West of Mayon

Rant: Work-related flights are usually the ones which leave Manila around 5am...

Rave: I am privy to the extremes God goes to to rouse humanity from its nocturnal slumber. And the view of steamy Mayon is, ironically, cool.

Flying somewhere over the Bicol region, August 2006, using my Canon A430 digicam.

Where I want to be right *now*

With its quiet charm tucked away from the cacophony of city bustle, Sonya's Garden is the perfect place for the rat-race weary corporate denizen. Good food, envigorating air, colorful vistas, homely furnishings, welcoming staff...

Where's floo powder when you need a handful...

Tagaytay City, November 2006, using my Canon A430 digicam.

Rizal Monumental

He's always standing tall, proud, sometimes legs in midstride, but always dignified, book and coat on hand. You can find him in front of the municipal hall, the central school, the main plaza, or people's park. He comes in various sizes and colors, made from metal, marble, or mortar. I think it is safe to assume that 95% of all Philippine cities and municipalities have at least one monument of our national hero, Jose Rizal.

But I believe that this is the first time I've seen Rizal inspired by Gomez Addams or the Phantom of the Opera...

At the municipal grounds of Sogod, Southern Leyte, August 2006, using my Canon A430 digicam.

Miguel and Antonio go to Manila

Facing the Rizal monument, with your back to Manila Bay, a simple, ornate statue emerges at the corner of Padre Burgos St. and Roxas Boulevard, just as the latter becomes Bonifacio Drive. It commemorates the arrival of Miguel Lopez De Legazpi and his chronicler Antonio Pigafetta and consequent founding of the city of Manila on June 24, 1571. The main subjects of the monument are depicted as two victorious figures holding on to the Flag and the Cross. The base also contains rich ornaments detailing adjunct facets and events to the city's founding.

I came to know about this piece of history while watching the Living Asia channel one morning several years ago. I caught a feature on Manila's forgotten landmarks, structures which are overshadowed by their more famous contemporaries because or hence they have fallen to neglect and disrepair. The Legazpi-Pigafetta monument is practically a stone's throw away from Rizal Park and yet its moat-like water feature is murky and the grass around it unkempt. If it weren't daytime, I would be too afraid to approach it.

The gray, overcast sky shrouding us as a co-worker and I endeavored to visit the monument one afternoon seems to be commiserating with the our poor appreciation of history.

P. Burgos cor Bonifacio Drive/ Roxas Boulevard, Manila, November 2006, using my Canon A430 digicam.

Sugar and Spikes

Technically it was not my first encounter with this Queen Fruit of the South. Whenever my father would come home from a business trip to Davao and its environs, he would bring home packs of durian candy. Being the incurable sweet tooth, that pack would be a goner before you can say, Honey I'm home. Then when I myself was able to visit Davao a decade ago, I got the chance to eat durian ice cream and all the candy I can get my hands on. But still, the fruit eluded me.

Yet the durian and I were destined to meet. In Cagayan De Oro last month, I finally caught a major whiff of and a spoonful of this delectable fruit. It isn't really malodorous; rather, it's sweet scent is so strong that it wallops one's sense of smell. And, at least that particular spoonful I tasted, was Pure Condensed Milk Pretending To Be A Fruit. IT WAS SOOOOO DELIRIOUSLY SWEET. Too sweet and too creamy, even for my own taste buds. I'm sure it's a great fruit, and other varieties are far tastier than what I sampled- but I don't believe I will be rushing to my suking prutasan to devour another durian.

If it is in ice cream form... That's another story.

As my bosses attack a couple of durians at a roadside durian stall, Iligan City, April 2007, using my Canon A430 digicam.