GANESH

i just got back from a 2 week swing that brought me to china and indonesia. back in singapore and trying to rest my tired bones. when i was in indonesia – i jumped from jakarta to surabaya back to jakarta then home to singapore. mahirap talagang maging biyahero. hehehe…

i got a few souvenirs… a bust of a java princess and three masks. additional pieces to a growing number of “artifacts” from my travels. i have a luck wooden frog from thailand that croaks when you drum its scales…bone sculptures from china… and three ganesh statues from india. anesh of course is the cute and beloved hindu god with the head of an elephant. ganesh holding a book is installed in our book case, a ganesh na nakahiga at ang favorite ko – ganesh na sandal wood piece that we have in front of our pc.

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SHOPPING SA CHINA

kuya bong! si jet ang nag-shopping ng husto… ubos nga yung dala naming pera eh. hehehe… mahirap pala pag maraming mga asawa ng companya ang nagsama-sama, panay shopping ang gusto. hehehe. ako, nakakulong sa conference room habang namimili at namamasyal ang mga misis.

binili ni jet ay puro pang-regalo pag uwi sa pilipinas. masarap mamili sa china. lahat mura! kaya lang karamihan at peke. hehehe… pero magaling ang mga copya nila, di mo malalaman kung ano ang original. kanina nag-punta kami sa tiangge nila, napabili tuloy ako ng bag at jacket. mahirap palang mamili sa china. pag nagtanong ka ng presyo, di ka nila titigilan hanggang bumili ka. sarap ngang tumawad eh – original price na 450, makukuha mo ng 100. hehehe…

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CHINA WITH JET

marami rin kaming napuntahan dito sa beijing. we arrived last sunday morning. diretso agad kami sa forbidden city (kahit bawal – hehehe). iniisip ko kung anong pakiramdam ng isang chinese na tumira nung kasikatan ng kanilang kultura. ang china ay isa sa mga sentro ng civilazatioin dito sa asia at makikita mo ito sa architecture ng kanilang mga historical site.

this is my first time in china and it is really an eye opener. so much is happening here so fast and you can feel the energy in the air. iba ang pulso ng china – parang sasabog sa opportunity. malinis sa beijing, malalaki ang mga kalye at maganda.

oo nga pala – nagpunta rin kami sa great wall nung wednesday. talagang maganda ito. mahirap lang ngang lakarin dahil matarik ang mga paakyat-pababa. yung mga kasama kong intsik dina sumama. siguro sa kanila, parang regular lang na bakod ang great wall of china.

BEIJING

nagpasyal kami kanina sa mga eskinita ng beijing. nakasakay kami sa tricycle na de-padyak. dinalaw namin ang lumang bahay ni chairman mao. very historic ang lugar – ghetto sa beijing, maliliit na kalye, maliliit na bahay, mababait ang mga tao.

maganda rito sa china, lalo na dito sa beijing. ibang klase ang dating. malayo na ang narating nila – from a communist state to a soon to be economic super power. lahat ng mga signs ay nandito na. sigurado ako na di magtatagal ay aabutan na nila ang mga maunlad na bansa sa europa at malamang pati na rin ang usa.

malamig dito ngayon at malapit nang mag-winter. pupunta kami sa great wall sa wednesday. sana may snow… hehehe

FORBIDDEN CITY

dito kami ngayon ni jet sa beijing. nag-punta kami sa forbidden city kanina. ang galing! 3 oras palang libutin iyong palace. may guide pa nga kami na may hawak na dilaw na flag. para tuloy kami yung mga turistang intsik na nakikita ninyong takbo ng takbo sa la, sf at new york. hehehe.malamig ngayon sa china. kaya kumpleto rerkado kami sa jacket, scarf, sumbrero at gloves. si jey nga nanginginig sa labas. ngayon lang siya naka-experience ng temperature na below freezing. sa wednesday, may field trip kami sa great wall.

ingat mga kapatid!

ON THE WAY TO THE MIDDLE KINGDOM

tuloy kami ni jet bukas ng madaling araw sa china. its time for my company’s asia-pacific distributor conference. ngayon ko lang maisasama si jet – hehehe. ginamit ko yung frequent flyer miles ko para libre ang flight niya.

one week kami sa beijing kasama ang mga iba ibang kaibigan from the asia-pacific region. enjoy siguro itong trip na ito… medyo malamig ngayon sa beijng. ang forecast ay -6 to 5 deg c. bili nga kami ng winter clothing bukas sa mall. hehehe… ewan kung magamit pa ito. siguro naman ay may ibang trip pa kami next time.

next log ko siguro ay nasa china na kami.

LADY CHATTERLY’S LOVER

i want to be a gardener. that’s my calling… well, maybe a part-time engineer on the side (for the extra cash). this is my dream job – but i cannot apply for it now because i am not qualified. to qualify for the position of gardener, one must have a sustainable retirement fund. this is only possible if i save up while i’m here in singapore. and it could take me 5 to 10 years.

let’s do the math… 5 to 10 years in singapore will guarantee me a good enough amount of cash for an early retirement. that will put my age to around 40-45 years old. i don’t think i’ll live to be 70 or 80. so, 45 plus 20 years is 65… a good enough age to permanently call it quits. it will give me 20 or so years to enjoy my retirement. not bad…

THE BEST DRIVING EAST OF ANTIPOLO

speaking of driving – one of the best driving experience in the philippines is a trip to Lucban Quezon from Antipolo via the Rizal-Laguna-Quezon back roads. bring a friend. start from antipolo, have breakfast at padi’s point first, then go down via zigzap road to teresa, tanay and jala-jala.

go up the mountains of rizal via zigzag road to laguna straight to pangil and pakil (stop along the way at your leisure to view the laguna de bay from the other side). take a pee stop in paete and get to look at the wood carvings and paper mache sculptures, or maybe even have a python adobo lunch at “exotik” (they also serve baboy damo, deer, etc.). drive straight ahead to pagsanjan and shoot the rapids or visit erap’s mayor nephew.

after pagsanjan, go up the mountains bordering laguna and quezon, to cavinte and luisiana. stop along the way to enjoy the cool mountain air, buy abaniko, banig or bayong from the hawkers-hunter-gatherers, or, sample the santol, lanzones, durian, saging (whatever is in season). down the mountains, you will enter straight into the heart of lucban. from lucban, you can either schedule a trek up mt. banahaw or just enjoy the pahiyas festival. just the same, make sure that you buy lukban’s treasured longganisa ang pansit. from lucban – you can go straight to bicol and see the whale sharks at sorsogon or just watch the sunrise from the foot of mt. mayon.

few people from manila know of this more scenic route to southern luzon (i hope it stays that way). there’s practically little traffic, excellent roads and an infinite number of things to see, taste and smell.

AN INSENSITIVE VACATION

six am news, singapore: a woman at the singapore international airport was complaining to the airport authorities why her scheduled flight to alaska was cancelled. she was so pissed off because the bombings spoiled her long planned vacation.