flip'n travels

Knowing locals and immersing in their everyday lives  are the things that we never failed doing whenever we go out on a trip. It’s a leaning, enriching and inspiring experience. It makes us feel like toddlers all over again–ignorant and clueless as blank slates.

My favorite subject is people, particularly children. Watching them while they play (or work), inspires us to sit down and start writing and tell their stories. Or, take their pictures, to show their smiles and how they see the world through their unclouded eyes.

Each one got something to say and a story to tell. We draw courage to ask and play the game of charades to send the messages across. Most of the time, a moment of non-verbal interaction is enough for us to feel the non-categorical connection.

We saw dreams, desires, beliefs and an candid emotions of people we stumbled-upon. We are the strangers, and they are the generous hosts who openned their doors for us.

We still believe in the innate kindness of people, and that a simple gestures like a nod or a smile to a stranger will open-up barriers of social connections. We have met amazing characters as we walk around the towns, cities and unbeaten paths. We’re lucky to keep some of them and maintain constant lines of connection.

Though there were some that we barely got the chance of knowing them, not even asking for their names. At times we failed getting their email addresses and phone numbers, simply because they don’t have one. Our only remembrance of them would be those moments that we captured through the lenses of our cameras and inks blotted on our journals.

We are truly grateful to the Khmer people, for opening up their lives and letting us in… qualmlessly.

The town of Siem Reap is a provincial capital, a concrete oasis sprouted out of the vast land of scattered temples, rice fields and jungle. It has its own international airport and a fair share of first class accommodations. No building is higher than three floors and most of the establishments are converted or made to cater tourists from all over the world, that is in a form of hotels, restaurants, massage parlors, bars and the list goes on. Pub street (where our hostel is located) is the heart of the town. Beer is flowing 24/7 and looking around, majority of the populace walking were tourists from US and Europe, there’s not a lot of Asian travelers (Other than those groups of Koreans wearing a field trip uniform shirt and hat).

Food is one of the many things I love about this place, it’s inexpensive and the flavors charmed our  palates. The taste of dishes in Indochina has a unified theme: the presence of coconut milk, noodles, rice, chili peppers, myriads of spices and (of course) hints of lime. But Cambodian cuisine maintained an identity and character unique from the neighboring countries.

A vendor selling Le’s Hal. Dried river shells with salt and chili.

It’s always a warning for tourists to be careful of what to eat in this side of the continent, but HECK! We want it down and dirty! I’m a nurse and part of my pre-trip preparation is to make sure I can perform first aid in cases of ailments (from diarrhea to mild myocardial infarct).

Upon arrival, I was half expecting that a vendor would approach us to sell some sort of sautéed tarantula or a jungle bug hors d’oeuvre, but it didn’t happen. So we just made-use of the menus in Pub street restaurants flooded with American/European retirees for our pseudo–Cambodian food trip.

Yes, in Cambodia they have a sweet and spicy delicacy called A-ping (Fried Skuon Tarantula), don’t fret, it’s just like eating crablets!

After feasting on our late breakfast at Common Grounds, we walked across the town center. Upon passing along Pub street we noticed that there’s one common poster outside the resto’s—BEER 25c/bottle. And ANGKOR BEER is the best I tasted to date. Too bad, I can’t bring some bottles back home. Bought a souvenir shirt though.

Due to our limited budget, we cannot try all the dishes in the menu, we chose those dishes that were recommended by our friend Meang.

Amok is the most popular Cambodian dish among tourists. If you can’t brave eating sautéed tarantula (Skuon a-ping), then this one could be for you. It’s a cod fish fillet bathe and stewed in a concoction of coconut milk, turmeric, paprika, curry powder, ginger, garlic, chili pepper, kaffir lime and fish sauce (aka. kroeung). We tried out several varieties served in different restaurants, but my favorite is the one served at Kkmer Family Restaurant in Pub street.

Loc Lac is Stir fried cubed beef served with fresh red onions, served on a bed of lettuce, cucumbers, and tomatoes and dipped in a sauce consisting of lime juice and/or black pepper. This is derived from the Vietnamese dish known as Bò lúc lac. It’s not Vietnamese, but khmer krom cuisine. Khmer krom are indigenous khmers in southern Vietnam.

Kuyteav, a rice stick noodle soup which is one local specialty that we tried. We bought it from the carinderia-style or street vendor make-shift restaurant. This is the tuktuk drivers’ favorite hang-out place while waiting for the tourists. It’s around 5,000 riels (about US$1) per serving. The lady kept on refilling my bowl before I even actually consume half of it.

One interesting place where you can dine, talk and hang-out is Temple Bar along Pub street. They got an al fresco cafe right outside, a Club on the first floor and a balcony restaurant upstairs.

They have an Apsara performance every night, showcasing the traditional dance and music of Cambodia. Meang, reserved a table for us on our last night in Siem Reap, it is usually fully booked so make sure to reserve in the morning before hitting the road to Angkor.

We didn’t really get the right opportunity to give the Cambodian Cuisine a fair chance due to our limited budget. There’s a lot gastronomic kitchens to explore, from the familiar treats like the counterpart of the Filipino Balut to the exotic and unique arachnoid-fear factor-ish cuisine adventure. And maybe next time we will get a shot to try their famous ‘Happy’ Pizza (wink!). So we promised to go back… SOON!

Hidalgo is the “Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory” for photography enthusiasts, shrouded with street vendors selling all sorts of knickknacks ranging from dvd’s, delicacies and vegetables to nonsensical bagatelles. Its texture, colors and even smell is so rich and chaotic even the tubattaha reef will be upstaged. Nested in the middle of Manila’s core of oddities—Quiapo. Here you can get DSLR’s, point-and-shoot and every imaginable photography accessories at a rock bottom price. Malls are selling the same items at a more expensive amount, I mean 150% marked up as compared to the shelf price in Hidalgo. What they are selling are all original non-gray market items (as other customers mentioned in their blogs and forum) and that the reason why it’s cheaper is that it doesn’t have a service center warranty.

Before Alfonzo got stolen, I already have plans of getting a new toy, something on the higher end, then the incident blew off my plans. So the bigger, better, more fab camera was out the window. I have to settle with a mid range camera to pacify my itch.

I was torn between getting an EOS 500d and D5000, again it’s not a matter of model as both are running a neck to neck race. It’s about the make, the eternal battle of Nikon vs. Canon. I even read reviews and comparative analysis over the internet and I honestly find the difference as the comments and delineations are ridiculous.

“Oh! this one got 2 noise spot more than the other”
“This one’s pixels are 0.7 µm bigger than the other one. I mean hello!?”
“This one got AF detection range of -1 to +19 EV (ISO 100, at 20°C/68°F), duh!”

I’m not really big on those details, I’m not printing a billboard sized photos anyway. For all we know these people whom comments are all over the gadget forums are just uploading their shots on facebook. Or I guess maybe I haven’t reached that summit of photography geekiness yet.

And so, I bought the Nikon d5000.

I baptize him… ANTONIO HUNTER
(yeah, a bit porn star-ish)

At first glance, it appears that Canon 500D is spearheading the features that a photographer would look for: Higher resolution at 15.1, maximum sensitivity at 12800 ISO, greater tonal depth at 14 bits, bigger screen at 3in VGA vs 2.7in QVGA, a depth-of-field preview, live histogram in live view, and like all Canon DSLRs, you also get free PC / Mac based remote control and decent RAW conversion software. But I noticed that the differences are so minimal that it’s almost indiscernible to the naked eye.

But I gravitated towards D5000’s key features, which I find really helpful: The quick continuous shooting (4fps), a slightly more sophisticated AF system (11-point versus 9-point in Canon), on-demand grid lines in the optical viewfinder, interval shooting, a time-lapse movie mode (720p HD), and an easier user interface. More importantly it has Great image quality with low noise, Fully-articulated screen with Live View. 11-point AF and viewfinder guides. Most photographers prefer lighter DSLR’s, but for me, I want it a bit heavier for better grip and control.

Now I finally have ANTONIO, I can definitely continue practicing and be the clicker happy that I am. I have a new gadget for thieves to snatch to feed their miserrable families. But for now, I need to resolve another issue—I got an unanticipated package delivered from an online store, not really sure if I actually ordered a… 42 in LCD TV?!

Oh, CR*P!

Cameralabs.com
Digitalreview.ca

It was around 6:00 PM (manila time) I was snoozing when a tremor woke me up. Not sure about the magnitude but it was that strong that the few seconds of movement of my apartment building jolted me up from my dream sequence.

I never thought it’s a warning of nature. 12 hours later right across the other side of the globe, in Port-au-Prince a 7.0 magnitude eartquake hit the city one unsuspecting afternoon. This claimed the lives of what feared to top about 100,000 people. This nation has never faced anything on such a cataclysmic scale in 200 years.

Photo by Reuters

photo by EPA for FT.com

The photos of horrific scenes came out after several hours of blackout and disconnection to anyone outside the country – fathers carrying dead babies, mothers lying bleeding in enormous piles of rubble, shrouded bodies lined the streets as dazed survivors scrabbled in the debris for loved ones.

the presidential palace before the earthquake (photo by  garrett crawford @ flickr)

Photo by Reuters

The capital Port-au-Prince was largely destroyed. The national palace smashed into a lurching heap over the grassy Champs de Mars. The collapsed twin spires of the Notre Dame d’Haiti cathedral complex claimed the life of the archbishop. The collapsed parliament trapped several public officials including the senate president, they remained under the rubble until Wednesday.

Now, aid is still scarce. Our Haitian brothers and sisters are in need of any possible help from the global community.

Here are some organizations that are accepting donations:

http://www.interaction.org/crisis-list/earthquake-haiti
www.redcross.org
www.theIRC.org
www.oxfam.org.uk
www.doctorswithoutborders.org