three cities, eight people

N who set our itinerary and made sure we covered them, providing the background to some of the things we were seeing and visiting, taking pictures of me so that I won't repeat my experience from last May, sharing his own story and that of his culture, being kind enough so that I wouldn't have to spend extra unnecessarily, thus, letting me experience what I wouldn't otherwise have had if our paths hadn't crossed

R & J for welcoming me and making sure I was comfortable, not hungry and able to go around, allowing me to stay in their place, sharing their own stories of living and working in a different city with a very different culture. My stay would be different otherwise. I see the advantages of staying with one's fellowmen in a foreign country. I'm also inspired to try and live on my own far away from what I've been used to growing up. Someday. 

G and your stories. You've opened up from the onset, probably because you had no preconceptions about me. A no holds barred, frank conversation and your perceptive insight plus your willingness to take me around - I'm actually amazed at the person you are. Too bad that your final plan didn't push through, but I look forward to seeing you again when you come back. I do hope things turn out for the better for you. 

A, so glad to be able to talk to a fellow Filipina during the more than 11-hour trip. Offering a lot of information about the places and conditions you've been working in for the past eight years with no pretensions, I do hope you pursue traveling just for the sake of it. I know I will. 

O, experiencing Saigon through your and your friends' experiences is something, especially since it's nearing Christmas. Totally helpful and also not averse to sharing your own stories, I'm so glad you still accepted me to stay with you even though you'd be more comfortable without me in the picture. Hehe. Many thanks. You're the epitome of a very good CS host. Thank you, once more. 

M & G, if R instilled in me the desire to live overseas and work, you guys have inspired me to actually take longer trips to fully explore a certain place or country. I loved your stories and I hope you both will be able to come visit the Philippines. Best wishes and good luck with the rest of your travels. 

Though I only stayed two days in each place, getting to know all these people made me feel like I've accomplished so much more than those four days spent in a single foreign city back in May. I am thankful for the people who welcome travelers all over the world and pay things forward. In time, I shall be able to do the same too. 

Cheers to traveling and living!

image from http://www.tourismontheedge.com/places/asia/how-to-pack-smart-for-a-backpacking-adventure-through-asia.html

postcards and the Philippines

I was searching postcards on google a week ago to find out if there are any other businesses that sell or produce postcards in the Philippines, aside from the ones sold in bookstores which seem sort of unreal to me. I mean I know some or even been to some of the places featured there but I don't get a homey feeling from them. Not unlike how I imagine postcards from overseas are. They sort of bear the essence of the places or scenes featured (but don't take my word for it - I haven't been anywhere overseas). And the white backgrounds and borders and the perfect images seem to me to just focus on the commercial aspect of postcards. So that's what got me searching for one. And in the second page of search results, I find this guy, Bobby Wong Jr and his site Postcards from Manila.

He goes to different places all over the country - not just the usual tourist destinations - and captures scenes and landscapes that I rarely see in photos of our country. I never even imagined I could see scenes like those here. Just goes to show the naivete I still have regarding photography and that you only need to frame the scene right and capitalize on the effect of light and nature AND have to have good timing too to create photos that astound. It's a visual feast.

Salmon skies in Coron

The right timing of fishermen coming to shore and the late hour rendering this vivid blue scene

Even though I've never been to Batanes or the Mountain Province or South Cotabato, I still feel an affinity towards the scenes he has captured. The Filipino identity in his photos surges in my blood and the shots are not just some distant place detached from myself. I don't know if I'm making sense here. I just want to say that his photos feel familiar and even sort of remind me of home (in the country/Motherland sense) even though I have never been to these places.

Mr. Wong also sometimes tells how he was able to capture the scenes he does and even gives out tips that I only ever found out now. His pictures compelled me to read every writeup. I went through all of his posts during the latest hours of Sunday going into the wee hours of Monday. After that, I just wanted to go off to various points of the Philippines and chase my own sunrise and sunsets too. If you are going, take me along with you. Right now, I feel that all these planning beforehand wastes time when I could be living the moment already. Time is so freaking short and we spend a lot of time doing things we would probably forget, so he says. That's the bug brought about by his images biting me.

Just go anywhere. Look up, look down. And be prepared to marvel at the wonders of nature.

Oh yeah, I wanted to have the prints but the contact person hasn't replied yet. I wanted to give them to friends and engage in a bit of postcrossing myself and his pictures would just be wonderful to showcase the beauty of the Philippines.

All photos are by Mr. Bobby Wong Jr. Just head to postcardsfrommanila.com and you can have a copy of his images for free.