Latest posts from our Manila expert:
Down South Part 1: CWC, Pili City
Summer is the time to get away from Manila. The city is great, but more and more I am seeing that it is merely an entryway to the real beauty of the Philippines, the provinces.
Camarines Sur is located south of Manila, approximately a 10-hour drive. You can choose to take a plane, but when you have a long holiday and some friends hungry for adventure, then a road trip is the way to go. There is nothing like an all night drive ending as the sun’s rays alight upon a highway overlooking the ocean.
Out of the city’s comfort zone, winding paths lead to roads unlit by lamp posts, dangerously marked, “demilitarized zone”. But there were bright spots too like when we came upon a curving uphill climb that was manned by volunteers, armed only with flashlights to light the way ahead. Being city slickers, we had anticipated a more difficult time but our trusty map got us there safe.
The first thing we did when we arrived at Camsur Watersports Complex was to take a much-needed nap. Mansion Suites with its clean modern design and superb service, was the right choice. After resting, we tried out the facilities. They had a mini golf course, a skateboard park, and a game room amongst other things. However, we headed straight for the water. Afterall, we were in a world-class wakeboarding venue.
For the first time, I was able to try out kneeboarding or the masochistic act of kneeling down on a miniature surfboard, holding on to a cable that yanks you around a lake, only to fall over and get fully submerged in water at some point. It was a lot of fun and if it hadn’t been for the intimidating pro wakeboarders flying off in flips and helicopter tricks, I would’ve tried wakeboarding too.
http://www.camsurwatersportscomplex.com/
National Museum Part 3: John Silva
The thing that made this tour extraordinary was no doubt our tour guide and the senior consultant to the museum, John Silva, who provided the insights that coherently brought the museum pieces together.
Imagine a male version of Edna Mode of the cartoon, “the Incredibles”, and you’d get a pretty accurate picture of our tour guide for the day. If Edna is passionate, snappy, sometimes fanatical about fashion, John is the same about Philippine history and arts.
Despite his dimunative stature, he spoke with the force that only someone who went out to accomplish something could. He was proud of his work for the museum and you felt it with his every step and gesture. He said, “Three years ago, the museum only averaged 250,000 visitors a year. That’s how many visitors Glorietta shopping center gets in one day. Now, with the help and backing of Tony Boy Cojuangco, we average a million a year.” I looked around me and the tour group was indeed an impressive one made up of more than 30 eager faces. 80% of whom were Caucasian. (It boggles me how foreigners are more interested in Filipino culture than Filipinos. )
What struck me the most was how John would talk about doing reconstruction in the museum like he was talking about doing house repairs. That’s the difference between someone who has helped build the museum and a tourist guide for hire.
Proceeds from the tour fees (700 pesos for adults, and 500 pesos for children up to 18 years) will go to John’s I LOVE MUSEUM PROGRAM, which brings public school teachers to the National Museum and to their local museums. The tours are three hours in duration, and begins at 10:00 am sharp (ending at 1:00 pm) at the rear entrance of the Museum of the Filipino People, (former Finance Building) Agrifina Circle, Rizal Park.
Text or call John Silva at 0926 729 9029.
National Museum Part 2: The Spoliarium
After the Museum of the Filipino people, our tour group went of to the National
Gallery of Art. Our first stop was the Philippines’s most prized painting the Spoliarium. It is a massive piece measuring almost four meters in height. Overwhelming in stature and stateliness, it owned the room.
The painting depicted the Roman chamber where they would drag off the dying gladiators during that infamous bloodthirsty era. In it, you could see two men almost life-sized being dragged in totally bloodied with several limbs mangled. On the right side sits the only woman, so pained by the sight she cannot even look. This painting done by Juan Luna won the top award in the Madrid Exposition of 1884. A victory for all Filipinos, it proved that an Indio, or native islander, can win a prestigious worldwide art competition against even the Spanish.
On the night Juan Luna was honored, Jose Rizal gave a toast where he proceeded to talk lengthily in what can be summed up in this thought, “If a Filipino can be equal to the Spaniards in the arts, then why can’t they be equal politically. Patriarchy is dead.” This caused an immediate uproar. Newspapers all over the Philippines soon reported it and Rizal was branded a subversive. Soon after, he became more radical in his approach to gain independence from Spain.
Such is the power and influence of the Spoliarium. It elevated a Filipino artist into greatness, but more importantly, it strengthened the resolve of Rizal to go down the path that would eventually make him the national hero. Rizal’s interpretation of Spoliarium was that the Romans were the Spaniards and they made Filipinos ruthlessly fight each other. The woman was the Philippines, so helpless, all she could do was turn away.
Nothing in the museum comes close to the Spoliarium. The galleries and the collections they hold feel disjointed. However, its eventual improvement gives us all something to look forward to in the coming months.
National Museum Part 1: A Great Jumping Off Point
One lazy Saturday, I decided to join a tour group for the Museum of the Filipino People. To my delight and horror, this 3 hour experience taught me more than all my years studying Filipino history. (Granted, a good part of my education was not in the Philippines.) Regardless, I still believe that the museum is a great place to build a trip from. This crash course will definitely whet the appetite of Pinoys and foreigners alike.
The museum’s fifteen galleries detail the archaeological past and the anthropological present of the Philippines. Travelling through them, I kept getting goose bumps. I guess when your whole being senses something life changing, your body reacts accordingly. Something told me that I was connecting with an important side of me.
Instead of describing what I saw, I’ll just share some tidbits I picked up. Facts like- the Philippine Islands are actually a composite of lands from mainland Asia and as far away as Australia. Evidence of which are fossil remains of mammoths. It’s interesting how these unrelated pieces of lands, clumped together, and formed what would be our nation.
I also never knew that our national hero, Jose Rizal was an avid museum lover. A prolific letter writer, his shortest letter supposedly said something like, “Hi Mom and Dad, I’ve arrived safely. Now, I’m off to the museums!” He believed that a beautiful experience becomes more meaningful when shared.
The museum had a room that housed pieces from the 1904 World Fair at Saint Louis. The U.S. built a 47 acre mini-Philippines were they had an Intramuros and even representations of the different provinces. This human zoo had actual inhabitants living and working in the area. The most popular attraction was a tribe’s noontime dog eating show. That’s how Pinoys came to be known as dogeaters, even though most Pinoys are abhorred by the practice.
There is so much more I can write about, but I’ll leave the rest for you guys to discover on your own. Visit the Museum of the Filipino People. It’s the most worthwhile way to part with P700.
Pinoy Street Portrait: The Happy Hunter
I was driving on the roads of Roxas Boulevard in Manila. The heavy traffic gave me time to observe the world outside the comforts of my air-conditioned car. Amidst the confusing road signs and vehicles haphazardly zipping past each other, I spotted him.
He stood about five feet in height. He had floppy overgrown hair that was tinged orange. His polo was about three sizes too big for him and it hung loose like a sail on a mast. He had a genial gait, almost like he normally hopped to get to where he was going. Though his face showed marks of hardship, he wore a silly childlike expression.
From out of nowhere, a half-empty water bottle flew out in front of him. He gamely picked it up and smiled a wide grin towards the jeepney driver that threw it at him. He waved thanks to driver and skipped away. This man was a vagabond garbage collector, the kind that would go around collecting recyclables as a means of survival.
His gracious reaction hit a nerve and made me think of how lucky I was to be in a country where a person can still find value in a half-empty bottle of water. Maybe for him, it was half-full. Or maybe, he’s not the kind of person who thought about concepts as silly as half-full or half-empty. Because as I was internalizing all of that, I saw him walk away emptying the water on the pavement, putting away the bottle in his sack, and bouncing off to his own happy beat.
What's Up with Rockeoke?
What do you get when you bring a group of people in a room with TV that plays songs with lyrics at the bottom? Boring old videoke. But what if you make those people disgruntled yuppies, rebels and emos, in a bar with a live band and a ready mic? You get rockeoke!
So, if you’ve been aching to act out your rockstar fantasies… it’s time to throw out the tie, smear on the black eyeliner and get smashed at Mag:net. Just be warned that you’ll be in bar full of like-minded, equally untalented singers. It will get loud! So it’s best you just sing along and join in the communal desire to live as gloriously and as drunkenly as you mumble the lyrics,
“Twenty - five years and my life is still
Trying to get up that great big hill of hope
For a destination
And I realized quickly when I knew I should
That the world was made up of this brotherhood of man
For whatever that means
And so I cry sometimes
When I'm lying in bed
Just to get it all out
What's in my head
And I am feeling a little peculiar
And so I wake in the morning
And I step outside
And I take a deep breath and I get real high
And I scream at the top of my lungs
What's going on?
And I say, hey hey hey hey
I said hey, what's going on?”
That’s exactly what I did onstage and it’s been one of the best gimmicks I’ve had this year. I’ll have to thank the 4 Non Blondes, San Mig Light, Quark Henares and the other Mag:net part owners for thinking up Rockeoke. It certainly lives up to the hype.
Rockeoke happens in Mag:net Café on scheduled Mondays. They have different activities lined up for each night. Aside from Disneyoke, Broadwayoke, they often have arts galleries and even comedy acts. Mag:net provides an awesome alternative for non-clubbers who are more culturally inclined. The place has a great vibe that manages to bring out the un-shy in people.
Check out their site for more info.
WWW.MAGNET.COM.PH
Call 856-3400 or 0920-9793400
For WHAT'S ON TONIGHT text
magnetcafe and send to 2948 for Globe/Sun users
and 3940 for Smart users.
2/F B3, Bonifacio High Street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig Metro Manila. It's in the building across Krispy Kreme, right beside the Nike Store.
Book Reco: You Know You're A Filipino If...
Most travelers limit themselves to tried and tested guides like Lonely Planet and Fodor’s when they go off to a foreign land. Sometimes though, you’ve got to be able to see a country from a local perspective. That’s why I recommend the book, “You Know You’re a Filipino If…” by Neni Sta. Romana-Cruz. It offers interesting bite-sized insights into what Pinoys are all about. It’s quirky, fun and offers lots of topics for conversation starters. Here are some of my favorites from her list. Check out how true it is or make up some of your own along the way.
You Know Your're Filipino If...
1. You travel with eight pieces of luggage and most of them are called "Balikbayan Boxes".
2. You have uncles and aunts named Boy, Girlie, or Baby.
3. You have relatives whose nicknames consist of repeated syllables, such as Jun-Jun, Ling-Ling, and Mon-Mon.
4. You decorate your living room wall with your family's framed diplomas and certificates and plaques.
5. You put your foot up on your chair and rest your elbows on your knees while you eat
6. You decorate your dining room wall with a giant wooden spoon and fork and a picture of the Last Supper.
7. You keep your furniture wrapped in plastic.
8. You use fingers to measure the water you need to cook rice.
9. You wash and reuse disposable styrofoam cups, plastic spoons and forks, and aluminum wrappers. You also love recycling paper plates by covering them with wax paper.
10. You can squeeze 15 passengers into your five-seater car without a second thought.
11. Christmas isn't Christmas without a parol (Star lantern) and a belen (Nativity Scene).
12. You're always late.
13. You live with your parents until-and at times even after-you're married.
14. You demand that your children sing and dance to amuse your friends and relatives.
15. You own a "Footsteps in the Sand" poster.
16. You have a piano no one plays.
17. You use a halved coconut husk to polish the floor.
18. You own a "barrel man."
19. You shower at least once a day.
20. You prefer hand-washed to machine-washed laundry.