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WHY WE PHOTOGRAPH

Filed under: Travel, travels — 3 Comments

October 31, 2012

In this day and age, photography has taken hold of nearly every young adult’s life. DLSR or P&S, a camera slung on someone’s neck has now become part of the wardrobe. One photo — which I’m borrowing from the Net — speaks volumes about everyday life now.

We take photos of places we’ve visited, restos we’ve dined in, food we’ve eaten, celebrities we’ve seen, or just about anything or anyone we found interesting. “Found interesting?” —- OR very candidly, something we wanted to share with others. “Something we wanted to share……?” — or quite honestly, something we wanted OTHERS to know about us. 😃😀😊

Social networking like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. render it almost obligatory to “document” our everyday activity. Our circle of friends et al get updated with our not-so-private lives through our status updates and photos we post. In my time, we wrote on our diaries. Now, some of us BLOG. Still others feel free and absolutely unrestricted with the ways they wish to express themselves. Then as in now, we were provided ways to express ourselves. But the rules have changed. What we wrote on our diaries then stayed a secret. These days, what we blog is available to everyone including strangers. Same Same, but different.

Whatever the reasons or motivations, I’m happy I don’t have to shell out a big chunk to get my films developed. I’m glad I need not scrimp on my shots, that i can in fact “experiment”, and that a bad shot can so easily be dismissed with one click. I’m overjoyed that I can do my “diaries” complete with photos that make them great memory aids! And that I can even share them with others. Really, isn’t it amazing we can do all these things now?

Sure, there are those who really go overboard. The camwhores who truly think others are genuinely interested in them, what they do, and how they look. (Yeah, forget the VIEW, just check out my jumpshot!) Or they are exhibitionist-wannabes. As for moí, I need my memory aids. That, plus I do love it that I continue to learn something new. For someone who has not had a camera until her early 30’s, you can say I’m a late-bloomer. After all, self-expression is available to everyone of all ages.

Tags: camwhoring, digicam, Instagram, instaphotos, Photography, photos, Travels

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Siri Series: PACO PARK

Filed under: Don't Skip Manila!, Philippine Travels, Travel, travels — 8 Comments

October 29, 2012

Another one of those afternoons. No cams. Not even a Point & Shoot. Just Siri and Me. Just another hour to “waste”. So here we are, revisiting Paco Park. That lovely, tiny, circular chapel. And the cemetery that could have, SHOULD HAVE earned more attention, respect and recognition other than as a popular wedding venue. 😦

I confess to my own ignorance too. Not that I lacked interest. More like I truly feel there is something grievously wrong about how our history has been written and our own education and school system. Whatever I know of Philippine history, I gained from the books I bought and read. What I learned from school hardly went beyond Rizal’s martyrdom. Let’s admit this. Many history lessons stopped with Magellan’s death courtesy of Lapu-Lapu (so, what happened to Lapu Lapu after? Any guess?), or with Rizal’s martyrdom in Bagumbayan (where was our national hero interred following the 1896 execution?). Or how many Philippine heroes can you name and how much do we know of each? If we hardly know Rizal our national hero, I do not expect we can say much of Bonifacio, Mabini, Fathers Gomez, Burgos and Zamora.

For some, if not many, it would come as a surprise that the 3 martyred priests are actually buried here. It may even surprise some that their execution in 1872 inspired our national hero to write El Filibusterismo.. Today, this marker may not spark as much enthusiasm and evoke much significance among many locals. How sad.

Circling the same Paco Park, a patch of land bears another marker. This is the very spot where our national hero was SECRETLY buried soon after the December 30, 1896 execution in Bagumbayan. Zoom in on that marker to know more! 😉

Tags: Manila, Paco Cemetery, Paco Chapel, Paco Park, Philippines, Siri

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Baluarte de San Diego: Reflections of Long Ago

Filed under: Don't Skip Manila!, Philippine Travels, Travel, travels — 2 Comments

October 28, 2012

We didn’t plan on being here. We met for early lunch hoping to simply chat the afternoon away. But why not chat while driving around Intramuros, much like those joy rides we used to enjoy when we were kids?

Then the calesa passed right in front of us. It’s 2 o’clock in the afternoon and those riders didn’t seem to mind the heat nor the sun. Well, it wasn’t particularly hot this afternoon. Pleasant enough to get off the car and walk into Baluarte de San Diego here in Intramuros. It’s a better option than the more open spaces in Fort Santiago. More shady trees too.

For only 75 pesos (less than US$2), one can get in to enjoy the “park with some history”. There were kids running around with their dog in the shady part of the Baluarte. Not many tourists. Many of them must be in Fort Santiago or San Agustin Church and Monastery. Yet this is one of the oldest stone fortifications in the whole length of the Intramuros walls.

The old stone steps lead up to the walls from where one views this circular stone formation, the length of the walls, and the Manila Hotel and other modern skycrapers surrounding the walled city. I remember being here years back when I attended a wedding of a friend’s daughter where I stood as sponsor. I would have wanted to walk atop the walls, but my long gown got in the way 🙂 Today, there is no such restriction.

Will someone please tell me how these circular stone formations were used? Surely, the good Jesuit priest who designed it back in the 16th century had some purpose in mind. I mean, I do know they’re there to defend the walled city but my simple mind can’t understand the many circular formations. From what I gather, this part of the Walls went into disrepair and were in fact only rediscovered in the 70s. Forgive my ignorance, but I’m most certainly eager to know how that circular design work.

These days, the Baluarte (Baluarte means bastion or fortification) is more popular as a wedding reception venue. I wish it could be more than that. The place has so much history and is, in fact, a lovely “park” which children would enjoy. The only drawback is it could be really hot during summer here. I sure hope the Intramuros Administration consider late afternoon and dusk tours here and around Intramuros. It will require some investment in good lighting and better security, but I’m sure tourists and even locals would enjoy the place better as the day approaches sunset and at night. Play some good music too (like in Paco Chapel and Cemetery) and you’d turn the Baluarte more magical!

Tags: Baluarte, Baluarte de San Diego, Intramuros, Manila, Philippines, Walled City

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Hidalgo and Luna: “Genius Has No Country”

Filed under: Don't Skip Manila!, Philippine Travels, Travel, travels — 1 Comment

Such distinguished Filipinos. Estoy. Muy. Orgullosa! I. Am. Very. Proud. As were the Filipinos then based in Madrid who celebrated these Masters’ victories as Gold and Silver Medalists in the 1884 Madrid Arts Exposition. For Juan Luna, his Spoliarium earned him a Gold Medal. Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo earned his Silver for his “Las Virgenes Cristianas Expuestas al Populacho” (The Christian Virgins Exposed to the Populace), which showed a bunch of boorish looking males mocking semi-naked female slaves. A copy of this painting now hangs at the Metropolitan Museum of Manila. The original was destroyed in a fire at the University of Valladolid in Spain. A pity.

Juan Luna’s Spoliarium

I visited the National Art Gallery and the Metropolitan Museum of the Philippines on separate occasions. Just a couple of days apart. I had the rare chance to stand in the middle of the Hall of Masters all by my lonesome self. And to get really close to Luna’s Spoliarium. My iPhone came in handy, though the shots could be better. Por supuesto! But ain’t complaining. I love how I can walk around unburdened by a camera slung around my neck.

Felix Resurrecion Hidalgo’s “Christian Virgins Exposed to the Populace”

They had more restrictions at the Metropolitan Museum though. No photography allowed. Not even if you promise not to use flash. (Photo shown here was sourced from the Net. thank you, Google) Same restrictions apply in the Ayala Museum where a guard gently reminded me of such restrictions when I whipped out my iPhone in front of an Edades painting. I’m not complaining but it behooves me why different rules apply. In the case of Hidalgo’s Christian Virgins, I wasn’t even allowed to get within a couple of meters from the copy of this masterpiece. Yes, a copy. Yet, I was allowed to snap close-up shots of the original Spoliarium by Luna.

Close Up Shot of Luna’s Spoliarium. National Art Gallery.

These 2 obra maestros by Luna and Hidalgo bagged Gold and Silver Medals in the 1884 Madrid Arts Exposition. A victory celebrated by Filipino patriots then based in Madrid, to include our very own Dr. Jose Rizal. The venue for the victory banquet still stands today in Madrid, in Echegarray Street just a few strolls from Puerta del Sol. In this banquet, our national hero — who’s said not to have eaten the whole day for lack of funds — gave more than a toast to honor Luna and Hidalgo. More like a speech. A speech so full of bravado and spunk, where Rizal frontally attacked the religious establishment. Perhaps a preview of the Padre Damasos and Padre Silvas in his Noli Me Tangere. If you ever get to Madrid, do check out Hotel Ingles and “stand proud” as forefathers did. And while you’re there, be sure to visit Rizal’s other favorite haunts.

Hotel Ingles. Echegarray Street, just a few strolls from Puerta del Sol. Madrid.

If you haven’t been following my Madrid Blog Series, let me leave you with this excerpt from Rizal’s impromptu speech at the Hotel Ingles victory banquet. My man. Truly, Rizal’s Filipino pride shone through.

“Luna and Hidalgo are as much Spanish glories as they are Filipino. Just as they were born in the Philippines, they could have been born in Spain, because genius has no country, genius blossoms everywhere, genius is like the light, the air, it is the heritage of all”

Tags: Hidalgo, Hotel Ingles, Luna, Manila, Metropolitan Museum of Manila, National Art Gallery, Rizal, Spoliarium

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Going Artsy With Siri: Up Close With Luna and Hidalgo

Filed under: Don't Skip Manila!, Philippine Travels — 3 Comments

October 24, 2012

My afternoon was suddenly freed up, so how best to spend the time? The sun’s out and a walking tour is out of the question lest I feel like having a heat stroke. Shopping is not an option. I’ve also met my quota of 2 movies max in a week. I don’t feel like reading a book as the one I’m reading now is way too serious, too profound for my taste but nevertheless deserving of a read. I’m not hungry (yet) and I’ve been considering a walk in Chinatown when the heat is more bearable. Between NOW and a dimsum and lumpia fix in Chinatown, there’s the National Art Gallery.

Juan Luna’s Spoliarium

Felix Resurrecion Hidalgo’s “Assasination of Governor Bustamante”

In my first entry, I advised going to the Museum on a full stomach. This time around, I did the rounds while my stomach constantly reminded me of kutchay dumplings in this “hole-in-the-wall” dimsum place” off Ongpin Street. Without breaking a stride, I walked up the stairs to the Art Gallery. Sans camera. Sans bag. What I needed filled my pockets.

Siri was good company when I was strolling around Madrid as it is here within Museum walls. There was no crowd so I was able to spend as much time in the Hall of Masters Luna and Hidalgo. Almost mindlessly, I walked right up to the center of the hall between Luna’s “Spoliarium” and Hidalgo’s “Assassination of Governor Bustamante”. With each masterpiece, I inched closer, as if I’d find new meaning as I view the painting up close. I took my time snapping photos with my iPhone camera. Easily, I spent 10-15 minutes in this single hall. It’s not everyday after all that you find yourself ALONE in the Hall of Masters. No crowds. No student groups. No noisy chatty teenagers! No DLSR-toting tourists. 🙂

Both masterpieces have so many characters and it is quite interesting to read the facial expression, mannerism, body language and “aura” of each character. Now, that’s coming from a layman. I have neither the aptitude nor the training for art but I see what I see. Whatever and however the painting makes me feel is completely my own. Regardless of who painted what, I derive a certain sense of meaning. Intended or not by the artist, this is WHAT or HOW this and that painting made me feel.

I dare not share my sentiments and personal interpretations with anyone. No pretensions here. Both Luna and Hidalgo intended those masterpieces to convey a message. Whether i did get that message or not is my problem. But some may wish to dwell on the “separation of Church and State” or lack of it upon viewing Hidalgo’s “Assassination of Governor Bustamante”. Or how Luna’s very Roman scene in Spoliarium may invite discussions on human rights violations or the Filipinos’ sufferings during that time. The serious artists may deliberate on the significance of the red shade and the dominance of bodies throughout the painting, the interplay of light and shadows or whatever sounds artsy. I have no interpretation. I asked Siri and Siri delivered a well-researched Wikipedia spiel. Then I snapped away. So what I have to share with you are these close up photos from my iPhone cam. Tell me what you think!

Tags: Amorsolo, Hidalgo, Luna, National Art Gallery, National Museum, Philippine Art, Siri, Tolentino

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COFFEE & SAINTS

Filed under: Food Trip — 12 Comments

September 25, 2012

I’m very happy with my parish. St. John Bosco Parish along Arnaiz Avenue and Amorsolo Street in Makati gives so much to its community and involves itself in many issues affecting everyday life. Never passive. Very pro-active. My kind of parish.

Today, I’m even happier. Right within the church compound, on the left side of the church, and claiming a corner off the church parking lot is a coffee shop manned by migrant youth. Coffee & Saints is a one-of-a-kind coffee shop. Just a few tables, a very simple menu, and a cheerful staff who’d bid you “God bless you” as you leave. What’s more, it is very cheap that I had to ask the waiter if they ever make money.

After the noontime mass, I dropped in on Coffee & Saints and ordered a meal consisting of coffee, 3 pandesals and a cheese omelette. All that for P65. You will also find other combo meals like longsilog, corned beef , bangus, etc with a cup of Barako brew for the same price or slightly more. And there’s Colly de Don Bosco, much like French Toast with ham filling. Goes well with a cup of Cappuccino. While waiting for your meal, you may want to browse through some books on saints. Better still, drop in on the Parish Store and buy Fr. Faroni’s books for only P25-75. Yes, that dirt cheap. I bought a couple of books for only P100!

So, next time you are in the area, how about dropping by Coffee & Saints? Bring your friends. Enjoy the pandesals or cookies baked by the Pugad boys. (In 2002, PUGAD started a new apostolate for migrant youth, or poor young men, ages 17 to 21, who take technical skills training at the Manpower Training Department of Don Bosco Technical Institute. Most come from the outskirts of Metro Manila and far-flung provinces and PUGAD has become a haven where they can study and work with ease and comfort.) Don’t expect top-class service though and leave room for the boys’ learning curve. It’s the least you can do to help this Parish which is so committed to the plight of the migrant youth. Help them. Encourage them. Bless them.

Whatever you do, do from the heart,
as for the LORD and not for others…
— Colossians 3: 23

Tags: Barako Coffee, Coffee, Don Bosco, Saint John Bosco

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SPOT THE DIFFERENCE AFRICAN SAFARI

Filed under: Africa, Travel, travels — 6 Comments

September 11, 2012

I’m back. One short to make the Big 5. The leopard was a no-show. But the giraffes, zebras and many antelopes more than made up for the leopard’s absence.

Game! I was happy and content until I reviewed a blog written by my friend Shane Dallas a.k.a. Travel Camel. Shane did his first safari years back and has since gone back to the less beaten paths in Africa. You can say I’m the newbie where Shane has gone on to pursue other dimensions of travel adventures.

I may have seen enough zebras in Entabeni Private Game Reserve. BUT they were all COMMON zebras. Not the Grevy’s Zebras with white bellies and thinner stripes. I was awed by the regal giraffes with their elegant necks and luscious eyelashes, but not one I sighted was the reticulated giraffes Shane has blogged about. The ones we found in Entabeni had brown “splotches” while the reticulated giraffes have finer and more defined skin patterns. Spot the difference, if you will.

Our very first Rhino!

The rhino we sighted was the white rhino. White not because of it skin color, but WIDE lipped rhinos. Compare this with the hook lipped BLACK rhino. Smaller in size, but different. More rare, they say.

The Rare Black Rhino

And then there are the antelopes. Many impalas. Some elands. But no kudus with their spiral horns. Another friend (whose kudu photo i borrowed) suggests we do a national park next time. More animals, more natural, she says. Well, I guess there’s no “perfect safari”. There are some safari animals indigenous to a certain place. Like the springboks are indigenous to South Africa’s Western Cape while the Grevy’s zebras are nowhere to be found in Entabeni. But that’s fine. There’s always a next visit. 🙂

Kudus. I only met you on a dinner plate but NOT in person 😦

Elands. Looking like they just had their sumptuous dinner.

“Everything in Africa bites, but the safari bug is worst of all.”

Brian Jackman (2004 Travel Writer of Year )

Tags: Africa, African Safari, Big 5, Game Reserve, Giraffes, Safari, Wildlife Parks, Zebra

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The Rock: Soaking in Sweat In Corregidor

Filed under: Don't Skip Manila!, Philippine Travels, Travel, travels — 3 Comments

September 10, 2012

About time we bring the kids to the Island of Corregidor. The guided tour to this historic island is among the best. Cheerful guides, a good transport system — 1 hour 15 minutes by hover ferry and then the trams called tranvia to tour you around the tadpole-shaped island — and a 3 hour tour packed with history lessons.

Sun Cruises Terminal is right between the Folk Arts Theatre and the Coconut Palace in the CCP Complex.

It’s hard to miss the Sun Cruise Terminal in the CCP Complex. Just tell the cab driver it is between the Folk Arts Center and the Coconut Palace in this reclamation area. Be sure to be there well before the 8am departure time. Worry not about missing breakfast. We took ours there. That is, if you don’t mind a Sabrett hotdog for brekkie.

Inside the Ferry, on the upper deck, is a store where you can buy breakfast fare.

Sunscreen, shades, hat. There are umbrellas inside the tranvia which you can use whenever you step off to view the sites. Just remember this is a memorial. Where many gallant men died defending our country from Japanese forces. If you don’t care to listen to the guide’s history lessons, at least wait for her to finish her spiel before you start camwhoring. Also, do try to tone down your voice. What is it about us, anyway? I feel really sorry that many of our kababayans don’t seem to have much interest in our history, much less accord the necessary respect for our patriots who died here. So sad.

Tranvias or Trams.

Map of the Tadpole-Shaped Corregidor Island. There’s the Topside, Middleside and Bottomside.

While only 48 Kms west of Manila, it is considered part of Cavite City. Corregidor, along with the tinier Caballo Island which is only 2 Kms away, partially blocks the entrance to Manila Bay and is thus very strategic in the naval defense of the capital city. Since Sangley Point is located in Cavite City, it made sense to have this island under the administration of this tiny city.

There goes the tranvia or tram which is found waiting for you as you disembark from the ferry to whisk you around the Island.

The walk through history included the Topside where the headquarters, barracks and bulk of the batteries were located. The Middleside houses the hospital and more barracks while the Bottomside connects the “head” and the “tail” of this fortress island. The Malinta Tunnel with its labyrinth of passageways is found here. So called because the place was swarming with “linta” (leeches) then. Today, the Tunnel is home to a Light and Sound presentation designed by National Artist Lamberto Avellana. For an additional P150 fee, one is transported back to that time during the Second World War when Corregidor was the last stronghold of the joint Phil-Am military forces fighting against the Japanese Imperial Army. Much like the Gibraltar of the Orient.

The Headquarters. Iconic landmark of Corregidor Island.

In sweltering heat, we walked towards the Dome of Valor. A bronze monument of a Filipino and American soldier greets the visitors before this parachute-inspired structure behind which lies the Eternal Flame of Freedom. The whole structure honors the gallant men who sacrificed their lives. Sacred grounds deserving of RESPECT. (I won’t go into that again…. But you get the drift)

Dome of Valor, behind which lies the Eternal Flame.

Story goes that every May 6, around noon, the sun casts a light right through the dome’s center where an altar dedicated to American and Filipino soldiers is located. May 6 happens to be the date when General Wainwright surrendered the island fortress to the Japanese. Another story is that the nearby pre-war movie theatre — Cine Corregidor, now in ruins — had “Gone With the Wind” as the last movie shown. At the time we visited, it looks like some restoration work is ongoing. Hopefully, the theater can be restored soon to warrant another visit.

Cine Corregidor. Now undergoing renovation/restoration work.

The tour ends with lunch at the Corregidor Inn’s La Playa Restaurant. Lunch is likewise included in the P2,200 ferry and tour package. We took ours after the visit to Malinta Tunnel and the Lighthouse. All told, it’s good value for money. Especially if you have Estela Cordova for a guide. If only it wasn’t soooo HOT. I wonder if it ever gets cooler here. You see, Corregidor is actually part of the caldera of a now dormant volcano. NOT EXTINCT, but dormant. Like Mount Pinatubo. But unlike Pinatubo which was dormant for a hundred years before its 1991 eruption, Corregidor has been dormant for a million years. 🙂

The Lighthouse. Check out those latitudes!

Inside Malinta Tunnel. Light and Sound Show for an additional P150.

Visible is Caballo Island, just some kms away.

Tags: Cavite, Corregidor, Day Trip from Manila, Sun Cruise, World War II

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Dr. Livingstone, I Presume?

Filed under: Africa, Travel, travels — 2 Comments

Only 42 then, Dr. Livingstone was a Scottish missionary and explorer whose claim to fame includes being the first European to discover Victoria Falls in 1855. He was also a witness to a massacre of African slaves, prompting a meeting between him and H. Stanley of the New York Herald. In that 1869 meeting, Stanley was quoted to have asked “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?”. The question is tinged with humor because Livingstone was the only white face amidst a group of Africans. The quotation likewise gave rise to a song of the same title back in 1968. Obviously, Dr. Livingstone cannot easily be forgotten in this land where a town, a Museum and a hotel, among others, were named after him.

Mosi-oa-Tunya (Tokaleya Tonga: the Smoke that Thunders; the ‘i’ is silent). “Discovered” by Dr. Livingstone in 1855.

But this blog is not about the man. This is about the Royal Livingstone Hotel right by the Eastern Cataract of the majestic Victoria Falls. To visit Livingstone Island, one takes a short boat ride from the Sundeck of this 5 star hotel. Fabulous is one word to describe this hotel. From the Sundeck, to the poolside, to the porch and breakfast nook, to the sprawling garden overlooking the “smoke that thunders”, one is tempted to swear that a single visit ain’t enough.

A boat ride from the Sundeck of Royal Livingstone Hotel will take you to the Livingstone Island where you can walk to the edge of the cliff or swim in Devil’s Pool right by the edge.

This is the Sundeck. During the wet season, the “mist” is more dramatically visible complete with the sound of the waterfalls.

Drinking by the porch or in the Sundeck is a must. I can just imagine how misty it gets during the wet season. A friend told me she’d never forget the sound of the gushing waters from the Falls while sipping her drink in this hotel. Quite an experience, I must say.

Poolside. Royal Livingstone Hotel. Eastern Cataract of Victoria Falls. Zambia.

Colonial-inspired Royal Livingstone Hotel. Its sister-hotel, the Zambezi Sun Hotel has a more African and resort- theme.

It would be a dream to actually stay in this hotel and be served your breakfast in this very colonial-inspired dining parlor. Or perhaps enjoy your sundowner from the hotel bar while listening to good music. Would they play “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?” . I bet!

Breakfast Nook in Royal Livingstone Hotel

Feels and looks very exclusive.

So, would you stay here the next time you visit? “Sam” is waiting. (He just migrated from Morocco to Zambia).

Play it again, Sam.

Tags: Africa, Livingstone, Royal Livingstone Hotel, Zambia

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NEVER FAIL TO READ THE SIGNS IN AFRICA

Filed under: Africa, Travel, travels — 3 Comments

September 4, 2012

If there’s something I learned not to miss here in Africa, it’s reading the signs. Oh sure, mind those signs. It can save your life!

BE WARNED! No wonder we had to sign so many waivers.

Funny. Amusing. Or scary? Having signed so many WAIVERS here, it becomes nearly obligatory to mind those signs. You don’t find much of them anywhere else.

Baboons really scare me. Reminds me of their my scary episode with their cousins in Kathmandu, Nepal.

This got me off that tempting bench by the river. In a heartbeat!

So, before you claim an empty bench and relax with a frothy hot cocoa, READ. For all the dangers they pose, I must say though that those signs are nearly inconspicuous.