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Amalfi Coast, Art, Galleries, Istanbul, Italy, Kyoto, Life, Photography, Photos, Travel
Traveling is an extension of myself. Visiting places that I only dreamed of – cities, towns and villages from the pages of history, architecture and cultural books, even those from works of fiction is an immeasurable pleasure, a privilege that is nearly impossibly to quantify. It edifies my soul. When more than six months have gone by without it, I start feeling caged, trapped within the invisible walls of work. If it was up to me, I would travel every 3 months.
Since it has been nearly a year since that fateful day when I set out to visit Israel, Turkey and Jordan, I am once again pining for those days of immense happiness. Where are you, my love? Come and bestow upon me a glimpse of you. Come visit me in my dreams once again.
I remember when I bought this Venetian mask in Rome, Italy. We were half lost on the way to the Trevi fountain. When we finally got there, the amount of people overwhelmed me, it was staggering. It was a miracle that we managed to find a spot to throw coins into the fountain. It’s a bit silly but still it’s a customary, touristy thing to do. I mean, who doesn’t throw a coin into the Trevi fountain when visiting Rome?
I’m pretty sure we got these Whirling Dervishes coasters from the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, Turkey while trying to fend off the semi-racist, semi-sexist, flirtatious catcalls from the designated tourist “lurers”. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the attention.. For a while.. Then it got old. The best part: we actually got to see the actual Mevlevi dervish performance in Cappadocia, Turkey! Amazing.
Ah.. The Land of the Rising Sun. I had a brief but intense love affair with Kyoto. I love everything about Japan (except for the excessive smoking, that was disgusting). I hope to visit her again someday. For now, I got to take home this doll from the Kiyomizu-dera Temple area in Kyoto.
This was from my first visit to the motherland after I moved to the United States. I’ve been to a lot of beaches around the world but there is nothing like the white, powdery sand of Boracay, Philippines. It literally feels like powder, so fine and so beautiful!
This wooden miniature puppet was from Amalfi Coast, Italy. The ten days we spent there were unbelievable. We got to experience the best risotto from a trattoria in one of the villages overlooking the Mediterranean sea, among other things.
From the Eiffel Tower in Paris!
More trinkets from Istanbul
Japanese Fans
This was from a gallery in the beautiful coast of Caesarea, Israel. If you think this is oil painting, think again. The Israelis started this form of art called “soft art”. There are only 5 artists in the world who do this kind of thing and they are all Israelis. I bought a small keepsake for our house. In the soft painting technique the artist uses synthetic acrylic fibers in a wide variety of shade as substitute for water or oil. Check out http://artnova.co.il/
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- Photo Of The Day: Sunset At Kiyomizu-dera, Kyoto (gadling.com)
By the time she was done with me (like on the 7th day), I cried like a baby and begged for us to stay and never, ever leave but I know that it’s better this way. We, mankind, have an inexplicable tendency to deaden our senses when something becomes a routine, even if it’s as absurdly beautiful as this. I never ever wanted to lose that wide-eyed wonder and love for Hawaii so we had to leave.
Mahalo, Hawaii for more than meeting our needs. We devoured you like the gluttons that we are and you were more than willing to oblige to our plea. I couldn’t be any more grateful for the many moments in my life, such as these, when I felt so alive.
Third day of no rain and hardly any sunshine. Bothered yet? I once told somebody that there are always two ways of looking at the glass: either it’s half empty or it’s half full. Both observations are correct but only one perspective is good for your soul. Ok, time to apply my “words of wisdom”.
Anyway, the fact that it wasn’t scorching made it a perfect day to drive around in a convertible. We drove to the western most part of the island up until where the military restricted zone starts. There is a remote beach beyond the paved road that is accessible only by a 4×4 vehicle, which we don’t have, so we headed back to the town of Waimea. We then drove up to the Waimea canyon towards the end of that winding road which has one of the best lookouts in Kauai, the Kalalau viewpoint. It’s supposed to have the Napali coast as the backdrop.
I realized now that I drank that pina colada way too fast and now, my head is spinning but don’t you worry, I still can write under this condition. Heh.
It started raining this afternoon but it really didn’t do much to spoil the mood. As I write this, I am finding inspiration in the musical sound of the waves and the pitter-patter of the light rain as it seemingly exchanges pleasantries with the Hawaiian birds. Every few words or so, I would steal a glance at the beautiful ocean that is directly in front of me, afraid that I’d blink and find she’s no longer there. Hawaii’s famous rainbows are probably going to enthrall us once more later, if only to complete this fantasy of mine. I could definitely get used to this.
1. White rice! Yay. My mom would disown me if she finds out that I’m eating brown rice these days. (I have to disclose though that I only really eat that brown stuff when I’m quite desperate for a quick diet, such as 2 weeks before a trip to Hawaii.) You see, we don’t eat that kind of stuff in Asia. It’s a white man’s invention. Back home, we get to eat this 5 times a day: breakfast, snack between breakfast and lunch, lunch, snack between lunch and dinner, dinner. Even desserts have rice! Ever had that Thai sticky rice dessert with mango? YUM!
6. The genius syndrome. Everybody assumes you’re good with Math and you’re smart. Not necessarily untrue but it’s a generalization, a stereotype. I think this stems from the fact that Asian parents put heavy emphasis on education and they push hard for kids to do really good in school and in everything that they do for that matter. In most Asian countries, scholarly competitions are fierce, starting from a young age. This is most likely because there are so many people in Asia and so, in order to stand out and succeed amidst this number, education is the key – sometimes the only key when you’re coming from poverty. I remember coming home from school in 4th grade and announcing I’ve fallen from my usual 2nd place in the honor roll to 4th place. My mother refused to attend the awarding ceremony and sent my older cousin instead. She was so disappointed. It didn’t damage me that much but obviously, it affected me enough as I still keep talking about it many years later. But who’s disappointed now, mom, after you received that brand new car as Christmas gift from me? Heh.
I have been longing to write more about my epic first trip to 
