Kusina

I’m finally home.

Of course, I am happy to be back home but a part of me is still hoping for an assurance of a new job. As of the meantime, I am an unemployed individual. LOL!

While working in Thailand, I conditioned my mind to spare enough money for the renovation of our kitchen. I knew that re-constructing our kitchen would require a bit of money, since it was like an extended dirty kitchen before. Haha! Everyone in our family, especially my mother loves to cook and it is one of the many reasons why I wanted to have a presentable one. I got the chance to meet Gail, younger sister of my college friend, and asked her if she could do some beautification miracles of that ugly spot in our house. She presented her idea and I agreed with most of it. I suggested bits of tweaking though.

As soon as I arrive home, I went directly to the kitchen and I am more than impressed. My family is delighted with the outcome too. Thanks Gail. More pics of the kitchen here.

This is my gift to my mother last Mother’s Day, my Kitchen Señora (reposting the poem below).

Kitchen Señora

In her backyard, gumamelas whisper
to each other as she mantles cold banana
leaves on the wooden table,
guarded by two acacia trees.

The bermuda grass curses
her careless steps --- dashing back and forth.
Like a sprint queen, she carries edible torches
and lays them on the platform.

The black-sauced pasta
and bronzed turkey, baklava cake
and chrysanthemum salads she prepares,
festoon the old lamesa

The approach of familiar voices signals,
she hand-strikes her hair, quickly wipes
her sweat and positions near the door,
Welcome, my dear children
another family reunion looms

As long as I have the strength to work abroad, I will continue to make necessary improvements to the place we call home. My sweats in Japan had fixed our bathroom and comfort room. My blood in Thailand had made-up our kitchen. Wherever my next destination be, the living room will be the next focus.

See, I am a good son after all. LOL! Oh please, so give me a job quick!

totomai
05/24/08

Leaving

In less than 24 hrs, Thailand will be a finished chapter. Honestly, I never thought I will love and enjoy Thailand. I even had some doubts whether to accept the job offer before, as my primary target then was to work in European countries. After knowing nothing about my application in Netherlands, the agency asked me if they can present me to one of their clients in Thailand. Verging on desperation, I said yes. And as they say, the rest is history.

I had my initial impressions of Thailand and as days passed by I learned to embrace, understand and appreciate the country. It had lots of similarities from the Philippines, thus, my adjustment period was only a week or so. I gained lots of friends, visited places, explored some Thai cultures and experienced escapades I only read from books and heard from other tourists.

When I left Japan, I wrote about my ‘firsts’ in the Land of Rising Sun. For the Land of Smiles, these are my ‘firsts’:

a) Driving a car – I am not afraid to say I’m a late bloomer when it comes to driving. I finally drove a car at the age of 30, LOL! An accomplishment on my part. I will surely miss our Toyota Vios.

b) Golf – I always thought of golf as a sport for rich and well-off individuals. Here, you can play all you want fro 200 Baht only. We tried and later I realized, I just don’t have an interest with it. Yeah, I know, I can’t hit the ball, that’s why.

c) Parasailing – Flying on air while being pulled by a speedboat is beyond awesome. The occasional dips on the blue water made it doubly exciting.

d) Driving a motorcycle – Glad it was automatic. I almost fell down on the way up but I was able to manage holding on to the motorcycle. Thanks to the locals who were on their way down for assisting me.

e) Live Show – I heard about it even before going to Thailand. And for curiosity’s sake, we went there. I was even picked to hold a balloon during one of the performances.

f) Bath Tub Massage – no further explanation needed. Its quite self-explanatory.

g) Drunken Bowling – I normally don’t drink while playing bowling. See my strikes while under the influence of alcohol. Oh, and I got my first injury here too.

h) Tennis - I played a couple of games when I was in Japan but this is the first time that I scared. Scared that I thought I lost my eyesight after the ball hits my eye! And the very same day, I twisted my ankle. It happened two days before going home.

i) Sunrise to Sundown Photoshoot – Thanks to Davis and Dong for inviting me and Caloy to join them. It was a rewarding experience. No hints of tiredness during that day. But on the following day, LOL!

j) Target Shooting – I held a gun once but firing them and almost hitting bull’s eye, I thought I can shoot!

k) Cambodia – first time to cross a country via bus. I will never forget this experience even I have to speak in English for three days!

I know there are still lots of first time experiences but time is running out and I have to post this blog before I leave Thailand.

How about my work? Well, work is work. I gained a lot of knowledge this time, from my supervisors to my fellow engineers. I hope I was able to share a bit of my knowledge to them too. They were very helpful. There may be arguments, discussions but after shaking them off, its all fine.

Oh, and how can I forget the friendships I established here. My fellow expats are my immediate family here. Even the fact that some were from different companies but when we got together, its always a grand celebration. That’s was just one of the few things you will experience as an expat. The locals were also very warm, helpful and friendly. Damn, I will miss them so much. I can’t really describe how they made me feel loved and respected. We shared jokes, and we didn’t care much about the language barriers. I have high respect for them too. Shout outs to the Vietnamese engineers too. They were equally friendly and accommodating. Thanks for the rice wine! Special thanks to my other foreign friends, you know who you are and you have touched my life too as much as anyone else.

Goodbyes are a part of our lives, after all life is just a series of hellos and goodbyes. As I packed my bags, I will bring the memories of Thailand. It will be forever a part of my life.

end

sprints toward
a spirited horizon

once embraced,
a reassuring promise
disappears

swiftly,
the curtains
of emptiness,
offer only
waves of desire

at day's end
drifting and alone
yet relaxed

home
once again

/totomai

One of my favorite Thai phrases, Rak Sa Sook Kha Parb, Chook Dee Na Took Took Kon!

Maraming Salamat Thailand!

/totomai
05/21/08

Ruins

My 2nd day in Cambodia started after the alarm screamed at me at 0600H. I took a shower, went down and had my breakfast. The Apsara Angkor Hotel did not disappoint as it had different breakfast styles. Burp! Here's the recap of the 1st day!

At 0800H, our bus moved and headed to Baentay Srei. I made sure that my camera had its proper settings.

Bantaey Srei was dedicated to Shva, the Hindu goddess of destruction. Through murals carved withing its walls, the temple describes stories of arguments between the gods and other legends of Hindu religion and culture. If that isn't signifigant enough for a piece of the temple, I don't know what is. Now if you ask someone about historical events in their lives, you're in for a long and boring story that almost always starts with, "Back in my day..." But let's say you asked the rock. Its day was actually from the 9th to 13th century, the rise and fall of the Khmer empire. That's farther back than your grandparents' day. Bantaey Srei was actually built in 976 AD. When the rock was still part of the temple, King Rajendravarman ruled Angkor. The builders of it carved murals representing past events in Angkor and stories about Hindu gods. By the time the rock finished, you would realize that some hisorical events are much more interesting than your grandparents' speeches.

The temple ground area is small but the intricate designs were appealing. If you open your eyes wider, you can see carvings that tell a story. Each carving is well-detailed that you can only wonder how it was done, many centuries ago. Every pillar is guarded by a Thai woman, I guess its just appropriate as this temple was once a fortress for women. We stayed until 1000H and went to Ta Phrom immediately.

Ta Phrom is pretty interesting, it has a cinematographic feel and no doubt, its very popular to tourists.

Located approximately one kilometre east of Angkor Thom and on the southern edge of the East Baray near Tonle Bati, it was founded by the Khmer King Jayavarman VII as a Mahayana Buddhist monastery and university. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Ta Prohm has been left in much the same condition in which it was found: the photogenic and atmospheric combination of trees growing out of the ruins and the jungle surroundings have made it one of Angkor's most popular temples with visitors.

As much as I want to take photos of place like it is an abandoned one, I just can’t since every corner had a foreigner posing and snapping. LOL! I have to be satisfied with every shot I made. That’s the price one should pay while joining travel tours during holidays. The ruins there were mystical and don’t have eerie-like atmospheres. I can’t speak much about the history as the guide spoke in Thai language.

Its 1230H, and instead of having our lunch, we decided to proceed to Angkor Thom and Bayon.

The Bayon is a well-known and richly decorated Khmer temple at Angkor in Cambodia. Built in the late 12th century or early 13th century as the official state temple of the Mahayan Buddhist King Jayavarman VII, the Bayon stands at the centre of Jayavarman's capital, Angkor Thom. Following Jayavarman's death, it was modified and augmented by later Hindu and Theravada Buddhist kings in accordance with their own religious preferences.

Before entering the temple, we had to pose for the tour’s souvenir photo. LOL! At a distant, the faces assembled by stones and rocks are very visible and there are lots of them. Forgive my knowledge when it comes to History as I almost fail in this subject before. Earlier the weather was hot as hell and then later, it rained without any warning. And I had to protect my camera. I looked for a covered area and stayed there for a couple of minutes. My friend fetched me and he had an umbrella. So the photo session continued. Haha!

At 1400H, its finally lunch time. We ate quickly as we can and went to Angkor Wat, the highlight of the tour.

Angkor Wat is a temple at Angkor, Cambodia, built for King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation—first Hindu, dedicated to Vishnu, then Buddhist. The temple is the epitome of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag, and it is the country's prime attraction for visitors.

Oh I remember seeing this place on a postcard. Now, here I am taking photos of it. I am fascinated by monks too and I promised myself to take photos of them. I asked them to pose for me. LOL! Angkor Wat is huge, and I guess we weren’t able to wander around it. But its all good, otherwise, our legs have fallen.

We went to Psa Ja Market and was surprised that the vendor is charging everything in dollars or baht instead of riel. I bought lots of shirts and bags, just in time for my demobilization. The items are overpriced of course, its how you deal with the vendors to get a discount. Big discounts!

Its dinner time again, buffet style, but this time with traditional Apsara dance. Too bad I couldn’t take one good photos of the dancers, I’m too shy to use the flash of my camera.

We went back to the hotel, took a quick rest, hit the shower and explored the city. There are different bars in one street, the area reminded me of Khao San Road in Bangkok. We stayed there until 0030H only.

The next morning, we prepare ourselves to go to The Killing Fields.

The Killing Fields were a number of sites in Cambodia where large numbers of people were killed and buried by the Communist Khmer Rouge regime, during its rule of the country from 1975 to 1979. Estimates of the number of dead (execution, disease and starvation together) range from 1.4 to 2.2 million out of a population of around 7 million. In 1979 Communist Vietnam invaded the country, which at that time was officially called Democratic Kampuchea, and toppled the Khmer Rouge regime.

Actually, I had a different picture on my mind and was a bit surprised after I saw a temple now. I can still remember some parts of the movie as I watched it when I was in second grade. Seeing the bones of the victims was heartbreaking. There were posters about how these victims suffered. This was our last stop then we headed home.

All in all I took 1079 photos, and I randomly picked 50 photos to be included on the slide show. LOL!

I am satisfied by the way the bondstreettour handled the tour, well except for the last lunch. LOL! And of course I am very thankful to P’Gang, P’ G, Nong Hinghoi and Nung Noom for inviting me. I won’t forget this tour of course. Sawaddee Krub!

Next trip is in Bali, right? LOL!

totomai
05/12/08

Masseuse

I am addicted to Thai Massage.

The hotel I am staying offers traditional massage. Every two weeks, for almost a year, my body craves for this addiction. Their masseuses range from young to not-so young, slim to not-so slim, pretty to not-so much. Just choose what you prefer. I tried the services of at least two masseuses until I met Khun Malai, from then on, I am her regular customer.

Khun Malai is the oldest masseuse. She had a shy smile, spoke in little and broken English, and her kindness exuded out of her. Every time she massaged me, I can feel that she treat me as her son. And I guess that’s what my other officemates felt too. She really took her time when doing her services, she was never in a hurry and the next thing you’ll know is that 2 hours had already passed.

Being the oldest, she had the least or the last one to be picked by customers, especially by the younger or foreign ones. I can still remember the time when our group had a drinking session by the pool and some younger masseuses asked us not to throw the cans as they will give it to Khun Malai (I didn’t know her yet). Of course, we complied. Out of jest, we made a deal that we should only get the services on Khun Malai as a way of helping her. Fortunately for all of us, we had a great deal. Funny but in one’s month time, Khun Malai was named as the top masseuse of sort by the hotel.

And she never fails to bring some souvenirs / native delicacies from the places she’s been. A gesture I found sweet and heartwarming. If she had the chance, she’s the first one to say hi or hello to us, asking us how’s our day and the like. She was like our second mother.

Last Wednesday, being tired from my Cambodian tour, I asked for her service. We talked for a while first and told her that I will be going home this 21^st of May. She asked, for how long? I told her that my job is finished and I will not come back anymore. Her voice cracked a little and the sparkle in her eyes faded. She continued asking if I like Thailand, I said yes but I have to go home. Our company had decided not to renew our contracts. She further asked about my other officemates, her regular customers too, and I told her all of us are leaving by end of May. She just said she hopes to have customers like us in the future. My heart is breaking, I know what she feels. I assure her that if I come back in Thailand, I will visit her again.

To Khun Malai, thank you very much and Happy Mother’s Day!

Of course, Happy Mother’s Day to my Mama too. Love you ‘ Ma.

/totomai
05/11/08

Cambodia

A couple of months ago, my friends/officemate invited me to join them on a Cambodian tour. At first I hesitated since I thought I will be very busy packing my stuffs once I’m demobilized. But I changed my mind and it’s a good decision that I did.

The 3-day/2-night tour was organized by bondstreettour and cost 5990 baht. The tour is basically catered to Thais and I expected that all the instructions and explanations will be in their native language. I didn’t have a problem with it, my officemates tried their best to explain what was said from time to time. We left Bangkok at 0430H and arrived at Aranyaprathet / Poitep (Thailand / Cambodia) border at around 0930H. We proceeded then to Cambodian Immigration for passport stamping. Cambodia was just few steps away. LOL!

The first thing I observed in Poitep was that most people were manually pushing their stuffs by wooden carts. My friend told me it’s because the fuel price in the country is too high. It’s pretty ironic though since the place is filled with casinos.

We transferred to a local bus with a Khmer guide and off to Siem Reap. The travel was a bit tiring; perhaps it’s the road that made me feel that way. On our way, there’s nothing much to see except for barren land areas and occasionally, children in bicycles going to their schools. I can’t imagine how they can stay up the whole day after enduring the hot temperature and the foggy dusts on their way to school. Other children, instead of going to study, lead cows and other farm animals. And then I just fell asleep. LOL! They woke up after arriving at Siem Reap at 1300H and were greeted by flood of foods. Its lunch time – buffet style at Tonle Sap Restaurant! Yum! The food was great especially their steamed pork legs. Traditional Khmer desserts were also served. I can’t remember all the foods but its worth visiting again.

Around 1430H, we prepared ourselves to go to Tonlé Sap.

Tonlé Sap is a large body of water (Cambodian meaning Large Fresh Water River but more commonly translated as Great Lake) is a combined lake and river system of huge importance to Cambodia. It is the largest freshwater lake in South East Asia and is an ecological hotspot that was designated as a UNESCO biosphere in 1997.

On our way to the river, my colleague pointed out the wooden huts on the bank, and he said that during rainy season, the locals will try to transfer them to a much higher ground. It reminded me about the Bayanihan Spirit.

We had a closer look at the river life. Saw small children paddled their way across the muddied waters just to sell colas and fruits to tourist. Their eyes speak so much that I can barely look. I even saw one mother, carrying her little child, and never cared about danger of water and heat. The river had a floating church and a school that was built and donated by other country (I think its South Korea, if I remember correctly). Life there is hard but seeing the smiles of the locals is enough to conclude that they are doing fine. I hope so.

At 1700H, we headed to Phnom Bakheng, hoping to catch the golden sun.

Phnom Bakheng is best climbed at the end of the day or early in the morning, either by its immediate steep slope or by the gently winding path bearing to the left, formerly taken by tourist elephants - which is a classic and very pleasant walk. From the summit one can enjoy a view stretching across the plain - dominated by the two other peaks that are also each crowned with a temple by Yasovarman; - Phnom Krom to the south, close to the Tonle Sap lake, and Phnom Bok to the north-east, standing out from the distant dark line of the Phnom Kulen - and then the plain of water of the western baray, the forest of Angkor Thom and the majestic composition of Angkor Wat, lying golden in the setting sun.

Hundreds of foreigners were able to position themselves to catch the view of the golden sun. We climbed the not-so-steep stairs and managed to find our own spot. But, unfortunately, the sun was too tired to show-off or the clouds were jealous with the attention the sun is getting so they decided to block him. LOL! The weather was not cooperative, too bad for us.

For most of the day, I was a bit frustrated about the photos I took because its not the way I wanted to capture them, only to realize that I had it on shutter mode than aperture mode. Damn! I wanted to scream but I can’t. LOL! But hey, everything happens for a reason, go on totomai, console yourself.

Before everyone’s stomach complained, we arrived at the Mekong Restaurant (not sure about the name) at 1900H. We wasted no time in filling our stomachs with all the available foods we could take. Traditional Thai foods were served.

A few minutes before the clock hits 2030H, we were already at the entrance of Apsara Angkor Hotel. The place is cozy and it’s a gorgeous place. A bit of an old style hotel but I think that’s what I liked most. It’s a 4-star hotel and believe me, it deserved the rating! After I opened the door, I immediately went to the bed, hugged the pillow and prepared to sleep. I had a headache. My friends told me that we are going to have a small drinking session on the opposite room, I told them I will follow after taking a shower. Out of nowhere, I heard a ring and I opened the door, my roommate told me that they have finished drinking already. LOL! I told them I am sorry as I was too tired and wasn’t able to defeat the temptation of the soft bed.

I prepared to take a shower after our quick conversation but my eyes are too fast to close and lead me to a deep slumber.

/totomai
05/07/08

Day 2 and 3 as well as the slideshow of the photos will be on a separate entry.