The Subtle Tang of Salt I Carry With Me Anywhere---Which I Don’t Mind

This is Philippines that is not covered by any news, the Philippines that is committed to my memory, stitched in my heart.

This is home.

It is the multi-colored sago beads floating on the pinkish, melted ice shavings in a left-over halo-halo.
The buzzing of mosquitoes on your ears on a warm summer night.
Blaring soap-opera sounds out of the windows of every nearby homes.
Off-key voices, singing all time favorite videoke pieces.
Sunburns, dried sand sticking on a pair of worned-out tsinelas.
Sticky hairs from too much sun and saltwater.
Whiff of dried fish mixed with the tangy smell of vinegar and soy-sauce on a crisp morning. 

Clothes and pillowcases and blankets hanging on the clothesline. The meeting of the glittering blue of the waters, and the soft blue of the skies.
The bursting of pink and orange and yellow and peach and purple on a setting sun.
It is the tasty fish balls downed with a bottle of chilled coke.
The loud colors of hanging banderitas, body paints on tanned skins, beatings of the drum that match the beatings of your own heart, and dancing….dancing everywhere.
The first bite on a saccharine water melon, or the thirsty gulp of pure coconut juice.
The intricately painted jeepneys, jam-packed with local tourist heading for the beach.
The steady buzz of the pump boat’s engine against the crashing of the waves.
Plump shrimps and inviting crabs.
Footsteps of the Floristas on a humid May afternoon.
Familiar voices, singing Hiligaynon Flores de Mayo songs. Latin prayers.
Dried flowers dumped on the corner of the dusty barrio chapel, from yesterday’s offering.
Pinas’ summer is for family, for pictures, and umbrellas…and memories.
Pinas’ summer is for gratitude, for the happy shades of green and blue.
Pinas’ summer, is always, always for going home.

SEOULFUL Trip, Day 3: 4th destination, Cheonggyecheon Stream

What is the most amazing thing in this big, sprawling city that is Seoul is that they don’t try hard to struggle with nature in order to give way to their uuuuberly modernized structures and well-planned city-scape.

Here’s another anecdote before I talk about this stream:

While we were riding on the taxi from the N-Seoul tower, Ahne and I instructed the cab driver that we wanted to go to the Cheonggyecheon Stream (That’s with less difficulty on our part since learning the Korean way of speaking is just like second to breathing---what with the hundreds of k-dramas and movies that we watched for these past years. Ahahaha!). We were so elated that the driver didn’t have any questions and he didn’t seem baffled by these two strange, trying-hard-to-speak-korean ladies, that were us. So, we assumed that he understood us (Yay!). 

After about 15 minutes, he stopped the cab in the middle of a busy highway and told us that we were on the stream. That immediately deflated our happy bubble. Seriously? But we didn’t come unprepared for situations like that--- just so you would know, we have about two years of practice how to make ourselves be understood when there’s a posing language barrier problem. So, with our Thailand-learned strategies, we tried to explain that we wanted to see the Cheonggyecheon stream and not a busy highway---and when I say explain, that actually meant making an exaggerated motion of flowing water coupled with uttering these words: “See, stream. Stream. Water. Water.” I know right?

The cab driver just scratched his head, as if almost unbelieving, that these two unassuming foreign ladies are actually close to being retarded, what with our one of a kind way of explaining our destination. So, he turned on his engine and drove the cab again and just after about 10 minutes, we were close to desperation when he stopped the cab in just the exact location the first time he told us that we were in our destination. Not wanting to ruin our night by arguing further that we wanted to see the stream and not cars in the middle of a busy highway, we just went off the cab and luckily, right in front of us was a tourist information center. We almost cringed of amused embarrassment when the tourism officer told us that we were actually in Cheonggyecheon stream---all we had to do was go down the stairs on one side of the highway and we will be at the stream! What could the taxi driver have thought about us?! But how are we supposed to know that? How are we supposed to know that a stream can be found in the middle of a highway?

Lesson learned? Put a little faith on the locals.

What a pity that because of the extremely cold temperature that night, we weren’t able to take photos of the stream. So we just ended up sitting on one side of the stream while people watching (it never fails) and half-hoping that the people that we dearly love could share that exact moment, including the happy buzz caused by Seoul’s energy, with us.

(photo credits: google images)

Cheonggyecheon is actually a creek in the midst of downtown Seoul that connects to the Han river, and finally empties into the Yellow Sea. During the rapid post-war economic development, when a lot of people migrated to downtown Seoul, shabby makeshift houses were built alongside it which resulted to the accumulated trash and waste. It was then required to cover it up with concrete and in 1968, an elevated highway was built over it.

In 2003, the Seoul mayor, Lee Myung-Bak initiated a restoration project of the stream. It was an ambitious project as it was not only the elevated highway that should be removed but also the years of neglect that left the stream almost totally dry. It was opened to the public in 2005 and was lauded as a major success in urban renewal and beautification.

We tried step-hopping on these stones too, to cross to the other side!

This was like the exact spot where Ahne and I sat to do Seoulite-watching.

…and this is proof why Korea is on my top list of the romance bustling cities of the world. This particular scene made us wish that there was actually some shoulders, no let me rephrase that, that there was actually THE shoulder beside us to lean our heads into.

A stretch of the Chenggyecheon stream amidst the bustling highways and towering buildings of Seoul---proof that nature can comfortably exist with development. If this city can do it in a mere stream which has actually a misplaced location city-planning-wise, why couldn’t we do it with our Pasig river, or with our own Manila Bay?

SEOULFUL Trip, Day 3:3rd Destination, N-Seoul Tower

Once darkness envelops all over Seoul, one will instantly notice a remarkable point jutting out of the city’s skyline. The N-Seoul tower is the highest point in Seoul. It is a communication and observation center, turned into an ultimate tourist destination, located at Seoul’s Namsan Mountain.

Once we got off the taxi, we paid for the cable car which brought us to the Namsan Mountain. It was about a 10-15 minute ride on the cable car and then we hiked up at the peak of the mountain where the tower is located. Imagine 2 pairs of unconditioned knees with 2 sets of tropical-reared lungs, add a more than a hundred steps of stairs going up the mountain with an 8-degree night chill and you’ll get a clear image of 2 females struggling for breath while going up to the tower. Surely, the Koreans who were walking up the tower with us were probably thinking, “Oh, these two are not locals. Hindi sanay sa autumn temperature namin eh.” Oh snap! Ahahaha.

The tower was opened to the public in 1980. Aside from its famous observatory, it also has some souvenir shops, restaurants, and a teddy bear museum (next post). At night, the tower in itself is a spectacular site for it is illuminated by a brilliant blue light which is visible all over Seoul. At around 10:00 pm, this blue light is turned off which is the signal of the start digital movie presentation which features the whole tower as the screen. While everyone was watching the 20-minute digital video presentation, I stood in awe and uttered a silent prayer of thanks for having given this opportunity to travel (and I hope that this was just a start).

A large display of the N Seoul Tower logo and a wall covered with tourist information in Korean is not just a promotion, but a creation of a digital media artist.

One of the most famous activities in the tower especially for lovers (ahem!) is to hang padlocks with love messages attached to them in an area on the Tower fence. According to legend, a couple who makes a wish in the Namsan mountain gets to be together forever. Now, this legend is definitely sensationalized, hence the line of padlock trees along the Tower fence. A pity, I didn’t have someone to lock the pads with. As a promise to myself, the next time I’m back to Korea with my one great love (ayeeeeee!) , I’ll surely bring a huge industrial padlock. Small padlocks are waaaaaay too passé in these times, don’t you think?… Ahahaha!

This is the observatory room where a 300° view of Seoul can be seen. This was certainly the most perfect way to spend our last night in Korea. And see, we’ve got Manila posted on one of its glass walls!

Temporary Demotion to Being a Mere Mortal

Yesterday, I decided to give up my rank as a “diwata” by cutting my magical curly tresses in order to go back to being a mere mortal.

Self-uplifting-on-the-verge-of-vanity-leading-to-narcissism comments aside, let me plainly say it----I cut off my almost a year-length curly hair into a short bob! To those who know me for a loooong period of time, this is not big news since they know me as somebody who sports short to medium length hair since like, forever. So, my year length curly hair was actually a record---it was my first time to allow my hair to grow long without itching to having it cut four to six months after having it curled.

To be honest, I did enjoy having that curly hair---it was my first time to actually experience flipping my hair like most ladies with long hairs do. It was also fun to experiment with different styles everyday---from braids, to bun, to ponytails, to just letting it loose. But, long hair isn’t just me.  I guess I’m so low maintenance after all. So, I had it cut to a short bob and though there was a bit of anxiety attack when I felt the scissors snipping the strands one by one, but when I saw my bob haircut, I was more than elated to see my old self back! That’s a drama queen statement, I know! Ahahaha!

On second thought, there’s actually no need to give up my “diwata” post . I may have hair short as an officer now, but I still have my invisible wings on. *wink*

Vigilance (which spells p-a-r-a-n-o-i-a) Ruins Romance

One of my favorite independent short film/video makers, Wong Fu Productions, once made a series of short flicks entitled “Technology Ruins Romance”. The story lines of the flicks are actually funny with a tinge of sarcasm, but very true all the same---tackling several possibilities (and realities) of how technology, yes, ruins romance.

I have my own version of that, in real life though. I’ll not label this personal anecdote as “Technology Ruins Romance”. Probably, it could be any of the following----“Realism Overdose Ruins Romance”, “Vigilance Ruins Romance”, or most probably, “Being-a-close to-jaded-twenty-something-single-in-the-present-times Ruins Romance”. Here’s why:

Last October 15 of last year, while I was catching my flight from Manila to Bangkok, in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the airport which could actually be a perfect setting for any movies and novels about mushy love stories, serendipity, and random-strangers-ending-up-together, it dawned on me that those movie and novel plots are close to impossible in the present times and with the current way of thinking of people. Well, people like me to be exact. 

After the SOP scanning of hand-carry baggages and other personal stuffs, I hurriedly sat on a nearby bench while carrying my sandals on my left hand and my overnighter bag on the other. While I was busy strapping my sandals on, I saw from my peripheral vision that a person sat next to me. And from my position, I could see that he was also putting his shoes on. When I was almost done putting the buckle of the sandal on my right foot, I heard the man saying in a low voice, “Uhm, excuse me Miss.” 

Now, before I continue, let me tell you that I have this weird fixation on certain kinds of voices---that when I heard the voice of that stranger (Oh di ‘ba parang romance novel lang? *cringe* Ahahaha!), I momentarily stopped what I was doing (While mutely saying, “wow”.) to look at him and made sure that it was actually me that he was talking to. When I threw him a polite but at the same time an i-don’t-know-you-are-you-talking-to-me? glance, I realized that it was actually me that he was talking to since nobody was at close proximity from where we were at that particular moment, unless that stranger of a man was of the delusional kind (Ahahaha!). Since I can be a keen observer if I really will myself to, I estimated that he was about in his late 20’s or early 30’s, the clean-cut type (The ones who are brought home by female lead characters in movies, and then they turn out to be psycho-murderers. See how morbid I can be?). He had his glasses on and he was wearing a polo and well-fitted pair of jeans. And, from my previous  position when I was buckling my sandals, I noticed that his shoes were actually polished. In short, the man was okay. Alright, he was above okay. So, I politely replied, “Yes?”

What he said next exceeded my concept of “weird comment from a stranger”. Much more a stranger who was a man. He then said, “Nice sandals.”

Nice sandals? Of all the random things to hear from a stranger/man!

Now, if that was a movie, that would have been a cute start of the pa-tweetums scenes. If it was a scene from a movie, the female character (that was me) would have made a witty reply then walked away only to find out that they have to sit next to each other on the plane and that would have been the start of their romantic and clichéd love story.

Moreover, if it was a chapter in a novel, the guy would have asked the girl for coffee while waiting for their own flights. Then, they would separate ways and by some twist of fate or you may call it serendipity, they would meet again. The man would then pursue the girl however, there will be some complications like distance, or a past relationship with no formal closure, on either party that would add drama to their courtship and budding romance. But in the end, they would realize that they love each other too much to let those problems stop them from being together.

However, that was in real life---a life in which I was raised as not to talk to strangers, even how unsuspecting they might be. It happened at a time, when everywhere you go, you have to religiously follow one reminder: Be vigilant.

That’s a little bit sad, albeit harsh. But that’s reality.

So the moment he asked me, a train of thoughts raced through my mind: “What if this man is actually a psycho who targets his victims in airports?”, “What if he would quietly slip a packet of drugs on my bag while I was talking to him?”, “What if he is gay who actually designs shoes? For what straight man would actually notice a lady’s sandals on a random, first encounter?” 

So since this is real life, I smiled and simply replied, “Thank you.” and then walked away. End of story.

Now, I know that airport romances have slim chances of having to actually happen (at least for me)---and to think that I was pining for just that kind of story. Oh snap! #

8 years to forever, okay?

Happy 8 years of LOVE and LAUGHTER  and KILIG (Ayeeeee!) to the both of you Che and Karl!!!!!!!

If there’s a word greater and stronger than “happy” in order to greet you on the eighth year of your wonderful love story, then I would have probably used that word. 

It warms my heart to see both of you growing in love despite your apparent geographical distance for most of the time. While I am writing this, I can’t help but smile while remembering how your story started waaaaay back from high school, up to now. It has grown from pa-tweetums-love into a kind of love that is mature enough as to have deepened with time and even with distance. 

Your story has a way of tugging into our hearts with the fact that you can look back into the past and know that you can look back at each stage of your life---from awkward high schoolers, to idealistic but happy-go-lucky university students, to unemployed fresh out of university graduates, to struggling young adults at the bottom of the working force ladder paving for the way up---and see each other in each step and in every transition, sharing mutual stories, mutual laughters, and mutual friends (gapadara-dara lang, ahahahaha!). And I am so happy that we are somehow part of some tinie-tiny-tidbits of your LOVE story and we are mute loud witnesses to the growth of your love. 

Happy anniversary Che and Karl!!!!! The world is a much better place with your love for each other in it. Best love story ever, swear!  IDOL!!! *wink*

…and because the 7 seas (7 seas guid man? Ahahahaha!) are a great part of your story, I can’t help but include this “Jack-Rose” scene.

P.S. When can we hear the _ _ _ _ _ _ _ bells?

SEOULFUL Trip, Day 3: 2nd Destination, Coffee Prince Shop

Forgive me but I’m warning you beforehand that it’s the k-drama addict who will be typing the next ramblings. Remember Arthur and Andi? Oh, that’s an understatementquestion---if ever there is such term. How can anybody forget about them, much more, not even know about them, helloooooo? If that’s the case, then you’re missing a big, and I mean a BIG portion of your precious life---and I’m not even starting to exaggerate it yet.

Okay, okay, I’ll switch to normal mode because I can sense some rolling of eyeballs coupled with some “puhleeeaaase!”.

 At one point in your life for this past 6 years, you must have heard about the K-drama Coffee Prince which aired in the Philippines last 2007.Youn Eun Hye and Gong Yoon starred in the said drama and the story revolved in the life of a poor girl, Andi, who had to disguise as a man and be a part of the crew of the Coffee Prince Shop which was owned by Arthur. From thereon, love blossomed between the two lead characters in between so much confusion and bickering on their part as Arthur was unaware of Andi’s real gender for the most part of the drama, but was already head over heels in love with her. My heart was turned into pure slush and I was reduced into a cry-baby in a lot of scenes, especially with the idea that love can transcend everything, even with the looming possibility of being judged because of Arthur, being unaware that Andi was a girl, but loving her anyway. That’s mushy, I know. But you have to watch the drama in order to understand that I’m not just being “pa-cute” with that statement,okay? ;)

The coffee shop really does exist in one of the university streets in Seoul, although I must say that it wasn’t really well-maintained. But with just the mere idea that you are breathing the same air and traipsing the same path that Youn Eun Hye and Gong Yoon once breathed and traipsed is already too kilig-worthy. I clearly remember that I was even close to bawling tears when Jessica Soho (or was it Korina?) featured the shop during her show’s South Korea episode. At that time, if somebody told me that I would step foot in that same place a couple of years later, I would have just rolled my eyeballs too.

The fact that nothing and nobody could tell us a clear instruction as to the location of the coffee shop, Ahne and I found it by pure luck and with a big dose of being headstrong on the idea of finding it. Heard the famous adage that your heart would lead you when your feet cease to know where to go? That’s what happened to us------cheezyyyyy overload, it is. I know. *wink*

I could only smile my dopey-faced look from too much exhilaration!!!

I still believe that this as one of the best tv smooches, ever!

Buti pa ‘tong dalawa, nagka-coffee prince moment. Haaay!!!!

Ahne and I thought that we could get past this signage near the gate and take some photos without being noticed. But we forgot that this was South Korea---and CCTV’s are everywhere! After a couple of our photos were taken, the owner went out and politely asked us if we wanted some coffee or tea which actually translates to---“Order some drinks, or I’ll smash your camera and all your precious photos in it.” We didn’t have choice, did we? Strategy: epic fail!