Maligcong Rice Terraces and Mt. Kupapey

I wrote somewhere at the back of my head as part of my 2017 bucket list, I should make it to the rice terraces this year, but as some cases go, I did not only reach it, I went above and beyond it. I reached for the clouds and conquered Mt. Kupapey. Going to Maligcong was the highlight of my Cordillera trip. As seen in the photo, standing up there and staring down at the terraces at the break of dawn will give you a feeling that's hard to describe. Breathtaking? Yes. As for the other words, it doesn't matter, the only thing I can say is that it was euphoria to be in that state of present. 

Tila by Clara Benin

I just wanna share my love for Clara Benin's voice and music style. Right now this is what's been running on repeat in my head since they played the song last Saturday at the BGC Art Mart. It has a beautifully calming quality and has that nostalgic tune to it. She's also, as many may know, is the daughter of Joey Benin, the bassist of one of my favorite childhood bands, Side A. Tila is from her album, Riverchild. The lyrics tells of how she has this wishful thinking that you listen closely to the wind and might just hear in your heart the secrets she has told to the wind. Or something like that.

Tila humihinto ang aking panahon

Walang naririnig kundi huni ng ibon

Umaawit

Dinadala ng ihip ng hangin

Tila gumaganda ng lalo mga rosas

Sabay, sabay silang sumasayaw sa hampas ng hangin

Dumadampi at bumubulong sayo

Naririnig mo ba ang bulong ng puso ko

Binubulong ng hangin

Tila ngumingiti ang araw sa umaga

Mga paru-paro'y naglalaro

Sa hampas ng hangin

Dumadampi at bumubulong sa'yo

Naririnig mo ba ang bulong ng puso ko?

Binubulong ng hangin

Sana nga ito ay marinig

Binubulong ng hangin ang dama nitong dibdib

Naririnig mo bang tunog ng puso ko?

Binubulong ng hangin

Bontoc Day Trip

My first encounter with Bontoc was through Google maps. Our intention of going to the area was for Sagada and Maligcong, Bontoc was the entry point to our destinations. I didn't know what to make of it then except that it's small and has a huge river in between. Arriving, I was half-asleep that I didn't see the bus enter the city until the driver stopped and said we had arrived. It was only when we got to walk around a bit did I get an air of nostalgia. It was was as if I was walking in the streets of Luang Prabang, Laos. The city is situated in the middle of a valley surrounded by mountain ranges with a wide river passing through its center, dividing the city into two. The low and laid-back population gave it a charm, but their habit of spitting chewed up betel nuts made the streets look unhygienic as blots of red are stained all over the city. It sort-of became our game, to spot the biggest spits and just laugh at figuring out how huge some got. Two main streets cut through the heart of the city, and at its center is the plaza. At most, it's a walking distance to everything you need to see within the city center (just a lot of incline walks though,) and just beyond are smaller barangays that possess a quaintness of their own. 

Burnout by Dancel-Danao-Dumas

I've always had a love-hate relationship with OPM's; it's either I hate it or I love it. This, I absolutely love. The collaboration of the three beautifully-voiced-artists is something that makes me excited about the local music scene. Johnoy Danao is someone I admired since I first heard his voice on a commercial. His songs has this quality that hits home, you know, the one that makes you say it's Filipino music. His melodies and voice makes you want to chill on a hammock made of rattan, and sway yourself under a mango tree. Ebe Dancel is also another singer who I most especially liked during his first Sugarfree album way back in high school, and is actually the brother of one of my former bosses...I just didn't get to connect the dots as to why they sort-of look alike and have the same family name until I left the company. One day I saw an FB post of the two together, and that's when it hit me. Shunga! As for Bullet Dumas, it's the first time I heard him sing in this video...and I have to admit I hated his voice at first because it's so different from the two that I sort of didn't get it. That was until I peeked into his solo performances that I got into learning to really like his voice. His style is unique, and quite frankly hard to blend with other singers, but when he sings solo, it sort of has this ethnic-shaky-vibe to it that resembles with old folk singers. Something to appreciate, the uniqueness of his tone.

As for the song Burnout, it simply talks about love that's falling apart because of a relationship burnout. And of course, there's always one who will hurt more than the other.

Trekking Up Mt. Pinatubo

Over a year after the trek, and months of promise that I'll be posting about that trek to the summit of Mt. Pinatubo, I finally found the motivation to edit photos and write about it. Actually, it took that long before my friend decided to post the photos of the trek that I'm now using for this entry...because we're very up-to-date and strive for ATM feed updates like that. 😒 For a lack of proper excuse, I didn't bring a camera that day─and they did─so I was at their mercy to use their photos for this...which they gladly complied with one-and-a-half years after.

For this trek we joined in the Travel Factor group to make the arrangements for us. We decided to go because friend offered to pay the trip as a Christmas gift...plus we needed a new environment to celebrate our annual Christmas party. We did the hike December 19, 2015. As for the entirety of the trip, I remember like it was just yesterday─not!─I've forgotten certain details save for the immense bad luck I had that day. To begin with, we left Manila a little late because of some misunderstanding with the Travel Factor group and the bus they had reserved. We left Ortigas dark and arrived in Porac Pampanga at around 7am. After a short brief, we signed the waivers, and off we went to our respective 4x4's. 

Coffee Project in Taguig

It has come to my attention that it's been a while since I last posted an entry about a coffee shop...oops. And so what a relief it was to see this cafe pop up close to home after months of being away from the metro. I have been meaning to go to Alabang just to try the place...because again of the interior, but one scorching hot summer day─yesterday─I saw the name COFFEE PROJECT embossing out the wall of what used to be an appliance area of All Home, just above CBTL. Apparently, it's a Villar-owned coffee chain that aims to grab a niche from Starbucks and CBTL as evidence shows. Now I'm not into the coffee-shop-cliche-looking logo, but the warm ambiance plus the strong-enough coffee base of the drink that I ordered got me. Plus, it's hipsterrr-ish. I like it.

Good Friday in Baliuag, Bulacan

A couple of years back─about twenty years exact─I never imagined that I will be spending the Holy Week somewhere far from Valladolid, as three generations of family tradition dictate our responsibility to manage the Santo Entierro for procession every Good Friday. For as long as I could remember, it was a solemn time to be with family, wherein select members would devoutly pitch in, from the preparations of the bathing the wooden statue of the dead Christ, to stitching his garments, to selecting the perfume that will be used to wipe his feet after every kiss of the faithful, to buying the flowers that will be used for the carroza, down to preparing the meals for those who will be taking part the tradition throughout the night. It's our family's "panata" or sacred promise started by my great grandfather, to take part in the town's Good Friday procession every year and be the one responsible in taking care of the Santo Entierro. We are only one family of so many throughout the country doing this year after year.

And every Black Saturday back then, I would see in the news featuring the procession of Baliuag, and it was only last year when I saw the scale of their carrozas that made me realize how minute ours was in comparison. The town seemed both quiet and festive at the same time with the arrays of grandiose carrozas lining in the streets, each beautifully prepared for the processional rites. For the first time, I was there to witness what was being showed on TV for the longest time. Some larger-than-life-sized statues don intricately designed clothing, and it overwhelmed me to know that there were over a hundred carrozas that will be paraded for the procession, with numbers going up every year. 

I took a lot of photos, but I'll only be showing a quarter of the lot because some were blurred...and I wouldn't want to upload a hundred photos for this post.