. It may have been the beat of the drum that is sounded to awaken the monks to their morning prayers. It may also be just someone next door chopping pork or vegetables for the morning meals. Who knows? 4 am is still too early for anyone to rise. It did not help that I did not fall asleep easily and to be suddenly roused out of my sleep like that, I am unable to get back to the deep slumber I was briefly enjoying. Tossing and turning did not help and I was suddenly feeling itchy. It may be my imagination. But the way the guesthouse looked like is not helping. So at daybreak, I put on my jeans and put on an extra tshirt and two layers of sweater and braved the cold morning air. There were people in the street and I just followed them. I noticed that most of them are from Thailand. They were making their way to Sisavangvong road to make their morning offering to the monks that will pass by the road. I even volunteered to one that I can take their picture if they want. Some women were selling things that were being offered to the monks.

When the procession started, each of the laity placed a small dollop of rice to the monk's begging bowl. At the end of the road are some poor kids who were begging for food as well. So this is where I saw the divide. The Thais and Lao on one side making their offering and on the other side the westerners and people like me taking pictures of the event. I tried to be as discreet I could . It was over in a few minutes. But it was a great experience. I then took some street shots of the grey foggy street and then went to a restaurant to have my breakfast. For Bt. 60.00 I got to have a piece of croissant and hot chocolate. The hot chocolate was quite sweet so I asked the waitress to add more water to the cup. Then back to the guest house I went and prepared to take a shower and get ready my things. When I got downstairs, Bong was already waiting for me, so I went ahead to pay for my $10 room and asked Bong to help me with my things. Then off we went to the other side of town.

Our first stop was Bong's house so we can keep my things there and we started walking around their community. I noticed the guest house at the corner that was having a party last night. Bong told me that it was a guest house and they were inaugurating the place, explaining why there was a lot of singing going on. Their initial rate was $15, a bit steep to what I am prepared to pay. So we haggled and settled on $13. But then at mid-day when we got back to the guest house, a farang couple was enquiring about room rates and they said the rate was $15. However, when the farangs hesitated, they lowered their rates to $12. I said, how come they were giving a better rate to the farangs? I demanded that my rate be improved to $12 as well. This time Idecided to stay there for a period of 6 nights. So hopefully tonight, I will have a good night sleep.

This morning before doing any tour, I decided to have Bong take me to the Luang Prabang Guest House in the outskirts of Luang Prabang. Translation--it takes one hour to get to town with no traffic at all! We got lost 2 times and I was getting concerned why we were having a hard time finding the place. We eveltually found it. They had a couple of log cabins that were decently appointed. The rate of $15 per night that they were charging was fair enough. There were no places around it that is interesting to photograph so I decided to cancel my reservations. But then prior to getting there, we got lost and found a much much better place, the Lao Spirit Resort. The cottage will cost $63/night. There is a nice river view. They said they have elephant trekking. The cottage is quite luxurious. So it would be good to pamper myself before I return to the reality in Bangkok. I e-mailed my reservations tonight and am hoping I will get an answer tomorrow.

So, back to town we went. I got my room reservations in the new guest house settled and at an improved rate to boot. Bong took me to a riverside place for Lao food. We had a feast. One of the new dishes I tried was laab made of bamboo shoots. We also had a delicious spring roll. I also liked the fact that they made the chicken crispy in their fried rice. All these cost me BT170.00. I am getting to like this place everyday. I can have a feast for less than BT200.

So after lunch we started our tour of Luang Prabang. We started our tour at the Palais Royal. The temple outside the palace was very nice. As I was entering the temple itself to take a picture of the carved door, the caretaker opened the door revealing the magnificent interior of the place. I then went inside the Palace. Photographs are not allowed. In a way I was relieved of having to carry my heavy back pack. The palace is small compared to the magnificent palaces in Thailand. But then it is well maintained. The throne room glistens because of the coloured glass mosaic on the wall. If you are familiar with the pastoral embroidery on the traditional laotian blanket, they this is the type of pattern used on the walls of the throne room. Access was also provided to the private quarters. The bedrooms were relatively simple. Imelda's Malacanang bedroom was more luxurious. To me the Palace is just a very big house for the late royal family of Laos.

Next stop were a series of temples that is now a blur to my mind. Honestly, by this afternoon I am literally watted out. One of them I had to climb up very slowly. Bong told me to use the one near the road beside the river. He was trying to tell me the stairs there was not so steep. I was being head strong and he let me have my way. I then found out what he was trying to say in Thai that I could not figure out. So it pays to listen to the locals for they know better.

The last wat we passed by was on the way to the guesthouse. It is a very important wat known as wat Visount. I took some more wat photos but then struck a conversation with a Lao monk. He seemed to want to practice his english so we talked for what felt like half an hour. I was surprised to find out that men in Laos become monks for 3 years, versus a month for the guys in Laos. He also advised me to talk to the monks first and they may even allow me to take their picture.

We then headed back to the guesthouse. I needed find an internet place and was told to pass by the night market which at 5:30 pm was already being set up. Along the way I was taking pictures. Then I suddenly realized that I forgot the blanket that I bought last night at the previous guest house. I made my way there and the girl manning the counter knew exactly what I came back for and returned this to me. After this, I went to the photo exhibit of an English photographer on the Lao people. In here synopsis, one thing struck me. She said, the Lao may be poor in material wealth but they are rich in spiritual wealth. Something like this. I just hope that they retain this admirable trait and that they will not sell their souls for money. So this is the end of the day and I am typing day 2 of my blog. I tried getting into Le Elephant, they were fully reserved. Perhaps this is their way of screening guests. I will try again later this week. Tomorrow, Bong will meet me at 9am and we will go to the waterfall. On Monday, I will probably take the slow boat to the buddha cave. I may also try to have a massage because my back hurts from carrying the back pack. So more tomorrow.