Bison

Up ahead on the road, we saw shaggy mounds of humps and horns.  They were a herd of bison that bedded down on our path.  I coasted to a stop in appreciation of this unexpected welcome party, but mainly because we couldn’t move any further.  Suddenly, the largest of the bison snorted and looked at out direction.  I swallowed hard.  Would he charge?  If he did, there was no way I could get the car turned around in time.  He easily weighed close to a ton and we will be trampled like frogs.  After a while, it seemed to me that they were bivouacked for the night so I decided to rev the engine and dart toward the glossy-eyed roadblocks.  In a flash, the herd sprang upright and stampeded ahead on the road.  For at least a hundred meters, they refused to yield to us until they plunged like small humpback whales into a ravine.

Spare Me Some Money, Dude?

Unpleasant encounters make an experience fuller and more meaningful. - I and the Filipinas I met working at the Ritz were riding inside the metro when a hulking vagrant dressed in rags hopped in from a station when it stopped.  I was seated near the door and on the aisle side.  Wafts of the most disgusting odor came with this guy.  I tried to avoid eye contact and held my breath hoping he will pass me by quickly.  But he stopped and leaned closer to look into my eyes while asking for money.  I almost vomited at his face.  The smell was so strong like a mixture of decaying organic matter of the grossiest kind, it almost knocked me unconscious.  I felt relieved when he moved on to the other passengers.  And on the next stop, he was out, but his filthy smell hang in the air like a nightmare.

Invalides

Invalides is a military museum chronicling WWI, WWII and the medieval wars especially that of Napoleon Bonaparte’s conquests.  There are many collections and memorabilia but the one I like best is the Medieval room which is devoted to the wars of the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries exhibiting armour and military weapons, and in particular a remarkable collection of swords.  The great emperor Napoleon Bonaparte has a tomb inside in what is called the Dome Church which has been converted into a military pantheon.  Surrounded by other great military leaders, the emperor is encased in successive 5 coffins, one made of tin, one of mahogany, two of lead and one of ebony.  And in 1989, the massive golden dome and its decorations directly above Napoleon’s sarcophagus were re-gilded using 12 kilograms of gold!  Remarkable!

Portuguese

Located north of Lisbon, shown above is Vasco Da Gama Bridge, the longest in Europe, and one of those monuments, institutions and a port city in Goa that immortalized this great Portuguese explorer Vasco Da Gama.

One day, four Portuguese came by the flat (in Paris) and stayed for 3 days.  I said I always wanted to visit Portugal because my grandpa had a Portuguese lineage, in fact he was 6’3’’ tall.  They said matter-of-factly, “But Portuguese people are not tall.  Look at us, shorties.…”  I would have wanted to argue that his Portuguese blood made grandpa tall, but decided against it. 

Georgia On My Mind

After 3 days of exhausting bilateral talks, we were back on the road to Paris.  I was again in the car with Phoung and Jeremy, and this time with my roommate Cyril from Togo, Africa and the only rose among the thorns – Shorena who is from the Republic of Georgia, an Eastern European country that requires no visa to enter.  And for a little bit of trivia, Shorena proudly said that Ray Charles’ hit song “Georgia On My Mind” does not refer to the American State of Georgia, but to her Republic Of Georgia in Europe.  We can’t help but sing “Georgia On My Mind” on the road back to Paris.  I was taken by the melody which made me do a little research and found out that this song was actually written by Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell in 1930.  And that in 1979, “Georgia On My Mind” became the official state song of Georgia in the United States.  That means, Ray Charles neither wrote nor composed the song.  Hmmm, Shorena….

Roadtrip

After two days of Pre-TM we had to leave Paris.  So with Oscar from Iceland, Phoung from Vietnam and French Jeremy who was behind the wheel, we headed south for an 8-hour road trip to Sete for the Alliance TM.   After cruising along the now familiar Parisian boulevards, we were in the outskirts of the city passing by open meadows and rolling green fields before we start ascending to the rugged mountains of the Massif Central region.  Snow covered the mountainsides and it was very cold.  These mountains are connected by viaducs.  Along the way, we have to cross the Viaduct Du Millau, the tallest bridge in the world, and we had to get out of the car for this rare photo opportunity.  So we parked it at the foot of a hill and proceeded to run towards the lookout for a fabulous sight of the whole bridge.  At this time, I left my beanie in the car which proved to be disastrous.  The wind blew and cold penetrated my ears giving me a splitting headache instantly.  We ran back towards the car and turned on the heater.  Man, I never knew cold until that time!  It was already passed 6 in the evening and we stopped at an intersection in the City of Toulouse that gave us a dilemma: The signs indicated that Sete and Barcelona are almost equidistant.  Sete meant the start of TM and Barcelona offered a night of partying.  Hmmm, tempting but no!  That night we hit Sete.

Sete, “the singular island” is traversed by many canals and is fondly called “Venice of Languedoc” and “Small Naples”.  It is situated at the foot of Mont St-Clair and on the south-eastern hub of the Bassin de Thau, an enclosed salt water lake.  To its other side lies the Mediterranean.  Sete is just an hour and a half away from the borders of Italy, Andorra and Spain.  It is very close to the more famous cities of Nice, Montpellier, Marseille and Cannes, and Monte Carlo in the Principality of Monaco.  When we arrived it was dinner time and the other participants were already munching on French cooking.  My colleagues in the car greeted friends as we moved towards the back.  Unbeknownst to us, we were seated in the long table with the freshly elected officers of Alliance.  I thought I knew very little of the people sitting there, but little did I know…..

I shook their hands except one who was seated farthest and on the opposite side of the table. He was obviously grinning at me.  I thought he was just being friendly.  I went over and shook his hand.  But he hugged me and said, “Jun how are you?”  I looked at him closely.  It was Roman, a German friend I met 5 years ago in Seoul, Korea.  At the time, he was a long-haired volunteer, but here, 5 years hence, he is the president of the biggest and most influential network in the workcamp movement, and clean-cut too.  I was so fired up meeting him again and we shook hands for the longest time.

Timeless

On the way to Lower Falls, we have to pass by Yellowstone River.  We stopped for a while and indulged in its soothing sound.  I found a rock for a stool and prepared to skip a few flat stones on the quiet eddies when a trout rose to nip an insect on the water, then it disappeared.  It was one of those times when you are totally lost in the moment.  As if woken from a dream, I suddenly become more aware of the sound of running waters.  Then I stood up.  It was time to go.

Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone was born from volcanism and is still being shaped by its forces.  The heavy smell of sulfur permeated the air and hot steam was rising all over as we strolled on the wooden walkways snaking around the Upper Geyser Basin.  There were mudpots, fumaroles, geysers and spring pools.  This area is undoubtedly volcanic but we couldn’t find its most distinguishing geologic feature – the volcano.  Small wonder we didn’t see it.  WE WERE IN IT! 

This volcanic Goliath exploded one too many times that its magma chamber was emptied.  Magma is molten rock that collects in a magma chamber inside a volcano.  Lava is molten rock expelled by a volcano in an eruption.  Too much eruptions may empty the chamber, and the surface above to collapse to form a caldera.  Yellowstone’s immense 28×47-mile caldera (basin) was the result of the earth’s collapsing from losing so much lava in volcanic eruptions.  Scientists say that the park is due for another.  Suddenly, it came to mind that I was walking on a thin sheet of earth beneath a bubble of molten terror.  I walked lightly so as not to disturb its sleeping fury.

Napoleon Bonaparte Country

I just arrived from Paris via Abu Dhabi through Etihad Airline, the national flag carrier of the United Arab Emirates. Let me brag a bit, ehem…. As shown in the photo above, I was having a wonderful time with German Marie, French Caroline and Luba from Russia. In the background is what remains of the Bastille, the French infamous prison.  The French revolution was started with what is now called The Fall Of The Bastille. 

Anyway, I will be blogging a little bit more in another blog platform. I hope to see you there with more stories from France, especially Paris and Sete, a city near the Mediterranian coast.      

Tower of Terror

My Florida trip was a time to reconnect with old-buddies Reno and Rey.  But it was also a time to visit Disney Land!  And while the others fancy the “Honey I Shrunk The Audience” thriller, we trooped towards the Hollywood Tower Of Terror for a scary ride to “The Twilight Zone!”  

Dust and cobwebs abound in the lobby.  There was a huge chandelier, and life-size-Dracula-like portraits hang on the wall.  We were herded to a dark room with seats and armrests.  The door was shut and the show began with a very old movie clip of an old fellow, who teased us with “Welcome to the Twilight Zone!”  Then darkness.  The room rattled as it started to move forward.  Lighting struck and thunder roared as holograms of ghosts and goblins flashed before our path.  Demonic laughing echoed as the lights flickered.  Then we turned, and dropped suddenly!  It felt like my stomach was sliced in half!  The shouting started here, and giggling, and laughing, and scared delight.  Then we were pushed up the tower so fast it felt like my legs was left at the bottom, then gravity suddenly took over as if we would crash to the ground!  We were pushed up, and dropped, then turned, and up again, and dropped!  We were shouting like crazy and we came out laughing like there’s no tomorrow….

I think we were the noisiest little big men in that group because the others asked us, “Was it your first time?”  And to their amusement we replied with a big, “YEeeeS!”

Vietnam

Being a fastly developing country with a steady rise in tourism, I did not know Vietnam is a communist state until I saw the red sickle flapping in the wind beside the yellow star on red background flag.  In Ho Chi Minh, a city in the south, business is thriving and the people are freely going about their business.  But after a few days in the northern capital city of Hanoi, I began to notice the confining feeling of Vietnam’s communist rule.

At the revered massive mausoleum, the guards strictly enforce the one line policy of queuing to view Uncle Ho’s remains.  If you stray a few inches from the line, the guard sternly approaches; if you stab your hands in your pockets, the guards quizzically demand that you withdrew them.  Silence is the preferred language, and obedience, the ultimate virtue.  On the streets, policemen rule, no one dares challenge their authority; while in the bus, the conductor lords over, and herds passengers to nooks he fancies.  I happen to sit on a railing and got a slap on the butt.  I felt like a 3^rd grader scolded by a teacher.  At midnight, the streets are empty.  So, with silence and obedience being my guardian angels, I enjoyed my remaining days in Indochina.

In lake Hanoi which is located near the Old Quarter (a tourist haven for cheap souvenir items and artwork) I tasted the best street food I have ever eaten.  It was a kind of soup with fresh vegetables thrown in and it was prepared by an old lady whose kitchen consists of two buckets balanced by a bamboo pole.  One bucket contains the boiling pot with the portable burner, while the other has the plates, raw vegetables and meat.  She was so glad we liked her food that she gave us a discount – 10,000 Dong for three orders.  Each order costs 3,500 Dong, so we saved 500 Dong.  Ah, that was really something. 

We were leisurely walking towards the ubiquitous Red Bridge in hoan kiem when I was approached from behind by an old lady.  She handed me a flash disc.  I kept a similar disc in my little secret pocket located above the right front pocket of my Levi’s jeans.  The secret pocket was torn and I remembered placing the disc there.  Somehow it slipped unnoticed by me, but the old lady noticed it so she came over and gave it back.  I was taken by this kindness and I thanked her profusely.  She replied with a wide-betel-nut-reddish-grin….

Red River

A mighty river flowing from southwestern China, going all the way to northern Vietnam and emptying itself to the Gulf of Tonkin is the Red River.  The reddish-brown heavily silt-laden water gives the river its name.  The Red River is notorious for its violent floods with its seasonally wide volume fluctuations.  And today we are paying it a visit, particularly, towards a floating community along its banks in Hanoi.  

To get there, we have to walk on Long Bien Bridge, designed and constructed by Alexandre Gustave Eiffel at the turn of the 20^th century.  It was opened to traffic in 1902.  Of great strategic importance, it carried the only rail link between Hanoi and the main port of Hai Phong.  During the war for independence, it was bombed repeatedly by American fighter planes F-105 Thunderchiefs and F-4 Phantoms.  In order to halt the bombs, the bridge was repaired using American POWs.

Along the way, we saw people including very young children emerge from the hollow steel frames of the bridge.  We tried figuring out how were they able to crawl past narrow passages along the frames that snake across the bridge.  One missed foothold means plunging 40 feet down the cold waters below.  The bridge is 1,682 meters long and is part of Hanoi streets.  But due to age and wartime wounds, it is only used for train, pedestrians and bicycles, no vehicle is permitted. 

At the bottom were corn plantations, and footpaths that lead us to one arm of the Red River towards a community of floating houses.  These residents are too poor to pay the rent for a piece of land where to build their little shacks.  The floating houses need to be occasionally moved in preparation to rising waters, lest they sink at the bottom.  The friendly floating residents beckoned us for tea, which we willingly oblige. 

The residents’ source of water is the Red River which needs filtration before being boiled for drinking and cooking.  So today we are making a UNICEF-designed water filter to be donated to the floating residents.  Right across the river is an island formed by alluvial deposits used for growing vegetables and spices.  The yearly floods brought in the nutrients, so the farmers do not need fertilizers.  But more than half of the farmlands will be submerged when the rain comes.

We hopped on the island going towards the other side facing another arm of the Red River where it has a football field.  Interestingly in cold Hanoi, nude local footballers play here in the afternoons unmindful of the dark history surrounding the area.  On the right side of the floating houses were concrete columns rising thirty feet in the air which line the river bank all the way to Long Bien Bridge.  These sturdy pillars are mute witnesses to the atrocities of the past during the French colonization of the country where hundreds of Vietnamese POWs were said to be tied to the posts and shot here.

Back at one floating house, people gather to knit “revolutionary” acrylic sponges to be used as soap-less dish washers.  While they were engrossed with knitting, I noticed a soft but high pitched melodious humming coming from the next room.  It was a mother swinging a hammock and singing a lullaby to her little child. 

Enduring the rain and cold wind outside, the others clean sand while we were all warm and comfy making the water filter demonstration inside.  For this, we need two (2) pails, one big, the other small.  The small pail is to be placed facing the big one’s bottom.  Clean sand, carbon filter and hoses will be put in place later.  I was asked to remove the red pail’s white handle.  I obliged, and I was successful in jerking the handle loose, but broke the pail.  (There was muted laughter.)  Then I carved a hole on the bottom of another red pail using a heated red knife.  I did as told, but made a crack emanating from the hole.  I continued with the task, until the red handle separated from the blade.  (Laughter erupted!)  Too clumsy for the task, I left to clean sand instead….

Luneta Trivia!

Luneta is where the country’s national hero, Jose Rizal was shot by the Spanish authorities.  It is located near the historic fort Intramuros which was built by the Spaniards in the 16th century.  Intramuros literally means “within the walls”.  It is vibrant and full of history.  But most of the people have already forgotten its storied past.  In front of the guarded Rizal statue (referred to as kilometer zero), traffic snarls. Across Roxas Boulevard is the Quirino grandstand where most of the monstrous rallies and protest marches originate.  Beyond is Manila Bay with its legendary sunset.

People from different parts of the country and the world come to Luneta to rest and admire, and reminisce the great courage and struggles for the country’s independence against colonial domination.  People mill around, engrossed with themselves and with the many different mini parks within Luneta in the midst of a bustling Manila metropolis.  Not far from where we are is a group of animated strangers.  We came closer to investigate, hoping to take a piece of the action.  What we discovered came out to be a truly unique and fascinating experience.

We gathered in a circle, and in turns, each one asks a trivia question.  Whoever gets the correct answer gets a reward from the one who asked the question - a one-peso coin.  It is not much and it might be unintentional, but the coin has Jose Rizal in it.  You will not believe the kind of questions asked.  They range from ancient civilization to modern gadgetry, from sports to bird migration.

A street sweeper was able to answer a question about a computer terminology.  A carpenter knew about a vanishing tribe in South America.  And who knows Maun?  It is a quiet town that sits where the Okavango River Delta meet the Kalahari Desert.  I didn’t know that!  And who asked the trivia question?  A vendor selling candies and cigarettes who happened to be nearby.  Wow!

After a while, not content with just listening, I tried asking a trick question:  Who are the three presidents carved on Mount Rushmore?  But it came out too easy, all of them knew it, and it’s not three there were four: Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt.  I felt like a novice!

Time flew.  We didn’t realize we were there for three hours already.  We had such a wonderful time in the company of total strangers.  But it seems that a strong bond of friendship was forged that night.  We said our goodbyes.  But I will be back again, armed with fascinating trivia….

Coincidence

This afternoon I was in a shop buying ink cartridges for my printer when I received a text message from my brother.  He excitedly told me that the Sequoia seeds already sprouted.  It almost sounded like a miracle considering that Giant Sequoias grow in the very cold Northern California.  But I was so impressed with the huge Sequoias I saw in the Avenue of the Giants, that I took my chances and brought the seeds here in warm Philippines.

On New Year’s Day, we placed the seeds in a mini greenhouse inside the refrigerator following instructions from the kit that goes with the seeds.  And that after 20 days, it should be removed and placed in a sunny area.  Refrigerating supposedly gives the impression of winter, and that sunshine after 20 days signals spring, which is the time for new growth and budding.  And that is exactly what happened! And we were thrilled!  However, there were 6 six seeds in the mini greenhouse, but only one sprouted?  A few minutes ago, my brother text again and he said that there is another sprout, and probably another in the morning.  This is truly fascinating!

But here’s more  - The shop where I bought the ink cartridges is called Great Sequoia Enterprise.  I was inside the shop when my brother text me about the sprouting Sequoia seeds. . . .

Vietnam

Tomorrow I am flying to Vietnam via Philippine Airlines.  But first I have to hop in for an early flight in Cebu Airport to Manila then on to Saigon, now Ho Chi Minh in southern Vietnam.  Finally a Pacific Airlines flight will take me north to Hanoi which means “the city on the bend of a river”.  I never knew such 5-letters could have an 8-word meaning.    

Wondrous Sight

As we were driving along the expressway by the side of one tributary of the Great Han River, I noticed several little houses like miniature communities in little valleys sandwiched beneath gentle slopes by the river. What a wondrous sight! That scene is forever etched in my memory.

Highway Lunch

By this time, I have perfected my Korean greeting and passed off many times as a Korean. I thought I got away with it till the lady was skeptical about the way I hold my chopsticks and asked my host. She smiled at me, and I said Oh shit! I thought I fooled her by keeping silent after the flawless annyung haseyo greeting and the respectful bow. The chopsticks gave me away. I returned her smile in surrender….

Clouds, Landscapes And The Rising Sun

The Philippine landscape I grew up with are coconut covered mountains, rice fields, open meadows and a river running through it.  Up above are cloud formations that changes every second.  Early mornings is when they are at its best and with the most bright colors.  Sometimes when you’re lucky, in the afternoon you see low lying clouds pierced by the sun’s rays, a spray of light coming out from thick cloud cover.  There are also those that lit the horizon especially at dusk.  They are usually spread out horizontally in thin skeins of bright red, orange and blue.  And just when the sun disappears, there is a brief moment of increased illumination before the sun finally sinks in the horizon. 

It is quite different further north of the equator.  On summer days, the sun stays until 9 o’clock in the evening.  It starts to drop at 6 o’clock, but somehow lingers in the same spot for a couple of hours.  So you have a lingering twilight that seems to have no end.  I noticed this while driving along the arid Arizona desert.  The glowing illumination and the strange cloud formations highlighted the canyons and turned the desert into a surreal lunar landscape.  In the arctic, the sun rises but never sets.  You will miss darkness. I wonder how it is in other parts of the globe….

Demak River

 
A community lived by the banks of Demak.  The locals use the river’s water for cleaning their dog, for washing clothes and dishes, and for washing themselves.  And also for brushing their teeth and for cooking food.  And take this: It is also the place to go when nature calls!  And you can see all these activities openly because Demak is just beside the highway, and for most parts, the water is brown.  I saw an old woman trying to clear the river with impurities by warding off floatsams before scooping water and pouring into a kettle.  For tea?  Yeah, maybe!  There were plastic cups, a coke bottle, shampoo sachets and old newspapers.  I see dragonflies, and flies, and a snake crawling past thick grass and duckweeds near the shallow ends.  And today we are supposed to clean this river, about thirty international volunteers and a company of the Indonesian Army among us.

I do not think words can give justice to the filthiness of this river.  While the others carefully pulled weeds by the banks, I slipped and fell over, and only my head bobbed about.  Surrounded by water lilies, flies buzzed around my head.  I swallowed ten right away and one was stuck in my throat.  I tried coughing it out, but it lingered at the tip of my tongue before I was able to spit it out.  Then something crawled inside my shorts, and I sensed movements underneath my feet.  I thrash about and tiptoed toward the shallows wary of any fanged creature lurking at the bottom. Moments later, another volunteer fell over, and another, and yet another, until half of us scoured weeds and trash in the shoulder high filthy waters.  Shouts and splashes and laughter echoed.  It turned out to be fun.  Yeah, dirty fun, literally….

Star Apples

There were round and violet star apples perched on big branches of a huge Caimito tree, reason enough to stay one late afternoon in elementary school.

As if taunting, the best ones came perching at the end of the branches, and you need to slowly move inch by inch towards where they were.  I knew the branches were weak and can not hold much weight.  So I coaxed my friend who was smaller than I was to be the one to move towards the end of the branch. We will shake the branches together and pick up the fallen fruits on the ground.

He did as told ever so carefully, and then we both shook the tree while holding on to smaller branches for balance.  As we shook, leaves swayed and fruits fell, then the branch cracked. I held on to the tree trunk while my friend plummeted to the soft earth below!  I thought I saw blood, and I became as light as feather as I climbed down that tree.  I feared he died, and that it was my fault, so I shouted for help.  Then things started to move in slow motion as people gathered around the boy with blood oozing out of his head.  They brought him to the hospital.

I was still dazed and sweating as I walked briskly towards my mom’s store in the market.  She asked what’s wrong?  I said I’m fine, and she let me be.  But I was still shaking because I thought I killed a human being that day.  Did I?

A few days after that fateful afternoon I saw a boy with a mammoth bandage on his head, and he was climbing that same Caimito tree. He beckoned that I come pick some.  I shook my head and said, No thanks, not today my friend.