lunch in bangkok...

her name is khun na - princess of salaya - a dear friend. our friendship started when i had my postgraduate studies in thailand. she was working in the institute at the audiovisual department - eventually becoming the chief.

whenever i am in bangkok, i make it a point to call her and if time would allow, i'd see her - and it always would be centered on food - food places located in shopping malls, china town, star bucks coffee shop, stalls along the side of the street, etc. - with no regard of time. i think this all started when i was writing my thesis and at around midnight whenever my head is full to the brim and about to explode from writing the book, i would give her a call and would invite her to go out for food at the night stalls located right outside the campus walls. that was at the turn of the millenium - year 2000.

this time at a cool place that is an extension outside of the airport duty free shop which was located somewhere in the center of the city proper. a huge edifice in which prices are tax free but purchased products are to be picked up at the airport - more or less like - a huge showroom of products. purchases are only allowed if the flight out of thailand is within 24 hours of the business transation. as it always is in bangkok, everything is extravagant. and this place is not an exemption. there is a huge theater inside where plays / more of like - shows are staged.

and the food complex at the top floor - whew - just enormous... buffet style - one entry / pay and eat all you can...

i concentrated on japanese food - my favorite.

time flies so fast...

today i traveled to koh kong.

it was amazing how I felt along the way – diverting from road 4 going inside the province of koh kong. things were different. the road was well paved – for the past three months – but what struck me was the completed four bridges.

i was sent into reminiscing four years back when I started working here. how I actually saw the progress of the slow paced road construction and the discouragingly slow rise of the posts and eventually the bridges of the four rivers.

as I was traversing each bridge, I would be thrown into remembering, how we would wait for the ferry boat to come pick us up from the other side of the river which sometimes would take an hour to cross the five minute river wide.

sent me remembering that at one o’clock early morning I was still on the road – treading through mud while the cars were being pushed or if we were lucky – towed by a heavy construction equipment. As I was treading through the muddy road – I wondered how the other members of the team were doing at this hour – snuggled in the warmth of their beds? There was one thing that impressed me though in one of those times that I was in the middle of nowhere with company that I don’t know personally, car stranded, stuck in the mud, right in the middle of the mountainous area. The admi/finance officer of the project – monitored the progress of my journey until I reached my destination in the warm safe comfort of my house in koh kong. Thank you for giving me such a wonderful memory of that not so wonderful experience.

it would be during these times – not to mention – the stressful nature of the job which was kinda expected and forecasted – that it would give me second thoughts on how I would last the remaining years of the project life.

i am so filled with this weird feeling as I crossed each of the four bridges for the first time. I was also traversing a historical event of the province as these bridges finally connected the national highway from the capital city (and internationally from thailand). lives will be changed forever.

it brought me to wonder – what happens now to shops that flourished in each river landing. i know, they have this resilience that could propel them into relocating their businesses. I have been friends with some of them. there was one shop at the third river crossing that would always offer me a chair or fruits or a meal whenever we would be waiting for the ferry to come. at eight in the evening (as much as it is against office policy – it just couldn’t be avoided being caught in the sundown while we traverse the approx. 200 kms mountainous terrain with four river crossings – too little a time for too much to do – squeezing time as much as could humanly be possible – to be able to attend meetings for resolutions of ‘bush fires’ that never seem to cease happening.

tomorrow (may 14) – the bridges and the 145 km. road will be officially open for use by the public - the ceremony will be graced by no other than the highest political official of the land. Preparations were set – ambulances placed in four strategic locations of the road.

the completion of the bridges holds a brighter future for the province.

this will propel the province into being a more dynamic province, more than it is now. More so being a border province, treks to Thailand will be done through this road network, commercial activities will definitely flourish.

time flies – it was four years ago when the road was pockmarked much more like moon craters and the rolling in of vehicle into a crudely assembled wood boards that functions as a ferry boat.

it's not going to be a sight that is to be expected whenever i would think of traveling to koh kong.

postscript: about the photos:

the first photo was taken at the first river crossing named sre ambel. this is the ferry boat that plies the five minute river crossing. it is made of wood boards bonded together with who-knows-what but it does float. it is always packed with 6-7 cars and with people squeezed in between. this has been the ferry that i would ride for more than three years. in that time period - there had been two accidents wtih cars loaded with people plunging into the river - mainly caused by the car driver's miscalculation. in their hurry to get off the ferrboat would accidentally shift the transmission in reverse rather than on forward gear and in the ensuing panic would step on the accelerator rather than the brake pedal. lives were lost. the set-up would have one boat on each side of the river - of the same make - and the timing is uncanny - loading all the cars at almost the same time, these boats would start turning towards the other side of the river and passing each other in the middle. there is so much traffic in this first river that sometimes the queue would be 15 cars deep. the fare for each car is 10,000 riels or 100 baht (2.5 USD) including passengers of the car but they would double the charge if it is past seven at night when there are few cars. not bad when one is in a hurry to finish the remaining 135 kms through mountainous terrain at night time. the fare is the same all throughout the four river crossings: sre ambel, andeung teuk, trapeang roung and tatai.

the second photo is that of a smaller ferry - mainly for motorbikes - never rode on this ferryboat - it looks really flimsy - two small boats put together and wooden boards placed on top - pretty much the same design as the bigger ferryboats. the fare is 5,000 riels (1.25 USD) for each motorcycle including passengers regardless of how many (usually two or three and sometimes four people). this photo was taken in the same river crossing.

the third photo was taken at the third river crossing - trapeang roung - it is always in this river crossing that i would be caught at dusk in as much as from one river to another would take an hour at least of driving - the road condition at that time was at its worst - as described in one of my entries. leaving the jumping off point right after lunch gives us at least a minimum of four hours' drive before touchdown at our destination. this is always the river crossing that i like the photos that i took in as much as there is interplay of lights at this time of the day. the ebbing sun showering the vista with red orangey hue, a good photo opportunity, always brings out a good back draft of the local scenery. i was on a ferry boat when i took this photo. always good to have the camera at the waist (canon ixus 40 - point and shoot). always set on manual, it maximized all light available (all in the ableness of the camera's technology).

my life...

today is a sunday… alone here in koh kong – waking up late – thanks G-d, I finally was able to do it… this is one thing that I would always look forward to doing at the end of the week, that is, to recuperate. Funny – it always doesn’t happen that way. Funny still? Doesn’t sound like fun. Much more with a four month baby – that would be an impossibility but this actually is the source of all the fun these days. and i am away from them now.

but hey – I did mention that I am in koh kong – this is my work base – eight hours away from my family – or approximately 300 kms away from my family – who right now are in the capital city. Consider this – eight hours for a three hundred kilometers distance is way to slow. Here is the catch: in coming to my place here now – you would need to hurdle four river crossings – vehicles rolling in to a flimsy wooden-flat- board-assembled ferries – if one is lucky enough – there is an alternate respectable ferry boat made of steel with a big machine – but as I said – an alternate – or whichever happens to be on the side of the river when you arrive.

bridges are being built in those four river crossings…

i have to make a correction here – probably out of habit I did say eight hours – it now has trimmed down to six hours considering that the first and last bridges are now passable.

i remember when I first came here, four years ago, the road was like a combination of moon crater with smudges of chocolate porridge – you glide and have a huge bump in unexpected terms. Two years later of doing such a ride – I start to feel that it was getting into my nerves. Imagine yourself wanting to have an out of the body experience just to free your self from banging and being thrown in every direction possible inside three and a half by four feet space in a vehicle. Good enough space? – wait till the seatbelts would tighten and you would be smacked tight on your seat with your extremities flailing and head thrown in all direction possible – a better option actually than not having anything to keep you fastened on the seat.

again, its a sunday and this is going to be a quiet day

Postscript: Photo was taken at 6:30 in the morning during summertime. We were waiting for our ferry ride to cross the river on our way to the next district - Sre Ambel - for a meeting. This is the same route going to the capital city - Phnom Penh. We were the only ones waiting for the ferry boat - everything was so quiet - the village on the other side of the river was just starting to wake up. The whole scenery was covered with morning mist (at points were it is not being hit by sunlight). I saw this coconut tree on the side of the river and hoped that it will come out in the photo which thankfully it did. There are no repeats in these travels - one chance for a nice photo. This is also a time of the day to take good photos - as the rule says - around the time of sunrise and sunset where rays of sun is at its oblique position and colors come out rich.

My day today… may 4, 2008

Woke up feeling refreshed… but not so refreshed – I miss those times when I would wake up - opening my eyes and just lying there staring at the whitewashed environment – aglow with the pouring in of daylight. when was the last time I had that – ahhhh – six years ago – that feeling that is so light – that you just let seconds pass while your body starts to readjust into wakefulness. head lying cushioned on a soft pillow, legs astraddled on to another pillow, arms flexed touching the head pillow while continuously staring at the whiteness of the whole scenario. Alternative music softly being played in the background which would make you start to hum the tune and the transition from being asleep and into wakefulness is now complete.

I stood up…

Went to turn on the computer, checked my phone for any messages or missed calls – there were two missed calls and one message – all from michelle - my wife – saying good morning my love from your wife and daughter. felt good about it but put me back to latch on to the feeling that I missed them terribly before I hit the sack last night. dialed the phone and there was the voice on the other end of the line – happy excited voice – conversation was mainly on our daughter – how she fared the night before and the playful mood that she was in during the phone call.

Conversation was shifted between michelle and micah with her goo goo goo sound on the phone while michelle described how she was reacting to my voice. they have a long plan for the day – visit to the pool, to the dvd shop and a movie later on at the house – which I am excited to hear for I just installed a home theater system. that I made sure before I left here to my work base so that my wife could have something to appreciate in my absence (aside from the burden of caring for a fussing baby). Besides she had been commenting of the bad audio of the hdtv – which I bought also and had some hassle at the customs here in Cambodia (a story to tell by itself).

I myself have planned to just take the day easy.

Amazing how stories can intertwine and be connected – a good example is what happened just now when I started talking about my wife’s plan of watching a dvd movie, if left unchecked would have diverted me into continuing to talk about something else.

so, now the routine after waking up… need not elaborate on that.

Went to the kitchen and checked myself with some…. ops nothing… I don’t eat breakfast.

Hooked my phone to the computer and went on line. My day finally began

Postscript: The coke, cigarette and lighter photo is an accidental picture. Yeah - you have guessed it right. That's my breakfast. I consume at most five cans of diet coke a day. I am also a milk person. Not a coffee person. Cigarettes? that's random.

Treasure Island Beach, Florida July 20, 2008

Downtown Disney, Orlando, Florida July 19, 2008

road trip from treasure island to jacksonville, florida: an intro...

Unahin ko na – hanep sa wow etong biyaheng eto with Mar. I got more what I bargained for. Suko na talaga ako but Mar was still on high adrenaline rush so I have to keep up. Naalala ko tuloy, when I was craving for roasted pork ribs and my wife’s aunt brought us to chili restaurant in Louisiana. And there, I excitedly ordered roasted pork ribs with mashed potato and another side dish of mixed vegetable. What came was this platter of pork ribs – hot, red, shiny, crusted and so delicious looking and I gawked on the immensity of it and started wondering how I could finish it, which I wasn’t able to, of course, resulting to having to bring the rest home – good enough to be a merienda. I tried to actually finish it but my body starts rejecting it. But that is not what this blog is all about. This is still about the trip that I had with Mar. I just felt the same way – which further made me think – careful of what you wish for for it may be granted and drown in it.

This is one thing that I truly could say, Mar really is a trooper. I am getting ahead of the story here. I just couldn’t help it but admire his stamina. But you be the judge of what I am talking about as I go along with this road trip chronicle.

A week or so before July 19, I called Mar to inform him that we have already arrived in Louisiana at my parents-in-laws place. Months before this u.s. trip, I announced to the small circle of friends that I have in the states of this visit. they are composed mostly of friends from way back then… when was that??? -- ages ago but it always feels like good old times whenever communications are reconnected.

One of the itineraries for this trip was a visit to Treasure Island, Florida (not to be mistaken with the Pleasure island in Downtown Disney). Things had been set that Mar and I will meet up, him being in the same state. Fast forward… Treasure island: I sent an email to Mar the address of the place where we were staying at and confirmation of the time and date of the road trip with a warning: I can’t give you directions – I don’t know this place – which he replied “no problem about that I can ‘google’ it”. High techie – hmmmm.

More phone calls and the sched was finally set. time and date: 10:00 p.m. pick-up time, July 19. This started to turn into something like – road trip starting at ten at night? Back in the philippines, my parents wouldn't allow me to travel at this time of the day. i was all too revved up to think more of it. Ten in the evening would be the time that he will be arriving in Treasure Island after a four hour drive from his workplace in Jacksonville. Whew, I didn't realize that it would take that much drive time for him to see me.

6 p.m. - the call came – he was already on his way and I reminded him again that it is not blind pass road – it is blind pass drive, meanwhile, Michelle and I decided to go out for a walk at the beach located a few meters from our house. After which we went fishing at the back of the house while we waited for Mar to come. This has already became a routine thing to do everyday – fishing – not my forte but managed to have a fish caught every time I cast. And this always triggers hollering and jeering among the group (in-laws) - look at this person who – “I don’t know how to fish” – which is exactly what I said when they first invited me to go fishing.

A call from Mar – ten p.m. – where is the house? – I have gone past this big chateau (landmark) – "okay I will go out and meet you, just drive back".– finally, mar was at our doorstep. more than four hours later of driving.

Introductions and all that and some photos taken and the road trip began at almost midnight. I packed with me my cameras and laptop to download photos if the memory chip (4 GB at that – each camera) is not enough. we will never know.

First on the list: Downtown Disney (Orlando Florida). There is actually no list, play it by ear so to speak but firmly focused on seeing downtown disney first - highly recommended by Mar.

Off we went… this is the tricky part – going out of Treasure Island. Mar used the google map and printed the directions in coming. Now all we have to do is do the reverse to go out. We sometimes would turn the print out upside down. Simple as it may sound, it proved to be so tricky. Have to stop and do detours a couple of times not to mention that we have to backtrack after some kilometers of treading the road constantly looking at this printed directions which at the end looked like as if hundred of elephants trodded on it.

Above all the conundrum of finding the road out is this tiny little voice that keeps on saying “just hit the interstate highway and the road will unravel by itself”. Finally, we did. After 45 minutes of the crisscrosses that we did along the grid line of road network. I could only muster a sigh of relief while Mar threw the printout at the back of the car – yahoo. Time was moving on fast and I kept wondering the whole time if we could still make it to downtown Disney while it is open.

We did.