Of hits and misses

This year, so far, has been full of them of hits and misses. Although the hits have been greatly appreciated, the misses try to take the spotlight sometimes.

But I tell myself the hits have far outstaged the misses. So I'd rather than sweat it.

In life, we get a lot of curveballs and oftentimes, I look at them negatively coz they caught me off guard. But come to think of it, these unexpected things thrown our way test our speed and ability to adjust our batting skills.

So here’s hoping my batting average improves as time progresses.

Chinese Fascination

Ever since I read Pearl S. Buck's Good Earth in college, I dreamed of going to China. I was smitten by the landscape I imagined while reading the book.

It has been my dream to see just that, countryside in mainland China. In my imagination, it may just look like the ricefield we have here with a certain mysticism typical of a land far from home.  Of course, I imagined there'll be differences in the type of vegetation and much colder weather.

My interest in China started then.

I tried learning Mandarin but it was for naught since I wasn't able to practice. And it's quite a difficult language to learn with its four tones and gazillion characters.

So here I am, probably ten years  after I read the book, my interest on Chinese countryside was rekindled after seeing Zhang Yimou's the Road Home.

 I couldn't stop my tears from falling while watching this movie about a small village girl who fell in love with a young man from the city.

 I have been to China thrice but these are mostly to its big cities (Shanghai, Shenzhen and Beijing) and with very short trips to the countryside. My dream someday is to be able explore more of its countryside and find the good earth that has allowed this nation of 1.2 billion to be the superpower it is now and at what costs.

 elderly folks doing Tai Chi in Jingshan Park, Beijing

P.S.

My brother is now on his way to the mainland and here I am wishing that I could go with him.

Batanes

Oh Batanes, it has been three years since my first solo trip to the country's northernmost province and I realized I haven't written about this gem of a place.

I was in Batanes in the summer 2009 in my first solo trip. 

On the first day, I hired a tricycle driver to take me around town. I went to Valugan beach, Fundacion Pacita, the lighthouse near the town center.

Valugan beach has a unique shoreline with huge rocks of volcanic origin.

Valugan Beach with its boulders along the beach

Fundacion Pacita,a house owned by the Abads, set amid rolling hills and cliffs facing the sea, is one of the most picturesque place I have ever seen.

With my new found friend in front of Fundacion Pacita

The lighthouse, whose name escapes me, is close to the town center where I enjoyed watching the sunset and regular townfolks getting ready to go home after a day out in the field.

the lighthouse near town center

On the second day, I decided to join a jeepney tour around Batan Island. In the tour, I was with a big family from lolo, lola, siblings to the apos. We visited the house of Dakay Ilongga who moved to Batanes in the early 20th century. We visited the many sites around Batan, one highlight is the windy Marlboro country where I felt like anytime the strong breeze would carry me. We also visited a fishing village which thankfully had a mini sari sari store which sold the emergency stuff I needed.

Phew, thank God for our sari-sari stores. Although, the brand was not of good quality, a girl in the middle of nowhere, where electricity has just arrived, can't be choosy.

small fishing village

On the third day, I decided to go to Sabtang. I went with Lucky, the son of Ate Tess, the owner of the cafeteria which I frequented near the guesthouse where I'm staying. He and his friends were going to Sabtang to attend the town fiesta. So I went with the my new found gang.

When we got to the pier, the touring family I was with the day before, was also there. Our tour guide recognized me and put a life jacket on me, thinking I was still part of the tour. The ride to and from Sabtang is an adventure in itself. After one of the longest twenty-minute boat ride of my life, we got to Sabtang in one of the most exciting boat docking I have ever seen. Actually, your boat doesn't really dock like average boats do. Instead, men would try to hold the boat steady amid big crashing waves, and assist each passenger trying their best to balance in the makeshift platform. So there is no pier to speak of. Just people serving as temporary anchors as our boat gets slammed by one big wave after the other. 

Sabtang Lighthouse as seen from the pier

On that day, I was thankful Ate Tess, the cafeteria owner, offered his son as guide, because he ended up renting a motorbike which we took and I ended up riding a motor bike all over Sabtang island in one of my most scenic rides ever.

taken while I was on a motorbike on our way to the last barangay, Chavayan

Sabtang is a smaller island compared with Batan, thus everybody knows everybody.  Walking around town, I bumped into a college friend's kababayan, I met 102-year old man who had four kids who died, met a chatty lady who told me there's someone from Iloilo in Savidug, the man is from Banate, Iloilo! (Check out the similarities with Batanes). But he had chicken pox so I entered their house and he was all wrapped in blanket but we chatted, I took a picture of him and his family.

Kids hanging out in an unused window in Sabtang

After going around Sabtang, the boys wanted to go with Lucky and I to Nakabuang beach, and Lucky said it was walking distance, yeah it was about 5 kilometers one-way.

walking from Nakabuang to Sabtang town proper

I did not realize I dropped my shades on our way to the beach, until I saw the familiar object in the middle of the road on our way back to town. That’s how few vehicles pass by or passersby pass through that road the whole afternoon. 

Just when I thought the day's adventures were about to end, the boys got invited by the town’s mayor, so we ate at the mayor’s place. Then our gang decided to part for the day, so I decided walk around Sabtang, then the mayor saw me and invited me to a tour of the town. He took me to the top of the hill overlooking Sabtang. Then he took me to the light house, then the finale, he took me back to Nakabuang beach, on the motorbike. It was a moonless night so it was really dark. There were a lot of cows blocking the road. Looking back, I can't figure out how I was able to go through that. While I was riding with the mayor, I was thinking to myself, what am I doing, riding with a total stranger to a deserted beach. Anyway, I guess I just trusted my instincts with people and so far, most haven't disappointed. It was a moonless night, thus, it was too dark. So we just looked at the arch and left after a few minutes. When he dropped me off the canteen, the principal of the only school in town, saw me and invited me over to his sister's place. I had dinner where I ate ube and gabe as the rice substitute. This has been one of most surpising days of this trip for me.

looking over the town of Sabtang

On my fourth day in Batanes, I decided to have a good lunch in Fundacion Pacita. They were fully booked at that time but since I managed to establish rapport when I visited on the first day (Thanks to good friends), they accommodated me.

view for lunch

I had a sumptuous lunch with probably one the best cliffside views in the country. I enjoyed eating while "eavesdropping" on the big group composed of who’s who in Philippine society, discussing their trips to Paris and Barcelona. Added to the mix are the anecdotes of a friend who brings her dog to long haul flights in the cabin with special carriage privileges. The friend they say would rather bring the dog than her kids. I was not really eavesropping, I couldn’t help but hear  their conversations since we were the only occupants in the dining area.  

After they left, the owner noticed me and asked me if I was classmate of her son since I look familiar. Then she asked why I chose to go to Batanes when some would prefer going abroad since it is more expensive. I forgot what I said maybe because I wanted to go somewhere special on my 30^th birthday. Then, she lovingly replied “Anyone who chooses Batanes over an overseas trip, is special.”

After lunch, I decided to walk a bit and enjoy the scenery. Afterwhich, Kuya the driver fetched and took me to rolling hills, a place I almost skipped but am glad to go to. Rolling hills is my last stop for the day in an awesome journey to an awesome place.

rolling hills

On my last morning in Batanes, I decided to walk to the next town which I figured to be a few kilometers away. When I got to walk a few kilometers, I decided to hitchhike for the first time in my life. It was something that didn’t turn out that well. (My second attempt in hitchhiking was a successful one and it was in a totally different place.) When I got to the next town, people already know me as the girl who was walking from Basco to the next town.
This first solo trip felt like that, I feel like a girl who is walking towards the next chapter.

jumping in Marlboro country

Traffic

Manila traffic jams are terrible and last weekend, my friend Nadine and I got reacquainted with it. We left SMX Convention Center’s Manila Fame exhibit at around 5-ish hoping to catch a movie in Rizal Park. (Manila Fame which highlighted Filipino creativity at its finest deserves another story). I expected the travel time to be around 30 minutes. I knew then that there was the Pyrolympics finale that Saturday so good thing we were getting out of MOA. But we were not spared with Manila’s notorious jams that after 30 minutes, we were still in the CCP complex, a stone’s throw away from MOA.

Signs na sobrang traffic na sa daan:

1.       Pag may nagtitinda na sa kalagitnaan ng daan

2.       Pag napag-usapan nyo na ng kasama mo sa sasakyan lahat ng puedeng pag-usapan

3.       Pag yung kasama ay nagsasalita na na kanyang sariling wika at naghihintay ng sagot sa yo

4.       Pag nauubos na ang lahat ng pasensya mo dahil mas malayo pa ang nararating ng mga naglalakad kesa sa inyo naka sasakyan

5.       Pag may panahon ka to come up with this list

Japan 101

They say Japan is one of the most expensive places to visit. I partially agree. Japan has one of the most expensive transportation systems in the world. But food and accommodation expenses are surprisingly reasonable.

Going There

You have many airline options to go to Japan from Manila, there’s Cebu Pacific, Philippine Airlines, ANA and JAL (if budget is not your primary concern). Regular fare to Japan is from P18,000 to P30,000 round-trip. Osaka has been my entry point for both trips since Cebu Pacific only flies to Osaka (in Japan).  And I got really good deals from 5J, P1700 (round-trip 1 in July 2010 booked in Nov 2009) and P1,600 (round trip 2 in Nov 2011 booked in Dec 2010). So better plan for your trip early to avail of good discounts in airfare.   

Getting Around

If you’re planning a trip to Japan that will be at least 7 days in duration and you plan to hop from one city to another, then you can consider getting the JR Rail Pass.  I got the 7-day JR Rail Pass which allowed me to use any JR train within Japan (most trains are owned by JR). Though this pass is worth 28,000 yen or about P17,000 or $400, if you plan to go in different far-off cities, then this is a good deal already. It is definitely worth it if you’ll be maximizing all your bullet train rides from one city to another. A one-way bullet train from Osaka to Tokyo is about 13,550 yen or P7,500.  Here’s the website for the JR pass: http://www.japanrailpass.net/

Accommodation

In Osaka, a travel buddy’s bank has a branch there so we stayed with her officemate who had an extra room in his mansion (that’s they call condos). In other cities, we stayed in assortment of accommodations (guesthouses, friends and Couchsurfing hosts). And I’d recommend all of the guesthouses we stayed at.

1.       Tokyo – Koenji Guesthouse (email: koenjitokyo@gmail.com) – $25/night

2.       Lake Kawaguchiko, Fujikawaguchiko (Near Mt Fuji) – K’s House

       http://kshouse.jp/fuji-e/index.html  - $25/night

             Note: This is the cleanest and most organized guesthouse I have ever stayed at.

      3.       Shirakawa-go, Gifu- (email: info@shirakawa-go.gr.jp) –

             This is the email address of the tourism office in Shirakawa-go and they can arrange your

             stay in a traditional Japanese farmhouse (Gassho-Zukuri or Minshuku) - $100/night
             http://www.japaneseguesthouses.com/db/shirakawago/kanja.htm

Places to go to
Japan has a lot to offer so recommending where to go is quite a challenge but if I have to pick a few, here are my top places:

1.       Shirakawa-go- a picturesque village nestled in a valley in  Central Japan – going here is an adventure in itself (a very scenic train ride and a bus ride that will take you to so many tunnels; some of which 10km long but with phone lines and exits every 200 meters)

2.       Mt Fuji lake Towns- the iconic landmark of Japan is this towering mountain so if you have time, go to one of the lakes at the base of Fuji-San

3.       Kyoto – for a taste of old Japan (Geisha culture is still alive in this part of Japan)

4.       Tokyo- of course, this bustling cosmopolitan will introduce you to modern Japan

5.       Hiroshima- if you have a JR pass, might as well, zoom to Hiroshima and acquaint yourself with the realities of war and the consequences of nuclear weapons

One more thing, plan but don’t plan for everything, get lost in the side streets and you’ll be pleasantly surprised with your discoveries.  To plan your itinerary, here are some very helpful sites:

      1.       http://www.hyperdia.com/ - train schedules and routes
      2.       http://www.japan-guide.com/ - comprehensive guide on Japan

Eating

Japanese food in Japan will surprise you (or maybe not). Some dishes, you would say you have tasted already but still there will be a lot of surprises, if you allow yourself to be surprised. And it really depends on what you prefer to eat, I like eating Unigiri from convenience stores (cheap and delicious). And one of my discovery is from a grocery deli, a sandwich with spaghetti as the filling. Interesting combination.

Osaka, they say is the gastronomic capital of Japan. In the city, you can explore Dotonburi for what Osaka has to offer. I like Takoyaki (octopus balls) and Okonomiyaki (Japanese pancakes). In Kyoto, try any Kaiseki  meal ( a traditional multi-course Japanese dinner). But the best Kaiseki  I had was in Kanja, our Gassho in Shirakawa-go (with Hida beef!).

You know you're home

Home for the holidays means taking a plane to a newly renovated Iloilo airport---an airport of international standards but no international flights---not yet anyway.

Taking a van to Jaro Plaza when upon getting off, you'll be swarmed by eager cab drivers.

Then stopping at a local mall to buy stuff for home.

Then taking a bus in a crazy terminal with no system but is able to move thousands of passengers everyday.

The bus to our small town Ajuy, will pass through scenic landscape of ricefields, mountains, cliffs along the seaside for two hours.    

You know you're home...

When people freely laugh together at a joke in a movie being shown on the bus

When you hear someone shout "Hopya, mani, kropek!" when you pass by the regular stopovers.

When you're washing the dishes on a sink which faces a field of bananas and whole lot of other trees and dense grass and weeds.

When you hear the chickens moving about the house trying to ask for food.

When everybody on your street knows when somebody has arrived.

When everybody on your street knows you and what's been happening in your life.

When the main mode of transportation is a pedicab which takes you anywhere in town for only P10 or less.

When your neighbors bring you food they just cooked.

When people go to your house to use the landline.

When your sleep is not disturbed by the busy street.

When videoke sessions start at 8am.

When people hang out in front of their house talking about the latest neighborhood news.

When a mobile bakery, ice cream vendor, and hordes of fishermen regularly pass by selling their goods and wares at really affordable prices.

You know you're home when it feels like home. 

Memorable Movie Lines

1. Adventure is out there. – Up
2. Authority must be derived from the consent of the governed not from the threat of force.-  Toy Story 3
3. No owners mean no heartbreaks. - Toy Story 3
4. There’s always time for a bow. – Arthur Christmas
5. Assumption is the mother of all f**k-ups. – Under Siege 2