Visiting areas hardly hit by Typhoon Ondoy was a moving and eyeopening experience. Somehow, it's always shattering when you come face-to-face with the effects of destruction and see it mirrored in the eyes of those who have been affected. The last time I felt this same air of despondency was going up to Baguio after the July 1990 earthquake and seeing buildings crumpled like an accordion. In Baguio as in Marikina as in Cainta, there's the overwhelming sense of desperation brought about by the thought of starting over again and recovering immense losses. Most serious ... Continue Reading...
Archives for September 2009
Stark images of Typhoon Ondoy, the morning after….
The following pictures are reprinted with permission from Ateneo de Manila graduate student Savann Ouerm who snapped these pictures at 6.am. in Marikina City today (September 27) - a day after Storm Ondoy ravaged Metro Manila. Apart from all the videos and pics that have been uploaded on social networking sites, these images truly moved me. Me and my family managed to stay dry throughout this whole event, but I can never imagine the hardship that everyone in flooded areas had to go through, with the waters threatening to go up their roofs, or even those left to ... Continue Reading...
Storm Ondoy brings floods to Manila and the rest of Luzon
It has been a day of nonstop rains in Manila, and elsewhere. I've stayed in bed all morning, with this trusty Mac on my lap - all the while staying glued to the reports of my friends on Plurk and Twitter. Something about brownouts, cancelled flights, floods reaching houses, people moving furniture, people wading in chest-deep waters, high way billboards being stripped down, and cars almost submerged in the floods. A bad day to be out, really. It's that bad, and somebody even had to mention taking out Noah's Ark. Am just glad our little bungalow has been spared from ... Continue Reading...
Images from Sentosa
I remember how excited I was to see Sentosa - Singapore's island resort - on this trip, as I haven't been there before. It was "masterplanned" like all of Singapore. Don't know if it was because September was no peak season, but I found it too quiet in fact. Far from being the crowded nightmare that was the Hong Kong Disneyland. And certainly far from the "character" of our beach resorts with its barbecues on the beach and ladies selling pearl necklaces by the road. The most "touristy" thing I did was visit the Underwater World but sadly, our Manila Ocean Park ... Continue Reading...
In Singapore: The Coffee Connoisseur & an overpriced meal
This dish mystified me, I simply had to order it. Is it a pasta, or a dessert? Judge for yourself. But the fact that it was placed in the cake counter made me think: surely, that is a dessert? The next thing to do was taste it. Aah, the magic of the pastry bag! It is actually a tart with a spiral shaped cream frosting that tasted like almond and some nut (maybe ginko nut?) Kinda hard to imagine since am not a pastry chef but yes, the magic you can do with the right tools. ... Continue Reading...
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