sometime between preparing breakfast and leaving for the falls, i had decided that i was not a landscape photographer. very early in the morning i was awakened by jay's shrieking iPhone but there was no use rising at 4am because the slight rain had robbed us of any light to shoot. but at just a little after 6, when the sky cleared and the sun broke over the mountain tops, all 5 photographers leapt out of their tents, grabbed their tripods and cameras, and left for places far and wide, having neither brushed their teeth nor taken breakfast. of course, i was not about to pass up on the chance to shoot alongside these young senseis, and i called out: wait for me, masters!


i walked around the length of beach along nagsasa cove, which is cut right in the middle where the tempestuous sea meets the peaceful freshwater draining from the mountains of zambales. i tried to capture reflections on the water, the leaning pine trees, the geometric rocks on the shore, the shallow riverbed, and it resulted in nothing but a bad burn: i had forgotten to apply sunblock and didn't have a hat to boot. i observed how jay and randall (THE randall cipriano, who until the morning of saturday was just a byline i saw on the pages of digital photographer philippines) were pictures of patience and dedication. they could focus on a scene for long minutes, working hard to get the right exposure for a shot that they'd thought about perspicaciously. but that morning's shoot convinced me of something very important about my own photography: that i do not yet have the pin-sharp focus of landscape photographers for a given scene, chasing after the right light. i am, proudly, a snapshooter.


in the chasing light workshop, jay and edwin distinguished between people who took "snapshots" and those who took "enduring landscapes". at the time, they made it sound like the snapshot was crap and unmemorable and trash. and i believed in them. who would want to walk away from the most beautiful sunset and bring home nothing but blown out skies or a poorly designed frame? certainly not i. but is it possible to produce photos that endure each, and every, single time? for sure, if i wanted to see great pictures of say, angkor wat, i would just look at the work of thousands of other photographers who have gone there before me, rather than the result of my rushed visit to the place. i would just have preferred to devote my time in the streets of chiang mai soaking on the local culture rather than bothering with composition and angles and textures and colors, which robbed me of a complete experience. because here lies the ideological differences between my own view of photography, and those of jay and other landscape photographers. for them, photography is the ultimate intention. and the results are pretty obvious in the excellent work that they produce. for me, it is totally different: photography is secondary to an experience. it should never get in the way of your encounter with a beautiful place. its purpose is merely to record scenes, and to provide pegs for our ultimately failing memory.


and so that same beautiful morning while pine needles fell on the beach, i coined the term "reference shots". i realize now that it is all that i have been taking since i took up SLR photography in 1997. after 12 years of taking pictures, i have not produced any evoking landscapes that have reaped either awards or praises. but i have built up a bank of images that for me provide rewards that are more personal than they are general. i have reasons for taking a photo. it is a record of my experience, and it is an extension of my vision. it is a tool for sharing and a method of reporting. it is an image which informs. it is not pretentious; does not have lofty ideas about art or beauty. when a shot is appreciated, i take no credit for it. i say: it's the place; i just stood there and took a shot.


all these ideas were further strengthened when we left to shoot the falls. there were mighty beautiful things to take photos of there. but there was also the pool, the cascades, the spotty shade under the trees: they deserved also to be touched and to be felt. if i had just decided to shoot these places, i would not have discovered how gratifying it is to soak in a freshwater pool away from the scorching sun. i have done it many times before, but yes, one deserves to be reminded. i'm also glad that jay swam in the pool. he needs to steal time away from just taking pictures. the falls are tucked way at the back of the cove, maybe 15 minutes from the shore, and somewhat disperses into little tributaries here and there. if i were not so burdened with a camera and a tripod, i would have gone further up the slope, if only to get a view of the sea, the sand, and the land. towering mountains hedge the cove of nagsasa, and from the air, it must probably look like a very deep 'U'.


there is a thriving community here. more than 15 families live on the cove, whose sandy embankments were generously expanded by the explosion of mount pinatubo in the early 1990s. nagsasa is either 2 or 4 hours on foot from cawag near subic, depending on whose account you hear, and is about an hour from pundakit by boat, a good 40 minutes further from anawangin (a place once beautiful but which has gone to the dogs after repeated attacks of urban dwellers with unsavory ideas about camping at the beach). i was in nagsasa cove on the strength of jay's invitation. we have both heard about it from others. i had gone with jay on a few landscape shoots: to baler and to capones island. this would be the third in the series. jay's invitation was suspicious enough. i knew that he had a reason beyond just mentoring my photography. of course, he wanted me to bring my outdoor stuff and outdoor cooking to the table. and i am not complaining. not at all. i am happy to serve a purpose. it assures me, at least, that i will be constantly invited to these shoots, despite my realization that i am not a landscape photographer. there is always something to be learned, in between the banter and the hunt for shoots.


and to carry out my purpose, i whipped up an exciting menu for my masters: charlie chan pasta for lunch on saturday, red chicken curry and roti pratha for dinner, pork adobo and pita pockets for breakfast, and tuna longganisa for lunch on sunday. i wasn't exactly humble when despite the praises for my cooking (alvin, my chasing light 2.0 batchmate, couldn't stop exclaiming: how'd you do this), i had the temerity to say: i apologize for the uninspired meal plan. apart from the cooking, which also robbed me of time for photography and for seeing nagsasa completely, i also lugged most of the outdoor gear. thanks to my marmot bise 2P and the north face talus 23 (still trusty after 4 years of service), we slept soundly despite the pitter-patter of the rain drumming on our rainflies. despite it all, i was happy to have brought along my stuff and my humor. jay and randall brought experience and knowledge, although admittedly, both were sparse on sharing the knowledge, but not out of selfishness really. they were just too busy and involved with their own shooting.


at 3pm on sunday our boatman finally picked us up and we were taken back to pundaquit. i wouldn't say we coursed through still waters. the sea off zambales was choppy at best; it felt as if ten giants were churning the sea, and we were tossed to different directions. nevertheless, nagsasa cove is a gem in the wilderness, one of the "rough corners" of zambales, as jay rightly put it. it isn't so undiscovered, really. we were not the first to get there. but at least, it is an improvement from anawangin. i dare say that i was the first to blog about anawangin in 2005. it took close to two years before it would eventually be overrun and overcome by irresponsible visitors. but in as much as nagsasa presents a great alternative to those who want to avoid the crowds at anawangin, i fear it might just go that way in less than a year. as our archipelago shrinks ever smaller, people are finding places not wanting to be found, and abusing it for their own selfish reasons. during our stay there, another group had left their garbage to be scavenged by dogs. when i asked the local caretaker what they would be doing with the trash that had been left behind: they said they would either burn it or bury it under the ground. i gave an impromptu lecture on the environment, and promised to return with a fishing rod and reminders for visitors to respect nagsasa cove. and return i shall, before buses of urban folk and their urban habits descend upon the cove with unrelenting disregard for all things beautiful.

Tags: anawangin, beacheneering, camping, nagsasa cove, outdoor cooking, photography: landscapes, zambales

recently, i announced that i would hand out a prize to my 20,000th visitor, and about a month back, i announced the lucky winner in this blog. well, the dinner buffet treat did push through and here are photos of the culprits to my return to sub-165lbs.


the buffet was at circles event café in shangri-la makati. it was my 4th time to do this buffet, and although food at circles is always good, it hasn't changed much since my first time, and shang edsa's heat and sofitel's spiral remain backlogs besides. i probably won't treat my 30,000th visitor. maybe my 50,000th! haha. anyway, cheers to good food and great eating!

Tags: blog, food, livejournal

malas lang ni marian rivera, dala-dala ko ang camera ko kahapon nang kapwa kami magpunta sa rockwell, at nagkataon may kasama rin ako para kumuha ng litrato. hindi nga yun ang unang beses na nakita ko sya dun. nung linggo nga, kabababa ko lang galing ng san cristobal, nagpunta agad ako sa powerplant para manood ng transformers, nakita ko si heart evangelista at si jericho rosales magkasama, bumibili ng sandwich sa oliver's. mag-isa lang ako nun kaya naman walang pwedeng kumuha ng litrato namin, sayang. actually, madalas akong makakita ng mga artista at artistahin dyan sa rockwell, at alam ko kung bakit. sa rockwell kasi, puro mayayaman lang pumupunta. palibhasa kasi, ang hirap mag commute papunta dyan. at sabi ko nga dati, ang mga mayayaman, or nagyayaman-yamanan, they feign indifference. sa filipino: nagkukunwaring walang pakialam. minsan, nagkukunwari pa silang hindi nila kilala ang mga artista. pero malas lang ni marian, ang pagiging jologs ay walang kinalaman sa dami ng iyong salapi, o sa antas ng iyong pinag-aralan. maaaring mas maganda na ang katayuan ko sa buhay ngayon kumpara dati, at di hamak na may pinag-aralan ako, kung bibilangin mo lang ang tagal ng panahong ginugol ko sa unibersidad. pero ano ngayon? jologs pa rin ako, at titingin ako sa mga artista at magpapakuha ako ng litrato kasama sila, at hindi ako magkukunwaring hindi ako nabibighani sa kanila. jologs ako, at walang pinipiling artista, malaki man o maliit.

kaya nga malas lang ni marian, akala nya at ni dingdong, makakapaglamyerda sila sa powerplant nang walang papansin sa kanila. pero hindi eh, andun ako. sinasabi kong malas sya kasi napansin ko lang: hindi sya masyadong masaya nung lumapit ako para magpakuha ng litrato. parang hay naku, o sige na nga. hindi naman sya nagtaray. at least, hindi masyado. ang mensahe ko lang sa mga artistang tulad nya: hoy! umayos kayo! wala kayong karapatan sa buhay pribado kung kayo ay nasa mga pampublikong lugar. kaming mga masa ang nagmamay-ari ng mga buhay nyo, at kami rin ang nagluklok sa kinalalagyan ninyo ngayon. kami ang dahilan kung bakit kumakamal kayo ng limpak-limpak na salapi. kaya mag kayong mag-inarte. dapat masaya kayo dahil sikat kayo at mahal kayo ng mga tao. ngumiti na lang ng todo para sa camera. sanay naman kayo dun diba? kasama yan sa trabaho nyo! ginusto nyo naman ang kasikatan diba? pwes, mag-asal sikat! pasalamat kayo at iilan lang kami sa rockwell na nagpapakatotoo. duon, hindi kayo dudumugin ng tao, kasi nga hindi naman yun class. hindi yun, sosyal. pero malas nyo, hindi ako sosyal. jologs ako, may angal?

Tags: celebrity, class, jologs, marian rivera, rockwell, vernacular

when i stuffed my 70 liter pack with an overdose of knick-knacks and bric-a-brac for a climb to the summit of mount san cristobal in dolores, quezon, i had no inkling that i would, in those two days, learn one of life’s most important lessons: that no matter how many times you fall, what’s important is that you get up immediately, and keep on walking. the pain and the shame are ultimately temporary, and you are measured by how well you recover, not by how long you wallow in an imagined disgrace. and perhaps too, i needed to be brutally reminded of my limitations: that i should never rely completely on the strength of a previous experience. regardless of how many times you have been to a mountain, each climb is always a new one.

my two previous treks up mount san cristobal have made me rather complacent, and while it has never been my habit to underestimate mountains, i was humbled by this silent mountain, which sleeps under the dark shadow of mount banahaw. as i have said before, san cristobal is perceived by many as a mountain filled with evil, as a counterpoint to banahaw’s holy slopes. whether or not this is true, i cannot truly say, for i haven’t had the privilege, or the misfortune, of encountering anything of the supernatural while i was there.

i returned to san cristobal as part of the recon team for AMCI’s BMC 2009. it has been chosen as the mountain for the first training climb, which traditionally has been designed to introduce trainees into the sport of mountaineering, and is supposed to be a venue for nature-appreciation. i am an extremely visual person, and although i respect the callous, if not savage appeal of san cristobal, not much can be said about it in terms of raw, astounding beauty. from the montelibano house until the campsite on the crater, there is absolutely no view. the trail, which crawls up the mountain, passes a saddle, teeters on a ridge, and ends on the crater, is enveloped in an eerie kind of forest. near the base, the trees are stout and high, and they are whittled down to smaller ones wrapped in moss and fungus as you gain altitude. strange sounds from unseen birds and colonies of insects fill the trail, and there is hardly any view of the sky. when you look up, you see wisps of forest cover, and the sun winking through cracks in the canopy. blades of orchids hang overhead.


the trail is narrow, and quite steep in parts. although we never used ropes during our climb, it was obvious that two weeks hence, we may need to attach ropes in at least 5 sections, where even the most experienced among us encountered difficulty. i am certain that it will be a long and challenging trek for most trainees and the members supporting them. fears will be awakened and doubts will be stoked. but this is a fantastic baptism to the uninitiated, one that is rather rude, not unlike waterboarding or electrocution.

we began the trek at past 9am. it was only about 30 minutes to the montelibano house (850masl) along a steep paved road. the mountain itself is supposedly no higher than 1480masl, but we only had the ballpark approximations of our altimeters. the cemented sections proved to be the most difficult. at the house, we watched as a monster dog filled its mouth with the feathers of chicken and began beth’s language lessons. after a few years in the philippines, she’s decided to learn filipino, and we gave her a head start. at one of the group’s many rest stops, i asked her if there was a word she would like to know the meaning of, based on what she has heard from our conversations. so she asked: what does sabatin (se-BAH-tihn) mean? i was perplexed, but she said she heard me say it.

the mystery behind the word sabatin would never eventually be solved, and it evolved to mean everything and anything: sabatin is the mosquito which carried elephantiasis-causing bacteria (or the mosquito with the powers to make things big); sabatin became the name of the campsite; sabatin was the monster sleeping in the lake who has not fed this year; sabatin is anything. sabatin is everything we could not explain.


we reached the crater (about 1350masl) before 3pm. there were already 2 groups that sent advance teams to claim real estate, worried perhaps that there would be no campsites left. even the AMCI ridge campsite (1420masl) had been marked, some with just pegs and rope. this didn’t bother us in any appreciable way because we had planned to push for the summit. with an average of 100 persons traditionally joining AMCI’s TC1s, the crater and the ridge combined couldn’t accommodate more than 20 tents. but after a futile search around a cogon-covered summit (1479masl), we were forced to resort to bladed weapons: we cleared portions of the mountain inhabited by what the local hunstmen described as damong gubat: twigs no more than 2cm in diameter.


after 10 minutes, we had space good enough for 10 tents. but what of the rest? even as the afternoon faded when shafts of light pierced our campsite, (1440masl) i kept worrying about an area for the group i would join for TC1. there simply isn’t enough room. not for 40 tents. not even for 30. maybe if the crater and the ridge were included, then the whole team would have ample room, but the identified campsite is at least 15 minutes away still. i drowned my worries by busying with dinner, and before long, we were having very good pasta with garlic tomato sauce and schublig and a nice korean beef dish. nothing to crow about, really, because both bojo and i were too lazy to think of anything more complicated for dinner.


we finished the evening with gin and a sweet and tarty martini, as we avoided ghost stories, fearing we might attract uninvited guests to the campsite. so far, we’d been very lucky. the weather cooperated, and it was overcast almost the entire time. the air was cool inside the forest when i finally took cover inside alvin’s oddly-shaped tent, and i slept soundly until the following morning when girls took care of breakfast. clean-up and the matter of breaking camp were completed swiftly, and pretty soon, the clutter of the many colored campsite was restored to an empty space under the shade of trees. we spent the next 30 minutes clearing the forest to make space for the deluge it should expect in 2 weeks. but still after the slash of bolos and the stomping of many boots, i fear that come TC1, there will be groups wallowing in misery, complaining of not having enough room, of having to settle for surfaces far from the ideal.


at 9am, we began our descent. aaron, jepoy and beth took off pretty early, while we reviewed all the areas build-ups are likely to form. the primeval forest of san cristobal unfolded itself before us: wet, green, and many-leafed, it bristled in the cool breeze. sometimes, flowers popped along the trail, but there were also instances that i felt i was trekking alone. after around 2 hours, we were back at montelibano, and by lunch time, had descended upon a restaurant in kinabuhayan for a meal and wash-up. only when everyone had finished did the rain begin to pour.


our business in delores, however, wasn’t over yet, and being the recon team, we still had to find a suitable wash-up area. our driver suggested a resort near the highway, and he could not have made a better recommendation. tucked far away from the bustle of the streets was a sprawling property of towering coconuts, cascades, cold pools, and restrooms inspired by tolkien’s novels. it was love at first sight for most of us who stepped into the bato springs resort, and i prepared an argument in its favor should the TL explore other options. in fact, i even joked that i might just decide to stay at the resort and “prepare” it for the climb team’s arrival the following day. i already decided that i would do a sprint on day 2 in order to completely enjoy the comforts and the benefits of this gem in the wilderness. joining the climb (or at least, being at the wash-up area) will be difficult to refuse once members find out that there’s a videoke machine in the gazebo, and that beer is also available.

and so here ends my fourth climb for the year. it has been a rather slow start for me, but i’m glad to have my complacent muscles complaining from the pain. it reminds me ultimately of my humanity. while others declare conquest, i find reasons for humility. where others decide to race, i choose to sit quietly in observation. mountaineering teaches many of life’s more important lessons. but not everyone listens.

Tags: 2k9, adventure, amci, language, mount san cristobal, mountaineering

i was so absolutely poofed this last weekend. but for some reason, i find myself pursuing exhaustion: filling my days with activities that lure me away from my seat, refusing to be sedentary, keeping myself busy.

very early on saturday, janice picked me up to do photographer duties for TMM, or team mang mar. it isn't my first time. i followed the original TMM members, roy and don, when they competed in the action asia adventure race in singapore. i was also present in the many triathlons and races that followed, eventually finding myself competing in at least one of them. however, i have been less of a presence lately, due to some personal issues that i have recently refused to let go of. nevertheless, and as a favor to janice, i went to daang hari in alabang to do what i am good at: taking photos. at first i said that it would be best to have a pick-up where i could shoot at my convenience. but we didn't have that luxury, and for about an hour, i sat at the back of an open trunk, alternately shooting and keeping the heavy trunk from chopping my neck off. i had my camera on ISO 400, aperture priority, and burst mode. it was difficult to frame my subjects while the car moved at speeds of 30 to 40kph. so i just hoped that at 6fps, i would capture at least one decent photo.


and i did. of the 700 photos i managed to take that morning, i think i at least came up with about 40 good shots. the reception has been rather warm (check out the album on my facebook or over at my multiply). i did burn a bit during that short period of time, because i forgot to apply sunblock, and it's been terribly hot lately. but i'm hoping somewhat that some of the biking brands would take notice of the shots. they are pretty good product endorsement shots, if i may say so myself, and my subjects are rather easy on the eyes too. now to get some model release forms.


after the morning at alabang, i went home to change and got ready to leave for malate. i committed to playing some tour guide duties to a bunch of visiting koreans. after i returned from my southeast asian tour, i signed up for couchsurfing.org, a website for travelers. hanz suggested that i join, and in siem reap, at least 2 persons asked if i was on couchsurfing. and i've been checking the site rather regularly, offering my suggestions to would-be visitors to the country, or other travelers planning to go elsewhere in the world where i've been. i'm now a verified member, vouched for and referred. probably by the end of this year, i would be hosting at least 2 couchsurfers.


although CS manila is pretty active, i haven't really found the time to join an activity. except last saturday when i agreed to take some koreans around manila. the visitors came to mindoro to visit a student whose college education they'd sponsored. the group had done it on their own, and not through an existing program or charitable institution. i think it was rather laudable and praiseworthy. when i met iggy in malate, i asked him what they'd like to do. he said he wanted lunch. he said they heard of a place where you can buy the ingredients and have them cooked. i said: ah, that's called a dampa. i decided to bring them to macapagal blvd. which was the nearest one. another filipino, dos, joined us.

when we arrived at the market at around 3pm, we were the only ones there and the hawkers swarmed us with offers. my guests were absolutely floored by the sizes of the every single fresh seafood. they'd remarked that back in korea, everything was at least half the size, and more than twice the price. we bought shrimp, crabs, and fish, and went on over to claire dela fuente's restaurant. i gave the instructions, and also got tanigue for kinilaw. they could have been overly polite but they said that they loved everything. we demolished everything on the table.

afterwards, dos and i took them to intramuros to walk along the walls. my knowledge of colonial history is unfortunately not as vivid as ambeth ocampo's nor any other trained tour guide, so i only gave very trivial insight to what surrounded us. i wish i could have offered more, but it made me realize how little i know, and how much i need to research in order to be of some competence the next time the opportunity comes my way. but then again, let me ask you: when was the last time you walked through history? i rather enjoyed the experience. a third CSer, nikki, joined us in intramuros.

our last stop was baywalk where we watched the sunset. other than the very slight stench of the bay, the view and the breeze made for a good way to end a brief tour of manila. we walked them back to their hostel and burned even more time at friendly's guesthouse for cheese and wine. iggy and his friends had a lot of questions about the philippines and the filipino, but more important were their realizations, among which were: some filipinos are extremely bright, manila isn't as dangerous as they've heard, and contrary to popular belief filipinos aren't always late. i do believe that this is my contribution to nation-building. i'm glad i'm not the only one who is doing his part.


the following day, i rose early yet again for the diagnostics day of AMCI's BMC 2009. i was there with no other intention but to take pictures, really. i have resolved to join every climb that i can this year, but that's as much as i can do. my offers to be useful have been politely declined, and i don't have much beef with respect to that. i'm not going to pick a fight, but i will call a spade a spade, such as: the diagnostics was a little unstructured. which is a euphemism for disorganized, actually. it's a good thing that the trainees have no basis for comparison. and i'd rather keep my opinions to myself, and to this blog as well. also, the lecture on running left me, well, wanting. i honestly felt no value was added; anyone could have learned more surfing the internet or getting even just one copy of runner's world. i fear this might establish the quality of the knowledge-sharing throughout the course. but i hope to be proven wrong.


nonetheless, it did seem that the batch was in high spirits despite the terrible heat. they've numbered more than 50, and hopefully that would grow, although it does not seem that they'll exceed my batch. while there were no foreigners (yet) in this new crop, i can tell this early that nosebleeds will definitely be induced throughout the training.

after the training, i stole 3 hours of sleep before proceeding to CCP for the virgin labfest. there were 3 short plays presented, and i liked 2 -- i'm not sure what i think about the other one. i was just surprised with the youth of some of the directors and playwrights. at least, they ensure the survival of the artform. not all is lost. and i've been inspired to draw up my cultural calendar for the rest of the year. so here's looking forward to more weakening weekends.

Tags: 2k9, amci, bmc, couchsurfing, food, tour guide, tourism

it's recruitment time for the AMCI mountaineering club once again, and 2 years ago i was hugely involved in the annual practice. this year, i have a far less defined participation in the basic mountaineering course, despite my desire to be of use. nevertheless, here's my effort at goading people to join the club.

8 things i got from mountaineering

1. cooking. a lot of people recognize me as one of AMCI’s better mountain chefs, who balks at the idea of lunch or dinner consisting of nothing but opened tin cans, and who would pull out cheese and onion quesadillas or a creamy tuna carbonara from his bush hat with less effort than most people might think. but i was never good at the kitchen prior to taking up the sport, primarily because in my family (with the exception of my dad, who once turned instant pancit canton to instant soup), everyone cooks pretty well. but perhaps because of the fact that i am used to good food that i view dinnertime at campsites to be no different, regardless of the fact that we have to lug around complicated cooksets and too many ingredients. besides, a difficult hike becomes a great experience when rounded off with great food.



2. patriotism. i’ve developed a love for country long before i imagined mountains, but my experience climbing mountains has reinforced my affection for the endearing beauty of our archipelago. climbing has endowed in me an almost rabid love of my philippines, and has fuelled my wanderlust even more.



3. environmentalism. i walk on mountain trails and there are times when i am not happy. in fact, there are times that i am livid: when you see signs of ignorance and neglect scattered on what would otherwise be pristine surroundings, you cannot afford to be happy. and that sadness is a good thing, in a way, because it reminds me that i hate ugly things, that i have a sincere love for nature, and that i resolve to do something about it. when we are down in the plains, we tend to be complacent about our habits and our ways. but in the mountains, we see just how destructive these can be. mountaineering has taught me values in approaching the environment, and i have happily carried these with me even when i’m surrounded by an urban landscape.



4. crisis management and leadership. after having submitted myself willingly to the many perils associated with mountaineering, i have had to make quick and often tough decisions. there really is no end to learning life’s lessons, but climbing mountains accelerates the curve.



5. friends. i have made more “true” friends in AMCI than i have from a lifetime of meeting people at school, in the neighborhood, at the office, at the gym, on the street. our bonds are based on shared experiences: and fantastic experiences too. there are people in the club whom i have trusted with my life. there could be no stronger foundation for lifelong friends: they’ve been with you during your darkest moments, and they will certainly be there when the skies are less gloomy.



6. weekend warrior. my exposure to the club and the many crazy ideas of its members has widened my horizons. there are many things i would not have achieved if i didn’t join. what began with mountaineering has branched out to mountain biking, outdoor photography, swimming for fitness, scuba diving, backpacking locally and abroad, walking tours, gastronomic orgies and all things bacchanalian, middle distance road running, adventure racing, trail running, pursuit of the voluptuary, and maybe even competitive triathlon. the possibilities are endless, and anyone not desiring the sedentary life will find himself or herself kept busy by the club.



7. patience. when you’ve endured hours on a trail, under cover of night, wet from perspiration or soaked by sheets of rain, you tend to view the little inconveniences of life to be what they are: little inconveniences. you always tell yourself: i’ve been through worse. and survived.



8. good health. all these activities have ultimately improved my state of health. weight gain is still an issue, but i am certainly in much better shape than most lawyers i know.

the title might tend to suggest that these are the things you'd learn from taking up mountaineering in general, but to be honest, many of these might be specific to AMCI. so do join the club. i would pepper this post with enticing pictures, but my blog has been rather heavy on the images lately. besides, anyone who has been following the blog would know what i am talking about. and you could track back all my entries if you need photos.

joining AMCI is not really a decision one makes lightly. the training demands dedication and focus. but it is an investment for a lifetime of great experiences. i may not agree with some of the details about how the training will be conducted, but combined, they are not even enough to distract from the totality of the experience. so do yourself a favor and take up the sport. and who better to share the values of mountaineering than AMCI?

Tags: 2k9, amci, mountaineering

the friendly bar owner in my last post, who apparently played a game with his waiter and bartender trying to guess my nationality that when i joked i was from thailand, the waiter exploded in burst of joy as if he had just won a bet, insisted that i spoke very good english, different from the kind of english spoken by most filipinos he knew, asked me what i thought about the taiwanese, and here was my response: i found them to be warmer and friendlier, as compared to the chinese i have encountered in hong kong, malaysia, and singapore. i know it isn't fair to build on stereotypes, because bigotry and racism have the same elements, but these boxes are based on fact, although they are rather sweeping generalizations. having said that, i felt that despite the language barrier, and perhaps because of it, i found my encounters with the people of taiwan to be rather pleasant: they are always smiling and respectful. you can walk inside a store, look around and linger, and leave without buying anything and not hear anything disparaging from the store owner. nonetheless, if i were to describe them, i would say that the lines between many east asian countries continue to blur. i am not a fan of these dubbed, imported soaps, but what we've seen in meteor garden are nearly exactly what you'd find in taipei. men dress like the men in singapore. they like to squeeze themselves into tight-fitting shirts, have short haircuts, and seem to be spending a lot of time in the gym. the women are trés façonable, like those in macau, and take public transportation in strappy and high-heeled shoes and attention-grabbing clothes. in general, the people are lithe and small boned, which makes me tend to think that among asians in the far east, filipinos probably tend to be more prone to being overweight. nevertheless, and perhaps due in no small part to the fact that all of taiwan was once part of the japanese empire, the japanese influence is quite apparent, from old, ancient practices, to current pop culture and fashion. some women look like they'd just given life to some animé characters, while a lot of teenagers like to walk around in these outrageous outfits: it's a small circus in some parts of ximending.


now anyone remotely aware of taiwan's history would know basically the following: that it's considered by the PRC as a rogue province, that the one-china policy sort of isolates taiwan diplomatically, and that it is a fairly recent development, resulting from the triumph of communism in mainland china. for this reason, taiwan, and in particular, taipei, is a new creation, whose recent, rapid growth and development is far too obvious but also provides stark contrasts. as it is, progress in the 1980s is different from progress nearing the 20th century. so there are all these buildings with their narrow frontage squeezing each other like rows of books on a shelf. it's a pastiche, really, with the ultra-modern mixing with the post-modern, and simply, the past. there aren't any grand ancient structures as one might find in beijing, but there are grand structures nonetheless. the chiang kai shek memorial hall is a case in point. it was built in chinese imperial style, with sprawling grounds, high staircases, and a big room filled with nothing but a big bronze statute. in the same complex are two other monuments: the national theater and the national concert hall, both built in traditional chinese style, from which period i can only guess. the gate itself is something to behold. but all these are only about 30 years old, if not younger.


the only other person important to taiwan's young history is sun yat sen, who also has his own memorial hall, which is admittedly less grand, but no less impressive. it has its own museum. while i was there, i noticed some members of falun gong meditating outside the hall and i took pictures. an elderly lady approached me and she happened to speak rather good english so we spoke briefly. she asked me if i was familiar with falun gong, and i said yes, only in so far as knowing they were being persecuted in PRC. she found my knowledge remarkable, and added: in china, there are no human rights. she pointed out that it was very peaceful. i couldn't agree more. there were about 5 persons holding these poses for a few minutes, changing when a small electronic timer sounded a gong.


apart from these two places, taipei tends to keep its most interesting parts in secret pockets. people would suggest a number of things if you'd like to see fine examples of chinese architecture, but anyone who has been to china might not be impressed. i haven't, so i wouldn't say i was disappointed. but i was rather impressed with the contrasts that taipei presented. one might be walking past a stack of identical buildings, then suddenly, from out of the bushes of concrete, a temple pops out. and oddly enough, i didn't find any male monks in taipei, but women with shaved heads in many-colored garbs who didn't want their photos taken. the temples themselves are rather odd, and i really could not put a finger on it. taiwan is supposedly multi-denominational, and there are statues of buddha in the mahayana style, but there are also a lot of other elements that drown out any basic knowledge i've gained about this religion from my travels through southeast asia. in longshan temple, for example, i watched as the faithful flipped wooden chips, burned incense, thumbed prayer beads, and submitted themselves to a routine of bowing and rising. i was possessed by an inner peace which i couldn't describe, and i could have spent the better part of the day there just observing people.


another thing about taipei is that it doesn't seem to have a very defined center. it's a large, sprawling city, and i couldn't say that one place is more accessible than the other. it does not have a backpacker's quarter such as bangkok or vietnam. its business district isn't confined to a specific area such as in manila and singapore. shopping centers are disjointed and they have an entirely different concept of malls. modern architecture isn't as astounding as kuala lumpur, but an efficient metro has resulted in few traffic woes unlike manila and bangkok. nevertheless, the skyline of taipei isn't as impressive as singapore or bangkok or kuala lumpur. remove taipei 101 and we have taller buildings in makati. in fact, it would seem like it was intentionally done that way: taipei 101, the tallest built skyscraper in the world, seems to be a spire or a needle in the middle of buildings of less stellar height. there is nothing, absolutely nothing, around it that would seem to challenge its height. the design itself fuses asian traditions with modern technologies. unfortunately, i only got to walk around the mall as going up to the top to look at the damper costs a lot. why would i pay NTD400 to ride on one of the world's fastest elevator? it didn't seem right to me.


finally, let me conclude my observations about taipei. it is a lot different from the few expectations i had formed prior to my visit. which, i suppose, added to the thrill. i didn't encounter any filipinos there, probably because most of our workers who are in taiwan are employed by booming factories and growing industries based in taichung and kaoshiung. lastly, i never realized that it was possible for me, with my big eyes and deep tan, to be mistaken for chinese. but in the end, my incomplete picture of taiwan left me wanting, desiring to find the details that would allow me a better view.

Tags: architecture, religion: buddhism, religion: taoism, taipei, taiwan, travel, wanderlust

yesterday, the delegation had a briefing on the AH1N1 influenza pandemic that has infected nearly 50,000 people in the world today, 1% of such cases reported by the philippines. i learned a few things from the presentation: that flu pandemics do not occur regularly: on average, they take place between 30 to 40 years apart. the last one was exactly 41 years ago, and the longest interval was 42 years. influenza is italian for influence. that the current strain has high morbidity, but low mortality. morbidity, not to be confused with the ideas we tend to associate with the word morbid, refers to the capacity of the disease to spread, whilst mortality is the rate at which deaths are recorded. the avian flu (H5N1) had high mortality (more than half of those infected died), but extremely low morbidity, as there was no sustained human to human infection, only direct contamination from birds. that past pandemics have mostly been wrongly attributed to places (spanish flu, hong kong flu, asian flu, mexican flu, etc.); the joke in the WHO is that the reason for this is that we have to blame someone. the seasonal flu kills on average half a million people in the world annually. there is a vaccine for this though, and while a shot is not a guarantee against the swine flu (a misnomer), getting vaccinated is important as it rules out AH1N1. north korea and canada have two of the highest ratios of vaccination (1 in 3 people have gotten it), while in the philippines, as most southeast asian countries, only less than 1 in 1,000 have been vaccinated (although this will change with the present rush to avoid the disease).

i was also jolted to accept some realities: that i have 1 in 4 chances of getting it. that it is virtually useless to avoid traveling abroad as all countries in the world are bound to have cases, even azerbaijan. that i should undertake certain precautions, but not to panic. it has to be emphasized that the best way to combat the flu is to maintain good hygiene and to keep one's self healthy. the precautions can be a little preposterous. for example, we were told that in the bangkok delegation, they have implemented some drastic measures: gatherings at the pantry has been discouraged. in meetings, people sit one seat apart. people move around the circular office in single direction (clockwise). flu kits have been distributed, which include a mask, alcogel, and tamiflu. if possible, social interactions should be reduced. handshakes avoided, beso-beso refused, and thick crowds dispersed. it's called social distancing. this really presents a problem for filipinos, because our culture, as well as our cities, are hotspots for the spread of the virus. the precautions almost suggest that people should dissociate themselves from everyone, live hermit-like lives, and be generally unfriendly. also, wearing masks is NOT at all a guarantee that your chances of contracting the disease is significantly reduced. if at all, those exhibiting flu-like symptoms should be the ones wearing the masks.

anyway, my view is that if you get it you get it. when i arrived from taipei last week people suggested that i go on self-quarantine. it may have been the sober thing to do, but to be honest, at the time, the philippines had already more than 5 times the number of cases than all of taiwan. so if i were to get it, it would not have been there but here. the DOH has already declared a low-level community outbreak: transmission has occurred among people who have not been abroad, although admittedly, our first cases were imported from the US. a part of me is inclined to suggest that the pandemonium over AH1N1 has been grossly exaggerated. now this may be a good thing: people are better aware, more careful. but it's also a bad thing: spending for flu shots, tamiflu, swabs, and lab tests has spiked, it has benefited no one but pharmaceutical companies. i'm pretty sure employees of sanofi and roche are getting fat bonuses this year. and whichever develops the vaccine first (which should be available in 2 to 4 months) is going to get even richer. all i can say is that in the end, we create our own problems and make way for situations that tend to require solutions.

Tags: current events, health, influenza

as i had complained in the first part of this series, english is rather hard to come-by in mostly mandarin taiwan. i don't know whether this is the reason that taipei doesn't get as many non-chinese visitors as say singapore, hong kong and macau, or a result of it, but things may get a bit complicated for non-chinese speakers. i don't fault them really. i don't insist that everyone should be able to speak english. they could insist that i learn their language. but then there is an infinite number of languages in the world, and i could only learn so many. nevertheless, there were instances that the barrier was as solid as rock, that i didn't even attempt to overcome it. so instead, i just went elsewhere, sad and frustrated, particularly in the area of food.


taipei has many interesting nooks and crannies offering what seemed like interesting food. the city gives the notion of hole-in-the-wall an entirely new face, because in taipei's case, it looks like a wall grew on the holes. and with such a rich selection of places to eat to choose from, i was rather overwhelmed. i am happy to note that on this particular trip, as in most of my trips, i managed to avoid run-of-the-mill western fastfood factories and dined at places where the locals eat. i have this idea that travelers, unlike tourists, risk many things, such as tummy trouble, to savor on the local flavor. so i went where the locals went. the frequent issue, however, is that not many of these delightful, small spaces with their many customers on queue have menus in english. often, i would walk into a place and look around. something in chinese is written with numbers. i would assume this is the selection and their corresponding prices. but when i'd ask: english: they smile and shake their head, and i would walk away with disappointment.


but there are other places where english was not spoken, but the barrier wasn't as pronounced. when i said the magic word: english, they'd present me with a secret menu written in english! or in other establishments, such as in bangkok, the restaurant is covered in pictures! how convenient. so i just point at a photo, and in a matter of moments, my food is served. often, it isn't a picture that i point to, but someone else's dish, or the poultry or meat that's hanging behind the glass door. so i've given the concept of "turo-turo" an entirely new dimension, and imported it to taipei.


some of the more memorable things that i sampled in taipei is the xiao long bao. even before i left, jon remarked about how good this shanghai recipe is, and that taiwan's version is particularly well-known. on my first night, i walked into a restaurant, looked around, and asked: xiao long bao? the server nodded and came back to me with a basket containing six dumplings. i was given chopsticks and a soup spoon. i didn't know at the time if there was a "proper" way to eat the dumplings (and later, i would find out that there is, complete with illustrations), but maybe it was some internal logic, superior intelligence, or experience from watching one too many kung fu movies (way back in 1997, this is the reasoning i gave 2 chinese singaporean friends who asked me if i had studied the correct use of chopsticks, because they said i was the first non-chinese they've met who used them properly) that instructed me on how to attack the food. nevertheless, i found my first encounter with this much ballyhooed taiwanese delight to be less than impressive. i found the dough to be rubbery, and the dipping sauce to be ordinary. the stuffing itself wasn't anything to write home about. it was so unimpressive i didn't even bother to take a picture.


and i mentioned this to a friendly taiwanese bar owner and he enthusiastically recommended that i find this particular restaurant downtown: din tai fung (he'd written down: din tai phon, again showing that there is no standard in the romanization of chinese names). he wrote down the address on a piece of paper which i would show the taxi driver (as the MRT along xilin ave. is still under construction, and it's a bit of a distance from the nearest one). so the following day, i went off for an early lunch to this well-known destination. i was greeted by a receptionist on the sidewalk who had a radio strapped on her ear. a menu was displayed outside, from which it seemed that the restaurant's frontage was no more than 10 meters across. but the upstairs floors are much wider. i came just after they had opened, and already, it was nearly packed. my waitress, who wore a suit matched with a short skirt, spoke really good english and made special concessions for me and made suggestions. i ordered the traditional xiao long bao, and two other dishes. she prepared my dipping sauce for me, handed me a laminated piece of paper with detailed instructions on how to eat the dumplings, and after a while, i was transported to dumpling heaven. anyone who goes to taipei should eat xiao long bao at din tai fung. i wanted to cry. it's that good. not surprisingly, it was also very expensive: but i had enough for at least 2 persons. when i carried my take-away to another store, the local girls said that they'd never eaten there because it was too pricey. but they all agreed they'd heard that it was pretty good. when i left the restaurant, there was already a long queue outside. just my luck, i didn't have to wait! i'm not sure if i am going to look at dumplings the same way again after my encounter with din tai fung's xiao long bao.


the bar owner (whose bartender mixed me a unique drink that wasn't even on the menu when i asked for the house special) i had mentioned also quizzed me about other things that i'd experienced in taipei. i mentioned going to the night markets. one of the more popular ones is shilin. so he asked what i managed to eat there. i said: i didn't know. i just found long queues and fell in line without knowing what was going to be served. he told me: wow, you're very smart! and i wanted to reply, i know, right? i had a roll of bread with meat stuffing which was baked inside a pot. the rolls were sort of pasted on the inner wall of an iron pot and submerged in high heat. when cooked, the rolls were pried from the interior with a wooden spatula. i also lined up for what turned out to be asparagus (or some other vegetable) wrapped in meat. anyway, taipei's night markets are the most interesting i have seen. maybe it was made more exotic by the fact that i couldn't speak mandarin. the tourist night market near laoshang temple, for example, had a snake alley where potions were sold alongside booths of fortune tellers. if only i had a translator, i would have tried. i also passed by places where there was this stench which was so awful, i had no time to find out what it was. turned out to be stinky tofu. unfortunately, i had no one to challenge me to eat it. had someone goaded me, i would have lined up without thinking.


taipei's delights can rival the variety that i have seen in all of my travels across southeast asia, and so far, it has been the most interesting. the potentials could have been better achieved if i had done further research, or if i had a local to show me around and take me to places that have gained fame for their gastronomic offerings. but as it is, my solo adventure also had its rewards. this is just a sampling, and i may have found a place that's worth another visit, sooner or later.

Tags: food, language, taipei, taiwan, travel, wanderlust

it was one of the most random decisions i have recently made. i mean, what's in taiwan? i wasn't aware, and my ignorance shook me with excitement. not knowing what i would find in this prosperous northern neighbor endowed me with a few expectations, but i was more concerned with the purity of my blind adventure. i quickly booked a promo flight on PAL's econolight and processed my visa application. i bought insight guides on taiwan and plotted a course for some hikes near and around taipei. but in the whole, i just wanted to throw myself there, and see what happens. i hadn't even made reservations with a hotel. i basically just googled taipei+backpacker, and got a few results. it is perhaps a testament to my navigational skills that i found my hostel on the first try, and that i managed to find landmarks in a city that unfolds like a grid, whose square corners resemble each other.


getting around in english-unfriendly taipei is a lesson in patience and perseverance. i had regretted not buying a periplus map before i came, but i suppose it was part of the thrill. i snatched a map from the MRT station and set about looking for certain places on foot. they didn't necessarily look like they were close to each other on paper, but i kept telling myself: i had walked farther distances. what compounded the city hike was the fact that it was difficult to find pegs: there's a 7-11 in every street corner, sometimes within 50 meters of the last one, and most of the characters are in traditional chinese -- not that i could even understand simplified chinese to begin with. strangely, street names aren't placed on street corners, but on traffic lights. so if you're standing at a street corner wondering where you are, all the signs are facing away from you. not that it would help heaps: many of the places have romanized versions of their chinese names, but these are translated phonetically, so although i have information on a given place grabbed from my guidebook or the internet, it takes a good ear to realize: oh, i'm already here. so shimenting is actually the same as ximending, and chengtu could also be chengdu.


exploring taipei on foot begins with quite a lot of promise, but eventually, most things blur into a template. streets are cramped with the vertical alignments of narrow buildings, outside of which hang lighted signs. the first floor usually takes up the business, while the upper floors are reserved for the family's residence. sidewalks are occupied by motorbikes. i read somewhere that taipei could very well be the love child of hong kong and tokyo, but since i haven't been to tokyo, i would even dare say that it is a cross between singapore and saigon: buildings are arranged like a row of books on the shelf, and there are more scooters on the streets than pedestrians. even the narrowest 2-lane street has a traffic light, and people get around the big city using the very efficient MRT.


taipei's metro, an expansive, mostly underground rapid train service with at least 7 interchange stations and still 2 lines under construction, is so far the most impressive mass transport system i have seen, though i really have not experienced many (singapore, kuala lumpur, bangkok, hong kong, and manila are my comparators). lines are classified according to colors and also a name. the subway stations are immaculately clean and huge. the elevated stations are also unique in their design, it's amazing. i regret not having been able to explore more of taipei's environs: all the way to danshui in the north, or down to xindian or yongning.


but while i had some sketchy plans about things i might do, the weather had other ideas. a few days before i left, i had already checked the weather forecast, and it was bleak: rain on most days, and even a thunderstorm over the weekend. one time, the city fell into so much despair that i locked up in my room and finished a video. i couldn't get around, and while there was much to see in the city itself, i preferred to let my feet take me places: the pouring rain prevented me from my explorations. it was helpful of course that i had selected a hostel which had a central location: close to red house theater, a hop from the ximending pedestrian mall, and about 10 minutes to the themed streets: entire alleys, sometimes spilling over to the next corner, selling the same things or offering the same services. it was an exercise in resisting temptation to just look around camera street and leaving empty-handed. camera street is what i would liken to hidalgo in quiapo, only multiplied by 10, and given a nice shirt. book street wasn't as impressive as i had thought: nothing in english, move along. based on the map, there was also a shoe street, an audio-visual street, and a tattoo street. it's part of chinese culture that businesses selling the same things tend to congregate in one place.


i'm thankful for uncomplaining feet and comfortable shoes. new cities really are best experienced on foot.

Tags: photography: street, taipei, taiwan, travel, wanderlust