In The Streets of Hong Kong

The rains dampened my plans to explore the rural towns of the Southern islands, but it gave me a chance to get myself more acquainted with the city.

There is not much to see in terms of man-made attractions unlike its younger, overly make-upped sister in the south, Singapore. But Hong Kong feels more real, less pretentious, and like a serious older sister, appears to have no time for bullshitting around. The city is literally bustling and bursting with energy but it's not without its quaint little parts. My favorite moments were in fact mostly in the cozy suburban areas - sipping Chinese tea by the university campus while listening to young students play traditional instruments, for example.

I think I'm getting better at this solo backpacking thing now. I feel more confident walking in the streets. I also took less photos and as a result got richer experience, besides, my memory paints better pictures than my camera.

A busy street in Central.

View of the harbor from a Star Ferry. Rain clouds loom in the sky.

In the hustle and bustle of the city, there are still many pockets of serenity and calm - like this centuries-old Tin Hau temple dedicated to the Chinese goddess of the sea.

A triangular corridor in Tsim Sha Tsui

A drizzly morning in the old district.

Pick your poison. For non-Cantonese speakers, the way to order is to point to the most edible looking thing, hand over a 50-dollar bill and wait for the change.

Hong Kong's party district: Lan Kwai Fong

The colorful lights of Kowloon.

Hong Kong's oldest street.

A surrealistic art on display by the harbor.

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Riverdance - The Farewell Tour

One of my dreams just came true. For years I have been a Riverdance fan and last week I finally got to watch them - LIVE!

And in Hong Kong.

It was surreal. I had to constantly remind myself I was seeing them flesh and blood and not on a screen. It took me a lot of guts to pull off something like this - booking a concert in a foreign city and going there alone - but thank gods it paid off well. I have never seen anything more spectacular.

I even got a bonus. I ran into some of the performers who were exiting backstage when I was leaving the theatre. Too bad I was too shy and too starstruck to ask for autographs.

I booked online a few weeks ago and now I finally got my VIP ticket!

By the entrance to the Lyric theatre.

Inside the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts.

A large wall display.

Photography was strictly prohibited but I managed to snatch a photo of the stage before any of the ushers catch me.

Basbasan Nawa!

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Food in Hong Kong

Eating in Hong Kong for me is more about the experience rather than acquiring new tastes. We Pinoys really don't have to "acquire" to Chinese food. So even though I wasn't really satisfied with many of the stuff that I ate; the location, the atmosphere and the view at least make up for it. (And there is still nothing like Chinese lumpia and fried siopao in Binondo)

Strawberry Danish and best-tasting coffee ever (really), at SimplyLife, IFC mall - the tallest tower in Hong Kong. There was also a lovely view of the rainy Victoria Harbor in the morning which made this one-hour breakfast moment immortalized in my daydreams.

Rubbery octopus and fried rice for dinner in a dai pai dong (tradtional sidewalk eatery). Noisy, smoke-filled and chaotic  - this is authentic Hong Kong dining.

Dim sum stand at Wan Chai. I don't really know any of these but I just gotta try one of them. I wasn't adventurous enough for tentacles and claws so I picked the slimy, yellow ball things (which tasted like curry). 

Peking duck noodles at Peking Garden, in the poshy One Pacific Place. I was the lone guy in the bar. When I asked for water, they gave me a bottled Evian which skyrocketed the bill. I should have known. Sheesh.

Fish and chips and some red wine at Post 97 in Lan Kwai Fong, the party district of Hong Kong. The party district really is a bit old-school-ish, especially when compared with Singapore's Clark Quay. It's like Makati's red light district vs. The Fort.

I was in an area of western Hong Kong (Sheung Wan) where there is nary an English word on the signboards and on the menus. Thank god I found one symbol I am quite familiar with.

Blueberry cheesecake at Starbucks, near the Avenue of the Stars, with the view of the legendary Hong Kong skyline (not shown). I dunno but when it comes to cheesecake, I was expecting the blueberries to be at least crushed.

Tetsune Udon, with sweet omelette on top at Osaka Osho, Times Square at Causeway Bay.

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Beltane by the Sea

In keeping with our tradition, my friends and I went out for another nature trip to celebrate the Sabbat. We headed this time for the lush island of Potipot in the province of Zambales. It was the farthest journey we've taken so far: we left the bus terminal in Manila in the morning and arrived on the island just before the dark. The trip was extremely exhausting but thankfully we were all well rewarded.

Our Li'l maypole. 

Ate Bet and the Beltane sun.

The beauty of the place was apparent even in the darkness of the twilight. The sea was very calm, and the sound of the gentle waves was like soothing balm to our tired souls. Stars were all a-flicker over the night sky and by our feet glimmer tiny, bioluminescent creatures as we walk by the shore. We were in a setting stolen from a romantic shojo anime.

The Beltane ritual in the morning was short and sweet and was almost just for formality’s sake. The real celebration I believe was the communing with nature itself. I always feel that the gods express themselves better through the elements of nature than with words.

Even though it’s fast becoming a popular tourist spot now, Potipot is still incredibly teeming with living creatures both flora and fauna. The observant Pagan can immediately perceive the essence of Beltane in the land and sea and air:

"...In every aspect, the colorful Sabbat of Beltane stands in contrast with its dark, polar opposite: Samhain. Beltane celebrates union, while Samhain acknowledges separation. In Beltane we reach out, while in Samhain we introspect. Beltane teaches about life and creation, and anticipates those who will be born, while the lesson of Samhain is death and entropy, and commemorates those who have come before." – Murmur’s Pink Cattleya Filler of Shadows

Cam-cam and Rei posing on the Potipot tree.

Incidentally, as Aldrin noted on his blog, the usual Wiccan narratives about the fullness of life on the land doesn’t very well apply to our little tropical country during this time of the year where many farmlands are dried up by the extreme summer heat. But as I realized in our trip, life is still abundant and the harvest is rich but we just have to know where to look:

“...In our case: underwater. I know, many local Wiccans are too caught up with all the earth stuff that we forget we're an archipelago - half of our country is submerged in the sea. Our warm waters seem to be attractive to marine life so fishing activities begin to peak around this time of the year (the absence of rain and anticipation for the Habagat season may also be a factor)." -- Christian Fernandez, Facebook comment

To end this exceptionally long and photo-rich blog entry, here are some useful tips I found to live the spirit of Beltane throughout the years to come. (Note: Some of the tips I don't necessarily agree with): www.wikihow.com/Live-Life-to-the-Fullest

Basbasan Nawa!

The customary summer beach jump shot.

Starting a bonfire is apparently quite tough.

Happy Happy Joy Joy

Jumping over the bonfire - with style.

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Food in Singapore

I was immediately impressed just as soon as I landed in Singapore. Not only does it look good, but it smells good too! I could easily smell the hint of sandalwood incense in the air possibly coming from the daily religious rituals of the Hindu and Chinese community.

Not surprisingly, it tastes good as well.

The only food I knew from Singapore is the traditional coffee-egg-and-toast breakfast I frequently order at Kopi Tiam (which I heartily know as "Set B".) It was time to get acquainted with more. But first I had to learn that the Singaporean for "dine in or take out?" is "having here or take away?" - as I painfully had to figure out myself when I stood for few minutes looking stupid in front of the cashier wondering "what the heck did she just say?" the first time I ordered food.

Hor Fun. My first taste of Peranakan cuisine. Challenging to eat with chopsticks. I had to go "traditional" and hold the bowl to my mouth and glob it all down. Not bad.

Seafood Laksa. Noodles, tofu, seafood in curry and coconut milk. I'm in love.

Nasi Goreng Pattaya. My favorite Asian rice food - wrapped in thin fried egg and ketchup. 

Having traditional Singapore breakfast (kopi tiam) at night, at Toast Box. 

Going Indian. Ghee Thosai, from the popular Anada Bhavan restaurant in Little India. This is just heavenly. Krispy outside, mushy inside. However, I'm not sure if it was the Indian spices but I had a particularly deadly fart after this.

Thosai. Indian milky desserts. To hell with lactose intolerance.

Ice-cold sugar cane juice at the Bugis market. A life saver in a hot and humid weather.

Durian ice cream at Clark Quay. Tastes like it, thankfully doesn't smell like it.

Ok. Starbucks food sucks as usual. But heck, this is Changi Airport. It almost feels like dining at five-star hotel.

I didn't survive in Singapore with just these though. The other stuff I ate aren't just worth the blog space.

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Walking Singapura

People think I'm crazy for going to Singapore alone and for not trying out Sentosa, Jurong or Marina Bay. But the usual tourist spots are just not my stuff. I would rather walk the old, dingy areas and get a taste of the local culture - or what's left of them - in this shiny, well-polished, squeaky clean little city. Being alone means easily blending in with the locals, quicker travel, absorbing the experience, and no one whining about their aching feet by my side.

Singapore itself has not much history on its own, but being such a touristy place it's literally bursting to the seams with different cultures from Asia and around the world. It's probably the only place where I would find  traditional Thai foot massage in the Indian quarter and an authentic Austrian Bratwurst in Chinatown. Hanging out in a cafe in Kampong Glam the deep house music from the speakers meld with the 'call to prayer' being chanted from a nearby mosque, while around me I could hear the buzz of probably at least seven different languages.

Little India after the rain

An ominous-looking Marina Bay Sands

Pushpa mala along Serangoon Road

Making my Kali puja in the Sri Veerakamaliaman temple on a busy Sunday.

Elaborate road sign in Little India in English and Tamil.

Crows flutter about in the skies.

Seafood Laksa on the streets of Chinatown.

Moving art in the subway.

Going into the inner courtyard of Thian Hok Keng (Temple of Heavenly Happiness)

The giant buddha of Sakhya Muni Buddha Gaya temple.

Bukit Timah, just across my hotel.

Colorful buildings along Arab Street

The golden domes of Malabar mosque

Along Orchard Road. 

Skyscrapers on the business district

A curious wall

Posh boutiques line up the famous Orchard Road

Got to have one of those photos.

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