Nepal and the Himalayas

Facebook's "On This Day" feature showed my posts about Nepal in my newsfeed yesterday. I can't believe it has been 3 years ago!  

To this day, my visit in Nepal remains my favorite, among all my travels around Asia.   I was there to participate in a management training in September 2012.  One of the activities was the interaction with the community members in villages we work with.  For that, we had to travel to Makwanpur, the closest of all the Nepal field offices.

Among the places I have been to, Makwanpur is one of those with the most beautiful landscape. The travel was difficult- many of my companions felt nauseated and had breathing difficulty because of the 3 hours travel along a (very) winding road, and because of the altitude.  We were travelling up the highest mountains I have ever seen or been to.  From the window, I was looking down the gorge, which seemed never ending- I could not see the bottom. I remember myself wondering how many hours it would take for us to hit the bottom if we fall into it- I shuddered at the thought.

Up, up.....

 

..and away!

Nevertheless, the road to Makwanpur is one of the beautiful roads I have travelled (if you don't look at the gorge). The scenery is just too beautiful.  I am glad I have mastered the art of taking pictures on board a speeding vehicle, using my mobile phone (it is one useful skill!).

How's this for a playground?

Meadows...

...mountains...

..just like a painting. 

Lovely day.

It was cold in Makwanpur- and I think that was one time when I have consumed that much hot milk tea!  Our colleagues in Makwanpur welcomed us at a tea shop, had a brief introduction about the programs we were implementing in the area and then in groups, we met with different groups of people in different communities.  

At the town entrance...

Typical house in the town center..and those are corn and chilis, being dried...

Dried chili is a staple in Nepali cuisine...

Ladies..carrying loads of wood

It was already dark when we finished the meetings, and we headed to the Everest Panorama Resort in Daman where we spent the night.  We had dinner and had a bonfire where a fire-eater performed about a local folklore.  Then it was time to call it a day.  We were booked in separate cabanas- and my cabana happened to be the farthest.  It was very dark, very cold, very quiet and very scary. At midnight, somebody was roaming around the place and I could see his shadow from my window.  Possibly it was the security guard- but still I could not sleep. 

It was finally morning, and despite the fact that I hardly slept, the cold shower kept me awake all day (the hot shower was not working- lucky me!)

But- the moment I stepped out of my cabana, my jaw dropped.  I was greeted by the most beautiful sight ever: the long stretch of the Himalayan mountain range. Layers and layers of mountains, with the farthest mountains capped with snow.  It was so beautiful, and so beyond words.

We spent around 2 hours taking pictures.  Then, with regret, we had to leave to do more community interaction, and on to another arduous travel  back to Kathmandu.

Myself with colleagues from India, Cambodia and Laos

What made Nepal special?  

The beautiful mountains.... 

waking up to cold weather and beautiful sunrise....  

and the beautiful people who lovingly welcomed us to their villages. 

And of course, the yummiest warm milk tea I have ever had. 

Art In Island: Click It Away!

Said to be the museum with the most number of 3D paintings in Asia, Art In Island is a place to be creative, playful and be crazy. I had a lot of fun "jumping" into a painting and becoming part of it.  

To enjoy the museum, it is best to go with friends or family, who love to either pose for pictures, or take pictures.  The museum's facebook page advises visitors to have the following:   

Credit: Art in Island Facebook Page

Yes, don't forget to bring or wear socks because shoes, sandals and slippers are not allowed inside (to protect the paintings on the floor).  

The museum is divided based on themes- one section is about underwater, another one would show animals in the jungle, another section shows famous paintings, and many others.  

You need to let your hair down and let your imagination fly, and come up with good pictures:

From beyond....

Runnnnnnn!

Uh-oh!

Cheryl In a Bottle

Tickle Me Pink

The fall of...man?

Errrrr.....

You can easily spend 2 or 3 hours in the museum.  There are also markers for each of the murals, to show you the spot where you can best take the picture. Friendly staffs are also available to help you pose, or to help take pictures.  There are also sample or guide photos on the wall, if you run out of ideas. 

Museum is open Tuesdays to Sundays, 9:30am to 9:30 pm. The ticket costs Php500.  If you have visited the place before, you get 50% discount - just show your old ticket or show your picture in the museum.  

Mind Museum Date with Miggy

Mind Museum give the children a chance to explore science in a fun way- it also makes adults fall in love with science , once again. Mind Museum is the best (or maybe the only?) interactive science museum in the country. It is similar- but on a much smaller scale- to San Francisco's Exploratorium.

My nephew attended a class in the Mind Museum and we went there one Saturday to meet with him and his baby sister. After his class, we explored the museum together- and he looked sooo happy, our little scientist.

The museum is also divided into galleries.   

In the Atom Gallery, they learn about the atoms, the different elements, gravity, magnets,energy, and frequencies among others. My favorite in the museum is the Van de Graff static ball in the Atom Gallery. It was fun. My nephew could not stop laughing when my long hair stood on its end. 

Another favorite is the impressive Universe Gallery, which was laid out to make you feel like you are in the outer space. Here you will learn about the solar system, stars, moon, and about the history of space quiz. I am sure many children would dream about being astronauts when they visit this gallery. 

In the technology gallery, kids will love MIMO, the freely roaming robot who detects obstacles in its path, and thus avoid it. 

The other galleries are Life Gallery and Earth Gallery.  There is a camera which will show your image in a TV screen, along with different kinds of dinosaurs which are either  roaming, running from you or "chasing" you.  

The price is 625 for adults and 425 for children- this is good for 3 hours. The museum is located in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig and as most museums, it is closed on Mondays.

So long Asterix :)

There are some things which makes you realize that you're getting older.  Such as turning over your comic books collection to your 7 year old nephew :).

I have met and known Asterix when I was in Germany in 1992  (23 years ago!).  It was originally a French comics book about a village of Gauls resisting the Roman invasion.  It was and is popular in Europe and is translated to different languages.  The Asterix books I have borrowed in a library near Parforceheide Street in Berlin was in German language and it helped me a lot when I was learning the language back then.

Since then I have fallen in love with the little guy called Asterix, his sidekick Obelix and the cute pup called Dogmatix.  They are fun to read, I love the wit and they are bad asses. Plus, I learned some about the lives of the ancient Gauls.  

When I came back to the Philippines in 1993, I was so happy to see Asterix books in National Bookstore.  Through the years, I have been buying them, and I had a collection of the different albums.

When my nephew was 2 or 3 years old, he took them all- he just liked looking at the comic books. His dad returned them back to me because he could not read yet.

Now that he's seven and loves reading books,  I introduced Asterix to him again.  And he got hooked. He asked for all the books again. And here is the last 3 of my Asterix books, which I have just turned over to him. 

Last 3......

It feels good to share something you love to someone you love.  But it feels weird ....it's like turning over a "legacy".  Oh well....goodbye old guy, Asterix!  Miggy will take good care of you and your gang. 

P.S.  Here's the list of all the Asterix books available:

1. Asterix the Gaul (1961) 

2. Asterix and the Golden Sickle (1962) 

3. Asterix and the Goths (1963) 

4. Asterix the Gladiator (1964) 

5. Asterix and the Banquet (1965) 

6. Asterix and Cleopatra (1965)

7. Asterix and the Big Fight (1966) 

8. Asterix in Britain (1966) 

9. Asterix and the Normans (1966) 

10. Asterix the Legionary (1967) 

11. Asterix and the Chieftain's Shield (1968) 

12. Asterix at the Olympic Games (1968)

13. Asterix and the Cauldron (1969) 

14. Asterix in Spain (1969) 

15. Asterix and the Roman Agent (1970) 

16. Asterix in Switzerland (1970) 

17. The Mansions of the Gods (1971)

18. Asterix and the Laurel Wreath (1972) 

19. Asterix and the Soothsayer (1972) 

20. Asterix in Corsica (1973) 

21. Asterix and Caesar's Gift (1974) 

22. Asterix and the Great Crossing (1975) 

23. Obelix and Co. (1976) 

24. Asterix in Belgium (1979) 

25. Asterix and the Great Divide (1980)

26. Asterix and the Black Gold (1981) 

27. Asterix and Son (1983) 

28. Asterix and the Magic Carpet (1987) 

29. Asterix and the Secret Weapon (1991) 

30. Asterix and Obelix All at Sea (1996) 

31. Asterix and the Actress (2001) 

32. Asterix and the Class Act (2003) 

33. Asterix and the Falling Sky (2005) 

34. Asterix and Obelix's Birthday: The Golden Book (2009)

35. Asterix and the Picts (2013)

Balut 101

Merriam-Webster defines balut as "a food in the Philippines consisting of duck eggs incubated almost to the point of hatching and then boiled".  To us, it is simply one of the street foods just like the barbecue (well...seriously...not really....). 

To most non-Filipinos, balut can be one of the "most disgusting, strange, terrifying food" . Which I understand, what with balut actually being a duck fetus :) .

Recently, our Swedish expat at work decided he will try the balut. And we taught him how to do it properly:

1. Crack a hole on the shell -usually by knocking the egg on the table
2. Sip the soup from the hole
3. Peel the rest of the egg
4. Put some salt, or vinegar
5. Eat everything in one go (for your sake :) ) 

Way to go ...just completed the first step to becoming a Filipino :)

Mama's 70th :)

Mama just had her 70th birthday. She does not like parties - and she does not like surprises. But we were able to pull off a surprise birthday party for her (ha! :) ).

It took almost 2 months of preparation: scouting for the perfect venue (should be casual, because that is how she is), looking for and inviting her close relatives, dress codes, give aways and making sure she does not have a clue.

After looking at several hotels and places, we settled for Vikings, a buffet place in SM Marikina. It is very casual. They have good and massive selection of food. They have a function room, which we can decorate (adhesives not allowed). They have free birthday cake, and staffs to sing for the celebrant. They are in a mall, which makes them very accessible to everyone and which ensures there is parking space for the guests. So...Vikings it was. The people who matter most to her were coming: us (which means me, my brothers, sisters in law, nephew and niece), her brother and sister in law, nephews and nieces (there were even those who traveled 12 hours to celebrate with us), her cousin  and his family, and my brothers' in laws who are like family to us. We agreed to wear all collared shirts , of different colors. It is a happy occasion and we wanted it to be colorful. We got Marks and Spencers tea,as give aways. 

All set.   

On the day of the event, I rushed to the flower shop at 5:30 am to get some flowers for the center piece decorations.  I was done arranging the flowers by 8:30 (which I hid in my bedroom), just few minutes before Mama and brother arrived in my house. We had a problem figuring out how to load the give aways and the flowers in the car. Luckily, she fell asleep, and we literally tip toed to get the stuffs from my room and load them in the car. 

The centerpiece

The give aways

When we got to the mall, I had coffee with Mama- while my brother and his girlfriend did the decoration in the function room of Vikings. They also ushered the guests to the function room. All along, Mom thought she was only having dinner with the family. She was so shocked to see her relatives and friends in the room when we walked in (or when I walked in because she was unable to take another step when she saw them) :).  It was one of her happiest and that made us very happy.

Family.

It was a good night of fun and laughter and lot of catching up (there are those who she has not seen for more than a decade).  Mama is now 70 years old, and happy 70 year old.  

I realized how lucky we are that our Mama is blessed with good health, good humor and good outlook in life. I realized how comforting it is to have her to share my problems with, to share my little victories, and to have someone to just share with, whatever happened during the day .   And, I am proud to have a 70 year old Mom who loves playing games on her iPad- a habit she developed because she wanted to be able to keep up with her grandchildren, her way of showing them how much she loves them.