Hola Manila!

It was supposed to be a grand Manila Tour together with my college friends, which includes the tour of whole Intramuros, Lawton area, The National Musuem circle, Luneta Park, Binondo and Baywalk in Roxas Boulevard, but it didn’t materialize! Maybe it is because of the extreme heat (yesterday was the 2nd hottest temperature for the year 2011), or my friends are starting to took pity on me because I was dripping wet yesterday, which is why we cut off the trip half-way. We did manage to do two things in the itinerary which is a visit to the San Agustin Church Museum (a first for me) and Fort Santiago (a 7th for me, I think) and relieve again the past history of Manila.

Formerly The Sta Isabel Convent and Church, it is now houses the Light and Sound Musuem for Rizal (I think?)

The gate that leads to Baluarte De San Diego where me and Floro did manage to sneak up the last time we we're there but the guard didn't catch us. We turned ourselves in. Ang lakas talaga ng loob ni Floro jejeje!

My good friend Joy and Rhea, we're trainmates when we'r studying in PUP back then =D

The newest feature of Intramuros, the carved relic faces of the past presidents of our country

Otly goofing around the ruins of San Agustin convent (i think?)

The detailed structure of the main door of this building is so awesome!

San Agustin Church, the mesmerizer!

Actually I mistook San Agustin Church in Intramuros for the San Sebastian Church in Mendiola/Recto. I was thinking back then ‘what would be the significance of this Neo-Classical Gothic inspired Church to the history of the Filipino people?” Ignorant as I am I didn’t know that San Agustin was the oldest church in the country and shared a LOT of historical significance in our history!

The Real Mc Coy

I remember the first time I entered the grandiose edifice when I attended the wedding of a v.v.v. good friend of mine from the office, Shane, and I was awed with the exquisite design of the church. The main door itself is a treasure already, so Baroque and old style Filipino Church. Shane’s wedding was an eye opener and I promised to myself that I should visit the place again. And so I did yesterday! Woot! Woot!

Details. Details and more Details!!!!

Entrance fee is Php 100.00 pesos, not bad compared to the Php 75.00 entrance fee at Baluarte De San Diego in Intramuros, which until now I detest because the place used to be free entrance!

Entrance to the museum

The place is MAGICAL!! If you're the type of person who loves history and religion this is a MUST visit! Having read Alfonso Aluit's "By Sword and Fire", I have relieved the idea on how the survivor of The Battle of Manila survived the war. Actually I felt some goosebumps when I entered the place, but the fear was overcome by excitement specially when the huge Bell greeted us at the entrance.

Welcome! Picture not allowed inside though =(.

Lot of HUGE Paintings adorn the wall of San Agustin. I wonder if these are the original paintings or just a re-work (since i assume most of their wooden or paper paintings we're burned during the war) but nevertheless it was still awesome to view them hanging from the wall.

Most of the paintings depicts the life of the Agustinians saints like the Spanish friars who was killed in Japan, and other martyrs killed in South America and Africa.



Not to be outdone are the life size paintings of the Agustinians priest who served as the head of the congregation here in Manila



I really admire the preservation works on these paintings,and kudos to those who keep it safe during the war (if this is the original piece ha). Truly remarkable!

Another common fixtures in the museum are the "retablos", San Agustin have a lot of those and the biggest one are located near the entrance. It reminds me the old churches in Laguna where retablos are still a common fixture of the Altar.


I think there were almost a dozen retablos inside the musuem, some are big just like the one in the photo above, and some are small which adorned the hallway kanto. There's also a retablo inside the crypt which doesn't received too much lighting (except for the candles and bulbs) which gives the place an eerie feeling. Scary but worth it!



A collection of sturdy and huge and long tables lined up the hallway as well. Naglaway talaga ako when i saw the drawer LOL! These are the type of furniture I want in my house, big and sturdy!

Please be mine =D

What irritate me is that the security personnel of the church doesn't give importance to the historical significance of these treasure items. I saw one sikyu who's using the said cabinet as a "drawer" for his log book and some personal stuff! As my Spanish speaking friend Ting would say "Que barbaridad!"

Carved designs of the tables inside San Agustin

There are also some antiques carrozas near the crypt section of San Agustin. It's nice to know that they still manage to restore and saved this huge carrozas.



While the girls are busy loitering on the second floor, I went alone the crypt section of the church. Certain portions of the crypt are off-limits to photography but I did manage to take some shot on the restricted section, which is a BAD IDEA (I’ll explain later)

The crypt contains the remains of some Manila’s residents who live since 1800. I didn’t checked all the dates inscribe in the lapida but I did notice that most of the interned bodies died during 1942-1945, i.e. the period of World War 2. There is also a special tomb dedicated to the 142 people who died on the crypt during the battle of Manila and their names are etched on the marble tombstone. Most of the dead there are priest, Augustinians, Paules, Capuchins, and Franciscans.



Weird thing happened to me when I tried taking pictures inside; I felt a sudden old feeling and hair rising feeling (yikes! Daming feeling! Lol) when I tried to take some pictures on prohibited section of the crypt. Maybe the souls of the interned are trying to warn me to obey the rules of the museum, call me superstitious but I do trust my instinct: P.



The museum is closed during lunch break (12:00-1:00) and we had our lunch on the lovely Ristorante restaurant just across San Agustin Church. I must admit it’s another “must-try” restaurant here in Manila. They serve Filipino food which is so delicioso and at a very affordable price. I don’t know who the owner of the restaurant is but I did notice some nuns eating there, all smiles and accommodating when we entered the place, maybe their congregation owns the place. Will definitely go back there soon!




After the hearty lunch we returned again to San Agustin Museum, but the girls we’re to full and exhausted parin so they decided to stay on the ground floor to rest, while me and Olive decided to roam around the second floor of the museum. The staircase leading to the second floor is wide maybe to accommodate the much wider cabinet drawer. On the second floor houses the religious garments of the Agustinians priests and some diorama of the previous architecture of the whole San Agustin church and convent.



There’s a lovely balcony as well on the second floor, overlooking the Father Blanco’s Botanical garde. Sadly the garden was destroyed during the war also, but the balcony remains (or re-constructed). See for yourself :D



A collection of Jars are also displayed on the second floor of the Museum which maybe used during the Spanish times as storage. Still im amazed that they still keep the jars intact during the years.





The music room/ choir area is also located on the second floor which has a fantastic view on the altar of the church. It just creep me out to know that there are a lot of nooks and crannies in the church. I mean a lot of things might have happened here during the war.



All in all, the visit to San Agustin was truly remarkable. It’s like being transported to another time period. Ah, the memories of yesteryears, well preserved in the grandiose edifice of this magnificent church. Truly one of a kind, I like!

I Say A Little Prayer For You

Dear Heavenly Father, O glorious and Heavenly King.
And to Lord Jesus Christ, God the Father’s only begotten son and our savior
King of Kings. Heavenly Father. We praise you and we worship you. Your honor and glory are all yours our God.

Thank you for the gift of life. Thank you for continually giving us blessing in our everyday life.
Thank you for the good health, as we progress in our everyday lie, you keep us fit and healthy the entire day. Thank you for the nourishment we receive, not only on physical nourishment but spiritual as well.

Thank you for the job that we keep. Even though we’re experiencing hard times, stress, pressure from our boss and expectations from our colleagues, still we believe that you are there who constantly guiding us and allowing us to shine on our job. And also we believe that no matter how mundane your work, as long as it is done for you o Lord, it is still for the greatness of your name. Thank for being the great provider.

Thank you for the gift of family, friends and colleagues. Most specially thank you for the friendships that we keep, friends who are there through thick and thin, from the lowest to highest point of your life I thank you for giving them to me.

Lord, as we go on with our daily life may you continue to bless us with your grace. Allow us to serve you more, to glorify you and to worship you. Make us an instrument of your love, to spread your love to mankind and to serve those people who are in need. Bless also our friends who are pregnant now, bless the newly born babies as well, those who recently tied-knot in marriage, May all of them have a healthy and fruitful life.

Bless our Family
Bless our Work, Colleagues, Boss, and Clients
Bless our Friends and Acquaintance
Bless our Community and the Brothers and Sisters
Bless our Service, the Kids that we serve in Tuloy sa Don Bosco, The volunteers and The Director
Bless the bloggers (and their family) who constantly drop by my webpage
Bless our Country and the whole world.

Amen.

The Tattooed Women of Kalinga

First time ko nalaman ang tungkol sa Kalinga women when I've watched Kara David's documentary about them last year when I was still in Saudi. I was fascinated with these women and the tribal art of tattooing sa katawan nila. According to them the tatoo symbolizze beauty to the women, the more tatoo you have the beautiful you are.

Sila rin ang dahilan kaya i want to join Dong with his Kalinga trip, yun lang the tribe's houses was located far from Luplupa! It's a 2 hour drive from our place and since it was Holy Friday walang byahe papunta sa place na yon =(.

Though we didn't got a chance to visit their place, I'm having a great time naman chilling out in Luplupa and bonding time with my friends. Then I was suprised when Dong came one afternoon smiling and he told me there are tatooed women living in Luplupa! Then without missing a beat, we hurriedly went to the place where this two women lived.

Funny thing is these women lived just outside our place! They are one of the old people living in Luplupa, and there are two of them so me and Dong have our own Mona Lisa.




According to Kara David, only the old women have this tatoo, the younger ones doesn't want it because 1). it hurts 2). they don't fnd it pretty. Though I think the art Kalinga tattoo is one tribal culture that they should be proud of. The intricate design is so good, it's much better than the tattoo here in the city. Also the ink of the tattoo or the skin doesn't turn green once they grow old, unlike the tattoo here in the city (i've seen so many tattoo in Bilibid prison, one thing that is common to the prisoner is the greenish skin tone on the part of the tattoo).



Most of the tattoo are mostly located in the shoulder and arms of the women. Can't imagine the pain they have to ordeal just to become beautiful.



I'd like to thank the old lady of Luplupa for allowing me to take pictures of her and showing me her tattoo. We promised (me and Dong) to give the hard copy of the pictures to them also. I just hope that the culture of tattooing would still continue for more years to come.

The Tinglayan Way of Life Experience

Hola Tinglayan!

The municipality of Tinglayan, Kalinga Province is a 3 hour drive from the capital Bontoc Mountain Province. You’ve known you arrived in Tinglayan because they are the second town you’ll be after you’ve left Bontoc. From the road you’ll get a chance to see barangay Luplupa (which is on the other mountain side, separated by the mighty Chico River) and the bus stopped at barangay Poblacion which is the urbanized part of the Tinglayan. Here in Poblacion the main church, the mayor’s office, schools, eatery and inns are mostly located. Though the place seemed to be nice and accessible, we opted to stay at the Inn we’ve seen from the road. The name of the Inn is hugely painted on their roof and since we’ve been sitting on the top of the jeepney it’s very easy for us to see it.

Bridge's mighty foundation

The Long Rickety bridge

From Poblacion, we’ve walked for about 20 minutes and we need to pass by the rickety bridge before reaching the Luplupa River Side Inn (+639177501204, Php 250 per night exclusive of food) which to our surprised was owned by a German national and his Filipina wife. Mr. Otmar Holz is a well known philanthropist in Luplupa, having sent many students to schools and colleges by providing them scholarship and also donating rice to the townsfolk every so often. Actually on our last day at Luplupa, they have a scheduled rice distribution to the barangay but we didn’t wait for it because the activity will be done in the afternoon while our trip to Tabuk was in the morning. Mr. Holz and his wife stays at Luplupa from December to May (non-rainy season in the Phils) then return again to Germany for the rest of the year (non-rainy season in the Germany).

Willkommen!

From left to right: Rose, Olive, Floro, Mrs. Holz, Mr. Holz and Ben (the Labrador)

Luplupa Inn's simple garden

Olive with the map of Tinglayan

Where are we??

Another surprise was that to see foreigners in the middle of Luplupa village. Mind you the place is not that actually a tourist spot. The major tourist attraction of the place is the tattooed women of Kalinga but they live far from Luplupa. Anyhow we’ve find 2 Norwegian student Peter and Orjam (pronounce Orr-yam) who ate a wild boar in the forest of Kalinga and sleep in the cave as well, a Australian travel writer who had the tribal tattoo of Kalinga in his foot, and a French guy who is a friend of Otmar (I think).

Hello there, from Norway!

Having said our pleasantries to the people of Luplupa Inn and freshen up a bit, we decided to roam around the village and familiarize with it. One thing that would strike you of the place is the presence of black pigs on the street. Yes and I mean lot’s of them. BUT before you cringe on the idea about pigs roaming around, in very fairness to them they are 1). Very clean and have no foul smell, unlike the pink pigs we see on pigpens 2). They are courteous because they know how to KEEP RIGHT when walking on the street. 3). they don’t bite/attack as long as you don’t provoke them and 4). I think piglets are as cute as puppies.

Buhay baboy

Looking around the area I’ve noticed that 1). Most of them have satellite cable 2). Their favorite TV show is Mutya 3). They bury their dead inside their property 4) water is abundant; water pipes have no faucet 5). All of them are very nice and friendly. They have their own elementary school with a mini plaza where the gigantic acacia trees, rice terraces paddies, numerous mini-water falls, and a lot of fireflies at night according to Floro (who have seen the night creatures swarming over the acacia tree).

The Mighty Accacia trees

Every drop counts!

WELCOME!

" Hindi po ako scarecrow!"

Green, Green Palay

Posing Time!

But I think the person you should meet in Tinglayan is none other than Mr. Victor Baculi (insert applause here)!! He’s the braid haired and well respected leader in Tinglayan. He is so well known his name is included in Lonely Planet’s guide to the Philippines. He’s actually related Mr. Holz’s wife and his house is just outside the Luplupa Inn. According to him he was the longest serving barangay captain of Luplupa (29 years I think) and he already went to Germany for a visit. What I like about Mr. Baculi is his stories about Tinglayan and his life and also his funny (yet sometimes censored) jokes! This guy is so funny!

Meet Mr. Baculi!

Joke time with Floro and Mang Victor

During our stay in Tinglayan it made me realize how it’s possible to live in a simple life naman pala, away from the hustle and bustle of the city, the rat race in the office, and the pollution and temptation the city has to offer. We can actually live a simple life, just like the people in Tinglayan, and be happy about it. Yes, happiness can be seen in the simplest way =).

The Road to happiness is here
Simply Breathtaking

Yes their place has a cerratic ell phone signal, no internet access, no malls to shop, no clubs for party scene but they do have clean and pure river and waterfalls, green rice paddies, lush rainforest with wild animals and birds, loads of fireflies at night, and peace and serenity in the midst of it. I think im ok with that kind of set-up, thank you very much.

Next to our adventure, the Mighty Chico River. Abangan =).