Tanduay Rhum Rockfest Year 6

More than VIP.

Consider myself lucky, I have got one of these from a friend who's got high-level contacts at Tanduay.

I can't wait to see Up Dharma Down, Parokya ni Edgar and Chicosci (Mong, oh Mong my perslab)!

So friggin' excited!

My Beautiful Pair of Ugly Hands

Sometimes when I look at my hands, I see this not-so-pretty, not-so-feminine, imperfect pair of moving anatomical carpals which I always have hated, aesthetically. They're kind of larger than that of a normal lady's, chunky, with chapped skin at the fingertips caused by my guitar's strings. But whenever I have these hypothetical thoughts of trading my hands with somebody else who's got a prettier pair than mine, I'll put a sudden halt to all these stupid, childish and unintelligent thoughts and recall think of the amazing things only I can do, because of my ugly pair of hands.

My ugly pair of hands has this power of capturing the speedy flow of my thinking, especially when I get caught up on a certain moment when my brain just wouldn't stop giving out ideas. One of the things I love about my person is this capability of putting into words an otherwise unintelligible concept. And with the help of my hands, the seemingly impossible become real. Concrete. Immortal.

The chapped morsel of skin in my set of left fingers may not be pretty; but they were caused by a magical activity which can produce a chord. A chord which when played together with the others becomes a beautiful melody. A melody when heard can capture not only one's ears, but also one's heart. My ugly pair of hands is capable of touching somebody's heart.

My ugly pair of hands has worked wonders in making other people happy, too. A tap on a successful somebody's shoulder, a tight grasp of a sad person's hand, an embrace intertwining a beloved... These significant people wouldn't have had a lift in their spirits, were it not for my ugly pair of hands.

They have also set beginnings for me. They were able to shake itself with another hand, symbolizing new relations.

Although they are also made for sadness - a wave goodbye or for an angry clenched fist - I know that my pair of hands can be beautiful. They're my beautiful ugly pair of hands.

Same goes for my life. And your life too.

A Wanderlust Post: Phuket, Thailand 2011

I guess it was love at first sight. Going back to the way I felt back then, there was this mix of excitement, awe, happiness, and probably all positive adjectives you can think of, as our plane was on its way to landing on one of my dream destinations, Phuket, Thailand.

A sparkly view from the top.

I first heard of this place as a child - a grand prize for a game show or something I couldn't remember. Then there was that James Bond movie shot in Pha Nga Bay, then Leonardo DiCaprio's 'The Beach' which was equally majestic. With all these ideas in my mind as a younger, not-yet-earning kid, one thing was certain in my perspective - Phuket will remain a dream forever.

But baby, there I was, on the 4th of August 2011, standing in Phuket soil and ready to rumble.

But of course, prior that, we have also experienced this pauper-like stage.
Particularly Bebe Wilson :P

THE CREW: PHUKET 'PEEPS'

Ready, set, smile!
One of the few pictures we were actually complete.

Travel experiences are more fun when you've got your crew, which in this case was proven by the exceptional time I had with my college classmates / friends / travel buddies Erwin, Karla, Sisa, Apple and Wilson. It couldn't have been more adventurous as this travel was a spontaneous one. No plans, no IT, none. All we had in mind was we were going on a Phi Phi cruise, party, shop, bum around in the nearby beach. Other than that and details in between, nada.

MR. PETER, THE BIG BUDDHA AND MARINA THE BABY ELEPHANT

In this state of plan-lessness it was a good thing people in Patong province, Phuket were helpful. We met our resident driver, Mr. Peter (no surname in his calling card, which has got a drawing of a cow or something, we don't have any idea why) on our way to our breakfast early morning of August 6. For ThB 800, he was our chauffeur for the whole day, inclusive of all our chosen places to visit, and funny chats about how he loved Pacquiao. From there he suggested we eat at PhongPhang resto, which served seafood straight from the beach on location.

That's Mr. Peter and Apple (aka Pacquiao's daughter. hahahaha)

PhongPhang resto view

Yummiest Seafood Pad Thai, evar.

It was already in the afternoon that we decided to go to the Elephant trekking site in Karon. But as we were on our way there, a marvelous view has left us awestruck. There was the Karon beach, with its polvoron-like white sands and torquoise blue waters on a bright sunny morning. Karla, the Brazilian goddess from Australia told us that it resembled Bondi Beach, only less crowded. 

Okay so this is a jump shot fail. But you get the point.

Jump, Erwin, Jump!

It wasn't actually the first time I saw an elephant in flesh, but it had been my closest encounter yet. Marina was the cutest of them all. With one command from her trainer, she'd happily pose for the camera, smiling, doing that upward maneuver of her trunk and crossing of her leg. It was no doubt the most adorable thing in the world. It was actually then that I finally decided that Elephants would be my favorite (jungle) animal. 

Marina striking a pose with the girls!

The trekking elephant

For a discounted price (courtesy of Mr Peter) of ThB 1300, we've been entitled to a trek onboard the larger elephants, and a ticket to the elephant show. Unfortunately, we didn't have anymore budget for that. We contented ourselves with the banana feeding of our furry friends, which left us guilty having Mr. Peter haggle the price for us (up to now I feel that way, don't you guys?).

Banana feeding the elephants. Go Bebe Wilson!

After which, we drove en route Big Buddha, which according to Mr. Peter is the largest Buddha shrine in the whole of the Earth. 

Lesson learned: Do not wear shorts when going to Buddhist shrines.
Or else, they give you these cloths to cover yourself with.

A smaller (golden) version of the Buddha

The Big Buddha in flesh! Or in concrete!

BANGLA ROAD, THE NIGHTLIFE OF PHUKET

The day will not be complete without the inevitable 'unwinding' to cap the night up. Bangla road in Patong is pretty much famous for its night shenanigans. Prostitution is legal in Thailand, and thus the whole of the Bangla strip is made especially for this activity. 

Passing Bangla 's girlie bars

Dancing ladyboy (?) bunny

Besides that, street food was awesome. It was a little bit pricey compared to Bangkok, but it was all worth it. This place probably has the best-tasting street food in all of Thailand (made that up).

the ThB 50 Banana Pancakes

Money-saving tip: These are better for dinner than resto food

Because they had their own night out on the last day. :))

PHI PHI ISLAND CRUISE

The cruise was the highlight of the entire tour. We already have booked the tour the night before, courtesy of Erwin's family friend Ate Maan. The whole cruise, inclusive of transpo to and fro Silver Resortel (our hostel), and buffet lunch at PP Princess Hotel, amounted to ThB 1,300. There we were able to enjoy the view while riding the mini cruise ship which passed by Krabi and Maya Bay (The Beach, yes!), swim and snorkel at Monkey Island and take pictures. We also had a very satisfying lunch.

All aboard

Maya Bay (The Beach)

Port

Backpackers represent!

Our mini cruise ship. Karla's there by the way, obviously, well, never mind.

Lunch at PP Princess

Of course, all good things must come to an end, and by 7th of August, we were all set to get back to reality and reminisce this one of a kind experience in Phuket, the ultimate travel of 2011.

Farewell!

Finally, a good jump shot.

Till the next wanderlust adventure! :)

On Cyberstalking, with much Passion

It is just like hunger - that certain wanting to be acquainted with the current shenanigans of a particular person. You know you won't be able to keep up with the suppression and you JUST HAVE TO binge on all that's in store for you, courtesy of the reliable internet. You know that in just a few moments you'll already be gobbling down all the nutrition you possibly can get from the person's Facebook / Twitter / Instagram timelines, even searching their names on Google hoping that more and more CIA-worthy information would be staring right back at you, just to put a halt to that growl of a stomach that you need to satisfy. 

You do not know the genealogy of the power of your intuition, but you like it anyway. You're not so sure as to why there seems to be an endless string of curiosity in your system, especially when it comes to people who are "kind of" relevant to you. (Note: "Kind of" is the minimum degree and your basis of who is stalk-able and who is not; say, crushes, ex-boyfriends and probably, their new boyfriends lovers, random interesting people.) You click almost always the right names, open the exact profiles. One suspicious comment to a post, open sesame, a little investigation of timelines, and boom. This intuition leads you into a conclusion that is ALWAYS correct. 

You believe that what you don't know won't kill you, but you take the risk anyway. Your motto in life probably is "Better to have known and died than died without knowing" or some serious paradoxical shizz like that. By being a social media--make that cyber--stalker, you have to be erudite of the perks and the downsides of knowing much information. Although yes, your thirst was quenched by a discovery of something extremely juicy, you still have to be steadfast as some discoveries may not be as fascinating as you want them to be. 

Unfortunately for you, knower of all knowledge, some truths hurt. And you just had the privilege of being the first one to be hit by the stinging dart pin, bull's eye. 

 Sometimes, you wish you were less of a cyberstalker.

Beautiful

Here is one of my most poppish take on songwriting. Kind of cheesy and teenybopper-ish, but tolerable.
(I know you're nice and will let this pass).



BEAUTIFUL
Eamarie G.

Beautiful smile, take a picture and I'll stare at it forever.
Beautiful laugh, music to my ears, make my heartbeat go ba dum ba dum
Beautiful hands, are you the summer sun because I'm warm in just a single touch?
Beautiful you, heaven sent, believe me baby it is true.

Dum da dum da ra rap dum bam
Da ra dap ba da rap bam ba dum
Da rap bum doo doo roo dum ba dum
Doo dap ba dum bum dum

Oh baby, can you see the stars above,
twinkling... just like your eyes?
Or have you heard the angels sing,
that's what I hear when you say my name
I'm walking on air, that's where I am
when you kiss me... as sweet as sin.
Do you even know that for you I'm fallin..?

Beautiful smile, take a picture and I'll stare at it forever.
Beautiful laugh, music to my ears, make my heartbeat go ba dum ba dum
Beautiful hands, are you the summer sun because I'm warm in just a single touch?
Beautiful you, heaven sent, believe me baby...

Someday, somewhere I'll come back and sing you this song
and tell you that I love you because you are beautiful...

I love you, da dum ba rum, you're beautiful
I'll come back I swear I will.. da dum ba rum ba dum bam dum ba rum
Embrace you when you sleep.. Talk for hours speak our minds.
And tell you that I love you because you are beautiful.

(the scat singing part is kinda difficult to write :P)