Signs of Times

Two days before my birthday and I'm feeling the "bug"...the getting-a-year-older bug. I feel like my mom telling stories of how life was different in their times...it's exactly how I deliver my lines.

I've been telling my kids & nieces how important Undas or All Souls Day to our culture. Before, we, kids, participated in making flowers out of paper, straw or plastic. Fresh cut flowers were very limited in those times. Relatives living in distant provinces or cities will make it a point to travel back to their hometown to pay respect to their departed loved ones. All family members visit the cemetery. Even us kids, knew where the tombs were.




Some children or even adults went house to house for pangangaluluwa or caroling..."Kaluluwang tambing-tambing, sa purgatoryo nanggaling...kung kami po'y lilimusan, dali-dali na po lamang at baka mapagsarhan ng pinto ng kalangitan." Carolers will receive money or sometimes suman.
Mothers prepared snacks made from sticky rice, suman, biko o sinukmani, tutong or bilo-bilo. In the afternoon, or evening after visiting the cemetery, there will be a family gathering. They will feast on these snacks while catching up on each other’s lives.

Now, the setting is different. Instead of going home to the provinces, some are having their vacation in their fave resorts. No more pangangaluluwa. This was replaced by the western "trick or treat". Posh subdivisions and malls are doing this annually.



Numbers of people visiting the cemetery decreases over the years and even the weather changes. Before, though it's not always sunny, downpour was not that heavy. But now, it's hard to paint the tombs coz it's always raining. Last year there's a typhoon. I remember watching news report on how a cemetery was washed out by heavy flood. Town folks were not able to locate their tombs and end up lighting candles at home.

Scenarios in the cemetery also differ. Every year, there’s a new tomb color being introduced. White is the generic color…we saw blue, yellow and now pink. Roofs of our neighboring tombs were stolen years ago. Metal gates disappeared and now stainless inscriptions in the tombstones were gone. Even tombs were hacked in search of jewelries or gold teeth. Quite disgusting!

This leaves me wondering with a heavy heart…will our next generations continue this family tradition? Will my kids, nieces and nephews , able to remember the location of our grandparents, parents and our future tombs? Will they take time to remember and visit us on this special day? I really hope so. It’s something that binds and connects family together…or else my last will, will specify that my body be cremated and thrown somewhere else.

Mi fotografia

I love pictures, specially old family photos. They bring me back to memory lane. Now that I have time to spend on a hobby, I chose photography. I need to learn the basics. I wish someday I can attend photography workshops...but at the moment owido muna lahat. :-)

asian journey2

This scrapbook created with Smilebox

One Long Weekend

Ate Nenet and Kuya Elite


Last weekend we went to Calapan. It was my Ate Nenet's wedding anniversary. And as expected, major, major kainan na naman. All time favorite ang kaldereta ng Kuya Elite, paksiw na isda for Caloi, my hubby, hahaha...simple pero rock na tao po sya, fried chicken for the kids, spaghetti for my bro-in-law, chicken in cream sauce (introducing pa lang sa handaang ito), tokwa't-baboy, fruit salad, cake and ice cream.

Since I'm on a diet, kuno... mega lafang na naman ako hehehe. Sa totoo lang, I hate Filipino parties...kase naman sobra ang pagkain. Kainis! Napapakain ako ng husto. Hay, kaya naman gain ako ng pounds to the max. Blame it to my age, churvanes. Pag nag mamature na kase, ahemmm, bumabagal daw ang metabolism. That's why, makaamoy lang ako ng food, gain na agad ng pounds, pakshet. E baket naman yung friend ko kumain na ng kumain,payat pa rin. Life is so unfair!!! :-)

Anyway, dahil ang kwento ay tungkol sa pag-uwi sa probinsya, tama na ang tungkol sa pag da diet, ANO BAH!!!...sinamantala na rin naming dalhin si Andrei, our son, sa beach to smell fresh air dahil me ubo sya. Nag early morning swim sa Suqui Beach kasabay ng mga aso ng mga butihing mga amo nila. Actually, malayo naman at malapad daw ang dagat hehehe.

Ako naman, mega take ng pictures baka sakaling makapagtayo ng gallery.

My Asian Tour - Cambodia

waiting for the bus outside Sinh Tourist's office in HCMC, Vietnam


After Vietnam, we went to Cambodia. The tour was still with Sinh Tourist. For US$114, we got 3 days 2 nights food and accommodation in Siem Reap (SP), coach bus ride to and from Cambodia, an English speaking guide and ticket to Apsara Dance Show.

We got 2 rooms. They were spacious and clean. They also have WiFi, but since we're on the 3rd floor, we got poor signal. Buffet meals were also good. I will definitely recommend Sinh Tourist to those who want to visit Vietnam and Cambodia.

Bus ride to SP was comfortable, but traveling 12 hours is another story. I busied myself sightseeing just to manage my boredom. Settings in the countryside is similar to ours. Most fields were planted with rice.



Amazingly, we realized that they like eating exotic foods, e.g, millipedes, crickets, day-old-chicks or birds, tarantulas, snails and steamed turtles. We saw these in bus stops and in a river port. According to David, our Cambodian guide, these where deep-fried and crunchy. The ones that's tasty and which they preferred to eat, was the one that were roasted. So much with these foods. I'm salivating hehehe...








Highlight of this tour was the visit to the temples or wat. For one-day entrance we paid $20. They will take your picture and print it in your ticket for souvenir. Be sure to smile or you'll end up throwing the ticket afterwards...hahaha...that goes for me.

First stop was Ta Prohm where the famous Angelina Jolie's Tomb Raider movie was shoot. There we saw roots of 600 year old trees entwined with the ruins. This is actually a temple-monastery according to the book "Ancient Angkor."



Second was Ta Keo, a giant 'temple-mountain'. There are five massive towers on top of this temple. Here, I saw a girl selling postcards with her mother and brother. I bought one set at $2 (prices are always in US $)and got pictures of the family...priceless!





Next in the itinerary was Victory Gate, entrance to the old city of Angkor. After taking pictures we proceeded to our last stop for that morning, Bayon.











This temple has a mass of face-towers to create a stone mountain of ascending peaks. I took pictures of carvings of dancing apsaras and devatas on walls. David volunteered to take our "nose-to-nose" picture with a sandstone face.




Wheeew, our morning tour was tiring but incredible. We were all sweating but eager to go up the sand stairs to experience and see what's inside those temples.

Afternoon trip started at 2pm. As it was so humid I decided to change from long pants to short, but the driver and guide said it is not allowed in Angkor Wat, our final destination.

Angkor Wat is the grandest and most sublime of all the Khmer temples and is dedicated to Hindu God Vishnu. We climbed up the highest peak leading to the courtyard. David said years before, 20 visitors died climbing the steep stairs and the husband of a fallen French woman donated amount for metal hand rail.



This temple is really awesome. I'd like to bring my family especially my son whose readings includes Asian mythology.








monk exits Angkor Wat

Our tour ended with buffet dinner with Apsara Dance Show. Oh, and as if not tired walking the whole day, we visited their night market and bought once again some pasalubongs. Enna and I, had foot scrub and head massage. My feet were so pampered. :-))



she's the star of the dance show...representing Queen Sita

My Asian Tour - Vietnam

My recently concluded tour was really great. Me and my friends had a six-day-tour. We spent 2 days in Vietnam, a day in Cambodia and the rest was travel time. We arrived in Vietnam Sept.2 in the early morning. It was their Independence Day celebration. It's a four day celebration. Most of the stores and establishments were close but we managed, of course, to do our shopping...mostly souvenir items, North Face and Kipling bags.


We did our shopping in Ben Than Market. Front stalls are for fixed prices because it's government owned, but inside stalls can give you half price if you know how to haggle Divisoria style. This market closes 6pm. Do your shopping in the morning as it's hot inside.

There's a small resto on the side which serves fruit yogurt, sandwiches and pastas. If you don't want to eat Vietnamese food, which I doubt, because they are tasty, come to this place. I got blue berry yogurt, grilled cheese sandwich and shrimp rolls...burp! :-)

Another area where you can buy clothes, bags, shoes and other fashion items is Saigon Square, an air-conditioned tiangge. It's like Greenhills. You can also bargain but prices are relatively higher than in Ben Than. By the way, exchange rate was at 10,000 Dong = Php 23.

Just outside the entrance, near the paradahan ng motorbikes there's a stall selling breads and shake. Their avocado shake was really good at 20,000 dong.

On our second day, we arranged tour with Sinh Tourist. They have tour packages for Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand even in a very short notice. One-day-tour in Ho Chi Minh, composed of visit to Cu Chi, and city tour (visit to War Remnants Museum, Independence Palace and Notre Dame Church).

In Cu Chi we saw tunnels and booby traps used in Vietnam war. They served tapioca (balinghoy)tea and yam for us to experience the food they ate during the war. Of course, for us Pinoys, common na ito may sawsawan nga lang na niyog, sugar or condensed milk para mas masarap.



inside the tunnel



balinghoy na nilaga with balinghoy tea


My trip to the museum was depressing especially when I saw the pictures of deformed kids of parents exposed to agent orange bomb during the war. I cried silently. I felt lump in my throat controlling my emotions...tears...anger. :(

Simple pleasures

new life



beautiful in red




buds



sweetness in me


Bamboo leaves after a short morning shower


morning dew


our sinta papaya


my stroll buddies





Having time to appreciate things around me makes my day. Quiet moments in the morning, stroll with the dogs in late afternoon, looking at colorful flowers and clouds watching are my simple pleasures. Capturing them in still photos is binging.