May mga araw na gusto kong maghabi ng mga salita Ngunit santambak ang labada May bahid ng putik ang manggas ng puting kamiseta Puno ng alikabok ang kurtina May mga sandaling nais kong saliksikin ang inililihim ng liwanag ang ibinubunyag ng dilim Ngunit kailangang hugasan ang mga nagmamantikang pinggan Tunawin ang sebong kumapit sa kawali, isisin ang kaldero May mga panahong nasa ko'y sumayaw sa buwan sa saliw ng samba, sa indayog ng chacha hagdan ko'y ulap, tungo sa kalawakan Ngunit ako'y nahilo, nadupilas Lumagpak sa lupa [View Full Entry]

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It took me some time to update this blog as I’ve been busy moving from one place to another. I joined an Intrepid Travel group tour in Laos, and our group has been shuttling from one city to another for the past few days. Our journey commenced August 16 in Chiang Mai and ended August 24 in Vientiane-Laos’ capital. All the while I spent most of my time packing and upacking, listening to my discman while sitting in cramped buses and vans, jalan jalan in Lao villages, snapping pics with my new digi cam, writing entries in my (paper) journal [View Full Entry]

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Nakikita Kita Sa mga pahina ng aking aklat Sa mga salitang iniluluwa ng aking pluma Sa mga ngiti ng aking kasama Sa mga patak ng ulan Naririnig Kita Sa mga pintig at huni Sa mga kalabog, tinig, halakhak Nararamdaman Kita Nanunuot sa kalamnan May kaba sa dibdib May hinahanap na di matagpuan Walang multo sa tag-araw... [View Full Entry]

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August 22 After a 7-hour drive in unpaved, muddy roads; occasional toilet breaks in the bushes; surviving a road block (caused by a landslide) and heavy monsoon rains, we finally arrived in Vang Vieng. The laidback town of Vang Vieng, which is about 155 km north of Vientianne, is known for its beautiful caves. Backpackers, especially those who love the “great outdoors”, go to Vang Viang to explore the caves or to go “tubing” - riding on huge tractor inner tubes that float down in the Nam Xong river. But it was monsoon season, the whole area was flooded [View Full Entry]

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Our last day in Luang Prabang was a day for trekking and shopping. We started the day with a trip to the Kuang Si Waterfalls- a two-hour drive and about 35 km southwest from Luang Prabang. The picturesque multi-level falls tumbling through a series of pools is a favorite spot for camera-happy tourists and picnic-loving locals. Sure, it’s not as majestic as the Niagara Falls (which I’ve seen four years ago, on my first visit to Toronto), but it’s beautiful just the same and all of us (Tim, Jennifer, Jesus, Graeme, Fhan and his girlfriend) just snapped pi [View Full Entry]

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Luang Prabang - Laos' second biggest city, home to some of its holiest Buddhist Temples, a UNESCO world heritage site. It was the heart of the ancient kingdom of Lane Xang Hom Kao - the Land of a Million White Elephants and the White Parasol - founded by the legendary Lao warrior Fa Ngum. Although it has its own share of tourists (most travellers who visit Laos skip the capital and head straight to Luang Prabang), and the city center's a chockablock of cafes, travel agencies, guesthouses and money changers, Luang Prabang managed to retain its mystical vibe. Surrounde [View Full Entry]

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On our way to Luang Prabang, we had two brief stop overs. First was in an Hmong hill village, where curious kids follow us around as they love posing for our digicams. Me, with my pair of flat feet struggled to climb the muddy hill. Fhan had to hold my hand all the time as I was really struggling. The next stop was at Pak Ou Buddha caves where Fhan gave a brief lucture on what the different Buddha poses mean. The caves are a repository of old Buddha image. The Lao people are mostly Buddhists, and practices Theravada Buddhism. [View Full Entry]

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"Call me Fhan and we'll have a FUN time," that's what our Lao tour guide told us when he met us at the immigration checkpoint in Huay Xai. It was also him who taught us what's "Hello" in Lao. It's Sabaydee (and it's said with a smile). We completed visa formalities, changed baht to kips and took a tuk-tuk which took us to a port where a slow "tourist" boat (a house boat owned by a Lao family) awaits us, for a two day cruise in Mekong River. We're heading to Luang Prabang, but not just yet... **** I never [View Full Entry]

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We spent a night in the tiny village of Pak Beng - a halfway point between Huay Xai and Luang Prabang. The slow boats don't travel at night so we have to stop here for dinner and get some sleep. A rustic town clustered with houses made of woodscraps and corrugated tin; and streets littered with stray dogs, and kids playing around, Pak Beng isn't actually a novelty for someone like me who've been to remote areas in the Philippines. I was after all a journalist, and journalist will go anywhere to get a story. The thing is, I went [View Full Entry]

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The second day of our Intrepid tour's about waiting. Waiting for our bus, waiting for Ping to arrive. He's always late. It's Thai time, one of the Kiwis said. And that's when we started talking about Asia, and that things in these region are never on time (Singapore and Japan are the exemption, not the rule). My group mates were bored and I really can't blame them. We're all dying to get to Laos. But for me, I think, who just crashed and burned and trying to have my life back (after years of rushing from one news coverage to [View Full Entry]

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