The 31st Manila International Book Fair

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"Have you been to the Book Fair?" my dad asked.

We were two of those seated at the rearmost of the church, Kuya Monching delivering his weekly sermon at the back of the pulpit. It was supposed to be a hectic day for me but was turning out to be an ordinary Sunday.

I was supposed to spend much of the weekend doing a production shoot for a client's video presentation but the project coordinator called off the shoot last night, saying the client, whose approval we needed prior to pushing through with the concept, couldn't be reached. So our shoot was moved next week, right smack into a slew of other commitments I've already made.

With that out of the way, I was ready to spend the whole day reviewing my German lessons and answering my Hausaufgabe (homework), then playing FIFA on Facebook after.

Then my dad brought up the book fair. The 31st Manila International Book Fair opened on Wednesday at the SMX Convention Center at the Mall of Asia (MOA) in Pasay and twice I've planned to go. However, the place was a considerable distance away from Makati, where I was having my German course, and the very thought of braving the Manila rush hour to commute to the place immediately sapped all energy.

In fact, I actually planned to go to Shangri-La every evening for the Cine Europa film festival but I didn't as well. Instead, I whiled away hours at the Fully Booked in Greenbelt 5 while waiting for rush hour to subside.

But when my dad asked if I had been to the book fair, I knew he was indirectly asking me if I wanted to go with him. My dad is a huge book freak and the fair is his proverbial candy store. I used to be a major bookworm until I hit college. Since then I've read just a couple dozens of books, mostly travel guides, young adult literature and English translations of Japanese novels.

The fair will conclude tonight so I agreed to go. Otherwise, it will be a year before I can get to go again.

...

The streets were a sight to behold today -- there weren't much vehicles. It's not a new sight but it was the first time in a while I saw EDSA empty (by Philippine standards). I used to work for a news company so we were required to report to work even on Sundays and holidays. During those times, EDSA, particularly Makati, would resemble a ghost town.

I always got that perverse sense of thrill every time the towering skyscrapers of the Central Business District would be witnesses to a desolate city -- exactly the antithesis of a bustling workweek. It was one of the things I looked forward to every time I worked and everybody else was having a good time.

So somehow, I was waxing nostalgic with the scenery earlier. Sunday is generally a lazy day and the road typified it.

...

It was a little past 9am when we arrived at MOA and other than Krispy Kreme, stores were still closed. With the car parked at the 3rd level, my dad and I went a floor down to the bridgeway going to the SMX. We went to the Travel Cafe to have our breakfast (I had a strawberry muffin and mango iced tea). We sat at a table with a woman who turned out to be the mom of kids participating for a kids' program at the fair. The woman was bragging how her kids know so much about geography and I couldn't help but show an envious smile.

She had a little small talk with my dad and after they learned they were both from Cotabato and spoke Ilonggo, they comfortably switched to the dialect. I don't speak the language but I've been exposed it well enough to make out quite a few words. They were talking about how she and her husband are coping to raise their children despite their different faiths -- she's an Evangelical Protestant and he's a Catholic.

A few minutes later, the children were called inside the fair. The mom bid us goodbye and went with her kids. We went inside as well a few minutes later.

...

I went around the fair first browsing different titles at different stalls before settling at the National Bookstore's travel section. (But of course.) I planned on buying a copy the newest edition of Lonely Planet Philippines but figured I could use the money for a 3D movie later this week. Anyway, the previous edition was still fine in my opinion.

I also read a few pages of Rafe's Bartholomew's Pacific Rims (an entertaining read on the Filipinos' obsession with basketball) and a somewhat inspirational book for photographers. But I was determined to save for my next trip, wherever that may be.

So save for a complimentary copy of a broadsheet and some Philippine tourism brochures, I left the fair empty-handed. It doesn't mean the trip was wasted. Cheesy as it sounds, I came out intellectually simulated, inspired and raring to go wherever I'm bound next.

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Photos

Welcome to the Fair
The sign at the entrance says it all

Strawberry Muffin
My breakfast courtesy of the Travel Cafe

National Bookstore
The country's leading bookstore chain has, unsurprisingly, the largest stall in the fair. In fact, it looks like a real bookstore.

Have guidebook, will travel
Lonely Planet titles on a shelf

Because the body also needs nourishing
Food is served inside the fair.

Vibal Presents...
... a children's program, promoting the importance of reading among the youth