Bohemian Child

SHAMLESS PLUG

2007-11-07T14:06:00.000-08:00

Haha... I must admit I'm bitten by the Flickr bug. And with Flickr's EXPLORE 500, it gets more addictive, where in the flickr group chooses the best 500 Photos of the day from a million download. Photography is really taking over my life. In between the busy shoots for TV and writing scripts... I always try to find time to snap a photo or two.Life is great, you can really see the wonders of the good God with the beauty that surrounds you.

Share your world. Grab a camera. Point and shoot. Celebrate life.

PAO's FLICKR EXPLORE 30

1. A Boy named Eric..., 2. The Red Door, 3. Water falls on burning rocks..., 4. The Boy from Nepal, 5. Ruins in the Morning, 6. Waiting at the Pier, 7. Sailor 2.0, 8. Chair in the Balcony,

9. Woman on the Boat, 10. Hien, 11. The Boat People, 12. The Boy from Chengdu, 13. The Boy from Shanghai, 14. The Boy from Shenzhen, 15. The Musician, a year after..., 16. Rainbow River,

17. Jetro: The Photographer, 18. The Boys from Nam Tok, 19. The Little Boy from Siem Reap, 20. Morning Shower 2.0, 21. Memories of a forgotten past, 22. Lackadaisical Moment in the Afternoon Sun, 23. The Boy from Kanchanaburi, 24. Al Fresco,

25. Cidade De Deus 1.2, 26. High Street, 27. Lady in the Forest, 28. Gone for the Weekend, 29. Cold Winter, 30. the meeting place

PAO'S PHOTOS ON DAZED DIGITAL'S THIS IS WANTED

2007-07-30T05:28:00.000-07:00

This just came in. Three of my photographs have been included in Dazed and Confused Digital Magazine Photograhy Directory. It's now viewable in the THIS IS WANTED PROJECT section, a collaborative gallery composing of Photographs and illustrations that will appear in Barcelona, Stockholm and Milan this summer.

Dazed and Confused is one of my fave art house magazine, you may want to check out this month's issue. They have a feature on Brit Young Actor JAMIE BELL (known for his superb performance in the weeper indie Billy Elliot),
REBIRTH LEBANON (a feature on the best of Lebanese Photographers),
CHROMEO (a feature on the latest music video from these Canadian Elektrofunk Duo),
SWEET BIRD OF YOUTH (Hedi Slimane's Berlin Art Exibition) and a Behind-the-scenes of this year's SUNDANCE FESTIVAL. You can check all these at www.dazeddigital.com

MAN ENOUGH FOR THE MAN BAG

2007-07-23T23:32:00.000-07:00

"Anything bigger than a money clip or a wallet is to be left to your girlfriend/wife … and just so we are clear you should not be able to throw your 'wallet' over a shoulder … if you have a man purse, the wall is waiting." - Andy Roddick, Tennis Superstar

Well, check this out Andy. Superstar quarterback for the NFL Tom Brady doesn't think so and he ends up with supermodel Gisselle. He did create a lot of noise after the papazz got a hold of him with his cute camo man bag while he and partner Giselle were spotted in downtown NYC. Tom may not be as big as an asset to New England Patriots as David Beckham is to Los Angeles Galaxy, but Tom just recently got the nod as the poster boy for the UBERSEXUAL. (Ubersexual - from Webster dictionary, a male who is similar to a metrosexual but displays the traditional manly qualities such as confidence, strength, and class - leaving no doubt as to his sexual orientation. David was the quintisential metrosexual boy of the 90's).

And so, where does this lead me... I have been getting a lot of eyebrow raises, questions of interests, and sometimes, of ridicule whenever I'm out carrying my carryall bag. It's a really cool manbag that I got in Cubic Store in Hongkong - the color metallic burgundy. Some people would usually ask - "So Pao where's the trip?" or "Mamalengke ka ba?" or "What's with the lola bag?" to which I just roll my eyes and smile.

I recently got my carryall manbag more than a month ago during my trip after realizing that my backpack wasn't doing it for me. Laptop, phones, wallet, some books, portable audio player, it just doesn't work with the backpack anymore. First, it's difficult to access your stuff with the backpack because it's in your back, second, try riding the metro during rush hour, and you'd be lucky enough to fit yourself let alone with your backpack. Third, If you're like me, I sometimes forget to close the lock, fortunately, some friends would actually tell me that my backpack is open. I'm lucky that it's always that way, but what about when you're in a crowded place with people that you don't know, a friend lost his Ipod because he forgot to cloze the zip of his backpack. Ouch!!!

What's good with carryalls or shoulder manbags is that you're always concious that you're carrying your bag, plus the fact that you have plenty of places or compartments to put your gadgets. It does take a lot of guts to carry one outside because Pinoy men are still kinda iffy with carrying something that looks like it came from your mom's closet.

But what surprises me though is that I've been seeing or I know a number of straight guys who actually have and prefer carrying manbags when they're out. Check out the Ortigas crowd for example, you'd see them guy yuppies comfortable with their manbags.Or even young art students are daring enough to bring them in class. Gola man bags from the Gola sportswear brand are actually every where. It was born out of neccesity they would say. "It's difficult to move without a bag these days because you tend to bring a lot of your stuff with you, your camera, your ipod, your PSP, your toys, so it doesn't really bother because it's very useful" they would say.

Manbags are actually not a new thing. It's been at the forefront of european fashion since the 60's. Mailbags, Messenger bags were a staple for the men who's always on hippie outings. During the 70's it was also used by a lot of men especially because the pants and the jeans then were so tight it's difficult to put wallets without the unevitable bulging. In Hong Kong, when I was there, the men were actually more daring. It's almost dificult to see where a women's bag ends and a man's bag begins. I mean the colors, the cuts, it's the very same big bags that your lola would usually bring to a sunday church. And hey, these men, or even teenage boys at that, are very secure with their preference if I may say so. They're just really comportable with bringing a carryall bag with them. I heard, even in Shibuya and Tokyo, manbags are common to the guys as they are to the girls. There's a cool Tokyo report on the Manbag trend in PINGMAG.

In America where homophobia is still prevalent, they still look down on the somewhat radical idea of men carrying bags. This has never been more realisitcally captured than in the Friends episode where Joey fell in love with a bag that he brought - his MURSE (coined term for a Man Purse). Not only did they mock Joey with his man bag but they also concluded that America is just not ready for men walking down the streets with purse or shoulder bags. Good to have my neck on the other side of the woods then.

Bottom line is, fashion is evolving. If your comfortable with it, no matter how negative or violent the reactions can be, you should wear your own clothes and should never wear it for someone else. In the end it takes a real man to dictate his own fashion... now bring them male stockings!!!

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Here's my TOP 5 MAN BAGS to check out (DAMN, Pao's having bag fettish):
Images from www.carryingcontraption.com

1. GIORGO BRATO TASSLE BAG

2. FALOR TOTE BAG

3. ASOS STRIPE WEEKEND BAG

4. ETRO NEON CARYALL

5. PRADA QUILT MESSENGER BAG

DIRTY HARRY AND HIS OH-SO-WICKED WAND

2007-07-22T22:49:00.000-07:00

DETAILS has always been my favorite lifestyle magazine in the whole wide world for their interesting articles and their unabashedly unapologetic "in-your-face" feature stories. Uncompromising and intelligent writing makes this my monthly staple read.

They just don't run out of cool things to feature, and the fashion articles are really well researched and their definitely a good bible for people like me who can't tell the difference between Paul Smith and Paul and Sharks'. They have always been a great alternative magazine to read. I remember them running a great story on the soon to-be Democratic's poster boy Harold Ford Jr. when all the other magazines were going gagah with possibilities of Senator Hillary Clinton.

When every magazine joined the bandwagon on the mainstream media's focus on Iraq and the middle east conflict, out they came with a great article about the struggles and the colonization issues in Congo. Or when everyone was busy talking about the possibilities of economic recession in America, out they came with a full article on the social and proffesional complexities of taking a shit at one's workplace.

An alternative, that I have been vouching this magazine for ... so I was a little surprised seeing Daniel Radcliffe on the cover of their July Issue. Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of the franchise and I would definitely read an article about him anytime but I just didn't expect Daniel appearing in Details anytime soon.

But dig this, the article's actually funny and interesting as it turned out, and it kinda does put Daniel on a whole different light, somewhere I don't think the Harry Potter fans would be comfortable talking about. So again DETAILS gives you something different... an alternative point of view for the fans of this now turned manboy.

HERE'S AN EXCERPT FROM THE ARTICLE ON DANIEL RADCLIFFE'S IN DETAILS MAGAZINE (JULY EDITION) :

It’s not often you have the privilege of watching a teenager lose his virginity twice in one week, but sometimes magic happens. Even Daniel Radcliffe can’t stay a boy forever, and to announce his wish to be known as more than Harry Potter, he recently decided to share his wand with two older blondes. The first performance was witnessed nightly this spring on a London stage, where Radcliffe played Alan Strang, the disturbed teenager in the acclaimed revival of Peter Shaffer’s play Equus. The second can be enjoyed this September in the film December Boys, in which Radcliffe stars as a lovesick Australian orphan with a strict Catholic haircut.

Then there is that relentless compulsion to show off his body. One startled British tabloid saw his nude scene in Equus and headlined an article hairy botter. “First, it’s a crap pun because botter isn’t even a word,” Radcliffe says. “But equally it’s that thing of being shocked that I should have hair—you know, anywhere else other than on my head. It’s not so much that they don’t want me to grow up. It’s that they’re annoyed that I’m growing up adjusted. They’d much rather I was growing up and going wild and crashing cars.”
We’ve been chatting away for half an hour—Radcliffe swigging his drink and jiggling his legs, me trying to decipher the lettering on his T-shirt—when it suddenly seems timely to ask about the problem of getting a hard-on (maybe this was prompted by the design on his shirt, a plastic-toy-soldier illustration of the Battle of Little Big Horn). In Equus he made out with the stable girl, played by Joanna Christie, a looker seven years his senior. You’ve got to ask . . .

“It’s the least arousing process,” Radcliffe says. “Jo’s beautiful, but after you’ve gone through it a hundred times with an audience there . . . To be honest, when you get naked in front of 900 people, quite the opposite happens. Not to become too graphic, but yeah.”
For readers who failed to catch the show, I bring significant news: Our hero’s member is “average”; that is, no one gasped with envy when he unzipped, but no one asked for a refund, either.

And does he like performing nude before an audience close enough to smell him? “I’d be lying if I said I was completely fine,” he says. “I was nervous and I was a little bit worried. But not meaning to drop a name, I talked to Gary Oldman about it, because we get on very well and I know he’s been naked onstage. And so I said to him, ‘What’s it like?’ and he said, ‘On the first night you’ll be terrified and on the second night you’ll be terrified and after that you won’t care.’ And that’s absolutely true. When you’ve done it twice, it doesn’t matter anymore.”

He looks back to his first effort, at the age of 10, and says he didn’t really know what he was doing.

“Quite sweet, a little boy,” he remembers, referring to those far-off days when no one asked him about sex scenes and when his manhood was as imaginary as wizards and goblets of fire.

BACK FROM OUTER SPACE

2007-07-21T01:23:00.000-07:00

I've been procastinating to write this entry for the longest time.

I was suppose to blog my last trip but it was really difficult with the moving and all. I remember that I was religiously detailing every move last year in blogspot but I wasn't able to do it this time around. The trip (Hehe, that was two months ago) was again very productive and It's amazing that the people that I was traveling with finally experienced the feeling of "nirvana" that I was bragging about. It's a very grounding experience, it leaves you with a feeling of being insignificant compared to the vastness of what's happening around you, the different cultures that you get to experience, but it also gives you the feeling of accomplishment and the feeling of being able to champion yourself with every extreme situations that you get to face.

It's really spiritual. You get to know more about yourself and your country while getting lost in transition. New accomplishments for me on this year's journey - I really got to enjoy the company that I was with, last year I was traveling alone and it was a way for me to break away from my comfort zone. I learned that I can survive with what's essential. I enjoy more the spartan way of living... and how the most mundane of event can be the grandest experience ever - such as watching the beautiful sunrise on the beach, I mean sunrise is an everyday experience, but it is only now did I really appreciate how a great event it is for me personally. How I'm blessed by God, that he allowed me to live another day. The trip allowed me to enjoy life's simple pleasures that I always take for granted before.

What else? Hmmm. It was my first time to ride an elephant. It was just so scary because the one that we rode was pregnant and was irritable. We joined this trek in Chiang Mai and there were like 10 of us, 5 Pinoys and 5 Europeans. One of the higlights was the elephant ride. Damn, I never thought that Elephants loved banans so much. We had to buy dozens and had to feed the elephants during the entire ride.

I was able to meet a number of friends that I haven't seen for the longest time. Camille, a good friend that I worked with in Juice TV treated us to a cool nightout in Singapore. We ended up in this cool bar where we saw South African (hmmm... male strippers) dancers. It was a ladies night so there wasn't anything much to do. It turned out a swell evening nevertheless.

I met up with Anne, my super close friend who had to leave Manila and work in Saigon producing commercials. Anne was already a big producer here in Manila, producing the biggest local commercials, but she left everything here to start a career there. I think she was sobrang burnt out here na in Manila. She's enjoying her stay there and she brought us to this cool Market to sample the very best of Vietnamese cuisine. The market was their version of Quiapo or Avenida I think. It was food trip and we, Robert, Jethro and I enjoyed it really well, the other guy that we were traveling with Carlo had to attend to his church service so he missed what we thought was the highlight of our Vietnam trip (I really had to give it to him, he's traveling but he tries not to miss his religious obligations).

My fave country was China. It was a pity because we were only given a two weeks visa in China so we had to cut our trip short. But still, it was an amazing experience. My second time in Beijing and Shanghai but there's always an amazing discovery whenever I'm there. We got to meet my friend Edward who also left his design job in Manila to try it out there. He's doing very well in Shanghai, and I heard that a number of Pinoy designers are actually a big thing in China now. We saw Kenneth Cobonpue's store, and a number of Bench Body outlets on the big malls there. It's good to see that Pinoys are making a mark in such a big market. Pity that we arrived on a weekday in Shanghai so there wasn't much nighlife to checkout.

I'm enjoying photography so much. I took a lot of pictures of the trip and Photography's really my new found passion. You can check some of them at my flickr page - www.flickr.com/photos/bohemian_child

We're producing something that hopefully materializes by the next quarter. We shot a number of footages during the trip and hopefully we'll be able to edit it as a travel show with a twist. It was actually Robert's project and I'll be helping in my own little way.

Well, that's about it with my last journey. It was such an enriching experience and given the time and the budget, I'll definitely do it again. It's a misconception though that traveling should be expensive. Hey, we were able to do it in less than what one will spend for a week's vacation in Boracay or Palawan.

It's not a trip for everyone though. It's difficult and it's a process that one should experience with an open mind ... but the rewards and the learnings are just indescribable.

BOHEMIAN EARCANDY - A.K.A THE SOUNDTRACK OF MY UP-AND-COMING JOURNEY

2007-03-03T11:56:00.000-08:00

One good thing about the digital age and mp3’s is that you get to have fun preparing your playlist to help you during long traveling hours. And thanks to the great minds of Steve Jobs et al Ipod has been the great reprieve of all the commuters who just can’t leave home without their entire Album collections.

I mean who would have though 15 years ago that one can bring 1000 of their favorite songs to everywhere they go minus the heavy baggage. It’s pure genius if I may say so. And just like the saying “you are what you eat”, I’d even extend that to “you are what you listen”.

I remember one time, DJ MoTwister was tinkering with my Ipod during a shoot and was surprised with the tracks in my collection. “What? No Beyonce’s?” “You must be an artistic dude.” He gamely concluded. It’s this labeling that I didn’t really liked, I just felt that the rationalizing was a bit off. But I took the comments with a grain of salt, didn’t bother to explain myself.

No Beyonce’s because I just didn’t have time to upload her songs really. But if I had the time, a track or two would end up there I’m pretty sure. Not a lot of pop songs in my Ipod simply because I get to hear a lot of them in the radio anyway so no use for me to rip them off and clutter my playlist, there my reason.

I’m really quite eclectic when it comes to my list – from let’s say artists Opera Diva Maria Calas to Marylyn Manson, or from Gene Kelly’s Singing in the Rain to Aegis Basang-basa Sa Ulan. I like the tracks simply because their great to listen to and not because of the genre that they belong to.

I love listening from Jobim’s Bossa Nova to Hotdog’s Bossa Manila, I dig British Alternative Rock and French Hip Hop. I love world music a lot because I get to sample and experience their culture by doing so. It’s almost like traveling aurally.

The coming backpack journey is definitely a great excuse to spend time preparing the songs that I’ll be listening to. The film buff in me is so excited to come up with the tracks for my bohemian diary. I mean a lot of great Road Movies owe a lot of their success to their classic soundtracks – From “The Ballad of Lucy Jordan” in THELMA AND LOUISE, to “I Will Survive” in PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT, to the cult movie classic EASY DRIVER theme song and 60’s battlecry “Born to be Wild”, these tracks have cemented their claim as the best soundtracks of our lives.

I’m a sucker for Road Movies so it’ll be orgasmic to prepare a soundtrack for this journey. I’ll name it – BOHEMIAN EARCANDY. And it’ll include in no particular order:

PAO'S BOHEMIAN EARCANDY

1) “Here comes the sun, here comes the sun, and I say it's all right…”
HERE COME’S THE SUN by NINA SIMONE from the album HERE COME’S THE SUN

Great when on the beach and while basking under the glorious heat. Summer lovin here we go...

2) CARNAVAL DO SAO VICENTE by CESARIA EVORA from the album HOTEL COSTE: LA SUITE
I mean really, who would have thought that latin diva Cesaria Evora, who was a hit during the 50’s would be goddess to clubbers from Ibiza to Sao Paolo. Thanks to Superstar DJ Stephanie Pompougnac, the diva legend lives on.

3) SUMMER BREEZE by SEALS AND CROFTS from the Album SUMMER BREEZE

I don’t care if they tag it as a stoner song, I really think that it’s one of the best songs that represents the carefree era that has long been gone. This 1972 track has been covered gazillion times by countless artists
but the haunting rendition of Seals and Croft is definitely still the one to beat … every body now “Summer Breeze, makes me feel fine… blowing through the jasmine in my mind…”

4) “And I'm high enough from all the waiting to ride a wave on your inhaling…”
BREATHE IN by Imogene Heap of Frou Frou from the Album DETAILS

Aside from Moony, Imogene Heap is up there as one of my favorite female musicians. This enigmatic vocal lead of the group Frou-frou became mainstream idol thanks to TV’s Grey’s Anatomy. I’d even include “HIDE AND SEEK” here on the list but I’m limiting one song per artist.

5) “Last night I had a dream about you… In this dream I'm dancing right beside you”
DIGITAL LOVE by DAFT PUNK from the album DISCOVERY

I’m so in love with this song, I’m so in love with the artist, I’m so in love with the music video… heck I’m so in love with the commercial of Sony even, all just because they’re using this as a soundtrack. It’s playful, bubblegum, and it just basically brings the kid in you.

6) SPIRIT by CHICANE featuring JEWEL from the album EASY TO ASSEMBLE

This is one of the few tracks that makes me teary-eyed every time I hear it. There’s just so much history between me and this song that it will always be a staple song for me everywhere I go. It’s up there in my very own compilation if ever I do get to assemble a soundtrack for my life. It’s sad and hopeful at the same time. And Jewel is just amazing, I was so looking forward to this album. It’s probably one of the most highly anticipated electronic album that didn’t get to be released. I remember that there were samples from Warner floating before on some stores but for some reason they pulled it out and decided not to release it anymore. Strange.

7) CUCURUCUCU PALOMA by Adolfo Agustin from the album HAPPY TOGETHER SOUNDTRACK.

This is an example of a great track that helped a movie a great deal. I’m a fan of director Wong Kar Wai, and probably, a lot of his fans will agree that one of the most haunting images in his long line of films is when he beautifully captured the magnificent Iguazu Falls of Argentina while Adolfo Agustin’s CUCURUCUCU PALOMA plays on the background. That alone, and if I had the budget, I’ll get a ticket to Buenos Aires and fly there tomorrow just to marvel at the great river.

8) “Ecstasy's the birthright of our gang.. free your heart of guilt and shame
come and claim what's yours - the whole shebang”
THE WHOLE SHEBANG by GRANT LEE BUFFALO from the album VELVET GOLDMINE SOUNDTRACK

Another great song from a movie soundtrack, this is glam rock homage at its best. I always listen to this just before the start of a long day. It’s one of those great mantras that tells you to seize the day and claim the great opportunity that’s presented to you. If yah work for it… then have fun with the taking.

9) “Can you hear me calling? And I … I wanna be with you everywhere”
EVERYWHERE by LNM PROJEKT featuring Bonnie Bailey from the album HED KANDI: WINTER 2004

This is a bit old and I’m pretty sure has been in everyone’s list two years ago, but it’s one of those that’s quintessentially a “journey” song. It’s like a Christmas song that gets to be played every time the season sets in, this time for summer. And I mean, Bonnie Bailey, who would have thought, the great artist really breaks down barriers. I can see the Chi-chi Makati crowd dancing to her other track “Firefly”, then you open your boobtube you see the Sexbomb dancers strutting to “Ever After”. “Everywhere’s” right down the middle I would say so.

10) “Revolutions in my head…”
SOUTHSIDE by KALA from the Album MANILA HIGH

I love the Special K mix of this track. I remember asking JP, their bassist about the title of the remix, and I remember he just gave me a naughty grin. Kidding aside, this has gotta be one of the coolest local Chillax. The original mix is great too. Dirty Southerns unite – this is the national anthem for people living in Paranaque, Alabang, Las Pinas, Santa Rosa… it’s great to listen to if your heading down south and it’s rush hour.

There you go… 10 sweet ear-candies that I’m happy to share with you.

THE VIOLET DUCK INSIDE MY PANTS

2007-03-01T02:28:00.000-08:00

Packing is a serious thing. I’m so used to cramming things when I’m traveling that I usually put packing in my least priority, only to find out that I’ve forgotten something important when I’m already at a certain place. This year I’m actually taking packing seriously. So serious that I think it’s a bit O.A. already. I’ve started packing three months ago.

No joke. I started buying stuff, just before Christmas. The hair wax that I’m bringing for example, not that I’ve used for it now, I just bought it in a whim thinking that my hair would grow to an unmanageable length when I’m traveling. It's difficult to get a haircut if you cant understand the language of your stylist, in Bangkok for example I ended up with dreadlocks.

I bought two flip-flops, just in case I loose the other - during my last travel, while on a boat trip to another island, one of my flips fell off in the sea. Stupid me I had to walk the sandy beaches of Nha Thrang with my sneakers. I bought a cool tiny flashlight which I think will be very useful. I was in this small village in northern Laos last time and they usually turn the electricity off at 12midnight. I was in a bar that night and I had to take a pee, tipsy, I had to find my way in the dark, ended up in the ladies loo, was so embarrassed. Moral of the story, don’t drink in dodgy bars with no generator.

I bought a couple of drab t-shirts, don’t really have enough money to spend this time for my travel so I had to contend myself with sizes bigger. Those shirts that are usually the last to go off-the-rack. Good thing that they're buy-one-take-one. I had to cut them with scissors just below the waist and the neckline to funky them up a bit... I saw this DIY tips in V-Man mag so I knew that I’m on the right side of fashion. Accidentally cut my finger though, so there were blodstains all over. All this trouble to salvage the drab shirts. But then again, style before comfort I keep telling myself, as if it really matters to where I’m going.

My friend Nathan told me to bring a toy or a small doll that will serve as my alter-ego, a mascot or some sort. Strange that I’ve read this on a travel journal, and apparently a lot of backpackers usually do this more like as a good luck charm or something. He told me to bring a teddy, but I find it too queer really. And I mean it’s too predictable. He suggested to bring the voodoo looking dolls that I got the last time but I felt that it’s too creepy. The last thing I'd want to do is to scare off my fellow travelers.

So for the last week I was actually on a search of a toy that I’ll bring around. I want something light and something interesting. It’ll be fun to shoot this toy during the entire leg of the travel think of it as a jetsetting toy ala the garden gnome in the movie Amelie.

I was picking-up the toys of my niece one day when I saw this weird looking rubber ducky. That gave me the idea, a rubber ducky that travels, how uncanny I told myself. It's so iconic. No kid's growing up years will be complete without the rubber ducky. Thanks to Ernie and Bert, heck rubber duckies have been great alternatives for childless homosexual couples. My niece’s rubber duck is a bit big and I want something small that I can keep in my pocket… so I went to the mall to look for a toy duck.

And by stroke of luck I found this cool violet rubber ducky. It’s so unbelievably campy. Just the right size to keep inside my pocket. I've never had a duck when I was growing up and I believe that it was responsible for the lack of my cognitive growth. I’m gonna have great fun with my new mascot I told myself… it’ll be a great conversation piece with the travellers that we'll meet… a small violet duck inside my pants… grins*.

So… three months of packing brought me a hair wax, two flip-flops, a couple of drab-turned-fab shirts, a flash light, and a violet duck… boy am I so prepared.

I guess cramming is really the way for me to go… oh well.

ONE NIGHT STAND WITH UNCLE OSCAR

2007-02-23T15:35:00.000-08:00

A day before the Oscar's, and I'm busy downloading some Oscar-worthy movies. We'll be watching them tonight at a friend's place to add up our two cent's worth to the million dollar industry. I used to plan Oscar parties for fellow film buff friends and film school mates when I was still living in London. We even used to put Oscar pot money out for grabs for the individual who predicts the most number of winners. We used to prepare finger foods and cheap wine from Tesco just to get that chi-chi feeling. It was always a blast because the party usually ends up in the morning because the Oscar’s were telecast in an ungodly hour because of the time difference.

We took the voting and the bet seriously. It was, for us, a sport. We’re film geeks and this was our version of Olympics. And just how geeks were we, we really take time to analyze the picture’s scientific probability to win the coveted award. We all knew that the Oscar’s doesn’t really represent the best films of the year – it was really all about who comes up with the most successful film campaign, who has the most clout. It was really all about the politics of celluloid and we love it to the very last minute or until the envelope reveals the best film with the best handler.

If you really take time and study every bit of detail, take time and research the politics behind it, or analyze the precursor awards that comes before the big night, chances are, you’ll be able to predict who’ll end up with the golden statuette. I thrive on this yearly chance to outsmart and outwit all my other fellow film friends. I end up loosing though, because even though the science behind it dictates who the winner will be, the idealist in me always votes for the most deserving nominee among the lot. Back in my mind, I'm always hoping for an upset. I was for example hoping for a Cate Blanchette victory over Gwynethe Paltrow even though the odds of her winning was slimmer than queen Elizabeth’s waist.

But it was the Oscars after all, more than an awards show, it’s Hollywood’s excuse to come up with a glitzy party. We the geek film buffs follow and enjoy every bit of it… Fast-forward to 2007 - that was like nine years… almost a decade ago. When I came back home to Manila, I learned, much to my dismay, that Oscar’s not really a big thing here. There are no Oscar Nominated Film Marathons on theatre’s, heck we’re actually lucky if majority of the nominated movies were locally released… there are no Oscar pot money’s and I’m missing the second rate Oscar parties with friends...

I actually find this odd because last year I was actually in Thailand during the Oscar season and I was surprised that there’s a big Oscar buzz there. The big movie houses in Bangkok are actually showing all the Oscar best picture nominees a week before the awards night to get the much needed buzz. I would think that Manila will be more busy with all things Oscar’s. But low and behold, you open your TV and you see the buzz on the latest Koreanovelas and what have yous…

I’m actually on an Oscar movie rush, and the absence of the movies here locally is actually what gets the film buffs on the other side of the fence… you can’t blame them if they end up downloading torrents to get the fix that they’re craving for, illegal ways to satisfy the addiction so to speak.

A day before the big night and I’m all ready for my pick. I finished downloading the movies that matter and I’m ready for an Oscar night with friends – I might not be the gracious host this time but the great thing is that there are still fellow geeks just like me who go gaga with the magic of dear old uncle Oscar.

For sure, my bets will not get the elusive Oscar but what’s important is I’ll get the chance to root for them, and enjoy the magic that they bring. Do yourself a favor, download these movies, and have great fun watching!!!

PAO’s OSCAR FEARLESS FORECAST:

BEST PICTURE:
WHO WILL WIN: Little Miss Sunshine
WHO SHOULD WIN: Letters from Iwo Jima

BEST ACTOR:
WHO WILL WIN: Forrest Whitaker for LAST KING OF SCOTLAND
WHO SHOULD WIN: Ryan Gosling for HALF NELSON

BEST ACTRESS:
WHO WILL WIN: Helen Mirren for THE QUEEN
WHO SHOULD WIN: Penelope Cruz for VOLVER

BEST DIRECTOR:
WHO WILL WIN: Martin Scorsese for THE DEPARTED
WHO SHOULD WIN: Clint Eastwood for LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
WHO WILL WIN: Jeniffer Hudson for DREAMGIRLS
WHO SHOULD WIN: Adriana Barraza for BABEL

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:
WHO WILL WIN: Eddie Murphy for DREAMGIRLS
WHO SHOULD WIN: Mark Wahlberg for THE DEPARTED

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
WHO WILL WIN: The Departed
WHO SHOULD WIN: Children of Heaven

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
WHO WIL WIN: Little Miss Sunshine
WHO SHOULD WIN: Pan’s Labyrinth

PAN’S LABYRINTH for me is the most surreal, the best movie experience, the most engaging picture that I’ve seen this year. It's one of those movies that keeps you thinking long after you've finished the movie. It's one of the most disturbing movies that I've seen in years. This is great cinema. The production design, the cinematography, the wonderful story, the great acting and the enigmatic direction of Mexican auteur Guillermo Del Toro are all top notch. I truly admire the daring and the audacity by which it painted magically but painfully the horrors of fascism - the images will haunt you for the rest of your lives. It's one of those cinematic experience you should and could not miss. Go watch it!!!

BOHEMIAN DIARIES

2007-02-12T19:15:00.000-08:00

"How is it possible to feel nostalgia for a world I never knew?
What do we leave behind when we cross each frontier? Each moment seems split in two; melancholy for what was left behind and the excitement of entering a new land. "
- Che Guevara

I was watching Motorcycle Diaries with my friend Carlo the other day, this great movie by Mexican director Walter Sales. The movie chronicles the travels and adventures of South American key figure Che Guevara before joing the Cuban revolutionary group. We were kinda prepping up ourselves because we will be embarking on our own journey in the next few weeks. Nope, I'm not joining the red army in the near future but just like Che I'll be living the nomadic and spartan life of a backpack traveler for the next three months. This dream of travelling turrned advocacy have occupied me for the last few months- hence the absence of entries in my blog.

The last three months saw me cramming all my work and assignments so that I don't leave any projects undone. I already asked permission from my regular clients if I can be excused for the next ten weeks. This will be different from my last year's sabaticcal because I'll be with friends this time. We're all in it for the journey and for the life realizations that it will impart to each and everyone of us.

10,000 kms on land, 10 weeks, 9 border crossings seems like a long journey - five souls lost in transition hoping that each will find what each is looking for in the end. My other friends are actually asking me why the long travel again - what am I looking for this time? I travel because I long to discover. I don't know what I'm looking for but all I know is that by the end of the journey I'll be able to fill the void or something. It's always a good learning curve for me.

I travel because I still can. I have the time, I have the strength. That's what's important. Time is running out I feel. I'm not getting any younger. And the adventure and the thrill of setting foot on another land is what keeps me going. Trekking on the highest of altitudes, walking the hottest of deserts, living the most spartan of life, interacting with people whose only similarity to you is that you both celebrate the very meaning of life... I don't think I'll be able to do this if I'm in my midage.

I don't see myself joining the busload full of tourists. I travel for the thrill of it.

I am in a rush and this can only be fixed by a bohemian trip where I am allowed to charter my own course and to follow my own road. It maybe the path less taken but I'm sure it'll all be worth it.

For the next few months, I'll be posting a series of entries about the great trip which I am about to embark... the diary of a true bohemian.

I'll be with other travellers this time and just like Che said - "This won't be a tale of heroic feats. It's about lives running parallel for a while, with common aspirations and similar dreams".

Join us in spirit.

CIDADE DE DEUS - CITY OF GOD

2006-12-25T00:39:00.000-08:00

It is true that God is within our reach...

You can check out more of my pictures... my tapestry of life at
www.flickr.com/photos/bohemian_child

Merry Xmas everyone!!!

WHAT MAKES A LANDMARK?

2006-10-29T08:56:00.000-08:00

We just finished shooting the Carillon docu-drama, and despite the few glitches in scheduling the talents, the day went pretty well as planned. This was quite special for me because I haven’t directed a narrative script in like four years. The last one that I did was for a friend’s graduation film for the film school in UK. That film was shot in its entirety in Ilocos, using 35mm.

I always considered myself as a diehard “film” purist, but judging with the results that I saw with the docu-drama, now I couldn’t give a damn if it’s shot in film or digital. My cinematographer did a great job, Mo made me a convert and I can’t wait to really explore the medium. I love the glide-cam, this new toy that Mo Zee invested to get that superb fluid handheld shots. I saw its full potential in Yon Fan’s COLOUR BLOSSOMS, I was inspired by the movie and it’s good to know that these camera movements are achievable even for low-budget indie-productions.

Carlo, my production manager, was able to get a good ensemble from the U.P. theatre group. Their range impressed me. We didn’t really have enough time to rehearse and it was great that they were able to deliver. Kudos of course to the lead – Ms Boot’s Anson Roa. It’s very surreal for me because I can still remember that the very first film that I saw in the bigscreen was a movie where she was also a part of - “P.S.I LOVE YOU”. I’ve directed a number of actresses before but she’s just really amazing. It’s just sad that she’s not given the meatier roles that she deserves.

It was already around 4:30 in the afternoon and we were racing with the available light that we had so I had to finish the sequence in an hour and a half. I was blessed with two great actors so we were able to close the sequence just before it got dark. Miss Boots was already in tears and when I asked her what the matter was she told me that the scene got into her and that it was great to reminisce the days when she was still a student in U.P. The Carillon was a very special landmark for her.

It’s always good to reminisce the days that have passed especially if there are landmarks to help you bring back those precious memories. I usually have this tingling feeling everytime I passby Cubao for example, because I grew up in Quezon City and we’d usually spend our weekends in Fiesta Carnival and or catch the latest movies in New Frontiere. both establishments are not there anymore but the buildings are still there… one can’t help but remember the formidable days that have shaped ones upbringing.

What makes a landmark? Does a place have to be historical? Does it have to be a place where heroes were killed, bloods were shed? Does it have to be a place of importance? I honesty think that the term is very subjective. If a place brings back special memories or if it evokes the familiar feelings that once have been part of ones history then it can be referred to as a personal landmark. Just like the kaimito tree in our ancestral house in Pampanga, where me and my cousins would usually spend our summer break, or the McDonald’s in Greenhills where my mom would bring us after school for merienda, or the C.O.D store where we’d usually watch the Christmas show, or the street in my parent’s place where we’d usually play patintero with the neighbor kids. It may all be trivial to others but these places are special to me because these represent special moments in my life. One may not share the feelings that I had with these places but that doesn’t mean that they are less special than the Monumento or the CCP for example.

These are my landmarks… these are the foundations that keep me grounded.

WINTER OF DISCONTENT

2006-10-18T02:51:00.000-07:00

“Alright fine you wanna be in a band fine. Go ahead. Play every night. Play three times a night! Don't just dick around the same coffee house for five years. Don't dick around with her; or with me. I mean try at something for once in your life, do something about it. But you know what? You better do it now and you better do it fast because the world doesn't owe you any favors”.
Leilanie Pierce – Reality Bites

My friend Joanna and her boyfriend Rob brought some popcorn last night to my request. I was craving for some caramel popcorn and since she was about to pass by to borrow some dvd’s I asked her if that can be the trade off. Was supposed to finish an edit but we ended up watching Reality Bites when she said that they can spare some movie watching time with me. I haven’t really seen REALITY BITES in ages... and it was like going back to memory lane for me when we were watching. The movie was really good because it was able to truly depict the era that has just passed. It’s almost like opening a time capsule and examining how we lived in that point of time.

It’s just so refreshing to see how we lived and looked, what we believed in those days… REALITY BITES was the seminal film of GENERATION X during the ninety’s. As far as I can remember there’s no other movie that can come close by the gravity it depicted our generation. There was this interesting article in DETAILS saying that our era has just passed – GEN X has reached it’s peak and in this point in time, there is no turning back… we have lived our youth, we had our fun and we should already be living our dreams right now. It’s scary to even think about it really…

The Babyboomers, the generation before us, are now the ones who are in command… and the Millenial’s, the generation after us is now the center of attention by the powerful world of consumerism. That leaves us in the very awkward age of being in the middle – the lost generation. Did we really loose our edge already?

To quote the article: “The BABY BOOMERS are having sex, staying young. Retiring in high style… gearing up for their second act. The aggressive Millennial’s speak with none of the doubt and skepticism that have marked and hampered GEN X. They love stuff. They love technology. They love name brands. Their happy to do with what advertising wants them to do… and by being so, they also command power. We, on the other hand are the generation that’s defined more than the lasts than firsts. Last to produce and hold albums in vynil, last to type in a typewriter, last generation to read newspapers, last generation to express resistance to corporate servitude, last generation to care in a way about the “culture” part in the phrase pop culture.”

So where did this lead us… we the all-knowing? We were the ones who didn’t want to be put inside the box. We didn’t want to be just a part of the status quo… we were all about individuality that in the end we ended up exactly what we wanted to be - a generation scattered. A generation forever hesitating before making the leap. Literacy leads to self-reflection and critical thinking - and self reflection and critical thinking open the door to both doubt and skepticism… and we really don’t need this when we want to get ahead.

Or then again, maybe we didn't really care much about getting ahead. That's what defined our generation. We seem to revel in the perversely liberating thrill of being marginalized. We just want to do things on our own. We dine success differently.

Our we obsolete then… I sure hope not. Personally I still have lots to offer this world. But I will still not lower my standards, will still not put my self in a box and will still fight for my individuality… and if I fail in doing so… at least I gave up a good fight in the end…

FAVE REALITY BITES QUOTES:

Lelaina Pierce: I'm not going to work at The Gap for chrissake!

------

Troy Dyer: The only thing you have to be by the age of 23 is yourself.
Lelaina: Yeah, well, I'm not sure who that is anymore.

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Lelaina Pierce: I'd like to somehow make a difference in peoples' lives.
Troy Dyer: And I... I would like to buy them all a Coke.
Lelaina Pierce: And you wonder why we never got involved?

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Troy Dyer: And I know that scare the living shit outta you 'cause you know I'm the only real thing you got.
Lelaina: Yeah well that ain't real much.

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Troy Dryer: I'm gonna get a job... I'll soon get my own place to live in.
Lelaina: Sure... that's the American dream of the 90's.

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Troy Dyer: I'm bursting with fruit flavor.

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Lelaina Pierce: Hey Sammy, what's your goal?
Sammy: My goal is... I'd like a career or something.

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Troy Dyer: I am not under any orders to make the world a better place.

------
Troy Dyer: There's no point to any of this. It's all just a... a random lottery of meaningless tragedy and a series of near escapes. So I take pleasure in the details. You know... a quarter-pounder with cheese, those are good, the sky about ten minutes before it starts to rain, the moment where your laughter become a cackle... and I, I sit back and I smoke my Camel Straights and I ride my own melt.

LIFE OF A MEDIA WHORE

2006-10-14T10:06:00.000-07:00

I was literally holding my breath for one week. I had to do an AVP for a jeans company, and the owner had to rush us because she had to present it to prospective business partners in like seven days. I thought that it was not plausible but my agency pushed me and told me about the monetary compensation. Didn't think twice and accepted the project.

It really is a tedious work... doing AVPs. Cramming all these informations in one or two sittings, clients expecting you to be an overnight expert on their field. I haven't really had a decent sleep for a week now. Not my favorite thing in the world but it's the most satisfying. At least it really pays you well. So does that make me a whore, a soldout? I don't care. And I'm actually very happy with the outcome. Given the time constraint I was still able to deliver a good one (yabang, but I'm really proud of it). My clients are happy, I'm happy with the extra dough that I'll be using for something that I will really enjoy.

My friend Ivan and I are brewing up something come first quarter next year. I've enjoyed backpacking so much I'm actually inviting a number of friends to join me in my next journey. This time it'll be different because I'd be touring with dear friends. I'm beginning to enjoy this life of a "gypsy"... I'm living the life of a bohemian and I'm really ok with it. Working 9 months straight and enjoying the first three months in another country. It's actually a good way to start the year.

I actually felt that I was more productive this year and more efficient because I was able to really get that much needed rest. Got the inspiration to get me going. I have at least two or three months to go before the traveller in me packs his bags again. I'm working double time to really get more things done. It's good that the rackets are coming... too bad that there's no time to even slow things down... grab a beer, get a good book, party the night a way... but that can wait. It's always good to strike the iron while its hot and that's what I'm actually doing.

It's good also that I'm learning the value of money now. Slowly saving for the real future... unlike before where I can just be so impulsive and spend them hard earned money with the useless stuff. Now I'm trying my best to save the spare dough for the rainy days. But ok... I'm no hypocrite. I kinda still treat myself from time to time and try to enjoy the fruits of the loom.

Here are some of my great finds...

SNOW PATROL CD
This has gotta be the coolest band for me right now. I don't know... I just really dig Scotish musicians. The first time I heard Damien Rice's song from the CLOSER Soundtrack I knew I had to get the name of the singer... which turned out was a part of a band called SNOW PATROL. I"m listening to my favorite track called "YOU COULD BE HAPPY" - my current state at the
moment.

LOGITECH HEADPHONE
I'm always having difficulty with my ipod headphones. Maybe I was just too clumsy that the headphones always find their way out of my ears. I was really looking for a new headphone with a headband of some sort when I saw this in Greenhills. It was such an eyecandy. The price wasn't that bad, and the sounds are just amazing. Had to get it in the end.

WONG KAR WAI COLLECTION
I just had to get the fix for my celluloid rush. And when I heard that there was the Won Kar Wai collection, I just knew that I had to get it by hook or by crook. Wong's like my film god if ever there's one. He's not just a director that I look up to but his movies in a way mirror the chapters that I'm actually going through in my life at one way or another. The Wong Kar Wai collection was like made for me.

I'm just like a kid bragging his new toys... hehe. Life of a media whore isn't that bad after all. :P

NEW FOUND PASSION...

2006-10-04T22:25:00.000-07:00

I'm having a great time with my new found hobby. Good to note that a lot of friends are encouraging me to go an extra mile and really take photography seriously. I'm just having problems reconciling the thought of being a photographer seriously... I always dabble in new things and sometimes I always just end up being a jack-of-all-trades and a master to none.

But I'm really excited with this new found passion. And for the last few months I found myself traveling again to different places to take some stills and just basically practice photography. Here are some of favorites...

Not Your Everyday Mascot - Angono

Voodoo Doll - Baguio

Blue Moon - Tarlac

Sunday Brunch - Olongapo

Lady in The Forest - Angono

Raise The Red Lantern - Binangonan

Gone for the Weekend - Subic

A friend was kind enough to support me with a photography series project which I'll be starting on the next few months. A new found passion that I'll be taking seriously... Am excited!!!

WORK AS PLAY

2006-09-20T07:47:00.000-07:00

I had a meeting with one of my clients for a corporate AVP the other day. This was one of the few times that I'm actually excited to meet up for a creative brief. Usually, even though I'm the director, I am always at the end of the creative line because it's usually the agency that has the last say and the creative control. Except for this one, I actually get to choose my scriptwriter and technically come up with a concept.

This group was also the same people who got me to do a mining documentary in Zamboanga last January. This is a fun agency because they really try to push ideas out of the box from their creative group to really come up with interesting AVP's. Take for example the mining AVP, instead of your regular run-of-the-mill-with-lots-of-talking-heads, they decided to concentrate on the mining process per se. The treatment was mala National Geographic's, and they gave me four days to shoot the whole lot which was actually a luxury for other productions.

It was great that I got to really immerse myself with the local mining community, got to get first hand experience on how it is to live in their environment and get to talk with the locals which incidentally were mostly members of a local mountain tribe. Our nights were spent up in the mountains, with the tribesmen indulging us with their local dance set around a bonfire. It was a great experience to behold and the set-up was just cinematic. We had a grand time filming them.

This time, we're going to capture a whole new environment. And I'm very excited. The environment does not exist anymore but we're going to try to recreate it to capture the grand era that was long forgotten. We're doing a docu-drama of the Carillon bells in UP. And since its heydays were during the early 60's, we’ve decided to dedicate a segment reliving the nostalgia of those days. What was it like to be a student during the early 60's, in U.P.? How did the bells (sadly not working any more) affect the lives of the students who daily got to hear its haunting sounds?

The docu-drama will be done to promote awareness for the National Artist Nakpil designed bell tower. And hopefully it will gain enough support for institutions to actually restore the bells, which is not just a landmark but also a sense of national pride to us all.

It's one of the few projects that I'm really excited to do because with these types, I'm not just a media whore but I'm actually doing something with a cause, things that really do matter. Hehe… I've just finished meeting my scriptwriter and we had a fun time brainstorming. I've even collated a number of pictures of Manila during the 60's from the net to come up with my visual treatment.

THE WAY THEY WERE...

This is no work. This is fun!

CLARK WAS A SURPRISE

2006-09-18T09:39:00.000-07:00

I spent my weekend in a mall… to be more specific, in Clark Pampangga. I've gotten myself into more things that I can handle again. I was the over-all head for a big event to celebrate the 200th store opening of a fast food chain. Not that I've no background in events, I've done a few but only for bars around Makati before. And usually just to promote a small group. So this was something that I did't really had the slightest idea how difficult an event I was getting into.

We arrived early Saturday morning to survey once again our location. We booked in the afternoon in Fontana and went back to the mall to prepare the Sunday's event. After 3 hours of sleep. I had to push myself out of the bed to try starting the day right. First of my tasks was to facilitate a motorcade that will go around the municipalities of Angeles and Mabalacat. Armed with the local hagads and around 10 cars, I had to see to it that the approved route was followed. That was easy, but the challenge came in the afternoon which was in a form of a Mini-fair. I had to coordinate and closely monitor 6 booths. I had to get an overview of the traffic of the mall, plus handle the main event, which was a chorale competition from 6 participating schools. On top of that I had to head more than 200 people involved in this event.Wheew!!!

A friend, who was into events, said before that I'll be getting myself into trouble if I insist myself into taking it. He said that I'm being short-changed. He said that I'm actually doing the work of three people. But I did it anyway and the event was ( I don't want to make yabang but) actually a success. The turn out was apparently one of the biggest in Clark. I was pretty proud about it. There were glitches but the sheer volume of the people who participated more that made up for our shortcomings. I again proved to myself that when you really put your heart into it, no job is small or big enough to stop you in pursuing your goals.

Having said that – I don't think I'll involve myself again with these type of projects… certainly not my cup of tea. My boss was very happy with the turn out. She said that the client is already planning for a follow up. I just smiled at her.

WEAVING MEMORIES

2006-09-12T13:48:00.000-07:00

Had a great time in Baguio last weekend. It was, for a number of years my Vacation Place of Choice. As far as I can remember, we always go to Baguio ever since we were young come Sembreak, Christmas and Summer. I have lots of fond memories there. I have pictures from the grand Hyatt building when it was still up, the immaculate Mine's view park when urban decay wasn't still ostensible, the chilly morning air from the pseudo-busy streets of Session, and oh... the fried ice cream. I miss them a lot. Those are the memories of childhood that give me the goosebumps whenever they come back to mind. A good old sense of nostalgia to better spell it actually.

My mom asked me if I can attend an office seminar for her company. And since I'm also partly-part of her company, I just really had to give in to her request. Plus it was also her birthday weekend, and it'll be a great way to spend it with the family together with Aeon, the first apo, the present muse of the clan.

The seminar was actually a good experience for me. The modules where all about proper management of business and taking use of a team's full potential. It wasn't your regular seminar, there were lots of activities actually. The three days were subdivided into a number of physical. mental and emotional tasks and modules. There was even an Amazing Race Type, in our last day, we got to be a chambermaid in the Manor, dance with the igorots, do boat rowing in Burnham, rapel on a 150 foot drop, get to slide down the flying trapeeze, check out a cemetary at a fullmoon. A lot actually. I wasn't actually quite sure what I was getting into and how will these help my marketing skills but during the process of analyzing the activities, it actually hit us how these extreme activities parallel our busy ives at work. It was also great that I got to spend time and bond with other people out of my circle. It was great to be grounded and meet other types.

I had another day free to spend with the family. Got to really enjoy John Hay again this time. The last time I was here was roughly a year ago with another friend. Baguio's a total different world for me. For the last few years I always usually go to Bora for fun with friends. Baguio is a place where I feel more at home though, maybe because I grew up going here with family. My idea of a Baguio Morning is the brunch in the Comissary, or Sunday mass at the cool pink parish, or strolling at the palengke to buy fresh produce to be cooked by mom come lunch time.

There's this sense of tradition, sense of family. I know that I can always go back here 5 years, ten years, or even twenty years from now and even though the look of the place may change, the sense of belonging will still be there.

My niece Aeon

A trip to Baguio will not be complete without riding the love boat...

My Sister gamely poses for the camera.

Baguio Trinkets for the shabby chic.

A side trip to Luisita for late lunch.

I had the grandest weekend. And I'm pretty sure there will be others to enjoy...

(Photos were taken using the Canon 350D. A great new toy... hehe. Check out my other photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/bohemian_child/)

BUSY AGAIN

2006-08-15T18:09:00.000-07:00

I haven't been writing in this journal for the longest time. Been involved in too many things that I must admit I'm beginning to have difficulties in handling. Difficulties in handling my schedules, but I actually enjoy the new stuff that I'm involved in right now.

I just recently accepted the Executive Producing job for a new show in Studio 23. The kid show called "TAG TEAM" will premiere in three weeks time and we're busy producing all the segments for the pilot episode. This is something new for me. First time in my 6 years of working on television that I'll have kids as host. Last weekend we shot the continuity speils (Intro/Extro of the show) and it was really difficult to get it right. But I did admire the stamina of the kids, the call time was at 8am, by 4 in the afternoon I was already on lowbat mode but the kids were still on a roll. I half-joked that these kids should take Ritalin because their energy was just abnormal.

I'm also now the headwriter for two more lifestyle shows. CHINOY TV is the first and the only trilingual magazine show in the country. It's your magazine show on TV which features the lifestyle of the influential Chinese-Filipino community. It's a great concept, very aspirational, talks about the movers and shakers in the economy.

The other new show BX- BADMINTON EXTREME, as the title would suggest is all about Badminton. It's actually turning 1 year already. I was part of the group that conceptualized the show but I had to leave because I was busy doing other stuff then. So when the opportunity knocked once again, I didn't think twice and took the position. I'm really interested in the sport of badminton. At least this will not be work for me cause it's something that I'm really interested in.

I'm of course still part of DTOUR, and we're all excited because the show is turning 6 this October. Time surely flies fast. I can still remember the day the executive producer interviewed me when I was applying for the producing job. I can't believe that it has been six years already.

And as if four shows is not yet enough, I'm also back in doing movies again. I'm helping some friends finish a digital movie for Regal. It was a killer schedule. We went to Boracay for a 7day shoot. Our call time was like at 9am everyday and we usually finish at around 4-5 am. That leaves us 3 to four hours of sleep. I enjoyed it a lot though. It has been like 3 years since the last movie that I was involved in. And the hectic and testosterone filled environment in the set still gives me the goose bumps.

Berna joined us on our last day. She flew in to take a break. She's actually in Cebu right now and is part of an international movie production company. I think that it's really cool. It’s great opportunity for her.

I miss being busy. I must admit that the last five months of taking it slow was a really great thing. I was able to recharge myself and that creative juice is flowing once again.

I was really born for the fast lane. Who was I kidding... I can't live without that killer schedule, the sleepless nights, and the stress of working too much. I wasn't called superboy for nothing... hehe.

Welcome back Superboy...

COLOUR MY WORLD

2006-06-21T22:12:00.000-07:00

Our day three in Sim City. I'm still overwhelmed with the magnanimity of this event. Cool mobile phones, drool worthy mp3's, notebooks... this is Alice in Wonderland for the tech geeks. I didn't have time to check the gadgets because we were really busy covering for Motorola. But I'm not regretting anything. As it is, the Moto Communicasia camp already takes a wallop.

Colour is the new innovation for Motorola this Communicasia 2006. The Razor is still there, the Slivr is still the thinnest chocolate bar, and Pebl, still the zen inspired wonder, take the spotlight in this year's Singapore Expo. But what makes this interesting for tech savvy consumers are the colors that will soon be available in the market. Electric Baby Powder Blue, Bright Fuschia, Matte Melon Green and Pumpkin colored phones will take your breath away. They did to me.

I'm now sporting the new pumpkin colored Pebl phone thanks to the cool guys of Moto. It's actually my first Pebl, I was toying with the idea of getting one before but I kinda hesitated because I felt that it was a bit too girly. But I drooled the first time I saw the pumpkin colored one. It's so slick and so masculine chic... very Danny Boyle's Trainspotting orange if you want to get the feel.

I'm still a fan of Razor (heck, I still feel that the Razor is the best ever invented phone in history, and I will still use it as my everyday phone, but my new baby Pebl will give me that extra kick if I want to dress up and be that glorified fashionista wannabe).

Color my world seems to be the battle cry of Motorola. And when everyone is racing to deliver new (read: somehow redundant) techie innovations, Moto decides to paint the town orange. I welcome this move from HelloMoto... after all, style and form will always take the center stage.

Amen to that.

SINGAPORE NITE OUT

2006-06-20T01:36:00.000-07:00

Drooling I was, but I can't help it. It was after all the grand eyeball of gadgets. Every major player in the I.T. industry was here to strut their stuff to big time consumers, major vip's and the media in every corner of the world. I was actually humbled and priviledge to be invited. Our sponsor, the mobile giant Motorola, invited 3 other people from the three broadsheet newspapers, another from the glossy magazine and a coleague and I to cover for DTOUR.

We actually arrived a day early just so that we wouldn't miss the launch the morning after. It's such a great group, my very own motley crew that consists ofpeople from Motorola, the PR agency and the other print people - The challenge is to cover the event in different angles -someone from lifestyle, someone from business and someone from the I.T. page, were then invited. The make up of the group is such diverse that it was such an interesting bunch.

After depositing our stuff in the hotel (I checked in at a budget youth hostels tha last time I was in Singapore , so the 5star Mandarin Suite that was provided for each and everyone , was definitely a welcome break), we all prepped ourselves to review the itinerary . The first agenda was the dinner, and the Singaporean chili crab was just too hard to resist. Their version of the sweet and sour chili crab where in you'll dip your bread (pandesal-like) in to the sauce is definitely to die for. I can't wait to go back home and try to recreate this delight.

The night slowly became a food trip of some sort. The chili crab was complemented by the Singaporean Shark's fin soup. The satay with their peanut sauce was just immaculate, I've never tasted something so good, not even comparable to the satays from Banana Leaf Curry or Penang (the best satays I've tasted back home).

Just when I though that it couldn't get any better, out came the dessert. The Mango-Sago- Pomelo, the concoct totally blew me away. Sweet, sour and bitter and with the right kick, I think they've added some rum or something. I'm such a food freak, I can humbly say that I'm very much well versed in the food category especially after working for two cooking shows and a lifestyle magazine show where in we do reviews of the best restos in the metro every week. I eat everything but it's quite rare that I go out of my way to recommend a good food or something - these Singaporeans really know how to satisfy the most disserning tastebuds (yabang, hehe).

The idea that Singapore nightlife is bland is slowly becoming a thing of the past. After the great dinner, we checked out some of the chill-out spots that's still open on a Monday night.

We ended up in En Lounge. En-lounge is perhaps one of the cosiest clubs that I’ve been to, to be honest this is my first official visit to En-lounge, I remember I dropped by there last February but only to pick up a friend. Despite its mature crowd, En-lounge gives people a fresh but laidback appeal, a place where good music mixes with good atmosphere. It became very big right after the brit K-Klass performed there.

K-Klass is perhaps one of the most hardworking producing groups that have come out of the British house scene in the 90s. Having worked with artist such as Bobby Brown, M People, Kylie and New Order etc etc... I saw them in Camden when I was still in studying in London. As a matter of fact, they were one of the very first groups that introduced me to house music. Going back to En-Lounge, the vibe is great, the music superb, overall, a really good club to unwind... a great way to end the night.

Tomorrow, the grand eyeball of gadgets... can't wait for Communicasia.

FLYING (AGAIN) TO SINGAPORE

2006-06-19T08:25:00.000-07:00

Again am packing my bags because I am flying to Singapore in the next few hours to cover Communicasia for Studio 23. I haven’t been into one of these events but I’ve heard that it’s such a big thing in the I.T. world. Last year my fellow producers from DTOUR were sent to cover for Samsung. I really don’t know what to expect but being the techie geek that I am (I always believe that I’m a geek-at-heart), I’m already hyperventilating with excitement on the chance to check out the best that the I.T. world has to offer.

I can’t believe that it’s also the Great Singapore Sale, damn, just when I’m trying to save again and rebuilding my egg nest. I’m such an impulsive buyer and I don’t know how I’d be able to handle this. Well, I’m leaving my ATM card and I’m really just planning to bring some cash for emergency.

Singapore is slowly becoming my comfort place. It’ll be my fourth time this year to go there and my perception of it as an antiseptic city is slowly wearing off. I’m actually slowly liking the city every time I go there.

The food is such a major turn on. The curry, the laksa, the satay’s, the mythical Singaporean Hainanese chiken rice... mmmm....my mouth is already watery just by thinking of the hawker food stalls that I’ll be visiting… damn forget the diet thing. Life’s just to short to be restricted.

Food and Gadgets… aahh… damn just too hard to resist… I’m sure that this will be another great trip…

Love La DolceVita.

SATURDAY MUSIC GIMIK OR HOW I'M SLOWLY BECOMING A LOCAL BAND GROUPIE

2006-06-17T03:30:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday, I kinda jammed with the cool members of Kala in the house of their bassist, JP Tanchanco. I was asked to produce a feature on local musicians who use the internet to expand their audience. I haven't seen JP in a year, the last time I saw him was when he gave me a copy of a rough recording of his band's single Jeepney. Low and behold, a year later, not only is Kala the most promising band in the market today, their single Jeepney has been on the top chart for almost six or seven weeks now.

The single is really great, a mixture of bossa manila and the 70's bubble gum funk of the likes of Hotdogs and Rico J. Puno. But the single is no copy cat, it's actually a whole new genre on its own. The music is bubble gum but is edgy at the same time. I interviewed the band for two hours and they kinda played unplugged for the camera.

I wanted to see them in action, I haven't really seen them performed live so I didn't think twice when they told me that they'll be playing at Saguijo for the Kerplunk Anniversary. I blocked it off my schedule and I waited eagerly to see not just KALA but the other bands as well...

I really miss the indie music scene especially after I left for my journey. The last time I was banging my head at the mosh pit was almost a year ago for the Terno Augogo stint. I miss the energy and the community and how the bands would play on their top of their lungs for their appreciative audience. I mean this is not like Cueshe in ASAP, this is the real deal, bands playing raw and unapologetic.

So you can just imagine what a treat it was to see Urbandub, ChicoSci, Greyhoundz, Neruda, Angulo and Kala in one venue. I arrived with another indie band enthusiast friend Art to check it out. It was almost impossible to get in by around 10pm, there was a mammoth queue but that didn't deter us from going inside. The testosterone filled Saguijo was again a delight, the thick atmosphere of enthusiasm gave me the best hit ever minus the tabs or the charlie. It was such a natural high, a few bottles of redhorse after and I was already floating.

Kala then played and though the audience wasn't as much as enthusiastic compared to the other bands that played especially since their set was right after Urbandub, their music was a blast nonetheless. Maybe it was the crowd, but their music really stood out, and that's in a good way though I think. Their new version of Southside, remixed no less than by Brian Cua if I'm not mistaken, is the best chill out track I've listened to next to the Floating remix of Hed Kandi.

Kudos to their other singles like Pulis Pangkalawakan (definitely a homage to Shaider generation and not to people who's minds wander whenever they get the hit) and Piso-pisong Paraiso (Apparently no drug reference) and Manila High (Umm... again about natural high). Kala's so addictive minus the pharapernalias. I ended up with my pinoy indie music scene fix ad I'd definitely want to get some more.You can always visit their website at www.kala.co.nr, defintely worth the click.

THE FILM BUFF TURNED BIBLIOPHILE

2006-06-04T20:54:00.000-07:00

I did some DVD watching binge with a couple of friends the other day. I haven’t had the chance to do a film marathon in a long time so watching with Mark (a fellow film buff) and his partner David was a welcome break.

I brought BEE SEASON (borrowed from Charles, another film buff friend) and Mark just recently got THE DOUBLE LIFE OF VERONIQUE. I was so excited because I’ve been looking for a copy of DOUBLE LIFE OF VERONIQUE for the longest time now. I saw it exactly a decade ago, my professor before from film school showed it to the class for our lighting classes and I remember that I enjoyed the movie very much.

It tells the story between two girls who are both called Veronica. They are very similar in terms of their characters. They are of the same age and they are very identical, the other one is living in Paris and the other is living in Warsaw. One day though, the French Veronica goes on a trip to Warsaw and by chance her Polish counterpart sees her and the plot of the movie thickens.

Written and Directed by Krzysztof Keislowski, it was definitely one of his monumental works. It was acted by the then unknown Irene Jacob. The movie totally blew me away. It had a very good premise; people apparently, are very connected to each other more than they think it’s possible. I mean there are five billion people in the planet, what if by chance, not in a parallel universe mind you, someone is actually living the very same life that we’re living. It’s very interesting indeed.

The next movie was THE BEE SEASON. I was also excited to watch it because I enjoyed reading the book almost a month ago during my long travel. It was in fact one of my comfort books. It was faithfully adapted but for some reason, the film version didn’t work as well as the book. The film turned out very cold, too cerebral, and a bit scattered.

The movie tells about this dysfunctional family that gets entwined with spelling bee competitions and Jewish mysticisms. The esoteric novel was very clear with its subjects but in the movie version, even though all the elements were there, we really don’t get the point what the family is going through.

And so when during the highlight of the movie, when the family slowly breaks down, we really don’t get to empathize with them. We’re completely more baffled with the ethnicity that was presented to us…our unfamiliarity with the Kabbalah, the over romanticized treatment of the Hare Krishna, and anachronous take on Hinduism and Judaism. In the end we really don’t know why we’re presented with all these elements… we didn’t get the longing of faith and direction of our characters.

I still love the book though, and I’m actually re-reading it again just to get more insights about the characters. It’s ironical because I enjoy reading books but not as much as watching movies. Film is and will always be my first love. It’s my passion and definitely my medium of choice.

When I was traveling, I usually would call the day very early, especially when I was trekking up in the mountains or when I was in the small towns of Laos and Cambodia were HBO was non-existent. There’s really nothing much to do when the clock hits six in the evening. No cable television, so we usually just ended up getting drunk and pissed.

Books became a good source of entertainment; I’ve never read so many books in so short span of time - Myla Goldberg’s BEE SEASON, Mark Haddon’s THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT TIME, Lauren Weisberger’s THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, Augusten Burroughs’s RUNNING WITH SCISSORS, J.K. Rowling’s THE ORDER OF THE PHEONIX, and Dan Brown’s DA VINCI CODE.

I would usually read two to three books in the same day, one book in the morning, a different book in the afternoon and another in the evening. I would never finish them of course but I would usually do the same order of reading the following day. The books turned out to be my alternative to TV programming. And since they have different genre’s – memoirs, suspense, comedy, pop culture I always had a great alternive fix for my movie rush.

I was surprised then from learning that all of the titles that I’ve read are already in Film Production. I knew that DA VINCI and ORDER OF THE PHEONIX were being filmed already but it never crossed my mind that some of the titles would end up in the big screen. I’ve seen DA VINCI and though I enjoyed the movie, I enjoyed the book a lot better. I like it that in the book, I was solving the mystery with Prof. Robert Langdon, and that I was learning different things with him. In the movie though, I was really just a spectator. They had to put all the details in a 2 hour movie, and I didn’t have time to breathe and digest all the information that I was getting.

The same thing will happen with THE ORDER OF THE PHEONIX I think, being the longest book in the series with over 700 pages, I don’t know how Hollywood will be able to adapt the book for the movie. Five hours will not even do it I think, there’s so many cool things that have happen to our dear Harry Potter and it will be a let down if some of his adventures will be omitted in the movie version. They should maybe do it in two parts, but as we all know they are all racing to finish the entire series before the actors outgrow their characters. They’re kinda getting too old for their roles.

I can’t wait to see THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, I’m sure Meryll Streep and Anne Hathway will be able to pull it off. Judging from the publicity stills alone it’s definitely gonna be a hit... and boy, I wasn't really too happy when I learned that it was Streep who get's to do the part of the boss from hell but judging again from the pictures she's just so perfect.

Another favorite, and now one of my best picks, RUNNING WITH SCISSORS is a memoir of Augesten Burroughs while growing up in the suburbs with his alcoholic father, a delusional poet mother, the family shrink and the shrink’s bizarre extended family. With a tagline like BRADY BUNCH ON VIAGRA – you definitely can’t go wrong with this memoir/ novel.

Lovers of the John Waters will love this American family satire. It’s one of the most disgusting and the funniest books I’ve ever read. There’s this part where in the shrink asked his children for some stool sample believing that by studying the shape of the stool, he’ll be able to predict whether they’ll be having a lucky week ahead.

And the ensemble will definitely be a front runner come awards season – Gwyneth Paltrow, Brion Cox, Annette Benning and Joseph Fienes, and not to mention Augesten Burroughs will be played by the “indie-it-boy” of the moment Joseph Cross.

I can’t wait to see all these movies and I’m glad that I was able to read the books first. I definitely will be watching the movie as it is but then again you can’t help but compare which medium worked better. Having said that I’m pretty much open-minded.

Happy reading and happy watching!!!

SYMPTOMS FROM NARCISSISTIC SEVENTEEN YEAR OLDS

2006-05-31T02:45:00.000-07:00

I forgot who I was talking to about this thing called the age of Aquarius before, where in we are about to enter an era of universal brotherhood, where it will be possible to solve social problems in a manner equitable to all. It apparently will end the devisiveness of any fractions exisitng in religion, politcs, and even of the sexes.

It seems like it was a far shot but apparently bisexuality is part of it. People’s preference for companion will not just be limited to the opposite sex. We’re all going more for what’s inside someone’s brain than what’s inside someone’s legs. Interesting things to think about, true… but then again, I think it’s really all because nowadays we are more in tune with our emotions and we’re not afraid to manifest it no matter how other people may react.

I was having late lunch with my friend Mark after meeting him in Moro Lorenzo in Katipunan after I got some school requirements - (sidelight: I was toying with the idea of getting a non-degree course in Ateneo, I so want to go back to school, checked out the list but I’m late for this term already). We were sitting beside a group of three seventeen year old looking people, two guys and one girl. I was having difficulty trying to guess who’s dating who. The two guys were sitting beside each other and the girl was facing them.

It was easy to dismiss that the two guys were a couple because they have this whole vibe going on between them. It’s always good to see same-sex couples comfortable hanging out together. Obviously, they all came from the gym; they had these big bags with them. Low and behold – (I didn’t want to eavesdrop but couldn’t help it with their loud voices) the other boy was groping the right bicep of the other guy, complimenting him for his arm. It was like an opening scene from a porn… more touching and more complimenting followed and there was really this naughty vibe between the two boys and I couldn’t help it but to look at the reaction of the girl who was in front of them.

Then to my surprise after they had their food, the other guy and the other girl said their goodbye to the other guy and walked away with the guy’s arms around her. Apparently, Mark also saw the group inside the gym, and confirmed that the guy and the girl was a couple.

It’s really different nowadays- male bonding has reached new heights. It’s difficult to sense who’s playing on what team… Blame it on the Age of Aquarius?

I say blame it on Brokeback Mountain! Hehe…

AND THE WINNER IS...

2006-05-20T02:01:00.000-07:00

My Work Life isn't as toxic as before. A show just folded up, I declined another producing stint and I decided to focus in just one show. That was actually a relief. I have more time now and I actually love it. I like it that I can spend more time with family and friends.

It's a very different lifestyle for me. I sleep early, I wake up early. I don't have to rush from another work to another work. I don't have to work 28 hours straight which I did before every Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Now I have time to go to the market and buy stuff for myself. I get to cook fresh food as oppose to grabbing a bite in fastfoods and stuffing myself with the junkfood upsized. I get to stroll around the park and quietly finish the long list of books that friends have lent me.

I get to sleep in my parent's place every weekends. I get to wash my own clothes. I get to be domesticated for a change.

I think that it's a sign that time is telling me to slow down, that I'm getting old and that there are other things worthy to spend my precious time with.

It's time to realize old dreams, to re-ignite the fire in the belly...I'm finally trying to finish a screenplay that I started ages ago. And what a way to boost my morale... I just received an email from my friend Hana, and she was excited to tell me that some friends from LFS won the highest award in the recently concluded Cannes Film Festival.

Bobby Peers and Jakob Ingimundarson were actually two batches lower. They’ve been a big help to me especially for my graduation film where they became part of my film’s Cinematography department. I really admire these guys because even from before you can already see their determination and their love for their work.

I’m so happy to be reading news about them and their triumphs. Bobby directed the Norwegian film Sniffer and Jakob was the Director of Photography. And their dedication landed them the Palme D’Or.

(SNIFFER: Written and Directed by BOBBY PEERS)

The movie according to the Cannes Website is about a society where everyone has the ability to fly, the citizens anchor themselves to the ground via "gravitation boots". Devoid of sunlight and the open sky, the members of society go about their routine without any hope of personal gratification. One day, however, a man decides he has had enough attempt to challenge the status quo. He quits his job, loosens his bindings, and literally takes off.

I haven’t seen the movie but the synopsis alone is just amazing. Metaphorical and very subversive… It’s about challenging what is perceived to be the norms and taking the extra mile to take off. Life is what we make out of it. Decisions are for us to make. Success is there for us to achieve.

(Bobby receiving the highest award)

To Bobby and Jakob, I’m very proud of you guys. Thanks for realizing our dreams.

ANCIENT ANGKOR

2006-05-01T01:08:00.000-07:00

It was about five years since I first saw Wong Kar Wai's In The Mood For Love. It was also the start of my love affair with the great Angkor Wat. I've read a lot of books about it and I knew that one day I really have to check it out for myself.

I actually have planned my trip to culminate in Cambodia because I want it to be the highlight and the climax of this very long journey. And the Ancient Angkor didn't disappoint me. I slept early the day before to catch the sunrise, and what I witnessed was just magical.

A fellow traveller, Andreas, and I spent the whole day there doing nothing but trying to get lost in the beauty that the monuments have to offer.

No words can really describe it. It's just truly magical.

I really had a great day taking pictures. Check out more pictures in my flickr page at http://www.flickr.com/photos/bohemian_child/.

I'd like to thank the people who left cool comments. Photography is a new found passion and I'm humbled with the words that people say about my work.

The Angkor experience was something spiritual for me. It just shows what greatness humans are capable of. And with this, I close this chapter of my journey with great hope and with much enthusiam.

Life is indeed beautiful.

COLOURFUL VIETNAM

2006-04-14T21:21:00.000-07:00

I wish I had more time really, but work's piling up back home and It'll be irresponsible for me if I keep on extending my journey. So I had to put a deadline to this trip and have alloted days to my remaining itinerary.

Nevertheless, I still had a grand time in Vietnam. After spending the night in Hanoi, I then went to the ancient cities of Hue and Hoi An. Hue was an interesting stop because they had the oldest temples in Vietnam there. I got myself an open bus ticket for $20 and that gave me six tops to my disposal, at my own pace, at my own time.

Hoi An was magical. Probably the most scenic town that I've ever been, second only to Vigan. I almost used up all of my camera's memory because I was just snapping shots most of the time. It's also a mecca for shoppers. If I wasn't bringing a sack-of-rice-like bag back home I'd be tempted to get some suits and stuff, not that I've any used for it. It's really was just a steal, $40 for a complete three piece suit.

Oh, it was so hot in the middle of the week. I stayed 2 days in Nha Thrang to spend some time in the beach. Nothing grand, but the locals were breeming with life. Saigon was my last stop in Vietnam, I just had to stay there for awhile because there were some stuff to do.

I met two travelers whe were alse travelling on their own too - Harry from U.K. and Octavio from Mexico. We checked out the Cu Chi tunnels and it was the highlight in my Saigon travel. It was just so great to be entering the tunnels. It was not just a learning thing for me but it was very experiencial. I couldn't imagine how the Vietcongs were able to manage and to have inhabited the small tunnels. It was just so claustrophobic.

We have a very good guide who gamely answered all our questions. I was so careful not to be too political because I know that the American-Vietnam war is still a very sensitive subject in Vietnam, but our guide was dead pan about it. He even told a joke or two about how the South was won by the communist north (damn too politically incorrect that I don't think I have the guts to mention it here).

It was a different type of trip in Saigon and I'm glad that I went there. I was about to scratch it off in my itinerary but I've included it in the last minute. It was just really overwhelming. It made me feel good to know how resilient humans are in the face of adversity. Painful it is to remember, this part of Vietnamese history only makes their culture more colorful.

GOODBYE CHINA

2006-04-06T11:01:00.000-07:00

The last few days was an awesome experience for me, and never has a country, or a city for that matter has taken me breathless.

Beijing would be an ideal place for me to live in. I love the weather, the people, the food, and the rich history never fails to amaze me.

But, as with any journeys, I have to move on and continue my chosen path. I'm going back to Vietnam in a few hours and It will be another long trip back. I'm really just gonna breeze my way through the 4,000km stretch. Beijing to Nanning, to Hanoi, to Hue, to Hoi An, to Nha Trang, and finally to Ho Chin Minh.

Liu Chang and I exchanged each other's email, it's always good to have met interesting people in your journeys. This has kept me more grounded than ever. It's good to know that half way around the world, life continues, that someone is also thrilled in pursuing their dreams and that parellelisms is bound to happen knowing that there's 5 billion people around.

I've pushed my limits in this journey and that's what really is what's it all about... testing the waters, being able to adapt, being able to see myself in everyone that I meet, being able to realize that the world is indeed small... that besides the difference and disparity, there lies a similarity in everyone.

It is always good to celebrate the diversity, true, but there is also a reason to celebrate the oneness of us all.

HOLY F*CKING WALL!!!

2006-04-04T22:23:00.000-07:00

It was never in my wildest imagination that I'd end up trekking the great walls of China.

(photo from China travel site)

I've seen the pictures of friends who went up to Badaling (Tourist Part of the Great Wall) but I never really got good words about it. They were saying that the place in itself is almost like a circus.

Lots and lots of people visiting (divisoria on a sunday -like), souveneir vendors scatterred around the path itself, and the wall is reconstructed that it almost looked artificial - like checking out a set on the backlot of a big film studio. There was even a cable car ride up to the wall which was just too Disneylandish for me. I want to see the great wall as it is, minus the tourist trappings.

Nevertheless, it was always with great interest that one day, given the chance, I too would walk the magnificent structure. After all, it's the great freaking wall that can be seen from outerspace right? It was really never in my intention to check it out during my visit in Beijing. I know that it was out of the way and I wasn't really prepared to check it out just yet.

(Photo taken by me)

Last night though, there were these two Australians who took the Secret Wall tour - 2 and a houlf hours north of Beijing. And they were bragging with their pictures how great the trip was, but also how dangerous the entire trek was. Curious, I asked them how they got there and they said that they had arranged this tour with the youth hostel which includes the bus fare, lunch, and a local guide.

(Photo taken by me)

I was amazed with the pictures seeing that there was nobody there except a group of 9 or so. And the walls looked so old, so unrestored, so wild that I knew I just had to be there. I asked Lischuang if it's a good idea, and he said that it's a little bit tricky, because it's really never endorsed by the tourism department because it's a bit dangerous to go. And when he said this, I then became too hesitant to check it out.

But I was having second thoughts. I'm already in Beijing I said, and I'm just two hours away to this secret wall that's not even found in the travel books that I've been reading. So, by instinct, I asked Lischuang if he can hook me up with the group who's doing the trek and if he can put me in. He then called the travel gorup and told me that they'll pick me up at 7 in the morning and the tour will roughly take us 10 hours or so. He told me to bring lots of water, extra food, and a trekking shoes because I would need it.

I woke up early today and I was so thrilled that finally I'll be able to check out the great wall. I was the first guy on the bus and we stopped in two more hotels and picked up nine or so people that will also join in the trek. We really didn't know what to expect because it's not written on the books, nor on the internet. It wasn't Badaling, Mutanyu, Huanghua or Simatai - the four parts open to the tourists. We we're all very excited but at the same time a bit weary that we really don't know where we are going.

2 hours later arrived on this small village. I still didn't see a sign that we were near the great wall. We started to be briefed by the assistant guide, saying that we all need a hiking or trekking shoes because the path is a bit tricky, he also mentioned to us that there's just one way out of the trek, and that is to finish it. There's no cable car to help us if we get tired, there's no hand railings or harnesses to assist us when we go up or down the steep angles of the wall. I was very hesistant to continue really, and I was already thinking what have I gotten myself into.

So we started to climb. It was very, very cold. I was freezing. But the spectacular view of the start of spring up in the mountains was amazing. Flowers were starting to sprout, and wherever you look, it's just so great to take pictures. 350 meters on the way up, and as we went pass the chesnut bushes which covered the hillside, we saw our first glimpse of the great wall... and trully what a great sight it is to behold.

(Photo taken by me)

I thought that that was it. That the trip was just a good photo-op, our guide was pointing to the farthest direction of the wall (which was literally on the otherside of the mountain), I was having second thoughts on what's going to happen next. With his little English, he told us that we're all going there.

My first re-action was - this guy's joking. There's no way we can go up to that part. First, the path is almost unpassable, with big thorny bushes that seemingly occupied the entire way for itselves. Second, the wall is really amazing, beautiful as it is, but it's so unrestored that I think it will collapse anytime if we dare crossed it.

The guide just continued going up so we had no choice but to follow him. I tell you, it's the most difficult thing I've ever done, because first, The climb was just so steep, it's almost like climbing on an 80 degree angle. There was no room for error, a miss on the stonestep or if we slide down the dirt, will find ourselves down 700 meters below. I don't want to end up just like that. The trip for me was haphhazardly done and I just had to hold on dearly to my life and finish this crazy trek that I had joined.

I was probably taking too much time because I can't see the guy ahead of me already. But I told myself it's better to be slow than to fall down. And then miraculously we reached the highest peak - 1500 meters, and the view again was just amazing. More photo-ops and then we finally reached the great wall. We were on the great wall itself, walking and trying to find our way the thorny bushes, trying carefully not to fall the steep wall.

Two hours had passed the trek, and I was really getting thirsty and I was almost having difficulty in breathing because we were just so high above that I thought I was having altitude breathing problems already. So I asked the group if we can stop and just rest for awhile. Two more hours to go our guide said - I thought I will die. My feet was so numb already, and it was just so freaking cold.

An hour and a half later, we went down the wall and I saw this mysterious bright white path down below which was slightly covered by some trees so I really can't see what it was from up above. And to my surprise, as we got nearer, it became more clear to me what the path was. I can't believe it at first but it was a frozen lake. The guide then told us that we had to cross it to get into the otherside. It was so slippery, and it was just so funny because I had to crawl a bit so that I wouldn't fall.

After crossing the frozen lake, we then continued our journey to a number of rock formations. That was neat, I haven't been to Switzerland but the scenery kinda looked liked the ones in the Swiss chocolate bars that you get out of the rack in the supermarkets.

The trekking ended with a late lunch in a small village and I was then dropped off at the youth hostel by around 7pm. I was just so tired that I didn't even bother to grab a bite for dinner. I'm just so excited about the journey and what had transpired today. I really got good pictures too.

I pushed myself to the limits again. The journey was difficult but definitely worth it.

(The Brave Ones)

Mao Tse Tsung once said that if you haven't been to the Great Wall then you haven't been to China at all. Well not only did I climb the great wall, I conquered it... and that's just sweet.

FORBIDDEN NO MORE...

2006-04-02T22:35:00.000-07:00

I wasn't ready for the beauty that was before me.

The Forbidden City was like nothing I've ever seen before. To say that the place is big would definitely be an understatement. Titanic temples gather around the walled kingdom to serve just one - the emperor. This is opulence, power and pride to the max.

The imperial palace is the symbol of all things great in ancient china. The architecture, the detail, the assymetry, the beauty is nothing short of immaculate.

This mammoth-like structure was divided into two parts, the northern half, or the Outer Court where emperors executed their supreme power over the nation and the southern half, or the Inner Court where they lived with their royal family. It housed 23 emperors in the course of 500 years and was forbidden to everyone to enter.

I woke early again because I was told that the Imperial Palace turned Museum is enormous and a day going around it will not be enough. I got some bread again for a quick bite and went to catch the 66 bus to Qianmen. I was really saving so I can't afford the taxi. For 1 yuan or roughly 6-7 pesos, the bus is definitely a great option. But it also means that you have to take some time figuring out how the system work. How to pay, where to get off, what to say to the bus driver, how to cross the street, etc... etc.

It's almost like being back to kindergarden, but this time, there was nobody to guide you, the guard or the police didn't even speak a single english word. You just really have to find your way and try to end up on the right side of the road, and not to get lost in the proccess.

My patience paid off and I got into Tiananmen with ease, but going inside the Forbidden City was actually a more difficult task. Where do I get the tickets? What entrance do I go through? Are they strict with the cameras? All these simple questions and nobody can answer me quite easily.

I trusted my instinct, went through the Tiananmen Gate, saw a long queue ( then I knew for sure that I was on the right track). 60 Yuan to enter ( that means goodbye dinner for me). Additional 40 Yuan for a recorded English guide cassette that you rent out to help you around the palace. I opted not to rent it out since I was really on a tight budget. That also means that I'm on my own, 9,999 buildings to check out before 4pm when the walled city closes.

Going inside without a guide wasn't as bad as I expected. I just literaly walked around the enormous perimeter and followed the other tourists with rented guide cassettes, that was I think a smart move for me because I knew that I'll not get lost. Each of the buildings have an English written explanation just before you enter so it pretty much described what the building was for.

Buildings such as Hall of Supreme Harmony, Hall of Preserved Harmony, Hall of Central Harmony, Palace of Celestial Purity, Hall of Terrestial Union, Hall of Ancestral Worship, Palace of Tranquil Longevity, Hall of Joyful Longevity, and a hundred more... all of which I really didn't understand what type of purpose do they serve, and all of these were built for the use of just one person, the great emperor. I felt that I just walked in a Bernardo Bertolucci film set. I had to pinch myself and remind myself that this sign of profusion was indeed for real.

I left the palace just around 4pm. Time went by so fast, 5 hours passed by just like that. Sometimes I was just sitting for hours just staring in one of the buildings, imagining what it would have been like to live in this walled city during its haytime.

Nevertheless, the visit left me in awe. The beauty exceded my expectations. I felt that I was so priviledged to be living in time where to step on this forbidden crib is forbidden no more.

History never fails to amaze me.

PAO MEETS MAO FOR BREAKFAST

2006-04-01T23:15:00.000-08:00

I'm so interested about Mao Tse Tsung.

The atrocities that he did during his regime is unforgivable and yet the majority of the Chinese revere him almost like a saint. I think his face is the most recognizable ever, next to Che Guevarra, all thanks to Andy Warhol who's silk screen painting of his portrait put Mao into the heart of mainstream pop culture.

I then was so thrilled (I'm not into necrophilia and that shit, and I don't want to be morbid about it) when I saw in my Chinese travel book that his embalmed body can be seen in his mammoth-like mauseleum free of charge.

I woke up very early due to the advice of my landboy (the assistant of my landlord, hehe) Lischuang . He told me that getting into the mauseleum is almost like getting into an Eminem concert and there are literally thousands of visitors everyday who line up for hours just to see him. And the visit is actually quite short, the guards would usually guide the queue of visitors and all in all the quick glance will last only 5 minutes.

I've really been into the extremes in this journey. Two weeks ago, in laos, the weather was around 40 degrees (the hottest recorded in years), and last night here in Beijing, it was freezing cold. I forgot that it's still winter - going to spring here and I didn't have winter clothes except a jacket with a jeans-like material.,, and it was reeeeeeally cold this morning.

The leaveless trees are just amazing here, all the more because it was enveloped by a thick fog. The morning in Beijing created an aura of mystery, quite haunting really - and to think that I'm visiting a corpse, the whole thing was really quite eery.

When I arrived in Tiananmen Square , there was this big mural of Mao hanging on the entrance gate. I had to cross the street to reach the mauseleum. I must have been too early because the line wasn't just as bad as I was expecting it. But the guards were very strict. Bags and cameras had to be deposited for 5 yuan. I was just again to lazy to do it because it meant that I had to go out of line and walk 200 meters to the deposit area so I just simply hid my camera in my jacket.

I was lucky enough to get through the guards and low and behold, there were hundreds of visitors carrying flowers with them. A giant staue of Mao greeted us just before the dark room where his body lies. And it was really interesting to see the old visitors almost sobbing and teary eyed.

Maoism is Marcosian for us pinoys, and It's interesting to see the Chinese to be so kind to him even though his misgovernance cost the country millions of lives.

I ended just around lunch time and I decided to just check around the city and take pictures of whatever gets my fancy.

Beijing is beautiful but I find it too polluted. What I thought was fog in the afternoon was actually a smog created by a number of coal powerplants around the city that actually supplies their energy. The smog makes a great filter on the sun though, and makes taking pictures so cinematic.

Beijing is a really good setting for a movie, it's ancient meets mod. The telephone booths are just so retro-sixties and the buildings are so art deco.

It was getting cold in the late afternoon so I decided to get back to the hotel and call it a day. I wasn't too adventurous with food so I just got some bread for dinner which actually did the trick. Got to the bar (the bar is just bside my room, no kidding, hehe) with Lischang and asked advice where to go next...

The agenda tomorrow - the Forbidden City. The gargantuan palace that housed the emperor and was off-limits to everyone for 500 years...

Amazing! Can't wait!

(Note: I'll be just posting pictures taken by me from my camera from now on just to make the journal more personal, hehe...)

THE LONG ROAD TO CHINA

2006-03-31T22:31:00.000-08:00

I again have acted very impulsively.

I wasn't really thinking that they'd grant me a Chinese Visa. I remember before that as a part of a t.v. crew, it took us weeks to get a 7 day duration in Shanghai. So when I applied for it here in Vietnam, I was really just pushing my luck.

And lady luck was on my side. Not onlydid they give me a visa but they gave me a multiple entry, sixty days one. I was actually was just intending to go to Guangxi Province but since I got a good price for my bus ride to Nanning, again on a whim, I decided to push through to Beijing - one of if not the number one foreign city that I've been dreaming to visit.

I had to braise myself for the journey though because it was no easy feat. 38 hours of bus and train rides were right before me. So I brokethe journey in to two. I decided that I'd be staying in Nanning for one night to rest and get the 28 train ride journey to Beijing the following morning.

So I said goodbye to Hanoi, my ethereal home for the last 10 days. I had the best time here not only because I got to see a dead body but the beer is such a tourist trap.

(My Green Bus)

(The surreal views from my bus window)

I took the four hour bus to Lang Son, the northern part of Vietnam and the border province to Guangxi, China. I was surprised to see that I'm the only backpacker on board. Most of them were Vietnamese traders and or Chinese returning back to China.

I got to meet this cool Viet dude who for some reason, his name always gives me the grin. K.Y. ( I don't know what it means) is a student who'll be studying in Nanning for two years to learn the Chinese Language.

He had a fair amount of English with him so we got to talk a lot about him being a student and him going to a different country for the first time. I told him that everything would be fine, and that for some reason, even though we all have different cultures, we just learn to adapt and co-exist with whatever culture or wherever place we want to relocate.

We reached the Friendship Gate (Border of Vietnam and China) by around 2pm. I was again kinda iffy, because they were having a long time scrutinizing my passport. Apparently, for that land border crossing, it was the first time that the immigration guy saw a Philippine Passport. I was explaining then that not many Pinoys would travel over land and they just usually use the airport.

I got out of Vietnam and in to the Chinese Immigration in an hour or so, and since we were just using a bus, everyone was waiting for me. I kinda felt awkward but I know that it wasn't my fault. So the journey continued and on we went to Nanning.

I arrived in Nanning relatively late already and I just realized that I don't have any Chinese money with me. And the banks are closed already for me to exchange currency notes.

I had to explain really hard to a cab driver, who didn't know a single english word (it's not his fault, I should have learned some useful Chinese words for me to survive but I was just too lazy that I didn't bothered), that I had to go to an ATM and withdraw some money, to wait for me while I'm doing it, and then bring me to a youth hostel. And that believe me took ages.

I got a good room in Yingbin Fabian, a big room actually for just 250 pesos or around 35 Yuan. Took a long hot shower and decided to go and buy a ticket to Beijing. The Hard Seat cost around 1500 pesos and the Hard sleeper cost 3500. For a 28 hour journey, guess what I took? Since I really don't have enough money, I decided that 28 hours sitting will just do me good. Surprisingly, it was really ok. Not comfortable, but I didn't die doing it.

The chair was cushioned but was really on a 90 degree angle, and you cant slide them down. I again took some sleeping pills and when I woke up, 12 hours had pass. I then just decided to pass time listening to some mp3's that I got in Hanoi. Bebel Gilberto (Brazilian) and Cesaria Evora's remixed albums really did the trick. I also finished (finally) THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA which I just so love. I have a dream cast for this already, but Hollywood decide to get Meryll Streep and Anne Hathaway instead. (Good choices but I would have loved to see Toni Collette and Anna Paquin playing the lead roles).

And after more than 48 hours of Journey, I got in magnificent Beijing in one piece. I checked in Jing Hua Youth Hostel, which is, to my surprise more cheaper than in Nanning. I'm just paying 140 pesos for a dorm type accomodation, I'm sharing it with these two cool Swedish backpackers as well - Easper and Linda. Had a few bottles with them and decided to call it a long day.

I am just so dead tired now that I just really want to go to bed and get that much needed sleep.

My love affair with Beijing will start tomorrow as I again will visit a corpse for breakfast. This time it'll be Mao Tse Tsung's.

Pao meets Mao. I love it already. Hehe...

AND I"M ON A WAITING GAME

2006-03-27T22:41:00.000-08:00

I've been in Hanoi for almost a week doing really nothing much.

I've seen the corpse (embalmed body) of Ho Chi Minh for breakfast the other day and that was such a trip. They were (the guards) very strict and we weren't allowed to were shorts, Duncan had to wear a jacket cause he was just wearing a tank top and we weren't even allowed to put our hand inside our pocket. It was so proper, formal to say the least, and I kinda like all these strict restrictions.

We then checked out the museum and saw all the cruelties of the imperialist Americans to the locals during the Vietnam-American war. That was such an overwheming experience. Again, an eye opener. Until today I don't know what great a war can do but destroy everyone on both ends. Nobody really wins I mean.

I'm going further up north to China to Nanning, I'm not sure whether I could afford it but I'll see if I can get a train to Beijing. I applied for a Visa 3 days ago and I should be getting it by tomorrow. I think I'm becoming more impulsive with my itinerary. I was planning to go to Southern Vietnam to join Duncan but there's something about China that I really didn't want to miss.

Well, I've been to China two years ago with Wanggo. We went to Shanghai for a shoot and I really fell in love with the place. I don't think I'll go to Shanghai in this trip, but I want to do is to go to the little village of Old China and just really escape the city.The day started so slow yesterday. We just ended up in the room watching the tellie, reading books, and planning our itinerary.

Duncan will go further up north in the mountains of North Vietnam and I'm planning to stay in China for another week and maybe continue my trip to southern Vietnam if I can afford it. But I really doubt because as it is I'm really scrimping on my budget.

Food is actually ok in Hanoi, dirt cheap, around 50 pesos for the fried noodle.

The service takes long though so I ended up taking some pics of the place (yup I finally have a digital cam, a crappy one though, I got it really cheap, so there you go, I really have to budget my way through if I'd still want to continue my journey).

Last night we got so pissed again. Nothing much to do so we ended up drinking another 10 bottles of beer Hoi each in this really hole-in-the-wall drinking place.

But mind you, this is such a tourist trap, everyone for some reason converge here. It's not even written on the books but it's a very popular place here called the BEER HOI triangle. The beer goes for 6 pesos, and that is just crazy.

I've met two Irish college guys who were on a vacation trip for three months. They're doing the other route and they're flying to Singapore then to Indonesia next week.

Then, there I was again, acting as ambassador of tourism, telling them to go to the Philippines because they will be missing a lot. Another guy Raymond told me that he was doing some surfing in Siargao the other year, and he went to Palawan too. I was so drunk I think I was inviting everyone in the hole to go to the Philippines, well at least I'm doing my part to help in my own little way.

Beer Hoi is just so addictive that I decided to just sit down beside the bartender so that I wouldn't have to stand up and get the beer, such a lazy lad I am.

I again didn't know how I got home, good thing was Duncan with me because the last time that I went home, it took me about an hour to locate my guesthouse. I'm so bad with direction, and even reading the map, so fuck it I always say. I'll just follow my instincts and my feet will lead me the way.

So far they never failed me yet.

GOOD MORNING VIETNAM!

2006-03-22T22:59:00.000-08:00

It's been 30 days since I've packed my bags and left on a whim for this unplanned journey and I'm loving every bit of it.

I'm learning so many things not just about the other countries and the other people that I meet along the way, but I get to really know my real self in the process. It tells me just how far I can go, my weaknesses, my strengths and my determination to just live life to the fullest.

Duncan and I decided that it's time to move on... We checked out the net and see how we'd get to Hanoi. The best way really was for us to get a flight, but I really don't think that I could afford it so we took the cheapest way. The cheapest way is actually synonymous to the "bus ride from hell".

12 hours of semi rough road to go to the border of Laos, get my stamp out , go to the Vietnam border, get my stamp in and do another 12 hours to go to the capital up north in Hanoi. So we did it. And my God, it's one of the most exhilirating experiences ever.

The minibus picked us up from the hotel at around 6pm, picking up other passengers on the way, another hour passed and we're on the southern bus station. Then the red dodgy "60's looking" bus bombarded me right in front of my eyes. There's no way I'm riding that shit - I told myself, but the locals were pointing us to that direction so we really didn't have any choice but to go deposit our backpacks and ride the dodgy red bus.

Duncan and I were lucky cause we were there early so we got good seats, but by 8:30 pm the bus was already full. Bamboo mats were hanging in the compartment up in my head, some veggies were placed on the small space below my feet. Some Lao teens listening loudly to Thai pop in their mp3 players witht the speakers on. I was actually wondering why would people actually endure and take this 24 hour trip to go to Vietnam. I was asking myself even - and the reason, the price. For $16 that's definitely a bargain if you compare it to $150 plane ticket.

I went to a two-seater, Duncan did the same, and I know I was rude but I put my hand carry bag on the space beside me just so nobody can sit. I mean it's a 24 hour freaking trip and I don't want to wake up with all my stuff gone.

Ok, I'm a self confessed pill-popper. But I know I do it in moderation, and when the time really calls for it. So I got two V's, drank my last beer lao and 15 minutes after, I was a goner.

I woke up at around 5am, and it was so freaking called. I also noticed that the bus has stopped. We were in the border already, and we were two hours early. The immigration guys wouldn't be there till 7am, so we decided to get some hot noodles on the stalls beside the border. It was so freaking called becasue we where way up in the mountains, and I was just wearing shorts and a shirt, and I can't be bothered to get a jacket because it was in the big bag and it was already in the compartment.

When the immigration opened, we all ran to get our passport stamped out and since we didn't knew the process, we were really afraid that the bus will leave us and we'll end up in the border without our bags with us. It's almost like we're in Amazing Race, trying very hard to communicate with the litlle Lao language that we know so that we can get our passports as soon as possible.

It wasn't difficult in the Laos border to get out but to get into Vietnam was alittle bit tricky, they told us to get our bags from the bus, they did a thorough search on our bags and then we go to immigration. They were having a long time processing my passport, so I stepped in and asked what was the reason for the delay. The guy told me that I can't get in because I didn't have a Visa. Then it hit me - "Oh my freaking God, I didn't apply for a visa...".

I was so scared I thought I was fucked up. Then I told him, doing a reverse psychology. "I don't need a Visa because I have a Philippine passport." Honestly I didn't know if I could get away with it but I know that some Asean countries didn't need Visa. I didn't have Visa for Singapore, Thailand and Laos and I was able to get in.

Then the immigration guy, bless him, stamped my passport, and just like that I was permitted to stay in Vietnam for 15 days with no Visa. I was ecstatic.

We all then aboarded the bus to take the 12 hour journey to Hanoi. We got to Hanoi at around 7pm and it was just amazing.

I know everytime I go to a different place I always end up saying that it's the best place that I've been to, but Hanoi is really the cream of the crop. It's busy enough but just right to enjoy the local culture. I love the small streets, the French Quarters and the Old Quarters were a sight to behold.

Duncan and I decided to check out the Old Quarters. It's a chaotic square kilometer of ancient merchant quarters, dating back nearly five hundred years. As if mirroring Vietnam itself, the area's still intact maze of narrow streets and is a hive of industriousness and frenetic movement. We also got our hotel there for $6 a night. $3 dollars each, and it's just dirt cheap cause we have a fridge and a sattelite tv on our room.

After checking in, we decided to check the local night scene, and everything was just crazy. There must have been a million bikers circling the center of hanoi, and crossing the streets is already an experience worth writing about. We got ourselves BEER HOI, for 2000 Vietnamese Dong which is roughly around 6pesos. Man, Beer Hoi is lethal, I mean we ended up drinking a dozen bottles each I suppose.

Duncan met some other travels that he travelled with (I love this sense of community in which, you'd defenitely meet people that you've met a week or even a month ago while travelling). I met these two Danish guysthat I saw in Bangkok and we were exchanging stories of our travel. They went south of Thailand and I went up north and we met in Vietnam, what a coincidence, I mean.

I was talking to another guy who looked liked a mestizo pinoy, so I asked him wheter he's from Manila. He said he's living in England but his mother is Vietnamese and he has an Italian father. He's a deadringer for Dennis Trillo, if only I had a camera I'd take pictures of him. It was his last night in Hanoi and he's flying to London the next day so he wanted to get really drunk before he starts his school again.

He asked me if I wanted to check out one of the good clubs in town so I joined him together with the two Danish guys to check out FUNKEY MONKEY. It may sound like a seedy bar but I was surprised to see that it was such a cool club inside, it was their "house" night and the DJ was on fire. I kinda miss going to clubs and the night was such a great night out for me.

I woked up really late, at around 1pm I think. I didn't even know how I got back, navigating on the streets in Hanoi is just a nightmare, they all have this same sounding names so it's difficult to get to the right directions.

We missed the Ho Chin Minh museum which according to our land lady is open only till 11am. I so want to go to check out the embalmed body of Ho Chi Minh (they usually embalm great communist leaders so that people can check them out, Lenin, Mao Zedong, etc.... Almost like checking out Marcos' body in the mauseleum in Ilocos). I really would want to see hUncle Ho and I know that this will really make my trip.

Oh well, I'll try to be sober and maybe I can catch him tomorrow.

I love f*cking Vietnam!

MONK'S BUSINESS

2006-03-19T22:59:00.000-08:00

For a capital city, Vientiane is pretty laid back.

Well, the whole Laos is very laid back in general. The streets are quiet, there's not much people really and the entire country is like a chill out lounge, where in, the only thing to do is enjoy a cold beer Lao, listen to chill out music and let time pass right your very eyes.

I really don't know what to expect cause I don't know much about the capital. All I know is that it's the center of commerce and the streets and the building are modeled like French Villas. Heck they even have their own version of Champ Elysee. It's Paris in Asia I suppose.

My roommate Duncan is a great bloke. He's English and he's been travelling for more than four three months now. Three more to go he said, and I manage to convince him to check out the Philippines too. I kinda felt good that I'm doing my own little way to help promote the country.

We decided to do some Wat Spotting and see more temples. Our first stop was Wat Si Saket and it's one of the most beautiful Wat that I've ever seen. Built in 1828 by the Siamese, it's the most well preserved Wat in the country.

We then went to check out another small wat just infront Si Saket and we were greeted by a nover of young monks ages 17 to 25. These are really cool monks, they were just inside the temple busy writing something. I was asked by another young monk to approach him and at first I was kinda hesitant because I though I did something but he talked to me and asked me where I'm from. I told him from the Philippines and he then started asking a lot of questions.

He told me that I look Lao but he knew that I wasn't because of the way I dress. Interestingly, he's ery good in English and knows some french. He's name is Noi and he's been in monkhood for more than 15 years, and he's just 25.

We talked for hours about everything, about their daily chores, about my work in Manila. He told me that they wake up at 4am everyday to do chores, clean temple, go to school and meditate. It's always a long day for them but they enjoy it. It's not just a devotion for them but a reason for living.

He showed me what he was writing and it was written in Laos. Apparently it's a novel love story. I kinda gave him the grin because I didn't know that monks could be such hopeless romantic.The story apparently is about these two introvert foreigners who met in Laos. They develop a pseudo platonic relationship as the day passes. In the end, the unrequited love that they have for each other have totally consumed them and when they are about to leave, they just can't leave because they know that the time and space between them will just kill them.

The thesis being that people can completely get lost in a place, that everything around them can be totally unfamiliar, but the instinct within them, their capacity to feel, to fall in love, to get hurt will always be the same no matter what because it's an instinct.
Noi will call his novel "Everytime the rabbit looks up the Moon". Apparently the rabbit and the moon are revered symbols in mythical Lao art.
I told him that it reminded me of movies like "Lost in Translation" and "Before Sunset", but of course he hasn't seen it yet. I told him that it's an interesting concept and that he should develop the tension between the two characters and that he should use Laos as the catalyst for bringing out the essence of his two characters.

I told him that It could even end up as a good film if the narrative of the story is really good. Before I left he handed me a note with his email and i did too. I promised to correspond with him and to check the progress of his novel.I enjoyed our conversation and I really think that this has been the best highlight so far of my trip because I got to talk and exchange ideas with a local.

You just can't buy that package in any tourist agency.

PINOYSPOTTING

2006-03-17T23:16:00.000-08:00

I've been travelling for almost four weeks now and I haven't met a single Filipino.

I mean there's so many young people doing the backpack thing, I've met Israelians, Irish, Koreans, Japanese, Malasians, Australians, Americans, Canadians, but I still have to meet a Pinoy. And who would have ever though that I'd be drinking with a couple in Laos...

Yup, I did. Last night I got to the Capital at around 6pm. I was able to get a good rate in my hotel, got it for $6 which includes aircon and our own toilet. I met this cool bloke from England and we decided to share the room so that makes it $3 each. That's just 160pesos for a very grand accomodation in the Capital of this lovely country.

We then headed to the local bar - the hippest bar on town but superdooper cheap called KOP CHOI or "Thank You" and it was crowded. The famous beer Lao sells for $1. And that's not bad - you go to Embassy or Government and San Mig Light costs around 120pesos. I mean - in Lao you'll definitely feel like a king because everything is so dirt cheap.

Duncan, my room mate saw some of his friends who he travelled with in Bangkok and they were such a great group, and there was this cool buffed Asian Canadian guy who's been travelling for two months already - and syempre I knew that he's Pinoy. I just had the gut feel. So I kinda asked "Arnold" his name, where he was from and he said that he was from Vancouver, and his parents were formerly both from Manila but he was born and he grew up in Canada.

We ended up talking much of the pinoy stuff back in Canada, how he enjoys going to Goldilocks for a $5 pancit and stuff, and how he's so excited to go to the Philippines because he hasn't even been to the country ever. He kept on asking about how the war is back home, whether he'll be kidnapped by the NPA in Manila or whether the Abu Sayaf's near the city center. I just hate how the media have painted the country in a very bad light.

Everything is really out of proportion. I hate it when I see a lot of foreigners who're spending a lot of dollars travelling to the South East Asia and ommitting the Philippines in their itinerary just because of the "WAR" which is apparently happening back home. I just hate it.
Well, I told Arnold that I myself have been travelling extensively back in the Philippines and I know by heart that the country is one of the safest countries to travel. I'm not being nationalistic but yeah, I still feel that the Philippines have the best things to offer in terms of tourist sights.

On that note I promised Arnold that I'll actually show him around when he goes to Manila on the last week of April.Talking to him made me homesick a bit and I was already very drunk after drinking about 6 big bottles of the Lao beer when I heard a band (it was an open night mic, that night) singing a very familiar song. I was trying to hum the song and when it got to the chorus I joined in "Pagsisisi at nalaman mong... ika'y nagkamali..."

I said "Fuck"... the Lao guy is singing Fredie Aguilar's Anak... so I went up to them and asked how they know the song... and this guy who's sporting a Bob Marley dreadlocks said that he knows the song because it's a local song from his coutry. I was so drunk... I stupidly asked him "So they speak Tagalog in Vientianne too?". Then it hit me... and said "Putcha, pinoy ka?" and he said "From Olonggapo".

He asked me what I was doing here and I said I was backpacking the region and I've been in Laos for a week already. He on the other hand has been staying with some of his mates in the Capital now for a year, working on different bars as a vocalist for some bands.

I was just so happy to have been able to talk to and to meet talented pinoys. Galing!

TUBING AT VIANVENG

2006-03-16T20:41:00.000-08:00

I really don't know how to swim but I just didn't want to pass Laos' greatest attraction, which was to go tubing in the great Numsong river.

But what exactly is tubing? Well it's this really cool activity whereby you jump in a giant tractor tube, or the salbabida and basically just float and be driven by the stream down the river. It was really great fun. I met a couple of Irish dudes the night I arrived the sleepy town and asked me if I wanted to join them for tubing the next morning.

But then of course, in a sleepy town there's really not much to do at night but drink, and the beer in Laos is pretty dirt cheap and really good too.

But I'd backtrack first to where it started. So I left Louang Phabang after checking out the great Wats (temple) and took the minibus to Viang Veng for about 4 hours. The view on the way is just spectacular, the mountains or the hills, I really don't know what they are called but all have interesting shapes that I haven't seen in my entire life.

When I arrived at Vangvieng though, I was kinda iffy because everywhere you look there's a lot of roads being constructed so it wasn't really a great sight. But once you head down to the river, the dirty town is really worth the travel.

At nights, the youth hostel where I'm staying would show episodes of friends so I'd usually end up watching from 8pm to 12 of all the great episodes that I missed with a great cold beer Lao to beat.

I'm heading to the capital tomorrow, I've met a number of great travelers who's doing the opposite route. I'm heading south of Laos and their going up north. But then, that's the great thing about travelling cause you get to share stories about your adventures. I've given them some advice and in return they gave me some tips on the rest of my journey down south.

Can't wait to check out Vientianne, which according to some books is the Paris of Asia. Hope I'll not be disappointed.

OF LIFE AND DEATH...

2006-03-15T23:43:00.000-08:00

The course of yin and yang was followed.

When something begins, something has to end...

When there's a celebration for joy, there's a cause for grief...

And when there's a hope of life, there's the inevitable death...

I opened my phone just before I was about to go to bed to set up the alarm. I was surprised because in the middle of the night, I heard it ringing. I though that I was dreaming because my roaming got cut off two weeks ago because my bills were overdue.

But when it continued ringing, I got off the bed and checked it out. There was an unregistered number on the phone and when I answered it I was surprise to hear the voice of my mom.

She told me that she took care of the bills and was asking me if I was doing ok and if I got my ticket booked already. I said to her that I took care of tickets and i'll be flying back by the end of the month.

There was a hint of sadness in her voice so I got worried and asked her if everything was ok... but I wasn't prepared for the next few words that she told me... I almost brokedown and cried.

Just five days ago, I was so ecstatic to hear that my healthy niece - Aeon had just been born. I was so excited to hear the news and I just couldn't wait to meet her. She'll be the first "apo" of my mom and dad, and my first "pamangkin". It's ironic because she's the daughter of my youngest brother who just turned seventeen. After hearing the news, I went to the market and bought a lot of pasalubongs for her.

This time though, my mom's voice wasn't as excited. She told me that three days ago, my other younger brother's wife gave birth to a beautiful baby boy, 2 months premature. I was so excited to hear that but before I could ask about him more, my mom said that his heart had stopped beating and he's no longer with us anymore...

I must have frozen for a minute and I didn't know what to say. The news had caught me by surprise that I just couldn't move. I knew for a fact that the baby was healthy, and that my brother's wife has her monthly visits to the doctor and everything was perfectly normal.

My mom said that the doctors couldn't do anything, they couldn't revive the cold beautiful boy who was dead apparently even before it was born.

My mom said that my younger brother Mike hasn't stopped from crying. My heart broke... I felt this unimaginable sadness and the regret that I wasn't there to console him in his time of mourning. Mike was very close to me.

I couldn't imagine the pain that he is going through right now. He so love his baby. I don't know how he'd be able to cope up. I can't imagine a young nineteen year old boy burrying his dead baby. I think it's the most painful thing a human being could ever feel... a father burrying his child. My brother is so young and he had lots of hope for his baby.

Mike, my brother, I'm so proud of. He took responsibilities for all the consequences of his actions. He got married at a young age because he believed that the baby should have a legal family.

And even though he's busy as a senior college student, he'd never miss the doctor consultation to join his wife and see that the baby is healthy.

Even though he had exams the following day, he would help me in my projects till the wee hours of the morning to earn extra money which he saves regularly, I know because he showed me his bank book one time. He said that he's starting early and he's saving for the future of his "little angel". He rarely goes out... and for a nineteen year old that's really unheard of... that's how responsible he is.

Now... It's very difficult for me to accept this sad news... I'm very sad for the baby, but I feel more bad for my brother and his wife because I know that they have sacrificed a lot for their baby. They have everything planned... the baby was their future. The beautiful boy would have been lucky to have them as parents.

I'm feeling so weak, but I know that I have to be strong for my brother. I haven't had the chance to talk to him yet because they apparently had just left the hospital and went to school so I'm trying to catch him in his free time.

I'm afraid that I wouldn't know what to say really... I don't know the right words that would lighten up whatever he's feeling right now. I would just want to be the older brother and just rescue him and just really stop the pain... but I know that this time around, I really couldn't do much but let him mourn and let him experience death as it should be.

Deep inside, I know that the pain will eventually subside and it'll just make him stronger in the end.

It'll be difficult to move on, but it wouldn't be impossible...

The spirit may be weak but time offers nothing but hope...

I'm in mourning for the loss of my nephew, but I shouldn't forget that my niece - Aeon is also a cause for celebration.

It's hard isn't it? How difficult it is to experience joy and grief at the same time. But I just really have to live with it.

I, the living, has no excuse but to live my life to the fullest, and with my utmost best.

Death will come no matter what... for it is only in death that we can really appreciate how beautiful life is.

ONE SACRED HILL

2006-03-14T22:58:00.000-08:00

One good thing about travelling alone is that you're only answerable to yourself.

You control your time and if something gets screwed up you but you alone will have to suffer the consequences.

The best thing about it is that you follow your own pace. If you want to spend this amount of time to this location, you're free to do as you please.

You meet a lot of people. You get to learn more things from them. People are more open to you because you're less intimidating than let's say when you're in a group.

I was roaming again the quiet streets of Louang Phabang this morning to witness again the young monks receiving their alms from the village people. I saw that a number of them were converging and were heading towards a temple up on the hill.

"Phou Si" or the sacred hill is the spiritual center of the city. It's a miniature Mount Olympus of Hindu-Buddhist cosmology.

It was by means no easy climb. Halfway through the 200 steps or so I was already having the difficulty of catching my breath. And when I reached the peak, I was rewarded to a stunning panorama of the charming old city.

Up in the hill is Wat Pa Houak, a little temple that contains fascinating murals of Lao inhabitants of Louang Phabang.

I must have stayed there for ages... hours just contemplating on the magnificent view provided by the sacred hill. The great river to my left and the majestic mountain to my right, and the hill was the great crown dividing the breattaking sights.

I approached a young Japanese guy who was also there contemplating and taking pictures. I wanted to srike up a conversation and he was friendly enough to indulge me. I'm just fascinated with travelers who are travelling alone. A month ago, I don't think I'd have the audaucity to embark on one.

Yoshi is in Laos for the second time around and he has also fallen in love with the place. It's his fourth country and he's been travelling since January. He first went to Fiji, then to New Zealand, then to Bangkok, then to Laos and he'll be going up north to cross the borders to China.

He's an engineer in Fukoka, he's unlike the metrosexual japs that was with me during the trek. He's very laid back, was wearing board shorts, faded sirt and he has this Maui-boy vibe going. When I saw him I thought he was around 21-22, to my surprise, he was already in early 30's.

He invited me for a beer (LAO BEER is definitely a highlight of my trip), and we shared our travel stories. He told me that he likes travelling alone because of the freedom that he feels whenever he's just by himself. Having said that, he's rooming in for the night with another Japanese guy to save room fee, but he says that during the day he's pretty much alone just wandering around.

It is very common in Japan, well for young Japanese guys to work for three years and save and travel a year round. This has been his third "around-the-world" travel so far and he said that he's learning alot from it. He's planning to speand six months in China to learn the Language.

I've met a number of young people who're taking their time off to travel and learn from different cultures of the different countries that they visit. This I think is one of the major advantages of first world countries because their youth is lucky enough to experience this. And the community of travellers is growing, it's a pity too that Philippines is being ignored in the travelling community. We're not even part of the travellers itinerary, I've talked to a number of them and they never even considered in putting it in their plans. That's a bummer.

One guy asked me where I was from and when I told him that I was from the Philippines the next question he asked me was "Isn't there a war going on right now there?".

In the end it all boils down to politics. And I can't blame them for the bad impression that they get from the news. We are all to blame. At first I wanted to be apolitical but really in the end, we really have to participate and really start to make a difference if we want this country to progress.

In the end, it's as easy as stopping to blame someone and start doing our part.

LAOS AT FIRST SIGHT

2006-03-13T21:36:00.000-08:00

I am still in awe with what I just have witnessed today.

I'm in love with the beautiful quaint town of Louang Phabang. This town according to UNESCO is the most preserved town in whole of Asia. As if time has stopped and the village is still in the Indochine era.

Old French villas lay majestically beside each other on the quiet streets of the old town. All the sights are well within strolling distance, as the historical heart of the town is on a kilometer long peninsula.

I woke up at 5:30 in the morning to be greeted by this cool air around. I wanted to see the daily giving of food to young monks which is part of the town's charming daily event and has become a tourist attraction in itself.

Every morning at 6:00am, different monks would line themselves to get food from different families. At the break of dawn, it is an impressive sight to see the Buddhist monks from all the temples walking in the streets, elders first, and receive their alms from the population. They are not supposed to eat for the rest of the day, although rules are rarely observed rigidly.

It is expected from any young Buddhist man in Laos to spend some time in a monastary as a novice monk, preferably before his marriage. Because of that, there is a strong monastic life all over the country.

It was such a wonderful sight and it is very well participated by the whole town itself.

I pretty much just did nothing the whole day and just walked for hours watching as the laid back town unfold itself.

Armed with a good book I grabbed a good coffee in one of the rustic French colonial type coffee shop and let the day pass.

After lunch I checked out the century old palace turned museum and saw how important the small town was in helping the shape the country as a nation.

I'm really in love with this place. I might just stay for a bit for a few more days before I head south to the capital of Vientianne.

But before that happens, I'll just indulge myself a little and enjoy this little piece of paradise on earth... finish a good book and a good latte to beat.

A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT

2006-03-12T22:12:00.000-08:00

I'm proud to say that I have conquered the great Mekong River.

The journey migh have been the most tedious and the most ardous part of my journey so far but it was definitely worth every single Thai Baht that I have paid. The adventure is definitely one of those "must" in one's life.

The Thai- Lao journey took more than 33 hours all in all. I woke up early in Chang Khong, Thailand - at around 7:00 am I was having a full breakfast knowing that the journey will be long. At 8:30 I was in the border already, having my passport stamped for exit to Thailand. I had to cross the river to the Laos border which was at Houaxai. Took the jetty boat and was in the border after 10 minutes.

It took a bit long for me to get my Laos entry stamp because the immigration guy thought that I forgot to get a visa, but he wasn't familiar maybe with the Philippine passport and when he double checked he understood that as a Filipino I didn't need a visa to enter.

At 9:30am I was in the boat already. I was so excited. The imagery that has come before me was immaculate. The great river separating the majestic hills of the two countries was one of the best views I'v ever set my eyes on.

There were a number of backpackers who joined the boat and everyone was busy with their camera trying to document the amazing sight.

The boat was really uncomfy, the hard slab of wood is literally a pain in the ass so I had to get my jacket to sit on it the entire journey.

We arrived in the small village of Pakbeng, Laos at around 6:00pm just before the sun was about to set. I had to check out my backpack because there was just so many kids running to me to ask if I needed help with my bag. I said I was ok and started to ask for directions for some of the guesthouses. The village was really very nice, it was up in the hills and the climate was a bit chilly. The electricity though runs only from 6-11pm.

A couple of Irish backpackers (I met them during my busride to Chang Kong) asked me if I wanted to join them with their friends for dinner so eventually I did. We had fun talking about the difficult but rewarding journey to Laos, and ordered a couple of Beer Laos to end the night.

Then a couple of teen Laos joined are group asking if we were ok. I noticed that they were the same guys running my guesthouse. We all nodded yes and thanked them for their warm hospitality when the Laos boy asked if we needed to smoke, we all knewwhat they were refering too. We politely excused ourselves, I was thinking though that I could have said yes if the trip to Louang Phabang the following morning wasn't early, but the boat will leave at 8:30 and if I want to get a good seat I should be in the boat by 7:30.

It was funny because the boy was bent on inviting us, asking if we want ganja, or opium, and I really think that it was this that made Pakbeng famous to a number of young backpackers.

I was tipsy so I best decided to go to bed at 12:00midnight. It was really dark because there was no electricity anymore. I manage to wake up at around 6am, got a good breakfast and went to the boat as soon as possible.

The journey to Louang Phabang took us 9 hours, the journey now was more comfortable because the boat was larger and there were less of us because some of the backpackers decide to stay for a few more nights in Pakbeng.

I reached the lovely small town of Louang Phabang at 6pm, had a great dinner and checked out the great night market near the Palace. I got some gifts for my new niece, I called my mom and she told me that the girlfriend of my youngest brother gave birth a few days ago to a healthy young girl - Aeon. I'm so excited with the news so I got a number of trinkets for her.

I'll be waking up early tomorrow to check out the young monks that made the town of Louang Phabang famous.

More stories of my adventure soon.

METROSEXUAL JAPANESE BOYS

2006-03-09T09:15:00.000-08:00

I had a very long day yesterday.

And I wasn't really satisfied with the hilltribe trek that I had just joined.

I had to be at the hostel lobby by 7:30am because the bus will (supossedly) pick us up at 8:00am. So I really woke up really early even though I had a late night the night before because I didn't want to miss the trip. To my disappointment, the bus was an hour late. And since I'm alone (the tour operator) had to make me join a group of japanese tourists who were also doing the "long neck women" tour in Chang Rai.

I was amazed to see that most of them were guys, boys actually would be the apt term. They were on their early 20's, most I think were highschool graduates taking their time off just before they go to university. I actually enjoyed looking and studying their fashion sense more than our trip to Chang Rai to see the Paduang women.

The ride was rather bumpy and the tourist guide didn't really say much, due to limited vocabulary I suppose so I had to read the guide book to wash away my curiosity. And when we reached the village, we had to pay 250 Baht which they didn't say to us before hand. I though the tour included everything, the guide then told us that it was for taking pictures. I wanted to argue that I didn't have a camera with me but then he said that it was also for the village entrance fee, which I know was a rip off. I didn't want it to spoil my day so I obliged.

When we reached the village it wasn't really the picture perfect thingy that I was expecting. I swear the Tam-Awan thingy in Baguio is definitely more breathtaking. How I would have wanted to see the original tribe in Padwang, Burma. But because the county banned tourism for the moment the second best thing is to see the refugees in Chang Rai. It's very surreal though, it's almost as if we went to a human zoo and everything was so commercialized. The women weren't in their most natural, and the culture or the setting that were shown to us felt a bit contrived.

My disappointment with the long neck women, the metrosexual japanese boys more than made up for it. Too bad I didn't have a camera with me because I swear I'd easily finish two rolls just with them, and maybe reserve a shot or two for the Padwangs. As if for a moment, I was sitting on the front row watching the Koshino's and the Kato's collections. Fashion for them borders from the absurd to the kitsch.

In Japanese fashion, more is definitely more. To give you an example, there was this guy from the group who was sporting a neon orange fisherman's hat, with matching thin neon tie over his green baby-size polo. And here's the cherry for the topping, he was wearing an ash colored ripped jeans and a pair of silver boots. And to my surprise he's not even gay, he was stealing kisses from his girlfriend during the entire trip.

Cultural exchange at its best. That will be my next trip, Japan. I'll try to save money for it. But till that happens, I'd have to be contented checking out them Japanese tourists.

Konichiwa!

P.S. I'll be crossing the border tomorrow to Laos. My third country for this trip. Day 17 and still going... and going...

UP NORTH

2006-03-06T12:50:00.000-08:00

After a grueling 12 hour journey, I arrived in Chiang Mai in one piece.

The bus wasn't really convenient to say the least, though the occasional highland scenery was a great break from the tedious trip. We arrived 7:00 in the morning, about an hour late from our estimated time of our arrival. I went straight to the youth hostel but the check in time was at around 1pm; so whether I like it or not I have to kill around 6 hours. I deposited my backpack and started on my trip around the northern province.

Chiang mai is like the Baguio of northern Thailand. The handicrafts and the indeginious mountain people reminded me even of the igorots of the Benguet province.

The climate is relatively cooler and the city's clame to fame is the great hilltribe trekking activities that it has to offer.

I'm planning to check out the Mae Hong Son and the village of Nai Soi to check out the famous Long-Neck Women which were originally from Burma but have fled to neighboring Thailand to escape repression from the military operated country. It says in my book that girls as early as 6 years old start to wear the rings until they reach the age of 16. The pressure of eleven pounds of brass actually squashes the collarbones and ribs. To remove a full stack would cause the collapse of the neck and eventually of suffocation. Yikes. I wanted to say pa naman "Manang pwede po bang pahiram?". Wag na nga lang.

Anyway, it's almost one in my watch. I just finished a great meal in Mac Donalds (sobrang miss ko na, two weeks na kong kumakain ng spicy food noh!). I'll be checking out the entire town soon. This'll be my home base for the next three or four days before I continue my next journey to Chang Kong where the border to Laos is.

More stories soon. Promise.

RIDING THE WOODEN TRAIN ON THE WOODEN TRAIL

2006-03-04T23:37:00.000-08:00

It was my first time to ride a wooden train.

The two hour and a half journey is considerably slow but the magnificent sights on the way more than made up for the inconvenience. The train to Nam Tok, which is around 65 km northwest of Kanchanaburi, chugged through the Kwai Noi Valley, stopping frequently at old country stations. It was like time has stopped in this side of the earth. The lackadaisical mood matches the very laidback people of the small villages around.

Twenty minutes after, the train squeezed through thirty meter deep solid rock cuttings, dug at the cost of numerous "prisoners of war" lives. At Wang Po Viaduct, there's this 300 meter long trestle bridge that clings to the cliff face as it curves with the Kwai river. I was reading my travel book and it was noted that almost every man who worked on this part of the railway died.

The journey ended two hours after at the old sleepy town of Nam Tok which happenes to be the end of the Thai Line. I arrived there around 1pm really hungry. I forgot to make baon before I rode the train. In Nam Tok the street were lined with the local food stalls offering authentic Thai-Burmese food. I got myself a steamed cod with curry and some noodles.

The train back to Kanchanaburi was at 3pm. That roughly gave me an hour and a half to roam the small village of Nam Tok.

I was back in Kanchanaburi just before the sunset and I ended the day with a good Thai massage. One thing I noticed, that the old guy who gave me the massaged offered a prayer just before he started. Apparently the massage for them is very spiritual and a very holistic experience.

This is my last day in Kanchanaburi. Tomorrow I'll continue my journey up north to Chang Mai. I decided not to go to Sukhotai anymore, some English travelers told me that it's just realy more like the ancient ruins of Ayuthayya. I'm also running out of funds so if I want really go around the South East Asian region, I have to carefully plan my itinerary. The Chang Mai trip will take me another 12 hours on the bus. It'll be an overnighter so it saves me a room fee for one night. But then again I heard that the trip isn't that convenient. I still have to be the judge for that one.

I'm slowly learning a phrase or two in Thai and I'm hoping that before this journey ends I'd be able to say a paragraph or two in flawless Thai accent.

Sawasdee everyone!

THE FLOATING HOUSE BESIDE THE RIVER

2006-03-03T20:15:00.000-08:00

I arrived in Kanchanaburi after a five hour bus trip from Ayuthayya.

Kanchanaburi will be my province for the next three days. The scenery is breathtaking. I manage to get a good room beside the river. The place is actually a bamboo raft house floating in the river. So I'm literally sleeping on the river tonight. After depositing my backpack in my lovely room I joined a number of other backpackers as they walk towards Asia's famous bridge - the bridge over the River Kwai.

The moribund view of the beach totally got me speechless. The view is just amazing. It's ironical that this scenic bridge was responsible for the death of thousands during the second world war. About a hundred thousand conscripted Asian labourers and 16,000 prisoners of war died on the whole project.

It gave me the goose bumps to think that fellow pinoys actually gave up their lives to construct the bridge that would then join Thailand and Burma. Sixty years after, I, a proud filipino would cross the very same bridge that cost them their lives.

It's so peaceful here. And the quietness around actually gives you this haunting feeling. After crossing the bridge, I went to the War Mesuem just beside it. I was overwhelmed with the different horror stories during the second world war which was skillfully displayed in the museum.

I'll be having an early day tomorrow. I'm planning to take the train to Wang Pho, a 2 hour ride south of Kanchinaburi to cross the infamous death trail. It's slowly becoming a very different trip for me. It's becoming an eye-opener and I like it that it's off the usually "tourist tour" track. I get to learn more and I have more time to just be and experience the local color. I just saw the sun setting, that definitely made my day.

ANCIENT KINGDOM AND THE GIANT BUDDHA

2006-03-02T22:38:00.000-08:00

My three day stay in Ayutthaya was very spiritual.

The group was joined by a local to offer a simple prayer of thanks in the Wat Phanan Cheong temple, just across the river Chao Phraya.

The shoot surprisingly went ahead of schedule. The set-ups were all smooth-sailing and the group opted to check out the amazing ruins of this ancient kingdom of Ayutthaya. It's a very enriching experience for me. Justine asked me if we have the same buddha and temple ruins back home, for a moment I actually thought about it, forgetting that we were 90% predominantly Christians. I told her that there were temples but Buddhism isn't really the predominant religion of the country. I remember going to two temples back home, the Macho Temple (Am not kidding, there's a temple with this name) in La union and the temple in the Malate area.

I wished Justine goodluck. It was nice seeing her again after 6 years. Time really is so fast, a decade ago, I was preparing my trip to U.K. for my studies, now I'm helping my ex-school mates already with their movies. I couldn't wait to see the final edited movie. She told me that it'll be ready in two months. I brought them to the train station and just like what I've planned, I'll be continuing my journey up north.

More detailed stories of my trip next time. Wish me luck!

A NEW WORLD

2006-02-28T01:57:00.000-08:00

Bangkok is a place where wonders never seem to cease.

We got up early to get some stuff in Chinatown which we will need for props in the film. The Chinese culture still amazes me wherever I go. They seem to have this sense of community and pride to wherever country that they decide to live.

Last night was a great treat because I was able to check out the local boxing stadium in Rachadamnoen. There were around 6 fights and I saw four of them then I had to leave to meet the group for late dinner.

The fights were tad bit graphic for me but I did really enjoy it. The testosterone level was so thick I swear I could box it and give it as pasalubongs if I wanted to. I also like the kitsch element behind it. The dance, the chant and the short shorts.

It'll be an early day tomorrow. We'll catch the three hour bus to the ancient town of Ayutthaya, 80 km north of Bangkok. We'll be shooting in the neighboring village for two to three days.

The set-ups are really easy. The script is just one page and the script cuts back and fort from the village to the busy streets of London. Unfortunately I don't think I can afford the trip to U.K. so Justine will get another friend to help them out. After Ayutthaya the group will go back to Bangkok. Justine has to be in U.K. by next week to shoot the remaining set-ups.

I have another agenda though. I told Justine that I'm staying behind to further go up north and travel six hours to the old province of Sukhothai and then maybe catch a train for another 10 hours to go further up in Chang Mai. I decided, maybe on a whim, that I would want to keep travelling and see where my limited budget will take me. It'll be a modest way of living I know but I'm sure that I can manage. I've been doing a lot of reading and they said that for less than $10-15 a day, a backpacker can actually sustain himself.

But my ultimate goal though is to go to Laos. I've been reading about the Mekong River since a friend of mine from U.K. took the slow boat to cross the Thai border to Houayxai and to Louang Phabang in Laos. He told me that it is definitely an experience of a lifetime. The grand adventure takes two days and the traveller has to catch a boat in the border - a wooden carbo boat that travels through the great Mekong river.

I 'm actually excited to check it out. He warned me that it's not a convinient trip but the sights are definitely to behold. I've been packing my bag already. And I think I will take the trip when I reach Chang Mai. It's good to know that Philippines has signed a visa exemption with the government of Laos to promote eco-tourism.

My feet can't wait to take the journey. And I'm taking that giant leap already. I took out my wristwatch and decided that where I'm going, time isn't a luxury, it's just a part of life.

The wind will lead me the way.

MEN IN TRANSIT

2006-02-26T23:22:00.000-08:00

Sunday became a rest day for me.

Justine and I had breakfast in a kitschy Indian cafeteria downtown. We had a good brunch actually, some roti and curry dip with the local thai veggie salad. She wanted to check Chatuchak market and I opted to stroll in one of the local parks near our hostel.

Our hostel is actually quite good because it's conveniently located in the town center which is near the old temples and the ever famous (thanks to Leo Di Caprio and the movie The Beach) Khao San Rd. I had some time reflecting in the local park called Phrasumeru. It's actually a fortress. Phra Sumeru Fortress (also spelled Phra Sumen) is located on the corner where Phra Athit Road and Phra Sumeru Road meet. This fortress was constructed in the reign of King Rama I in 1783 along with 14 other fortresses and battlements surrounding the capital.

The fortress is beautiful, beside it are notebook shops which sell one of a kind handmade notebooks. I got myself a journal with a camouflage cover, and it really looks great. I was trying to write an entry when a young caucasian guy approached me and asked for direction. I said I'm totally not familiar for I am a tourist myself. He told me that I looked liked I was Thai. That kinda felt good, from the start I was trying my very best to blend in just so that the people will not try to pull a scam on me or so for being a tourist.

We kinda had a chat for a bit. The guy's name was Ole' (Ula) and he is from Helsinki, Finland. I learned that he's been travelling for two months now and he left Finland exactly Christmas eve. He arrived in Bangkok, stayed for two days then he went to Chang Mai for two weeks, then off to the borders of Laos where he stayed for three weeks, then to Cambodia - Siam Reap for two weeks and another week in Angkor, then to Ayutthaya then back to Bangkok.

Over-all, he has been travelling for more than two thousand miles around the South East Asian region. He's just 22. That was my dream when I was his age. TO just roam around and see different things and not to keep track of time. I kinda felt envious of him that he was able to do that on his own. What's amazing is that he went travelling because he wanted some time off before he finishes his law school in his country. He's one year short of finishing. He left everything because he wanted to be clear with his decisions in life.

We had a good chat. He told me that he went travelling to get more motivated. To realize his dreams, to continue his passion. And that was a good realization for me. That people will never be able to go somewhere until they're still hanging in with their comfort zones. Ole' will be staying for two more days in Bangkok then he's going down to Koh Samui and Phuket, then from there he'll go and ride the train going to Singapore to get his flight back, but that will always just be a plan. He tells me that it can always change anytime.

With that, I wished him luck. He wished me luck to whatever I am doing and wherever I'm heading too. It was a great Sunday. The weather was good for strolling... and I had a very good realization to myself.

The world is a cultural yarn shop. Travellers weave the ultimate tapestry.

FAMILIAR MOVES, FAMILIAR PHRASES...

2006-02-25T16:19:00.000-08:00

Day two in the City of Angels.

We attended the talk/ tribute to Anthony Dod Mantle. He's one of the great cinematographers around, with the following movies under his belt- Fetsen, Dogville, 28 Days Later and Dear Wendy. I saw all of these four movies and I really like the way he composes his shots and do his mise en scene. The discussion went well but I wasn't really contented because some points weren't really much discussed, like how is it in the European film industry? How different is the filmmaking proccess in Europe and Hollywood? How's digital photography perceived in the big studio set-up?The discussion was really more about his works and the directors that he had helped in his career.

Nevertheless, the talk was still inspiring and I gotta learn a lot. I didn't join the screening of Millions because I saw it already so I decided to have a time-off for myself to check the place out. The Siam Paragon, where the event was being held was very impressive. It's like their Greenbelt but more massive, and a bit more people friendly I think.

After the stroll, I went back to the hotel to change. I'm meeting a Thai friend Thanaut to check out this bar called DJ STATION. It's their version of Bed and I wanted to check it out. I never knew how big the place and the scene is till I got there. The place is massive. Three floors and everyone was having the time of their live dancing. I got excited of course but the excitement kinda went down afterwards. I don't know, I told myself that this was the very same reason why I didn't want to go out in Manila because it has almost became a routine. Familiar moves, familiar stokes, I really think that I'm getting to old for partying.

It's interesting to see the faces and the moves. It really is universal. Everything is so familiar. From the occasional glances, to tapping someone's hand, to the more vulgar "accidental" groping of someone's crotch. I can't help but smile. Thanaut introduced me to his boyfriend Mark, an Australian backpacker who's been in Bangkok for 6 weeks now. Then after a drink or two of their local cocktail, I began feeling tipsy. Then this person started tapping my hand. I kinda looked away to signal that I wasn't interested. I went up to the third floor to check the place out from the bird's eyeview. To my surprise the person followed.

The person's attractive don't get me wrong, but I really think that It's not in my itinerary to hook up. And I'm just so tired with the "Wham Bam Thank You Mam" thing. The person started speaking in Thai and I didn't know what the freaking thing the person was saying so I said "I'm going down". I was kinda scared because I didn't know whether this person was trying to pull a scam but this person didn't look like it. The person's dressed well, but then again, looks can be deceiving. The person followed and still continued talking in Thai. Then I saw Thanaut and told him about the person. He talked to the person and he said that the person wanted to get to know me. I kinda signaled to the person that I have to go home. Which I really did have to, because I have an early day tomorrow. And with that, the person asked "Top or Bottom?". I must have fallen because of what the person said. I mean, the person didn't say anything in English the whole time the person was trying to converse and the person's familiar with the words, (to my surprise) Top and Bottom.

And with that I said goodbye to Thanaut, his boyfriend and the "makulit" na person. I went to the hotel and went staight to sleep.

Naloka aku dun ha.

FROM SIM TO SIAM

2006-02-24T02:42:00.000-08:00

I'm back in the City of Angels.

There's something about Bangkok and the magic is so intoxicating. I mean in a nutshell, there's really nothing much to brag, the traffic is so bad, the air is so polluted, but the atmosphere and the people are just so amazing that you can't help but join in the revelry.

I arrived 6:50pm to be exact but I wasn't able to go out the airport till around 8:30. Not because there was something wrong with my papers but the immigration line is just so long it took me an hour to get pass through it. There's so many people coming in which is a bit sad because when I was in the Manila airport there were so many people going out. ANd with the current situation that we're in I'll not be surprised if everyone decides to leave. Huh! I don't want to be political just yet, I'll reserve my two cents worth of opinion next time, and believe me I have lots to say about what's happening now.

Back to Bangkok stories. I wasn't able to join the group to watch the last movie for the day on the ongoing film festival because it's a bit late already. After depositing my stuff at the hostel, I went to Siam Paragon to get myself a decent meal and waited for Justine and his DP (Director of Photography).

It's a skeleton set-up actually, just Justine, Marcus, me and Justine's boyfriend Otto who's also acting in the movie. The short movie is about this guy who wakes up in a remote Thail village after getting drunk in a pub in London. I have a funny story that kinda happened to me like this actually. I was having some drinks with friends in my pad then when I woke up I was in Tagaytay already. Justine's story is a bit more extreme. It's about getting lost and finding one's self in the proccess. It's almost like a docu-drama. We're shooting in Ayutthaya next week. And we're spending a week first in Bangkok to check out the International Film Festival. Justine helped in one of the movies that is showing.

They went to the Cinematographer's Day seminar and I can't wait to attend Saturday's class because Chris Doyle (my favorite Cinematographer) will be on it. After the dinner, we all went to Khao San to grab some beer and to talk about the movie set-up. Marcus tried their local beer called Singha, which is actually good, I got myself a bottle as well. After about five bottles, the two went back to the hostel and I decided to stay for a bit to write some entries.

Tomorrow's another day. I'm addicted to travelling.

LEAVING ON A JET "STAR" PLANE

2006-02-23T16:30:00.000-08:00

It's amazing how the promos are for low cost flying.

I don't know how they manage with the fuel prices and all but by giving dirt cheap prices for travel it makes the world a really small place to live in. I'm happy that with $19 I can travel from Singapore to Bangkok.

I had a great time in Sim City. Though I didn't have much time, I was able to check out all the familiar places... the Merlion again, Suntech (this mamoth like mall that you'll literally get lost in), and Bugis Junction (I think this can be compared to Baclaran). I got to sample the spicy laksa soup for lunch and the curry fish for dinner. It was a great food trip for me.

I thank Chris, my friend that for a short notice he was kind to take me in as a guest. He had pahabol pa because when I was checking out his book collection, I saw this interesting title that I already heard from someone - The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. He told me that I can have it because he's finished with it already. It was a great way to past time for the three hours flight.

The book revolves a round this autistic kid who goes on writing his murder mystery novel when the neighbor dog got killed/murdered with a garden fork. He investigates everyone around the neighborhood and his investigation leads him to another mystery altogether. I'm on page 20 and it's well written, it's in the point of view of the autistic kid so it really does make an enjoyable read.

I'm now in Changi Airport, miracle because I was relatively early for my flight. The check-in counter wasn't open yet so I had to roam around the premise first.Got myself a coffee and am writing now in the internet stands for free which are placed strategically around the airport premise.

I'm excited to go to Bangkok, meet my friend and watch movies in the festival.

More travel stories soon.

BACK TO SIM CITY

2006-02-22T19:45:00.000-08:00

Ahhhrg.... work was like eating me up in Manila.

I had to be at the airport 9am, but 9:30 I'm still at my place burning a dvd for one of my clients. I couldn't believe why things don't work out for me that easy. (I'm just so freaking disorganized with work schedules). I promise myself that i will leave my phone so that I can just concentrate on the vacation/work but at the last minute I changed my mind just because I figured I need my phone just incase my family gets worried or if an emergency comes and they need to contact me.

Anyway, I'm back in Sim City. Yep, I'm in Singapore. It's the cheapest flight to Bangkok and since Justine will only be covering for a one way flight, I had to get the cheapest fare there is. There was a good promo but it also meant that I had to stop in Singapore and spend an overnight for a connecting flight to Bangkok. I asked a friend who's based here if I can crash for the night and he was kind enough to host me for the night.

Since he's working, I had to wander around on my own. I remember saying that Singapore was boring last time I was here. I think it's slowly picking up. Or then again maybe it was a different thing for me this time because I don't have work here and I'm just really here to roam around and have a good time. Last November, I was here for more than a week and I didn't even had the chance to check the place out.

I just finished checking out the National Library and I also went to this big Chinese Zodiac monument in Bugis Street. There, the fortune of each every single sign are posted. Snake apparently will have a good one this year. I'm no Chinese but I'm so crossing my fingers that the good chi will do me good. It also said that it's a scholarly season for me. meaning It's a stupendous time for me to devote more time in learning new things which I'm actually doing at the moment. I'm kinda enjoying Sim City this time.

Time to go. I'll be posting from time to time to document my trip.

AMAZING RACE

2006-02-21T20:55:00.000-08:00

For some reason I love cramming. (Or then again, it's just my excuse on how disorganized I am with my schedules).

I knew I had to be in Bangkok by the 20th to meet up with my friend Justine who's film is in exhibition in the Bangkok Film Festival, but I was only able to book a flight out yesterday. Aside from the festival, am also doing a probono project for her. She's shooting a short narrative in the eastern part of Thailand and I'll be doing A.D. work for her. It was like a payback time thing because 6 years ago she helped me finished my graduation film when I was still in U.K.

I'm actually leaving in 10 hours but I have a gazillion things to do before. I still have to shoot an interview for Cinema One and finish an edit for a TVC. Which ofcourse I have to do in less than 10 hours before my flight. I don't have a freaking idea how will I manage but responsibilities and commitments call so I really just have to deliver.

Goodluck to me.

TRAVEL TIME

2006-02-19T03:15:00.000-08:00

I'm packing my travel bag once again.

I'm leaving for two weeks to help my friend film her short narrative in the south east region. I'm actually excited because travelling is my favorite thing in the world. What's good is that travelling is also part of my bread and butter. It was always had been. Though my passion is doing narrative films, my first official job after school was in a travelogue. I enjoyed every moment of it. Though it's not thta lucrative and it requires a lot of time and effort, it's so enriching and I get to learn and visit new places that I don't think I'll be able to visit if it wasn't part of my work.

I've been to the most difficult places to go to. Rocky mountains, never ending rough roads, heck, I've even walked for 5 hours carrying a heavy tripod once when we filmedin Aurora, but I didn't complain a word. I enjoyed it very much. I was once trapped together with my crew up the mountains of Nueva Ecija for 24 hours with no food and we couldn't get down because there was a military operation happening. But I live for these. I love the uncertainty, the unpreparedness, and the lack of information on what to expect. For two years this was my world.

I'm leaving for Thailand and I've seen the itinerary and I don't have a freaking clue of what to expect there and I'm so excited. I'm open, and I'm ready to learn.

It's travel time once again.

THE HETERO'S GUIDE TO WATCHING BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN

2006-02-10T01:16:00.000-08:00

I saw this while browsing on the net.

Here's an interesting read/ review on one of the best movies of the year...

HETERO'S GUIDE TO BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
by GRAEME MACRANOR

Women have always loved cowboys.

And really, what's not to love? The cowboy - and I don't mean the imposters found amidst the cops and colonels on the highly-competitive male-stripper circuit - represents everything a woman wants in a man, and he exerts the kind of magnetic, hyper-manliness rarely seen in today's brand of well-coiffed urban male.

It's simple really: The cowboy's sensitive soul is encased in a well-muscled physique ubiquitously covered in slick layer of sweat. The cowboy can rope a steer, fix a fence and cook up a fiery pot of chili with enough potency to bring tears to the eyes.

But even though the cowboy has the power to shed tears, and regardless of how much women swoon, he's always been a man's man. So maybe it shouldn't be surprising that the dudes in Oscar-favourite Brokeback Mountain have finally figured out that you don't need a horse to do a little bareback riding.

Now almost everyone loves gay cowboys. Suddenly, gay cowboys are riding roughshod over the normally hetero-dominated plains of pop culture (except for those wicked circuit parties, and most music, television, advertising and fashion), lassoing history's cowboy heroes along the way and corralling them into that big old barn called oblivion.

But just hold your horses. According to star Jake Gyllenhaal, Brokeback is not about two gay men, but rather about two straight men who fall in love. Slightly confused, I grabbed my weathered copy of The So-Straight Handbook for Cowboys out of the closet, and it clearly states that's "pretty gay".

Regardless, today's straight urban male is an enlightened breed. Our hair stylists are gay and we're fine with it. We support gay marriage and we'll even go see a musical or two, as long as it's not Cats. But two friends who fall in love? For some of us, that premise rubs us the wrong way. And there's nothing our girlfriends can say or do to convince us to go see a couple of sexy, hyper-manly tickle-fighting cowboys. Period.

So as I came out of the theatre last night escorted by my girlfriend's ear-to-ear smile, it struck me that some of us likeminded males may just need a little prodding to get over the hump, so to speak. Perhaps I could help convince them that, with the proper preparation, Brokeback Mountain was actually pretty easy to swallow. Then it hit me like a Heath Ledger: The Hetero's Guide to Brokeback Mountain: How to Get In and Out with Success.

HERE ARE A FEW GUIDELINES TO HELP YOU GET THROUGH:

- Go with a girl: This is a great date movie, and the love scenes are genuinely tender and beautifully shot. Your date will think you're sensitive, secure in your sexuality and she may even be aroused by the sweet man-on-man action. Note: if she says she's turned on, do not say, "Me too."

- Do not ask your best male friend to go: The implied innuendo could have devastating effects on your friendship. It's like asking him to go to the gay bar just to "see what it's like."

- If you run into one of your friends in the cinema: Pepper him with phrases like "Fantastic cinematography," and "I felt the visual metaphor of the closet closing at the end had a certain finality to it." Also try to slip in any kind of reference to Michelle Williams' or Anne Hathaway's breasts. Then ask him why he's alone.

- Do not wear a cowboy hat: Not even those wicker Mexican ones that say "Mazatlan" on them.

- Relax and enjoy the film: This is an excellent piece of moviemaking. Besides, it's not like you're going to watch it, suddenly realize you're gay and that you and your best friend's relationship has all the makings of a gay cowboy movie. Right, partner?

PICTURE PERFECT

2006-01-18T21:04:00.000-08:00

Words couldn’t describe the beauty that is Mindanao…

And it can only be captured by an equally great cinematographer. Hands down to my cameraman Glen. Bow.

GOLD RUSH

2006-01-17T22:02:00.000-08:00

I only had three hours of sleep.

Our flight was at 5:20 so we had to be at the Centennial two hours before. After 3 cups of coffee, I pushed myself to get a cab and I was on the road. Halfway through I remembered that I forgot to bring my asthma inhaler. I was already late and there was no drugstore open yet.

What the freaking heck, I told myself. I can always buy the medicine there if ever. I’m actually more concerned on the safety of the place where we’re going. I just saw in the research that Siocon Valley was MILF country; locals were even salvaged because of the political drift and uncertainty. To make things worse, I’m going there to document the mining community and the subject was a bit sensitive especially because over the years, small scale mining operations were put to stop by the government for the destruction that they create. I didn’t know what to expect really. All I know is that I’m excited but at the same time I’m scared.

When we arrived in Zamboanga City, we only had an hour or so to have breakfast and to be briefed by our guide before we continue our trip inside the jungle. It will be another 4 hours trip on the rough road. We were accompanied by three soldiers. I even became more scared after seeing them. They were complete with full battle gear. It is as if we’re going to a military operation or something.

After four hours of rattling and swaying up in the van, we were greeted by the clear sea side view of the Zamboanga peninsula. I’m amazed with the magnificent view of the clouds that has enveloped the forest. And all the worries that I had awhile ago was washed away. I know that God is with me.

After shooting the village proper, we were greeted by the members of the Subanon tribe. They even danced for the camera. And to end the presentation, an old woman sang a very old native song. She cried just before she finished it. I don’t know what it meant but I felt the very spirit of the song. I was teary eyed myself.

This will be an amazing and an enriching trip.

I can’t wait for tomorrow.

DOWN SOWTH

2006-01-13T20:59:00.000-08:00

I think it’ll be a good year for me.

It was a travel year for me last year, and it’s just the middle of the month of January and I got na another project. I’m doing a documentary in Zamboanga. I’m excited because it’ll be my first time to go there, to go to Mindanao actually. At least I can now say that I’ve been around the country, Luzon, Visayas and now Mindanao.

I’m doing a lot of research now, we’ll be there for five days to document the mining community and a local indigenous tribe called the Subanons.

I’m so looking forward to this trip. Another learning experience for me I’m sure.

THE YEAR THAT WAS...

2005-12-31T20:57:00.000-08:00

2005 I think would end up in my book as the busiest year for me.

I was working for six shows. And as if I wasn’t even busy enough, I even started my very own freaking magazine show. Though it was short lived, (we only finished one season) SALT will always be the greatest learning experience in my career. I learned how it is to really manage a television show, from producing everything with a shoe-string budget, to accomplishing everything given an unimaginable deadline, to even firing my director and my co-producers just because requirements weren’t being met. I had to do it otherwise things would have never worked out.

But one thing I learned in producing, no matter how everything gets screwed up, the bottom line is, you as the producer should take account to what happens. The cold buck stops at you and nobody should be blamed but you. Having said that, I still ended up being a bitch to my staff.

I traveled a lot in 2005, and it wasn’t even in my plan. I went to Baguio to celebrate my brothers birthday, I went to Boracay and experienced my first time to travel with friends in a ship, I enjoyed the beach a lot, I even ended up going back to Bora during the last quarter of the year. I went to Batanggas to check out windsurfing too.

I didn’t have plans of going out of the country but I ended up going to Bangkok and Singapore (God I love my job, the sleepless nights, the never ending editing was all really worth it.) I got to meet a lot of interesting people, I was able to go to a lot of interesting places, it was a great time to explore new things for me. I really learned a lot.

But I think the best thing that I did this year was that I was able to spend more time with my family. I was present in all the birthday parties, the impromptu dinners, the late nightouts with my sis to watch a movie or just really to spend quality time with them. I thank God really for being able to accomplish a lot this year. It was a productive year indeed.

I hope it continues next year, I’m wishing… no, I’m looking forward.

BIG BANG

2005-12-27T21:50:00.000-08:00

I had the most wonderful Christmas Eve with the family.

It’s funny because I remember when I was young I always get so excited whenever I open gifts. Time has surely passed, this time around I get so excited whenever I wrap gifts for my brothers, my sis, my nieces, my ina-anaks. It’s so good to see their surprised faces when they open the gifts I so lovingly wrapped for them. This year was no different. As early as August I was already saving and buying gifts for them.

I saw the World Pyrotechnics thingy in Roxas Blvd. I was out with a friend and I didn’t really know what to expect. I didn’t have much to do so I went anyway to check it out. It was a long walk. My first time to go to the Mall of Asia, the competition was being held there. It was Australia and China who had to show off. We arrived 15 minutes too late, and the Chinese Pyrotechnics Team has already started.

I never thought that I would enjoy the show, but I really did. It was like being a kid again. There I was looking up above, uttering the “oooh’s” and “aaahh’s” at the most amazing firework show that I have ever seen.

It was a different way to spend the night, the holiday chill was in the air, and I was with a very good company to spend it with.

La Dolce Vita it is.

BIRTHDAY BOY

2005-12-11T20:36:00.000-08:00

I prepared two small get together dinners for some friends.

It was my birthday last Thursday and I wanted to spend it with the family so I decided to spend the salubong with my friends at work and the day after with highschool friends para no conflict. I asked my friend JT to cook for the salubong because he just opened his new food stall in One San Miguel. He prepared a lot actually, it even exteneded to the post birthday with my highschool friends.

To make the long story short. I had a blast. Good food, good wine, good company. Two of the best birthday parties I had. Small but very intimate.

Salubong Birthday Party:

Post Birthday with Highschool friends and other good friends:

Thank you guys for being the blessings that I always thank God for.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

2005-11-24T23:34:00.000-08:00

I’m back home again.

I missed my friends a lot. My family the most. I had a great time with Maik last weekend. I didn’t want to go to clubs anymore but I missed my friends company so no choice but to check out Bed again. I always tell myself that I’ve passed this phase already. That clubbing isn’t me anymore. But I was wrong. Once I heard the familiar tracks I was hooked. Travis played a magnificent set. The kind that would give you a hit without even dropping anything. Natural f*cking high at it’s best.

I danced three hours straight. I made up for the catatonic nights in Singapore. I was so tired, that when I hit the sack I was a goner.

I can’t believe that I was out for 1 week. I have so many things to do these coming weeks. I still have to finalize the stories for the Singapore special. Ahhhhhhhrg.
Parang walang katapusan. I was out for work then when I returned, work was waiting for me again.

I can’t wait for my sabbatical… which I still have to schedule.

That’s just so pathetic.

LAST LEG IN SIM CITY

2005-11-20T22:11:00.000-08:00

We had all our hopes but maybe our best just wasn’t as good enough, yet.

Team Philippines bowed to their worthy opponents. We gave them a good fight though. Who would have ever thought that a bunch of sophomoric kids would beat up professional gamers in the World Cyber Games? And they did, they were able to moved to the finals beating Finland which was a big team to beat. The Pinoy kids were having the time of their life playing not just for themselves but for the country as well. And for that alone, we were really proud of our boys. Kudos to all of you, I’m sure we will fare better next year.

Talking about next year’s event, I just hope somebody would still sponsor my trip though… the next one will be held in Italy. Amore… that, I can’t wait.

We didn’t want to leave Sim City without checking out the Art of Star Wars Exhibit in the Science Museum. It was a welcome treat to all Star Wars fans. Memorabilia from all of the six episodes were there.

I saw two iconic props, Padme’s birthing table and Darth Vader’s operating table.

I was so thrilled. DV’s the most iconic character when I was growing up, and no other cinematic character comes close, not even Superman I think. And seeing the very same costume that he wore during the actual filming in person was definitely an experience of a lifetime.

And for this alone, the trip to Sim City was definitely well worth it.

FOR THE LOVE OF THE HOUSE

2005-11-19T03:17:00.000-08:00

Interesting players abound this year’s WCG.

For instance, the U.S. team for counterstrike fielded in twin players as part of their roster. Then there’s this head turner Valerie from Germany who’s the sole female player among the 700 hopefuls. Talk about girl power, she seemed like she just came out of an FHM mag or something.

Then there’s this hot player from Russia named Alex who dyed his hair white, red and blue to show support to his country.

And the cutest player that stole everyone’s heart was the three year old boy Amir from Iran who can barely talk but his hands were damn unbelievable when it came to the Fifa Football game.

These interesting sorts made the games more colorful and an interesting watch.

It’s Friday night and Camille introduced to us her Danish boyfriend Tako. We first met for a good dinner at Emerald Hill, another chi-chi place to spend your hard earned moolah – 1750 Pesos just for a fairly decent meal and a drink (I can’t help it but I turned into a walking calculator since I got here).

Then off we went to Zouk. I was hearing a lot of things about the bar. Esquire voted it as one of the top ten best clubs in the world in a poll. So I was really expecting a lot. The queue was just unbelievable. And for $30 entrance, it’s really no joke. Clubbing here is indeed a serious business. Zouk is a superclub. It’s like Embassy but in a way much more grander scale. It has three humungous bars in its compound. First is Velvet Underground (I just so love the name), true to it’s name it emits a Warhol-esque vibe. It was like Andy-and-Nico-will-show-up-any-moment feel. The interior designer must have been in acid when he designed it cause it’s really psychedelic. The music gets my nod- Stephane Pompougnac of Hotel Costes fame was their anthem.

Then off we went to Phuture, the second part of the superclub. It’s all Hip-hop here and the crowd was just amazing. I’m really no fan of the genre but Tako and Camille wanted to stay for a bit so San and I had no choice but to dance a bit. Then we went to Zouk. This made my night really. I’m such a fan of “House” I can’t help but to feel orgasmic whenever great tracks came my way. Then there’s this huge banner saying “FOR THE LOVE OF THE HOUSE” which greeted everyone who enters. It was like going to Church or something.

Everyone was all prepared and everyone knows their music. House is their religion. There was a lot of Tiesto, Armin Van Buuren and Nick Warren mix playing. Last time I enjoyed good house music was Cream last Holloween. Too bad that we were in Singapore early. Apparently, in two weeks time,Van Buuren and Nick Warren will play in their yearly Zoukout (similar to a Big Fish event in Manila) where apparently 50,000 House and music aficionados are expected to attend.

I’m such a House Junkie. I just love the music really. And everyone did. One thing I liked about the people here is they go clubbing to appreciate and to dance to good house music. I, for any moment didn’t feel or saw the pretentious crowd who went to clubs just to be seen. Singaporeans, I give them a nod because they really know how to party.

San and I had to be responsible though, we had our curfew. So at 2.30am, when the crowd was just at its peak, we went home to prepare for the big event tomorrow – Philippines Vs. Germany for Counter Strike: Source.

It’s ok. I had my fair share of good House music.

I know that I’ll get my good night sleep.

A RATHER BLAND MORNING, A REWARDING AFTERNOON AND AN EVENING WELL SPENT

2005-11-18T03:16:00.000-08:00

Woke up late.

San and I had to rush, we only had 10 minutes for breakfast because the buffet closes a bit earlier than your usual hotel breakfast buffet. The food here too was kinda bland. I usually am not very particular with food but for some reason, the breakfast (chicken sausage, hash browns, baked beans and scrambled eggs)… was boring.

Then off we went to Suntech. There we met up with the boys. Two of them actually just arrived, and less than two hours before the match, they went straight to Suntech from the airport to fight with one of the toughest teams to beat. The WCG qualifying rounds for Counter Strike more than made up for the disappointing breakfast. It was exhilarating. I was doing the camera and my hands were shaking when the Philippine Team was battling it out with the Finnish team. The boys from Finland were apparently one of the bests in the tournament and they were actually eyeing for a bronze at the very least.

But the Pinoy boys wouldn’t throw the towel in just yet. It was a close match and after a lot of swearing and a lot of testosterone spilling, we got into the second round. The boys couldn’t believe it themselves. They were actually here just for the exposure and they didn’t even think that they’d be able to play in the semis. Then again, good things happen when you least expect it. Everyone was ecstatic. I too felt the sense of pride.

Come dinnertime, Camille, San’s best friend met us for a few beers. I haven’t seen Cam’s in years. Here she is, a permanent resident of Singapore already, producing for one of the biggest studios in Sim City. After studying in Singapore for three years she was able to get a good offer and she decided to stay. For a moment, I kinda reminisced about my stint in London as well. After finishing my studies in U.K. I had some offers to work with small companies there. Eventually I did, but after working for less than a year I opted to go back home. I have no regrets though. My five years of working in Manila was all worth it. But sometimes I can’t help but think about the “What ifs”.

We ended up with a big group- San, Camille and I with some Asian gaming journalists. After getting some beer at the bar infront Suntech, Cam brought us to this cool bar up north. Little Asia is the highest bar that I’ve been to I think. The bar is situated at the 70th floor of one of the hotels there. It offers a good view of the Singaporean Skyline. I’m impressed. Such a small city but the progress here is just amazing.

I wanted to get tipsy but the drinks were just damn too expensive (700 Pesos a mix). So after a cocktail we all decided to hit the dance floor. We met these two cool guys - Dennis and Chester. Dennis, a Singaporean who has his own company, which specializes on in-flight entertainment and Chester, a Chinese-Filipino, based in Japan and working for an I.T. firm. It was a “POP” night and the crowd was a bit older. I didn’t mind.

The past two days were so boring that I didn’t care what music was playing, I just really have to dance and go to a club. I haven’t been dancing to pop for the longest time so it was such a welcome break for me. And when GNR’s anthem track played… I banged my head to the music and sang at the top of my lungs with everyone…

“She's got a smile that it seems to me. Reminds me of childhood memories. Where everything was as fresh as the bright blue sky. Now and then when I see her face ... Woh, Sweet child o' mine.”

Singapore’s not that bad after all…

STARTED WITH THE LION, ENDED WITH THE TIGER...

2005-11-17T01:06:00.000-08:00

Day two in Sim City.

We woke up early to check around. Took the bus and we all decided to take a peek at the famous Merlion that spits water from its mouth.

It was a long way from the bus stop so we had time to walk around check out the architecture of the city, the buildings and the streets. Again... it's all in order. The people, the traffic, everyone is following the strict rules, who wouldn't, a fine of $1000 will be imposed to anyone who's caught littering, jaywalking... disposing chewing gum on the street... I'm kinda liking the way things are here.

Then we arrived at Suntech. It's a titanic mall, Megamall times three or four I think. The event will take place at a gigantic hall at the top of mall. It's the biggest event I've covered so far. They flew in around 1500 people- the gamers, referees, the press. I can't imagine the logistics that took place.The opening though was a disappointment, I mean I was looking forward to a much more grander scale in terms of the production number, but we only saw cheerleaders and an anti-climatic fireworks at the end. Heck the Enchanted Kingdom closing production number spells more grandeur.

Nevertheless, everyone's all excited. We got to meet the Russian, German and a number of the European teams. They're actually very intimidating, I mean they are cyber athletes in the first place. They are paid to play gaming consoles and the corresponding p.c. games, and they all have big companies backing them up as to compared to our boys, they are all still studying and they can't play as much as they want to.

The boys said that they will give a good fight. They're all excited just by participating.

I'm still dead tired. So I told San if we can just go for a rest. But I needed a cold beer to end the day. We religiously went to the net cafe to check our bilins from back home. I was trying to get the number of my friend Kai who's Singaporean, wanted to ask him what's the best thing here that's worth our while. I got an email from him, and too bad he's in Malaysia for his friend's wedding and he'll not be back till Monday, he recommended a place called Tanjong Pangar. So after checking out our emails, we hailed a cab to check the place out.

It must have been my luckiest day because our driver turned out to be a born again Christian. I told him "Uncle, we're new here and we'd want to go to Tanjong Pangar, we heard that it's a good place to hang out..."

And he responded back "Oh... no... no... I'm Christian you see, and that place is no good place for tourists (sporting a very difficult to understand Sing-glish accent). You try the night market instead la?"

"But..." Before I can finish my sentence he tried to cut me and said... "It's my moral duty to protect you and tell you not to go there... It's bad... there are lot of boys kissing each other there..."

I can't believe what I was hearing actually, a taxi driver trying to argue and win his way so that he can save us from an "apparent" danger. I wanted to reason my way out but I just didn't have the energy so we decided to check out the night market instead.

Much to our disappointment, there's really nothing new there. Greenhills offers a much better find.So after a spicy curry dinner, we got ourselves a Tiger. It's their local beer. It's a big beer so San and I decided to share one bottle. It's the closest thing that we got to that elusive local color that we were craving for since we got here. We're crossing our hands that we'll get to see some action and some color in this rather bland city.

Second day in this dry city is uneventful. Damn that Taxi Driver.

SINGAPOREAN SLING AND SLANG

2005-11-15T02:26:00.000-08:00

The group arrived a day early. I was expecting to see some action with the boys but the opening ceremony will not be until tomorrow... I was so tired, haven't really had enough sleep because we had to be in the airport at 6:00am in the morning. Nothing much to do, San and I found ourselves killing our time in the net cafe... trying to check out and learn a local slang or two. Singapore's too clinical for me... It's so perfect... It's like Sim City come to life. It's too good that it's predictable and kinda dry. I miss the dirt, I miss the spontaneity... miss the old rustic charm of Manila.

It's Tuesday and there was nothing happening in town. We went to Zouk and it was close so we ended up in this quaint bar called... uhumm... Rest Room. Nothing exceptional really, it was just that it was the first bar that looked cozy and that looked like it had history. The bad thing was there was no bar list so you have to tell the waiter what drinks to mix. For goodness, they didn't know how to mix Singaporean sling so I ordered a Screwdriver instead... damn it cost me $17 or roughly 550 Pesos.

San wanted to check out other bars but I had to beg off cause I was really tired.

Six more days to go... I don't know how I'll last...

LOOKING FOR THE NEED FOR SPEED

2005-11-10T23:42:00.000-08:00

I just got the confirmation.

I'm leaving Tuesday morning to cover this cool event called World Cyber Games. WCG is like the olympics of computer gaming, last year they held the finals in San Francisco, this year they're doing it in Singapore. We pinoys got good exposure last year and hopefully we'll bag some trophies this year. Cool thing is I'm leaving with the Philippine team. For one week I'll be documenting them tough teenage gaming machines as they battle it out with the best gamers around the globe. I gotta make myself a small Philippine flag and wave it if ever there's an opening procession of some sorts, parang Olympics. Haha...

Way to go Pinoys... ipakita saa muundohh... Pinoy akoh... Pinooy... (Damn the Pinoy Big Brother last song syndrome...)

THE EXCUSE OF THE SUN FOR THE SCORCHING AFTERNOON HEAT

2005-11-08T10:50:00.000-08:00

I haven't been doing one of my most favorite things to do for quite some time now.

I love writing narrative screenplays. I used to spend a lot of time when I was still studying writing short screenplays for short movies. I was lucky enough to make three short movies out of some of my short screenplays - Popsongs and Wonderwoman, Games that Children Play, and Bang Bang Cults. They're mostly character studies of troubled but interesting individuals.

I love writing. It's a totally whole new world for me. It's where I am free to imagine and create interesting characters that would arouse my interest. It was hot yesterday afternoon and I wasn't doing anything much. Finally after months of working with no break I had some free time for myself. I went to my computer and started typing in some conversations between two characters - a carefree fifteen year old boy and his lola, fifteen days before the boy leaves for abroad for good after being petitioned by his American father, set in one of the hottest summers ever to be recorded in Philippine soil ...

The result is an interesting character study between two individuals and a screenplay that I can't wait to finish...

*Excerpt from the screenplay that I am writing: With the title "Pasintabi ng Araw sa Init ng Tanghaling Tapat"

Mako Voice-over:
Putang ina ang init… mapapamura na lang ako sa sobrang init ngayong araw na to. Actually… sa mga nagdaang araw… Walang exag pero talagang kumukulo lahat ng kaloob-looban ko… Eto na siguro yung pinakamainit na summer na na-experience ko. Gusto ko mang magmall pero –olats akong panggastos. Puta... problema pa tong long hair ko... Kaya eto, ligo na lang ako ng ligo. Puta…lulunurin ko na lang ang sarili ko sa malamig na tubig… di bale bago ko umalis papuntang "tate"... goodbye longhair...

Lola Aying:
Mako… mako…

Mako:
Po?

Lola Aying:
At bakit walang yelo sa ref? Nasaan na yung mga ginawa ko dito kagabi?

Napatingin si Mako sa loob ng drum, nagkandalusaw-lusaw na ang mga yelong linagay nya sa loob nito. Pasimple nyang hinango ang mga plastic na balat ng yelo at dahang dahang tinapon nya ito sa may paso sa likod niya. At patay malisya syang nagpatuloy sa pagligo.

Lola Aying:
Mako, nasaan sabi yung mga yelo rito sa ref?

Napalabas si Lola Aying upang usisain ng lalo si Mako na abala sa pagligo. At sa nakita nyang nanginginig na katawan ni mako ay alam na nya kung anong nangyari sa ginawa nyang yelo.

Lola Aying:
Lintek kang bata ka… Alam mong gagamitin ko yung mga yun sa gulaman ha?

Mako:
Ang init lola eh... Its d sans folt nat me…

Lola Aying:
Anong gagamitin ko ngayon ha? Sinong bibili ng gulamang hindi malamig? Inubos mo yung yelong ginawa ko…

Sinagot naman ito ni Mako ng kanyang karabaw English na isang lingo na rin niyang prinapraktis upang pagnagkita na sila ng kanyang Amerikanong ama ay hindi siya gaanong mapapasubo.

Mako:
Ofcorz nat… I left sam der.

Lola Aying:
Iisa… iisang supot ng yelo sa isang galong sago’t gulaman… ha? Eh hindi na samalamig yon…

Mako:
Opo… Eh di samaligamgam na lang sya….

Lola Aying:
Aba’t nakuha mo pang magbiro loko ka ha…

Kinuha ni Lola Aying ang suot nyang bakya at nasaakto na nyang babatuhin ang pilosopong apo.

Mako:
La… masakit yan… isusumbong ko kayo, baka gusto nyong makasuhan ng DSWD… child battery yan…

Walang sabi-sabing binato ni Lola Aying si Mako subalit nakailag ang apo. Bigla namang sumalok ng tubig si Mako at pilit na binasa ang matanda. Patuloy siyang naglaro na parang bata… sa napaka-init na araw ng tanghaling tapat.

RETRO TRIPPIN

2005-11-07T09:53:00.000-08:00

Apparently there's a big group of music aficionados who are returning to vinyl records.

That's way cool I think, I remember when I was young, I'd usually check out the turntable of my relatives and would ask them to play me an album or two. Even at a young age I love hearing and checking out cool music. I'm no Ipod fan really, I think they're covenient but I miss the novelty in listening to cassette tapes and stocking them neatly as collections. I used to save money when I was in elementary to buy 45Pesos cassette tapes of my fave artists. So I was thrilled when I heard that there'll be this cool exhibit in Makati of analog music technology.

So I went there, one sunday afternoon, and to my surprise not only was there an exhibit but there were some artists who'll perform to a live recording. The recorded gig will then be pressed into a limited vynil record. The line up was pretty impressive. Nyco Maca was captivating, Mishka Adams and Up Dharma Down were just amazing. It was an afternoon well spent. I got the music fix that I was craving for that day and I couldn't wait to get the vynil record. I got to check out cool turntables and antique amplifiers too. The entry level price wasn't cheap, reasonable though... I promise myself that I'll save for it and start collecting vynil. They just sound so much better... and a dozen or two stocked neatly look way much cooler than any nano there is...

Well then again, maybe that's just me really..

BANGKOK GOOD FINDS

2005-10-17T08:35:00.000-07:00

Yup... am back in town. I wouldn't want to pre-empt the show Good Finds but I've taken notes on the ten best finds of my recent Bangkok trip. I would really want to go back again and just go there for vacation. The trip was great but the work load was really tough... oh well... at least it was a freebie... too bad that my host was nowhere to be found, the feature would have been better if Jenny was there. But yup I think the episode will still be cool with these great finds and all...

Top 10: Fresh Lotus Flowers
being sold at the weekend Flower Market

Top 9: Thailand is such an authority of kitsch.
These stuffed birds are a must for the lovers
of gaudy trinkets.

Top 8: I love the fact that their creative
juices are flowing or even spilling over the streets.
Pop-art side walk vending will
surely be a welcome break to
the MMDA if ever it was done here.

Top 7: They maybe not be politically correct
but the shirts in racy Bangkok have caught my fancy.
I just love them.

Top 6: The best way to paint the town red
is by riding the "Tuktuk". I mean by the
name alone, how else can you go wrong?
It's a tricycle, cum jeep, cum taxi. Go figure.

Top 5: Fried crickets and edible worms might not
be for everyone, but for people who are game enough,
this acquired taste of a food is an experience not to
be missed.

Top 4: The Royal Guards. I've seen the changing of the
guards in Buckingham Palce when I was still in London,
but man, our brown brothers are way much cooler.
Calling them regal would be an understatement.

Top 3: You can see a more traditional side of Bangkok
from a river cruise. Enjoy the sights of quiet villages that
line the canals. One thing I noticed, there are a lot of
Thai boys who love cruising... haha...

Top2: Night Market. This for me is heaven.
Shopping is world's greatest invention I think... hehe.
Only if I had the moolah, damn, we left for
Bangkok and it wasn't sweldo yet so I had to
budget everything. I was able to get cool notepads
and some shirts though..
.

Top 1: Walking around. I love walking.
That's what I usually do whenever I find
myself in a new place. Walk and marvel at the
things around me... I love discovering new
things...

The four day trip was freaking worth it... haay...

ELUSIVE BLISS FOUND...

2005-10-04T03:30:00.000-07:00

This made my weekend.

I always believe that I am the child of the sea. That I was conceived while the waves were breaking and while the haunting hymn of the wind were being sung across the shores. I always have that affinity with the sky that envelopes me. For it is the crib of two of my favorites among God's "little" creations. The glorious sun that will always be my source of light and the nymphet moon that will always be my source of inspiration.

One minute was it all took for me to experience this priceless bliss. Gone were the sixty seconds but the feeling stays. I got my camera, held my breath and immortalized something that is so important to me. The boy was just sitting, while watching the untamed ocean. The blue boat gently sliced the waves. The man in the foreground was... simply, just in awe with the beauty that has embraced him.

I was teary eyed for God seemingly spoke to me... "life is priceless, and this is my gift, everything around you is beautiful, no matter how simple, how slow, how jarring, how chaotic life may seem, in the end, everything around you is moving, everything is changing."

And it is. Everything around us is changing.

And it follows, that everything around us spells hope.

WEEKEND GETAWAY

2005-10-03T18:41:00.000-07:00

My weekend's a blast, thanks for me being impulsive... I really had to escape... my work was piling up, I was fighting with my business partner, I was being petty with the guy that I am seeing, I was bitching with the cat next door... (I would have wanted to report the owner because pets aren’t allowed in any vertical living. At first I thought I was imagining things, that I was hearing a baby cry or something but in the end I realized that there was a cat next door, making these awful sounds like it was in heat or something)… I was always in the bad mood… as in I wasn't really thinking straight (haha, pun intended)… bottom line, I was just so burnt out with work...

So ayun kahit sobrang wala sa schedule, at medyo limited sa budget, I really just had to leave manila with a good friend. Sobra walang plano, Thursday evening, I was calling evryone that I know if they want to join me sa bora, I was able to get a freebie room from a friend so pamasahe na lang problema, buti na lang a group was going there na naka chartered (there was another friend celebrating her birthday, she knew the owner of the airlines and the airfare was unbelievably low… so low it was almost a joke), all the signs were there saying na... "Pao... umalis ka muna at baka magnervous breakdown ka na"... haha.

I was calling some friends to join, I have a free room and an airfare almost half the price but everyone was just so freaking busy, buti na lang I have a very good friend na kaladkarin. Pumayag si mokong at the last minute, he’s also impulsive like me so he asked his boss if he can skip work for a day and he joined me there... The trip was all worth it…sobra saya that we ended up staying another day...

Konti pa tao and the beach was so peaceful, I gotta hang out and talked with the locals which was I think the best thing in the island... Ken and Dino, two ultra sports buff who are very much into kite boarding, this is a sport that is slowly taking the island by surprise… it was so freaking expensive though...I think $275 dollars, but they were asking me If I’d want to try it for free… I chickened out… I was scared na baka liparin ako tapos di na ko mabalik sa island… and yeah… I don’t know how to swim… haha.

Then there was Mario, the local zoologist… he’s the one taking care of the Fairways butterfly farm… it was my first to go inside a butterfly farm... God, I swear I had the most fun. To tell you the truth, I wasn't fond of butterflies before… It is only now that I appreciate how magical they are… from a creepy caterpillar to a regal butterfly. I love what they undergo through… Metamorphosis is such a cool thing.

My next project… I’d want to stay in Bora for a month… I’ll try to make money by selling my art or doing crafts there (I think I’m getting good with the jewelry making thingy)… I’ll pack my bag light (which I always do) and live how the locals would live in the island… which is to live simple but spend your time the best way possible. I think I can hack that… This trip was different from the last time because I really had a good time. I was literally one with the island.

Anyway… now I’m back… working my ass off again… trabaho to the max… but am more relaxed now and I believe that I can take up the beating once again. I feel 110% recharged and my efficiency is at its best I think... para ako ngayong energizer bunny... the action never stops… haha... =)

BOY UTADA

2005-09-27T07:09:00.000-07:00

You sent me this...

Narenai doushi de, yoku ganbatta ne
machigatta koi wo shita kedo... machigai de wa nakatta...

Yume miteta no wa doko made?

Watashi no te de Be my last... Itsuka musubareru yori.

Being unaccustomed to one another, we did well, no?
We were part of a mistaken love... but it wasn't really a mistake ...

How far were we dreaming?

With my hands, be my last... So that we may one day be connected.

---------

I replied...

Yup... YOU BE MY LAST!

MORE FOUR LETTER WORDS...

2005-09-19T06:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday: "I hate you more..."

Tonight: "I hope your day was peachy!"

Me: "Ano ba talaga? Haha?"

Hirap mong ispelengin...

I was checking the dictionary and I found other great four letter words....

Rush.
Luck.
Good.
Wish.
Life.
Fate.

That's the optimist in me talking.

So what does the boy think?

FEAR , IN THE END, IS A FOUR LETTER WORD

2005-09-13T06:35:00.000-07:00

I got this text yesterday from someone who's slowly becoming a natural part of my system.

"I hate myself for being afraid... I'm scared of myself when it comes to you..."

I always feel that I'm easy to get along with but in honesty I'm very difficult to fathom. And I'm actually happy and okay with it because by being so, people would usually take time to get to know the real me. I am a difficult person I know. I'm difficult to read, difficult to understand but once you invest time and get to know me I'm really just the most natural and the most loyal thing there is. I know myself. I know my limitations but I also know what I'm good at and capable of.

I will never be impulsive that's for sure. I will never give in just because I'm pressured or just because it's the most convenient thing to do. I want to discover relationships. I want to explore people. I want time, an ample time to really get to know someone. I'll never be afraid because fear will only leave me with parameters and with limitations. If I'm interested I'd take time and the effort to really get to know you, to get to be in your shoes and experience your being. In the end I'd always want to be sure of myself before taking in the plunge. In the process I may hurt myself or maybe hurt others but in this game of the hearts that's the price that we all have to pay. Love is evolving, it will never be easy, it's a difficult process but in the end it's definitely worth the time and the effort. Finding and falling in love is the most rewarding thing on earth.

He will be able to read this post I know... (As you've said it yourself) "Fearing to be only increases the risk of becoming...".

It's dangerous there in the freeway.

We just really have to always wear our safetybelts on.

OF GREAT NATIONAL INTEREST

2005-09-11T20:40:00.000-07:00

Haha... was checking out some emails and my friend Damien forwarded these useless sites that actually helped me out in my boring Sunday morning... had fun towards afternoon when I got to check out Body Combat and Cosmic Spinning at Fitness... talk about natural high in sports... definitely worth the hit.

But anyway, yeah... check out these useless sites that can leave you a smile or two... But hey, they're really useless ok... don't say I didn't warn you...

STAR QUALITY
Have you ever wonder which star you look like? I had a ball checking this site out... malapit naman talaga eh... hehe...

ANALOGIA: STAR ESTIMATOR
http://www.play-analogia.com/cgi-bin/index/

HANO NE?
I just love them Japanese... so when the opportunity for me to get my Japanese name came... di ko na pinatagal...

JAPANESE NAME CONVERTER
http://www.urban75.com/Mag/jap.html

LOOK MA, NO HANDS. JUST VIRTUAL FIST.
Get to punch the most annoying celebrity and personality there is... Saddam Hussein, Tony Blair... and even the Telletubies... I chose the most over rated pop diva... too bad Barbara's nowhere to be found.

PUNCH CELINE
http://www.urban75.com/Punch/index.html

LAST FULL SHOW

2005-09-10T07:25:00.000-07:00

Kapelikula Pictures proudly brings you LAST FULL SHOW, directed by a young Filipino-American director Mark Reyes. The movie tells us the story a young affluent schoolboy Crispin and how the seedy underground movie world has taught him life lessons not necessarily taught in the four corners of his classroom.

Ang Last Full Show ang kauna-unahang pelikula ng batang director na si Mark Reyes. Mahigit sa dalawang taon bago nya nabuo ang sensitibong screenplay ng pelikula na ayon rin sa kanya ay masasabing may pagka auto-biographical.

Ang batang si Crispin ang syang sentral na karakter at sa kanya umiikot ang masalimuot na istorya ng pelikula. Habang unti-unti nyang nakikilala ang mundo ng pagnanasa ay makikilala nya ang isang mas nakakatandang lalaki na siyang magtuturo sa kanya ng masakit na realisasyon ng isang bawal na pag-ibig.

At ang first time direktor natin ay pumili sa mga baguhang aktor upang gumanap ng sensitibong karater na si Crispin.

Ang napili niya ay ang binatang si Francis Villanueva na di kapani-paniwalang walang anumang background sa pag-arte .

Francis Villanueva was such a natural that his presence in the screen alone was already the triumph of the movie. But the brilliance of the movie doesn’t stop there.

The movie is probably one of the best works of ace cinematographer Neil Daza, responsible for such opus as Dekada 70, Yamashita, and La Vida Rosa. The Production design is by topnotch production designer, Famas awardee Kaye Abano.

To date the movie has been shown in more than 36 film festivals abroad and will be premiering in Manila this coming Cinemanila International Film Festival.

Abangan ninyo ang espesyal na pelikulang ito na talaga namang maipagmamalaki natin sa buong mundo.

LAST FULL SHOW

Best Short Film
Turin International Film Festival
The Academy of Art University Film Festival

Special Jury mention
Cinema Jove International, Spain

AND THE BUTTERFLIES GOT BORED...

2005-09-09T06:47:00.000-07:00

Your's was a breath of fresh air.
But inactivity made the freshness stale.

Now... the butterflies are scattered.
And it will be difficult
to gather them back again.

Five words.

Catch...
me...
if...
you...
can...

THE BOYS CRIED BUT NOBODY LISTENED

2005-09-08T12:14:00.000-07:00

From an article that I just read:

Two gay Iranian teenagers -- one 18, the other believed to be 16 or 17, were executed this week for the "crime" of homosexuality, the Iranian Student News Agency (ISNA) reported on July 19. (The ISNA report is in Farsi, and was translated into English by the British gay rights group OutRage!, which released its report today--ISNA also provided the terrifying photos of the teens' last moments you see on this page. The two youths -- identified only by their initials as M.A. and A.M., were hanged on July 19 in Edalat (Justice) Square in the city of Mashhad in north-eastern Iran, on the orders of Court No. 19. The hanging of the teens was also reported by the National Council of Resistance of Iran.

And the website Iran Focus not only confirms the story but provides more details, reporting that "Members of Iran’s parliament from the north-eastern city of Mashad, where a minor and an 18-year-old man were publicly hanged yesterday, vented their anger on Wednesday on foreign and domestic news outlets for reporting the ages of hanged prisoners...Ultra-conservative deputy Ali Asgari said that the two deserved to be hanged in public, adding, 'Whatever sentence is decreed by an Islamic penal system must be approved, unless proven otherwise.' Asgari complained of foreign and domestic reporting that the two were mere boys. 'Instead of paying tribute to the action of the judiciary, the media are mentioning the age of the hanged criminals and creating a commotion that harms the interests of the state,' the member of the Majlis Legal Affairs Committee said. 'Even if certain websites made a reference to their age, journalists should not pursue this. These individuals were corrupt. Their sentence was carried out with the approval of the judiciary and it served them right.' "

What a sad day in human history...

FAIRYTALE OF THE EAGER BOY AND THE BUSY BEE

2005-09-05T12:43:00.000-07:00

Honey brings them together.
The eager boy and the busy bee.

Once, the boy posed himself as a bee.
He tried to touch the rose
but the flowers wouldn’t let him.

The thorns pricked
the fingers. The earth drank the blood.
And the busy bee saw the travesty
of pretending.

Pissed,
he went to the boy and stung him
like how a real bee would sting.

“You’ll never be a bee”. He said.
All swollen up, the boy took his cue
And left the busy bee to collect
the honey that he wished only for himself.

“Let me be the one to gather it for you”
That’s how it works the bee told the eager boy.
He consumed the nectar and transformed
it to the honey that brings them together.

The boy dipped his fingers.
The crimson mixed with sweet gold.
He savored every dropped.
And experienced an orgasmic delight that
the honey can only bring him.

The busy bee left the eager boy
and for a moment they were one in spirit.

The bee tried to keep his wound from getting bigger,
for the flowers wouldn’t let him near them too.
This is actually what brings him back,
no matter how dangerous the grounds can be.
To gather the honey that brings them together,
And to see the eager boy happy.

The fairy tale ends here.
And the roses live happily ever after.

EIGHT O'CLOCK AND YOU HAVE TO GO

2005-09-04T20:01:00.000-07:00

I’m tired from borrowing seconds,
I’m tired from breathing someone’s air.
I don’t know I f I can spend another person’s morning.
But when you knock at my door, I can’t help but submit.
I surrender to your kiss.

Will I ever see the sun shine between our embrace?
I dare not ask. I do not think. I’m a fool.
And yup, our hearts make us do crazy things.

Until when will I keep up with this?
When I gain freedom,
from you,
from your spell,
from your touch,
from your shadows,
from your smile,
from your heart.

Until then, I’ll be your willing victim.
Until it’s eight o’clock, and you have to go… again.

AT THE FREEWAY...

2005-09-02T12:25:00.000-07:00

AT THE AIRPORT...

2005-09-01T21:59:00.000-07:00

FAST CAR, PART 3

2005-08-30T21:12:00.000-07:00

I see myself heading the exact same route.

And it scares me to know that I’ve been on the same road before, passing the same pit stops, maneuvering the same corners. I keep on asking myself if I’ll ever learn.

Riding fast cars gives me the rush. I usually end up closing my eyes, covering my ears, shutting my mouth to escape the cold air but this time I told myself, I wouldn’t really care anymore. I’m having my fix and that’s what’s important.

I was scared. But you assured me.
I took my breath. You followed.
I inhaled. You exhaled.
I looked at the rear view mirror. You smiled.

I took my chance. You held my hand.

I see myself heading the same bumpy route but this time I’m not getting out of the car. I’ll stay put and I’ll fasten my seatbelt on to keep me safe.

You’re my driver, you can drive me fast but just be sure to follow the traffic rules.

My trust is onboard.

EXTENDED TIME FOR CINDERELLA

2005-08-09T14:46:00.000-07:00

2:45 am

The moribund moon
leaves a glance
as two lost souls try to find
the light that they will never own.

She shuts her eyes
from two different hearts
who dream to beat as one.

Never she says,
will your each other’s
breath be yours.
Never will the sun
see you together.

We steal each other’s time
As we devour each other’s flesh.

And when ecstasy bursts in the darkness of the night…

You try to own me…

Till
my
very
last
drop.

And the moribund moon hides,
never to be seen again.