start my 2010 with this song......

RUSSELL CROWE's ONE GOOD YEAR

It's New Years Day just like the day before
Same old skies of grey,
same empty bottles on the floor
Another years gone by,
and I was thinking once again
How can I take this losing hand and somehow win

Just give me One Good Year.
To get my feet back on the ground
I’ve been chasing grace.
Grace ain’t so easily found
One bad hand can devil a man,
chase him and carry him down
I’ve got to get out of here,
just give me One Good Year

I’m burning oil, engine’s running rough
I drive from job to job, but it’s never enough
I can’t find the will to just up and get away
Some kind of chain is holding me down and making me stay

Just give me One Good Year.
To get my feet back on the ground
I’ve been chasing grace.
Grace ain’t so easily found
One bad hand can devil a man,
chase him and carry him down
I’ve got to get out of here,
just give me One Good Year

It’s a bitter wind in your face every day
It’s the little sins that wear your soul away
When you start giving in,
where do the promises all go
Will your darkest hour write a blank check on your soul

It’s New Years Day just like the day before
Same old skies of grey,
same empty bottles on the floor
Another years gone by,
and I was thinking once again
How can I take this losing hand and somehow win

Just give me One Good Year.
To get my feet back on the ground
I’ve been chasing grace.
Grace ain’t so easily found
One bad hand can devil a man,
chase him and carry him down
I’ve got to get out of here,
just give me One Good Year

My Saigon pics.......

The historic Caravelle Hotel

Bourdain was here and so was I...

Fabulous lacquerwares

President Clinton ate here

Pham Ngu Lao late afternoon

some vintage cars 50's car

helmets galore

my window view

busy Pham Ngu Lao

New World Hotel(Clinton stayed here)

Another hotel view

Colorful art

Saigon City Hall

T-55 Soviet tank(Reunification Palace)

The Post Office

Saigon Square(Greenhills of Vietnam)

Coffee,coffee,coffee....

M-47 Walker Bulldog(Cu-chi)

Cu-chi tunnel

Cyclos

Firing the AK-47

Hotel Majestic

Coconut water

Posh mall-The Saigon centre

Temple

Uncle Ho's legacy

Notre Dame Cathedral

Coiled smoke

Cho Binh Tay(Chinatown)

A-1 Skyraider

Museum's Agent Orange Section

M-48 Patton

Street of Pham Ngu lao

Ben Thanh Market

Who wants to be a millonaire??

These were some of the photographs taken during my recent visit in Saigon Vietnam

SAIGON in my eyes...

When I first planned and booked my trip to Saigon almost all the people I know asked me “why Vietnam”??My answer very simple “I want to go to a place in Asia that is very rich in history and not so commercialized “.One more thing was I became fascinated with Vietnam when I have watched Tony Bourdain’s “A Cook’s Tour” Vietnam episode in the Travel Channel in 2006.Then it became a goal to reach that war ravaged nation.

October 16 11:30 my flight and my arrival is 12:30 Saigon time, I was a bit uneasy then because this is a my first time here and I don’t know what to expect .My flight arrived at Tan Son Nhat Airport 25 minutes earlier than expected but it was ok there were no hassle in airport procedures as everything went smooth and fast .As I’ve exited the airport I easily saw the driver who’ll pick me up to my hotel. As we cruise the streets of Saigon what I really noticed are the red and yellow fibreglass trash bins all over the street sidewalks (around 5-7 metres interval). Its only 20 minutes ride to my airport so it was not that tiring and the road is peaceful at those wee hours of the morning. As I arrived at the hotel everything went smoothly and fine but what worries me that evening is that my whole day city tour and half day CuChi tunnel tour was not given to me at the airport. So I have to wake up a bit early at the morning around 5:30 am and be prepared for the day schedule which was the city tour. Gone up the ninth floor to take the sumptuous buffet breakfast inside my hotel. As I waited for my city tour guide to arrived I went downstairs go out and buy bottled water and other toiletries, and I’ve noticed that my hotel has a park in front of it and the famous Ben Thanh market is just 2 minutes walk away.

Then I headed to Ben Thanh out of curiosity and to kill time as well .I returned to my hotel room at around 7:30am and at my surprise 15 minutes later the front desk was calling and told me that the tour guide was waiting for me to pick me up,whoa!this people are honest .

My city day tour started with War Remnants Museum, inside the van I’ve met some fellow tourists from Malaysia,Singapore,Canada,USA,Indonesia and fellow Filipino travellers which eventually became my friends.The War Remnants Museum was one of my main focus in my Vietnam journey.The museum showcases war artifacts,hardware,pictures, souvenirs and even artworks.What excites me here are the tanks and aircrafts that the Americans left and what made my heart broke is the “agent orange section “ where there are some deformed fetuses and photos of the effects of this chemical to the lives of not only the Vietnamese but also the US war veterans.

Then we proceeded to Chinatown, first to one of the Chinese temple forgot the name, and then to Cho Bin Tay market a market which has a much lesser price tag than Ben Thanh.Almost all of the items here are being sold at whole price. After an hour stop we headed to Pham Ngu Lao (Backpackers’ area) to have some free light lunch of veggies and rice. As the “light lunch” did not suffice us, my newly found Filipino friends and I went to a food joint in the Pham Ngu Lao area where they serve various Vietnamese food, here we ordered a variation of Pho.That makes are tummy packed and our faces sweaty because of these wonderful broth. Off we went to the other interesting landmark the “Reunification Palace” also known as the Independence Palace. This palace is the seat of power of the South Vietnamese Government, until April 1975 when the North occupied the South. Here as my fellow tourists are paying the entrance ticket I immediately leave the pack as I saw two Soviet made T-55 tanks ,these tanks symbolizes the end of South Vietnam as they are the ones who charged the gates of the palace in 1975.

After we completed the tour of this historic site we headed to the Post Office and the French built Notre Dame Cathedral (CATHOLIC) where we enjoy some durian street ice cream reminiscent of my childhood days when I enjoyed “dirty ice cream” in the streets of Manila and in school as well. We also went to the Lacquer factory; this factory supports the victims of Agent Orange by giving them livelihood. Here you can see finest artworks made of lacquer intricately designed with eggshells and seashells.

My second day in Vietnam starts with my scheduled half day Cu-chi tunnel tour. At first I’m a bit worried because thinking that entering the tunnel maybe daunting. So we ride this huge tourist bus packed mostly by westerners. The bus ride lasted for less than 2 hours but it didn’t bore me because the tour guide brief as with the history of Vietnam and Cu-chi , and he also know how to speak fluent Spanish with the delight of our fellow tourists (especially the Spaniards).There’s a bit of a drizzle 0of rain as we coast to Cu-chi so when we arrived there the soil was a bit damp. The tour begins with a very amusing yet very anti-American 60ish documentary, then off to some tunnels,vents,B52 bomb holes, booby traps samples and damaged US tank .Next stop is the souvenir and firing section ,here you can fire American made M16 and Soviet made AK47 ,in this case I shared with fellow travellers in buying some AK47 bullets ,a bullet costs around US$1.3 but should be bought by 10’s.Then the fun part begins entering the tunnel ,as we approached the tunnel entrance our tour guide warned us that it is not for those who have heart ailments and claustrophobic. We proceeded inside the tunnel it was dark cramped (yet being enlarge to fit western tourists) and hot fortunately I’m ready and I brought a led light. The tunnel is 180 metres at the end of the journey is the kitchen and makeshift hospital, but around 160 metres the tunnel will be bottled neck, there are exits every 20 meters for those who wants to quit. We have to duck walk as well as bending our neck and shoulders .I followed to Taiwanese elders as we traversed this course so we need to slow down a bit but it’s ok and understandable, I ended up quitting at the first exit together with bigger westerners. We ended this tour by eating some tapioca dip in brown sugar with crushed peanuts and washed it down with local tea.

The succeeding days of my Saigon tour were spent by searching some famous food (showcased in Bourdain’s No reservations) and some souvenir shopping. Luckily at my last day in Vietnam I still managed to find another museum the Ho Chi Minh City Museum and the picturesque Saigon City hall as well as the Saigon River.

I spent exploring the city mostly by foot and sometimes by taxi, exploring the city was a bit intimidating at first where throng of people are in constant motion, a sea of motorbikes, how families and even merchandise fit in two wheels. Crossing the streets is a challenge, especially at night where thousands of motorbike lights scare you. So traffic here is inexplicable in surprising patterns and space.

In my eyes Saigon is beautiful,intoxicating,dream like and simple.Being here you I felt the mixture of some 60-70’s feel infused with modern elements.The life is simple not so much of that ultra modern commercial (branded concious)and materialistic vibe which is prevalent in the world today.If that is your thing Vietnam is not for you but if you’reb tired with the hussle and bussle of city life this nation suits your taste.I just hope that the influx of westerners will not compromise the character of Vietnam that I love where life has a simple leisure phase.

Corazon Aquino...MOTHER OF PHILIPPINE MODERN DAY DEMOCRACY

Being born as a martial law baby in the Philippines,when I was a kid I was wondring at that time that why is it we are not allowed to speak or talk critically of the government at that era??Everything was suppresed and there is even some bans and prohibitions and even curfews during that time which I can't really understand because I'm just a kid.And the then government system was a "pseudo democratic" .

Then came August 21 ,1983 came ,then opposition leader Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino the greatest rival of then ruler Marcos was killed by a 'mystery" man at the airport in Manila. People were enraged and the clamor for change grew,during the wake and funeral of Ninoy ,thousands of people flocked to pay respect for the fallen hero .And rallies and civil unrests everywhere were staged to show their sympathy and the call for changed as well,there was also a time for the confetti Wednesday which my father ,my mother's officemates and I were a part of.At that time the offices in Ayala and Binondo make and throw yellow confetti at around 3pm to show their protest against the dictatorship and with the slogan "tama na,sobra na,palitan na".

In 1986 then president Ferdinand Marcos called snap elections to prove that he is still the popular choice of the Filipino people.During those days the opposition was choosing who will be the flagbearer of the opposition and then came up with the widow of Ninoy,a simple housewife known as Corazon "Cory"Aquino.As I can recall one of the biggest "miting de avance" ever was during this Cory campaign millions of people went out to show their support for Cory and they want change and freedom back to our nation.After the results were tallied and dictator proclaimed again as the victor the people back then believed that the election outcome was a sham. Some civic groups and the opposition called for civil disobedience.Truly enough after a few days then defence chief Juan Ponce Enrile and General Fidel Ramos broke away with the Marcos Government.Then the Catholic church and some other sectors called for supporters to protect the opposition and the Enrile group known today as "People Power".To cut this long history short then ruler Marcos was unseated and replaced by the Cory Aquino and became the first female president in Asia. As I can remember I was in my first year in high school when this happened.

I may not be a big fan of all the policies of the Cory administration because I believe each individual has his own point of view when it comes to politics but I really admired the personality of Cory Aquino.Because in her I saw humility,pureness of heart,godly and simplicity the trait I really admired most.Even after her term as president she was still politically active during the EDSA2 and even the in the latter days,she always epitomizes the love for our country ,fairness and peace.And until her last breathe she reminds us to forgive and to be humble.

Thank you President Corazon Aquino for we regained our freedom and for fighting for what is just and right,for being selfless and for me your the Mother of Philippine Democracy.Your legacy will always be an inspiration and a part of us especially the martial law babies.

****PHOTO FROM THE INTERNET****

TOYCON 2009(just pics)

these were some of the photos taken during the recent Philippine Toy Convention held last June 13 at the Megatrade Hall.

***some pics taken using LC-A+ lomo cam****