City Boy Boards A Bus To The Mountains

Fourteen hour buses normally suck the fun out packing your bags for the weekend. Good thing on me, I had a bit of experience, as I've survived 24-hour bus rides twice already. Besides, I miss-scheduled my leave by a week, and had nothing to do since I was transitioning from old to new job.

Going to Sagada isn't much of a hassle - take the 11pm bus from Manila, land in Baguio between 3 and 4 am, then wait out the remaining 2 hours for the first bus to Sagada.



Apprehensive folk worried about landslides and below par roads might be surprised that Benguet roads are well paved, and the Mountain Province section is not that bad, with lots of improvements happening. Plus, GT Lizardo Lines have buses that are in better condition to regular (no AC) buses here in the Metro.



Arrival time: 1230pm with 3 stops, Baguio, and 2 small towns in Benguet. Payoff? fantastic mountain views left and right.

My Top 15 Movies Tag

Top 15 Movies as tagged from Facebook

1. Se7en by David Fincher
Greed, Gluttony, Envy, Lust, Pride, Sloth and Wrath take center stage in a series of serial killings.

2. Atonement by Joe Wright
Kiera Knightly and James McAvoy act up a storm of lies and romance in war-ravaged Britain.

3. Gosford Park by Robert Altman
A English acting royalty in a dry and witty whodunit set in the countryside.

4. Finding Nemo by Andrew Stanton
Dory steals the show as a forgetful fish on an ocean quest.

5. Garden State by Zach Braff
A quant story enhanced by a stellar soundtrack. Frou Frou, The Shins and Thievery Corporation in a handsomely (and Grammy-winning) album.

6. Amelie by Jean Pierre Jeunet
Lovable Audrey Tautou takes you on a whimsical and hearty tour of Paris in one of the best feel-good movies.

7. Moulin Rouge by Baz Luhrmann
Polarizing with an in-your-face attitude of showmanship, this movie ushered a renaissance for the musical genre.

8. Starter for Ten by Tom Vaughan
Jeopardy geeks unite in a fun romp of quiz-show anxiety and college awkwardness.

9. Elizabeth by Shekhar Kapur
Anything with Cate Blanchett works for me - but this takes the cake for a strong potrayal of the woman behind England's Golden Age.

10. Ratatouille by Brad Bird
Learn from an animated rat how to cook, and strike a balance between your dreams, and familial ties in another Pixar hit.

11. Eurotrip by Jeff Schaffer
Scotty surely doesn't know in this hilarous teenage odyssey around Europe.

12. Wanted by Timur Bekmambetov
Sleek, sexy and just plain badass action movie that's leagues apart from their American counterparts.

13. Shakespeare In Love by Tom Stoppard
Three of The Bard's finest work rolled into joyous tribute to the playwright contribution to literature. The breathtaking beach scene at the end remains as one of the best closing shots I've seen.

14. The Sixth Sense by M. Night Shyamalan
The movie that launched high expectations for the director never to be matched again. Absolute tearjerker in the final car scene.

15. The Lord Of The Rings by Peter Jackson
Epic movie and the start of a trilogy that will keep you glued to your fantasy seats.

US Open 2009 Predictions

Too short to be a blog post, but too long for a tweet. Curse you Twitter!

Since I was out for a couple of days with no net access (more on that later), and I'm still catching up with my mails, here's a quick run down of the predictions I meant to do:

Men's
Federer vs Davydenko
Djokovic vs Roddick
Berdych vs Nadal
Del Potro vs Murray

Of note is Nadal's opening matchup with Gasquet.

Women's
Dinara vs Jelena
Elena D vs Caroline
Victoria vs Venus
Flavia vs Serena

Kim has a good chance of making it to the quarters, all hinged on how godd Venus will play. Same goes for Demebtieva's run to the final - it all depends on that 3R match up with Sharapova.

Two Rallies

First of all, I must say that it's been quite a while since I posted - more than a month! It's been a tremendously busy month, but no excuses. No travels, but here are some major gatherings that I attended recently.

One thing that I would let pass was to pay my last respects to Cory Aquino. The feeling of sadness was minute compare to the sense of gratitude and pride brought by a singular person. We have much to be thankful to her for these past decades: and it was truly felt on her last parade through the grateful city of Makati. That bright sunny day, enveloped in yellow confetti? We seem to have taken it for granted, but I'd like to call that freedom.




Was definitely in a great spot to say my "Thanks Cory!". But I guess you don't have to stand so close to her monument to appreciate her enduring legacy for our country. She may not have been the best president that our country has had, but it will take another generation to see someone as loved.

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In weird news, I attended an El Shaddai rally, their 25th anniversary celebration. I've always been curious to check that out, and the view surprised me:



It was more Woodstock than I thought. Tents and campers, plenty of waving flags (that ubiquitous "ES panyo"), revelers in jeeploads and truckloads, and of course, plenty of singing and dancing. I remember complaining about (not having) Glastonbury or Coachella here, but if you're searching for atmosphere, maybe this will be an interesting substitute.

2009 Half Time Music Report

We're halfway through the year, and I'm just sharing the most interesting records I've managed for the last six months.



Forget that the group Passion Pit looks like the cast of Beauty and the Geek, it's the music that counts. Selected early this year as one of the breakthrough genre from BBC's Sound Of 2009, the album Manners delivers on the promise their EP Chunk of Change has made.

Synth-clap beats, a strangely innocuous falsetto, together with affable percussions; what not to like? Of course, an import from last year's EP, Sleepyhead is a catch, their first single The Reeling is an enjoyable hit, but my favorite is Little Secret. It's not a summer song (see previous lists), but it does stoke the happy fire on pouring afternoons.

French band Phoenix returns with a tribute to the classics, Frank Liszt and Mozart, and surely with references as good as the masters, expectations will be set high. I'm definitely impressed in the total feel on the album, it steps back from a Eurocentric exclusiveness, and opens its doors to a more global appeal. Lyrics are crafted as teasingly addictive (repetition abounds!), and an orchestration (sorry pun intended) of its beats to be sublimely catchy. Listen to the mysterious crescendo in Love Like a Sunset, the lovable singles 1901 and Lisztomania. Bonus points: Fences sounds oddly familiar. Anyone knows why?

Not really this year's release, but Friendly fires manages to bring the pulsating disco back into indietronica land. Listen to Strobe, Skeleton Boy, On Board and Photobooth.

I Miss Blogging

I'm just too busy, and held up in anxiety. A new chapter awaits...give it a few days.

But in the meantime, I raide both middle fingers up to that jerk that stole my side mirrors again; it's the second time in 2 months.

Wimbledon 2009: Gentlemen's Quarterfinals

Hewitt, Ferrero, Federer, Haas and Roddick in the quarters? Suddenly, it feels like 2003.

Just when we're all ready to hail the new kids Monfils, Tsonga, and much newer players Tomic, Cilic and Gulbis, my generation of players stepped on the brakes to say that they're not quite finished. The first week of Wimbledon has definitely been interesting: Andymonium, the debut of the retractable roof, Federer's military jacket (fancy) and waistcoat (ridiculous), the resurrection of Hewitt, the merit of Ferrero's wildcard, and the news that there is no news about Djokovic.



Hewitt vs Roddick

Yowzah, flashback to the early 2000s! Hewitt has summoned back his speed, the sting of the simplicity of his strokes, and found himself back into the quarters of a slam after three years. However, Roddick will see that solid ball striking, and raise Hewitt an improved backhand, faster movement on the court, possible dropshots, and a crisper volley. Roddick version 2009 in 4 sets.

Ferrero vs Murray

Murray expected a match against a Spaniard in SW19, but not against Ferrero in the quarters. It's been a great run for JCF, stringing deep runs in grass. Alas, he goes against the tournament favorite, and a loss of the hometown hero will not be treated fondly by the campers at Murray Mound. Save for his erratic scrape by Wawrinka, a dominating performance by Murray should come alive again on Centre Court. Straight sets still.

Djokovic vs Haas

Rematch of the Halle final. Though I feel that the Serb should've won that won, it's a perfect time to serve revenge here in London. Djokovic in an efficient 3 sets.

Karlovic vs Federer

It's a surprise that Karlovic hasn't maximised his booming serve, especially on a court that favors him. However, he's playing Federer, who can read service motions like no other (Roddick's power serve doesn't really help their H2H record). A comprehensive win, I predict, with impressive variety of volleys, passing shots and slices. Four sets to the Swiss. And please, I don't want to see that spanking robot dance anymore.

Semis and Final

Three of the top 4 seeds will make the grade, with Roddick crashing that party. Andy vs Andy should result in a thriller, and so will Novak vs Roger. It's another delightful men's semis this Friday, but I'll put my money on Murray vs Federer. I must say that I was definitely impressed by Murray's Wimbly performance, but he got wounded by the Swiss #2, what more from the Swiss #1? Still, history is ripe, and Murray has definitely shown his laurels (and not just Fred Perry's) that he is a worthy successor. It will be a monumental fortnight, a new roof, and a new champion, a new #1, and a bright future for British tennis. Ten thousand pound tickets for Centre Court will be on offer this Sunday.

Wimbledon 2009: Ladies' Quarterfinals

Dinara vs Sabine

Let's call this a match of surprises. A fragile Dinara surprised everyone by getting the the quarters on her least favorite surface. Sabine makes good on her potential and surprises tournament favorite (at least behind the Williams sisters), Caroline. I'll play this one safe and go for the top seed in 3 sets.

Agnieszka vs Venus

Venus has been moving immaculately on beloved grass. There is no denying her a stroll to the final. Straight sets of course.

Francesca vs Elena

Well, call me fickle, and now root for Elena. She's cleaned up her act, and as a defending semifinalist, she should be able to follow that up with another final 4 appearance. Depends on which Dementieva shows up, but I'm hoping it's the same one that crushed Vesnina yesterday. Straight sets.

Vika vs Serena

I know I shouldn't - Serena hasn't been tested this fortnight at all - bet Victoria. But. Vika has a winning streak against the younger Williams (I'll consider Vika's retirment in Melbs as a win, hehehe) and even if Wimbledon is a favored surface for the Williams, I'm going to go all out and pick Vika. Two tight sets. If it lasts to a deciding one, Serena should prevail.

Semis and Final

There will be no stopping of Venus for a hat trick of her beloved Rosewater dish, but Vika will put up a fight in the semis before folding in her Grand Slam final debut. Expect more of her this coming hardcourt season.

Wimbledon 2009: Gentlemen's Singles

Gentlemen's Singles
Defending Champion: Rafael Nadal

Such disheartening news that a repeat of last year's monumental match will not happen with defending champion Nadal saying 'pass' due to his knees. I hope that this is not the start of the end for the promising Nadal, a GOAT contender himself, but can't say that nobody saw this coming.

Quarter I

Replacing Nadal in his Q1 position is Del Potro, who's been showing pretty decent results over the Slams. A semifinal over at Roland Garros actually came as a surprise since he's more attuned to faster surfaces. Expect him to flourish here, and though he's been bumped up to avoid a Murray/Djokovic/Federer in the semis, his path getting there is very difficult. An opener with the clever Clement, ex-champ Hewitt, recent grass court titlist Tursunov, before the quarters.

The renaissance of Andy Roddick has been one of this season's underrated stories. Even his career-best 4R placing in Paris is a testament that he's willing to grind it out for the long haul. Save for that retirement in Queen's, mark your betting sheets for a shoutout to the American. If the injury isn't as bothersome, a run to the final may not be too far off.

QF Match: Tursunov vs Roddick

Quarter II

A soft draw for homecouurt favorite Murray - and the Brit press will be holding their breath for two, intense weeks. The local favorite has a chance to walk away with the title here (having taken home the trophy at Queen's Club last week), and pole position. The tabloids will be working over-overtime as the nation goes into a frenzy. Except for a swan song test from Safin, anything less than a final 2 showdown with Federer will be considered as a disappointing heartbreak. Can you just imagine the euphoria when Murray wins?

QF Match: Murray vs Simon

Quarter III

It's been an up-and-down 8 months for Novak Djokovic, with a win in the year-ender in Shanghai, a failed defense in Melbs, a sensation claycourt season, only to end in an early exit in Paris. A good placing, together with a reasonable draw in London should do the trick. After an upset loss last year, expect a rebound to form here on grass.

Over Blake and Cilic, I hope that the lanky Croat pulls through, paging Ivanesevic and Ancic.

QF Match: Cilic vs Djokovic

Quarter IV

A relaxed Federer (wouldn't he be?) was also gifted an easy draw. Expect an upset of Verdasco though.

QF Match: Tsonga vs Federer

Wimbledon 2009: Ladies First

Ladies Singles
Defending Champion: Venus Williams

It's a mad scramble in London as the ladies try the quick turnaround from clay to grass. With the field blown wide open, and after a much ballyhooed upset season last year, don't expect thing to change just yet: The Williams sisters are headed for a collision course on the last Saturday of the tournament

Quarter I

After the meltdown in Paris, and one of the ugliest finals I've seen in quite a while, Dinara comes in as the top seed, yet with very little expectation. Her draw has not been friendly either, she faces Nicole, Agnes, Alona and/or Amelie. And that's before the quarters. Me thinks that she won't survive all of that.

Caroline has been on a roll this year, but still coming up short in the big ones. Her title run last week should provide her a good footing on the lawns, but she will face sentimental favorite Kimiko Date twice her age). The great Dane won this tournament as a junior, and expect her to make a breakthrough here.

Side note for Roland Garros Champion Svetlana, she's got a great game to succeed on the grass, but why are the results not there? Let's see on where this one goes though.

QF Match: Amelie vs Caroline


Quarter II

As mentioned in the intro, Venus stands out from an inconsistent field, she may have spotty results through the year, but doesn't she just stroll along the courts of Wimbledon, and take the title, which is her namesake?

The Serbian slump is fully represented yet, but expect one of them to put up a fight, Jelena, you've been quiet all year.

QF Match: Venus vs Jelena

Quarter III

Any news on Vera's ankle? Hopefully it holds up, she's got a pretty draw, and has the game to go deep. However, the lack of match play, might impair her. On the upside, her draw is relatively easy, with no real contenders. Sorry Elena D, that star seems to have fizzled out, as it was a stellar run indeed for the first quarter of the year. An upset from Alisa Kleybanova might be in the works.

QF Match: Vera vs Dominika

Quarter IV

Previously, on the last Grand Slam ... contenders were filled on the last quarter of the draw, and Serena Williams to come out blasting full force. Expect a continuation here, Maria, despite a recovering shoulder, still willed herself to the quarters, and my pick for the quarter, Victoria Azarenka, looking forward to a making an impression.

It's a such a temptation to put my money on Vika - her aggressive game, and feisty play suits the lawns of SW19, but her path to the semis is to have back-to-back wins over Serena and Maria. That's a lot to ask, but just in case she does surprise us all (including herself), she's the favorite to win the title. I'm going to go safe though, and count on Serena to bring home the whole thing - it's been a while, since she took home the title here.

QF Match: Victoria vs Serena

Greatest Of All Time

So I've been a bit delinquent in updating this blog - so much that I missed my QF predictions for Roland Garros (never missed one, even when I was backpacking). I blame my busy sched, combined with the stringent internet filters in the office (BOO!).

Anyway, I popped the bubbly (Coca Cola) after Roger Federer's historic, record-match 14th Grand Slam win. It finally happened, too bad that Nadal wasn't across the net when that happened. Many will label Roger as the best ever, but I feel a bit irked for those who immediately labelled his win in Paris as an empty victory.

Retorts such as "he has a losing record against Nadal", "I don't wanna call him best ever until Nadal calls it a career" right Roger winning match point resounded with nothing but sourgraping. Nothing wrong with the statements mentioned - they are all valid, and definitely make a point,Rafael Nadal is definitely GOAT candidate. What annoys me is the immediacy of it. Federer finally won the title missing in his resume, after being stopped by Nadal for 4 straight years, and that is the congratulations he gets. I give the man props for being consistent, and being a beauty to watch the sport. Fed has made tennis look elegant and rhythmic, and perhaps that's his strongest case yet.

A Post-Mortem to CS Manila's Summer Scramble

Just before the summer ends, and exactly just before the rains come pouring in, CS Manila had its first Summer Scramble. I've always wanted to be in the Amazing Race, but this time, I had to step back and organise one for my beloved travel group.

Since I was a TAR fan, and had a pretty good idea of sights in the city, druming up ideas for the race was not as difficult as most people would thin it would be. Plus having the experience of running a virtual The Amazing Race isn't so bad in creating challenging tasks.

I'm sure people have blogged about the event, and it's really great hearing it from the racer's point of view. We've got
AJ, whose narrative was the most comprehensive I've seen yet; Greg, whose photos were just gorgeous; and Ryan, whose video blog was just hilarious.

So let's give it a different outlook - let's take it from the organiser's perspective. I must say, my photos are the worst ones, good thing my friend tagged along to be the semi-official photographer.

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Creating the challenges were easy, took me about 3 hours to write them all up in an Excel file after Lilliane mentioned the idea to me. The difficult part was testing it. Though we tested the race in parts, a full dry run never managed to be squeezed into my schedule.

* to be continued *

CS Summer Scramble: The Final Task

Your Final Task:

There are seven photos here. Arrange them chronologically, the way you visited them. You will come up with a 7-letter code (ie. BDCAFGE). Use that as a password to the file you will download below (use capital letters). Good luck!


http://rapidshare.de/files/47357918/Your_Final_Clue.xls.html

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Photo A



Photo B


Photo C


Photo D



Photo E



Photo F



Photo G

Roland Garros 2009

Women's Draw
Defending Champion: Ana Ivanovic

Quarter 1

Debuting as the top seed in a Slam, Lil Sis Dinara has made great strides the past couple of weeks in claycourt tuneups. She is definitely ripe for a major win, with two finals appearances in the past 12 months. However, the 'can-she-do-it?'' mentality can not be ignored. Her draw is littered with the dangerous Jie, Indian Wells winner Vika, and defending champion Ana. I'm betting once she survives these two tests, another final show is in the offing.

QF Match: Dinara vs Vika

Quarter 2

I would like to call this section the 'free-for-all' part of the draw. Venus' path to the final 8 is brutally difficult, plus we're playing on clay, which has never really been her strong point. She opens with Bethanie, then potentially takes on Sabine, followed by specialist Gisela, a resurgent Amelie, or last week's finalist, Alona. Either way, it's a grind through and through.

Nadia, also in a renaissance, while compatriot Vera looks like she has fully recovered from that ankle injury of hers. And did I mention someone named Maria Sharapova is unseeded in the draw? Two QF spots definitely up for grabs here with no clear favorites.

QF Match: Alona vs Nadia

Quarter 3

It would've been so easy to pick Jelena Jankovic here, if only her recent results were good. Her grinding and retrieving skills would have been fit for the red dirt, but her coach gave up all of those skills for muscle an power instead. She will be facing Caroline, my favorite rising player of the moment. Clean striker plus an excellent cross-corut drop volley. She's a looker too :)

The lower section of the draw features players I can't just reliably put my betting horse on. Daniela, Elena D, Marion and Francesca. Depends on breakfast, but it's hard to predict if any of these talented players will bring their A-game to Paris. I'll pick Elena (again!) just for sheer favoritism.

QF: Caroline vs Elena

Quarter 4

Serena hobbles into Paris, but don't let that stop her from trying to capture the title here - it's the only Slam she has won once (4xAO, 2xW, 3x US). She believes she's the best player on tour, and rankings don't really matter. It's a less humble Nadal-fortitude, but the right one. She doesn't play for show, but plays to win. She'll have to summon up all her magic to create a fantastic run in the City Of Lights, and her draw is far from easy. Flavia lurks in 4R, and perhaps an upset by Chinese Shuai is not too improbable.

My pick for RG 2009? Svetlana Kuznetsova. It's hard to put money on here (see reference to the rest of the Russian Squadron), but it's about time to pay respect to her excellent claycourt skills, plus she finally won a title in Stuttgart. That should count for something.

QF Match: Svetlana vs Flavia


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Men's Draw
Defending Champion: Rafael Nadal

Quarter 1

The introductions should sound like this: In the red corner, undefeated in Paris, with only 5 losses on clay, stands Rafael Nadal. His quest for 5 straight wins is definitely the talk of this season. He however, was not gifted with an easy draw. He gets Ferrer and Verdasco in the quarters. Then again, this is clay, and he is Nadal. Should be an easy pass into the second week.

Lone unseeded 2008 QFinalist Gulbis has had a trashy year following, and though I will be cheering for him, I don't expect that he'll get past the second round yet again.

QF Match: Nadal vs Verdasco

Quarter 2

Murray has go to be the biggest question mark to tennis quadrumvirate this Grand Slam. Nadal and Djokovic have turned out consistent results, and Federer comes from a spirited win in Madrid. Murray, whose been the star to watch since late last year, was nowhere to be found. So, where does that place him in Paris? In a really dodgy part of the draw - he faces claycourter Chela in the opening round, then Tipsarevic in or Montanes further on. It could be the on/off Gonzalez or usually off Safin later on, or French favorite Simon. Murray shouldn't really worry about the 4R/QF, it's either he goes home early, or he makes it to the semis, where Nadal awaits.

QF Match: Cilic vs Youzhny


Quarter 3

In the light of Murray's rise to #3, and Federer's slump *at* #2, it was DJokovic who was forgotten. Lo and behold who has put up a consistent (runner-up) charge this summer. Two RUs, 1 title and 1 SF. I'mm definitely impressed on how he's built up the endurance and resistance to last that long on the dirt, plus his very close SF loss in Madrid puts him in this Slam's short list. His draw is relatively easy, and wait for the fireworks to come on the second week.

QF Match: Monaco vs Djokovic

Quarter 4

As mentioned above, what does Federer's win in Madrid do? It puts the rivalry back into full swing, it puts Roger as part of the contender's list, but it doesn't change the fact that Nadal is heads-and-shoulders above the competition. Federer better save energy for that SF clash with Djokovic, and his relatively easy draw makes tennis fans salivate for that encounter. Hopefully that winner of the duel wins the whole tournament.

Oh by the way, given Roddick's good form on clay recently, I expect him to win 2 matches on clay - something he's never done since 2001.

QF Match: Melzer vs Federer

Summer Music MMIX

No, not a typo, but if you were listening to your Grade IV math teacher, that's Roman numerals for this year. What's burning up my portable music player?

1. Skeleton Boy by Friendly Fires
2. The Festival Song by Pez
3. I Love College by Asher Roth
4. Better Off As 2 by Frankmusik
5. Lovers In Japan by Coldplay
6. The Saltwater Room by Owl City
7. Fascination by Alphabeat

Suzhou In A Day

My Suzhou visit was a bit annoying on many fronts - the weather was ridiculously wet (and very cold at that) therefore making my walks in the park turn into galoshing through puddles. However, walking from the train station towards the city center I was offered a refuge from the rain - the SUzhou Museum. What was supposed to be a ten-minute toweling off turned into a two-hour stroll in their quaintly distinct museum.


Did I mention that the entrance was free? The beautiful museum was design by the renowned IM Pei, creator of Bank of China in HK, and that glass pyramid in front of the Louvre. What I liked about the building was it had empty little corridors that let light in, those pockets of water that characterise the city it represents, yet all in a modern IM Pei-kind of presentation.

I wasn't able to see much of Suzhou that day, but a rundown of the museum definitely made this section of the trip worthwhile.

Hutong Mania and the Great Duck Quest

Something must be said of the distinctive hutongs or courtyard complexes that fill Beijing. A whole lot of them are being demolished to give way to new, more dazzling complexes.



There's a whole lot of them north of the Forbidden City, just nearby HouHai Park and Drum and Bell Towers. The area has been developed to a commercial area where you can have dinner some drinks, while nestled in the hutong district. Though this may effort may sound contrived, let me point you to a more authentic hutong district that's a bit harder to find.



Searching for the best Peking Duck in town may be in the famed Quanjude Restaurant south of the Arrow Tower but there were three signs that made me veer away from the store:

1. A Lonely Planet un-recommendation for being overly hyped and frantically busy
2. It's ridiculously poncy facade
3. A McDonald's delivering food to the store - through the front entrance nonetheless

We followed hutong lanes not found in the map, but eventually found Li Qun Duck Restaurant. Why we didn't hesitate entering the restaurant despite its rather homely surroundings:



1. Well it was homely and most probably authentic.
2. In typical asian fashion, your success is measured by the photos of important visitors hanging on your wall. I saw a former Philippine ambassador and Jet Li. I'm in!





3. We were greeted by these duck drawings. Nothing says "top notch" other than having kids graffiti your neighbourhood with duck doodles.



Post duck review? It was excellent and oh-soo-hearty (dripping in fat and oil). Yaiks!

Temple Of Heaven

The Temple of Heaven obviously was held in the highest regard - with the tallest building during their days and its lavish park. Other elements Earth (where I went during the first day - see first Beijing post), Sun, were relegated to 'smaller' venues.

There's a good exhibition of how the blue temple was built and rebuilt, and rebuilt. The building was destroyed by two lightning strikes already, and since the all-wood structure further lures electricity with its golden tip, lighning is bound to strike that same place again in the future.

Looking For The Last Emperor

It's huge! The Forbidden City, or Imperial Palace as they would like to call it now (in an effort to give China an impression of being more "open") is simply massive. While I don't want this to sound like a tourist brochure (read all about it in Wikipedia!), let me just give you ample warning that the whole structure is city-like indeed. Unless you want a rough-shod sprint across the grounds, set out more than a half day for this.



The entrance of 40 CNY does not cover the side galleries, but don't forget to take a look - there are plenty of great artifacts hidden in the labyrinthine eastern grounds. Jade carvings aplenty, the finest porcelain, and other curios are on display in the grounds. I skipped the clocks display, but found this piece interesting: a golden globe, not of the earth, but of the astronomical sky with pearls as the stars. Just look at the excitement on the patrons.



If you don't like red, well, China is not the place for you, and and its centerpiece landmark is just fully cloaked in it. The Forbidden City is elegantly splashed in Chinese red, from its walls to its alleyways and hidden corners. It's great for a photo shoot that requires a red background.



There is a permanent exhibition on the western galleries with artifacts, but I would like to recommend the eastern corridors instead - they're 9 sections depicting life in the Forbidden City, on how the guards were distributed, their defense arrangements, meal preparations during festivals, and even how the concubines were, errm, housed. Plus details on how the North-South axis is important in a city laid out on a grid.



My host told me that in order to fully appreciate the purpose and significance of the grounds, I must watch Bernardo Bertolucci's epic The Last Emperor. Anybody got a copy? I couldn't find one anywhere. Anywhere cheap that is.

Beijing's Modern Playground

I wouldn't say Beijing is a very cosmopolitan city (it's almost there though), but I would like to note on how famous architects were wont to put their stamp on the reimagining of the city. While Shanghai is mostly Art Deco and Hong Kong is distinctively Norman Foster's sandbox, Beijing opened its doors to a gaggle of architects that makes the city a clever pastiche of shining new buildings.




My favorite would be Rem Koolhas' insanely playful CCTV Building. It looks like something I would've created with my Lego playset. I was pretty much fascinated by it that I think I dropped by the Guomao area thrice. Twice by chance, once by necessity.


Most tourists wouldn't probably go out of their way to drop by the CBD, so I would recommend Paul Andreu's egg-shaped building, the National Performing Arts Centre. Apart from his numerous works of gleaming glass and steel, Andreu hits closer to home as one of his early works included NAIA Terminal 1. (Just as an aside, I personally like T1 as it has a good architectural character, discounting the fact that it's quite old).



You may also chance upon the nice artsy-fartsy district up north in San Litun. They've got this quirkily colored glass compound called The Village. It's like a cathedral-inspired shopping mall.





Maybe I should do more research - I didn't chance upon an IM Pei work in Beijing...

Murdering Your Legs With Greatness

My only mistake with booking that Great Wall Hike is doing it on the first full day of my trip. I had underestimated on how taxing the trip would be, with its steep inclines, and continuous slopes. That, or I had overestimated my level of fitness (insert witty, sarcastic remark here). My BMI may not be ideal (yet), but I'm not frail nor lampa, so I expected a good workout. So, having said that, be prepared for the Jinshaling-Simatai trek, it's a tortuous ride, but an fantastic exhilarating one.



With that out of the way, here's how the trip went. I signed up a group trip in CouchSurfing and that effort netted 9 participants, including my 2 roommates. Transportation cost 115 CNY and entrance fees to the park totalled 85 CNY for Jinshaling, Simatai and the Simatai suspension bridge. Our driver dropped us off at Jinshaling, and picked us up at Simatai 5 hours later. Some things that you need prior to the climb: it's a 12km walkathon, so bring good shoes. There aren't any food stops, so make sure you have enough sustenance. Vendors will hound you as usual, and the prices aren't so bad to be honest. 40 Pesos for a bottle of mineral water may be expensive, but it'll save the 67-year old lady (and her knees) from following you. I didn't buy, as I brought 1.5 liters of water.

There will be 32 awesome towers on the trip spread across some 12 kilometers. The weather was fantastic when I got there, the wind was breezy, sun was shining, and the temperature was a reasonable 3 degrees. It was a nice crisp walk, but I was sweating buckets due to the physical exertion of climbing the steps.



So enough of the chatter, I'll just let the photos do the talking. Don't forget, this is the Jinshaling/Simatai portion, which is different from the touristy Badaling section, replete with *I Survived The Great Wall* shirts. Don't go there if you want an intimate, rustic memory of the Great Wall. The sore hamstrings, quads, knees, ankles and calves are truly worth it.

Day 1: Starting With Temples

Tropical Manila has yet to taste the wonders of a single digit climate, but don't deny it - you can barely take a bath at 6am two months ago without shivering. I liked that. I must say that I like the cold far more that the hot and humid climate we have, and not because I'm suffering from a 'grass-is-greener-on-the-other-side' syndrome. That brought me to Beijing, China where according to Google, has max/min temperatures were 8/-3. Yahoo, freezertime! If I had written this while I was in Beijing, my fingers would've fallen off, and pieces of my chapped lips would've been littering the keyboard. Yuck.

Before I gross most of the readers out (apart from showing my self-shot photos, all 174 of them), Day 1 started with an early flight to Beijing, landing at around noon time, then I proceeded to meet my host Aaron. I must say that Beijing exceeded my expectation in terms of ease of navigation. The road signs are easy to read, the city is laid out on a perfect grid, and the orientations uses the NEWS standard. Directions are absolute - bei, nan, dong, and xi. You'd never get lost as long as you now which direction you're headed. Street names are descriptive too, so that helps.



Having said that, English speakers for locals are still scarce. Good thing that I played a lot of Charades when I was in high school. I knew those board games were worth cutting class for.

More on Day 1, I decided to take it easy and just drop by the Yonghegong Lama Temple, a Tibetan lamasery (it's a real word, seriously) in NE Beijing. There were pretty cool corners in the sprawling courtyards, and I ended up taking quite a lot of solo photos. I'll spare you the agony of that, but I'll be posting some photos at the Temple Of Earth. The park may not be as impressive as the others that waited for me, but it surely gave a good preview of sights that await.

No Time To Blog Yet...

But here's what's going to be large this summer on my music player:

Frankmusik's debut album fighting off the return of Calvin Harris and Just Jack. Rounded out by indie-altronica from Owl City. That Saltwater Room is just darned cute!








In the next issue: Breaking a promise, then breaking legs.

If Anything, 2009 Will Sound Like The 80s

It's two months late, but I stumbled upon BBC's Sound Of 2009 where the pick on what critics (in the UK at least) will be this year's landmark songs/artist. They haven't been very wrong - previous choices were Bloc Party, 50 Cent, Mika, Just Jack, Corrine Bailey Rae, and last year, Adele and Duffy.

So, what will 2009 sound like? It'll sound like the 80s. It will look like the 80s, feel like the 80, and it'll be absolutely enjoyable. They've shortlisted 15 artists for the poll, and my favorites the following:

1. Florence and the Machine - She's like Feist, but her music sounds like it was raised by horses - wild, primal, stormingly powerful. She opens the year with "Dog Days Are Over"

2. Frankmusik - I'm guessing he's going to be this year's Linus Loves/Calvin Harris/Axwell, but with a throwback from two and a half decades ago. He plays frivolous electro-pop, and is working with Stuart Price. Check out "3 Little Words" on YouTube and feel the Tom Hanks love.



3. Lady Gaga and Little Boots - Actually, I found both artists quite annoying at first, but embraced it eventually for all its pop-tooth goodness. Check out how Little Boots plays a 16x16 LED instrument called a Tenori-on. That one won me over.

4. Mumford and Sons - A folksy approach to this year's playset; a little The Shins, a little The Kooks all wrapped in an 80s Everything But The Girl package.

5. Empire Of The Sun - Ever heard of fantasy pop? Well, I never. It's a concoction of synth, xylophones, and percussions that give it a dreamlike atmosphere. Plus the videos help in creating that aura. Check out their George Lucas homage in the album cover.

Lastly, they may not be new, but have a listen to Stars (remember them from The OC?). It's not a full album, but Sad Robots continues the whimsy, escapist story telling from before. Their song "14 Forever" stands out with a vividly painted picture of a field swarmed by teens at a music festival. This soundtrack is the prelude to a seemingly nostalgic year.