other scenes

we stayed in First House Hotel...but look closely at the glass...it says First Hourse...my taste of Thaiglish

signs like this one really crack me up..ibig sabihin 10 paligo ang kapalit? 10 bath daw e



tuktuk -- much like our tricycle, except that this one is allowed in major thoroughfares..imagine yourself riding in a tricycle while traversing EDSA...that was how I felt..be careful of tuktuk drivers as they will take you to jewelry stores because they get a gas voucher for every guest they bring, even if the guests do not buy anything

colorful taxis plying bangkok streets

too bad i wasn't able to take a picture of the lavender colored ones

Bangkok scenes I remember most

tiangge Bangkok style
tangled electricity wires that is oh so familiar


their version of mangga & bagoong
colorful fruit shake stand

three nights in Bangkok

For personal reasons, I had to (as in absolutely must, come hail or high water) go to Bangkok, Thailand. Luckily, my schedule fell on a weekend, so I only had to take two days leave from the office.

I did not research much on what to do when in Bangkok, as I had more important things to prepare for. I do hope this can serve as a guide to others who are taking the usual 4D/3N package tour to Bangkok.

If you are arriving via Thai Air, make sure you turn right (that is the designated place for agents..the left side is for hotels). This is where you will find a person with a coupon bond size paper bearing your name on it -- he will take you to the hotel where you are booked. My travel agency made the stupid mistake of saying 'turn to the left'. This is what I did, so when I could not find my name on any of the paper being held out in front of my face, I panicked..I had to go all the way to the other side to look for the person fetching us. When I first came out of the airport, this guy from the information told me to come over and asked who was going to pick us up, an agent or hotel..When he found out it was an agent, he told me to turn right. I argued that my agent in Manila said to turn left. He answered back -- "Okay you go to the left if you don't believe me. But I tell you, you will come back here. I work here so I know." Being stubborn, I stood my ground and turned left. I was also too proud to turn around and parade in front of him even when I realized that he was right and I was wrong. Nyhahaha...neknek nya, pinanidigan ko na talaga...Kahit pa mahirapan ako maglakad at sa totoo lang talagang natataranta na ako.

The ride to First House Hotel was about 30 minutes. I did not have much of a first impression as it just confirmed what I knew and heard before I came -- Bangkok is very much like Manila. Pratunam, the area where the hotel is located, is the shopping district of Bangkok. This is evident in the many, many stalls aligned on the streets, and the trash scattered everywhere....It's a cleaner version of Divisoria after sale hours. Walang putek, hindi mabaho, pero daming supot nakakakalat sa kalye.

In front of the hotel is a Filipino owned travel agency cum souvenir shop named Kabuhayan. You can ask the owner if she has a group tour arranged for the day that you can join in.

I also asked the tourist guide, June, to write in Thai the name of the street where I am supposed to go the next day. First House also has a card with directions in Thai that is handy if you are going back to the hotel. The ride to All Seasons Place, located in Wireless Road, took about 20 minutes and cost only baht 61 -- the driver gave me 40 as change for my 100 baht...naka-gain pa ako ng 1 baht, haha. I told the driver that I did not have 1 baht..he said never mind. I thanked him and took this as a sign that the day would turn out good.

On the way back to the Hotel, our taxi driver gladly taught us some Thai words and even gave me a card containing the Bangkok tourist spots and the Thai equivalent of these places. This proved handy whenever we rode a tuktuk or a taxi as most Thais don't speak in English. Because I was in good spirits, I gave the taxi driver 100 baht and did not ask for the change. Feeling galante ako, hehe.

view from the 36th floor
reception area

A butanding experience to remember

One of the most absolutely-cannot-forget, etched-on-my-mind-forever travel experience:

The most frightening travel experience I have was when two of my friends/travel buddies had near accidents at sea...It was May 2003, in Donsol, Sorsogon...We were whale spotting..We set out to look for the whale shark, locally known as butanding, as early as 7 am. We were told that after lunch, whale sharks can't be spotted anymore so we set out early to maximize our time and money.....Two hours later, no butanding in sight...It was a real emotional rollercoaster for us...The whale spotter will see a whale shark, then we'll all get excited..then the whale'l suddenly disappear..leaving us disappointed...then we'll see something again and we get all excited again, then it will slip away and then we're left disappointed again..excited, disappointed...again and again...until, at about 10 am, the actual whale shark was just a stone's throw away...of course, it was an amazing sight to behold..so big, so real,so gentle...Our butanding interaction officer immediately dived with Roma to swim towards the big fish...But i guess we weren't properly warned about the seas of Donsol...the water was murky, the current strong...Armi was too excited to think about what lies ahead...together with Alma, who has not fixed her snorkeling gear yet, they jumped into the sea (with matching shouts of go,go,go,go,go!), for the much awaited butanding experience...

As I was watching Kuya Allan and Roma make contact with the butanding, i was waiting for my two other friends to come to view....But as I looked below the boat, I saw Alma struggling with her snorkeling gear while trying to stay afloat..Meanwhile, the bangkeros turned off the motor and were steering the boat towards the whale..To my horror, I realized that if the bangkeros continue to steer the boat, Alma will either have her neck broken or be sucked deep into the sea....I ran to the other side of the boat, bumping into Mabel who was speechlessly flailing her arms, while I was hysterically shouting MANONG! MANONG! to warn the bangkeros and ask them to save Alma, who is very nearly drowning...I heaved a sigh of relief when the hesitating bangkeros finally jumped to save her. While they were still hauling her up, I heard a faint cry of help from somewhere in our back...Then I saw a pale Armi, wearing the bulky life vest, slowly being dragged by the sea away from us...Later, she told us that no matter how hard she swam, she can't compete with the powerful waves of the sea. So the manongs, who did not really want to get wet in the first place, had no choice but to jump in a second time and save another person.

Inside the boat, Alma and Armi, very fresh from the frightening experience, looked at each other and burst out laughing...But this is one occassion in our 15 years of friendship when I could not laugh with them..I was too shaken with the experience and i really wanted to cry at that point..At the back of my mind, I was thinking that the trip could nearly have been one of those 'when good things turn bad' moments..I could've lost my friends..what would I say to their parents?....Later, when we continued the butanding search, and we had a few more sightings....Perhaps, the sight of the butanding drove all their fears away, or the giant creature was simply just too hard to resist...whatever the reason is, Armi and Alma bravely ventured once again into the deep blue sea and had moments with the big fish...while their other hand is firmly latched on to the experienced diver, of course ...

As for me, I contented myself with the sight of the butanding that swam beside our boat...I can't swim, and after that experience, I was wayyy too afraid to venture out...

Some highly recommended links if you want another butanding experience, this time from an American volunteer in Donsol town or if you want to experience it yourself...

Some pix:

dinner of crabs...

postcard sunset in Donsol

on the way home clockwise -Rome, Alma, Armi, Mabel

On the third day...

Pangasinan's best -- tupig (local delicacy made of coconut cooked in banana leaves [left
], and fresh bangus [right])



Light that candle

Another image of OurLady of Manaoag, though this time, it was made out of a dead tree fronting the church yard.

The real reason why we went up north

When my sister learned I was going to Manaoag province to visit Our Lady of Manaoag, she told me a curious story.

She said that Our Lady of Manaoag doesn't like being photographed, that her images usually end up blurry or dark. I don't know whether to believe it or not, but the photo on the right is the third photo I took because there's always something dark around her face, even when it was very clear when I peered through the lens. I couldn't understand why it appeared a bit dark when the conditions at that time was perfect for picture taking. She is definitely much, much beautiful in person.

Night out...

After a dinner of pizza, pasta and salad with Brian at Don Henrico's in SM City Baguio (best SM branch I have been to so far), we went to listen to a jazz band called On Call in a bar near Brent St. They got the name because the pianist is a doctor, the alto is a nurse, the other two I don't know except that crush ni Brian yung isa at blonde naman yung soprano.

Indiana Jones moment in Balatok

From Baguio, we took a 45 minute jeepney ride to Balatok. Honestly, I went to the mines not knowing anything. I certainly didn't know that we had to wear the heavy hard hat and uncomfortable boots. Although I didn't voice it out that day, I was nervous exploring unfamiliar territory. I thought that they would take us to the actual mines. Well, they did, but the mines we went to was not a working mine anymore, so it was relatively safe.

The guides carefully explained to us every step of the whole process. First was a showcase of mining machines and tools used in the old days. Apparently, the original Balatok mine company was started by a Spanish firm when they discovered gold in the area. It closed some years ago, and later reopened to be a 60-40% co-ownership thing between residents and the company. I forget her name now, but our tour guide is a third generation employee of the firm. She related that back in the old days, there was a school and a housing complex for the families of the employees.

Entering that deep, long, extremely dark, 500-meter cave was a new experience for me. It helped that they installed a blower inside so it was very cool, but the ground was slushy and muddy so I had a hard time walking.

My biggest fear at that time was that part of the tunnel will cave in while we were inside. Images of movies where people got trapped inside the tunnel for days before being rescued came into my mind. I gradually forgot my fear as we went along, listening to the cool hum of the blower at the far end of the tunnel and taking in all the new sights and knowledge that day. The coolest part for me was when we were inside the lunch area for miners, and they actually blew a dynamite and we personally felt how strong it can be (the whole mine shook). Still, most mine workers don't like putting earplugs as they consider it bothersome (mga pasaway). I also learned that in an actual working mine, there was no blower so the temperature inside is hot, so most miners wear nothing except underwear, while another worker douses him with water using a hose.

At the far end of the tunnel were the carts used to haul all the debris from the digging. We rode that to go inside once again, where I felt like Indiana Jones, and couldn't help but hum the theme inside my head....

I highly recommend those going to Baguio to ditch the usual tours and pay Balatok Mines a visit. Entrance is just P250, including the boots and hard hat rental. Oh, and they give you a certificate of completion and a cool badge engraved with the visitor count. I was visitor no.80, 448...

A close look at mining operations

sabi nga ni armi...3 Ds daw..dark, dangerous and dirty....







sifting for gold dust

Balatok Mines Tour

Balatok Mines employees

The ajoshis waiting for the dynamite blast experience

Posing with two ajoshis who joined us in the tour...


Tantanantan, tantanan (indiana jones theme)...our first time to ride the cart used to haul debris...

Next stop: Lourdes Grotto

According to our research, it will take 252 steps to reach the top of Baguio's own Lourdes Grotto, located at the Dominican Hills. But when you are actually there, climbing steep stairs while lumbering 3 days worth of clothes in your backpack, it feels more like 1,000 steps...

More Tam-awan pics

With Ate Cathy and the artist called Paeng (a.k.a. Billy Crawford of Tam-awan)


(l to r)
art for sale, Ifugao house with 2nd floor, fertility pole

Tam-awan Village Trip, Baguio City

Tam-awan Village, Baguio City
19 August 2005

Inside the Ibaloi Houses
Tam-awan Coffee Shop & Store

View from the top...

Gallery

We took advantage of the long weekend, because Quezon City Day fell on a Friday, and being Quezon City girls, we didn't have work. Our original plan was to make a pilgrimage to Our Lady of Manaoag in Pangasinan. However, at the last minute, we decided to head to Baguio first before proceeding to Dagupan late Saturday since it was just 2 hrs away. This makes sense because times are hard and bus fare is expensive, so might as well maximize it.

Arriving at 6 am on August 19, we headed to session road and ate heavy breakfast in the only resto open, Chow King. Armi and I had earlier agreed that we would only go to the lesser known Baguio tourist spots, so first in our itinerary was the Tam-awan Village.

Tam-awan is a haven for local artists, with a gallery, coffee shop cum gift shop, and authentic Igorot and Ibaloi huts that they also rent out. Paeng, one of the local artists, gave us a tour of the whole place. Thankfully, I had the good sense to wear rubber shoes, otherwise, it could have been another one of my klutzy trip experiences.

We also met Sultan, another local artist, and Ate Cathy, the accommodating and friendly coffee shop/souvenir employee. Ate Cathy answered all our questions, no matter how stupid and trivial they were. Tam-awan holds regular art classes, and helps out local artists by mounting shows and selling their art. Its serene environment attracts artists because it induces their creativity. Paeng, for example, is actually from Q.C., but somehow ended up being one of the in-house artists when he moved to Baguio to study.

Among the things you can enjoy in Tam-awan, aside from staying overnight and taking up art lessons, is to have your sketch drawn by a local artist (payment is whatever amount you want to donate). We also saw some GSM Blue and dayap under one of the Igorot houses, so I guess you could drink with the artists too. Or touch the fertility pole if you want to get pregnant (for females only ha, this is not applicable to gays..fertility pole po it, hindi miracle pole).