My Other Blog

People, I do have another blog.  Why???  It covers the more personal stuff, home ideas, inspirations, etc.  So I'll be posting there.

Hanoi's Huc Bridge or "Morning Sunlight" Bridge

June 13, 2010. It was a Sunday and I was happy to have some free time.  Even if it had been my third trip to Hanoi, this was my first time to walk on the Huc bridge.  Translated as the morning sunlight bridge, I wonder if the sun's morning rays give a different effect.  It's already beautiful to me even in the afternoon.  I've always called it the "red bridge" since it is painted a bright cherry-red making it stand out amidst the deep-emerald colored water and foliage surrounding the Hoan Kiem lake.  The Huc Bridge is like a demure lady sending signs to the young men to draw near.

Shopping for a Dining Table

I went to one of one furniture shops at Market!Market!

Here is the drawing of the table I may have made.  It's going to be a dark (almost black) finish made from Mahogany wood.  Albert, quoted P15000 for a six seater so I'm thinking it over.  You know budget constraints.  But his store does make lovely furniture.  Their main shop is in Vigan.

I particularly like the legs of the table.  It's English style, according to him. More leg room.

I am also thinking if I should go for a bigger size where the length is 75".

In the meantime, I am thinking of going to Pampanga to check out what they have there. I do want upholstered chairs and according to him, they can do that in Pamapanga.

There's always this desire to rush but I'd rather go slow.  For now, we're using our trusty formica table.  It's been with us for years.

Bursts of Color

Puppets outside Fort Santiago (Intramuros) Manila, Philippines

Paper Lamps at Dong Xuan, Hanoi, Vietnam

Balloons for sale at Pattah market (Colombo, Sri Lanka)

The One With The Mickey Mouse Stamp

Sometime 2006.  This is what happened after "Tutup" motioned me to go to the other teller.  There was a line so I had to wait for my turn.  I handed my dollars to the teller and she closely scrutinized each dollar bill.  She handed back a few bills and was pointing to a stamp on the bill.

"What's this?", she asked me pointing to the Mickey Mouse stamp at the backside of the 100 dollar bill.

"Uhhhmmm, Mickey Mouse," I retorted with a confused look on my face.  I thought Mickey Mouse was known worldwide. 

"Hhmpph, I won't accept that because of Mickey Mouse," the teller said with finality.

Lesson learned when in Jakarta make sure that your dollars are "clean and crisp", no marks whatsoever.  Mickey Mouse not accepted.

My First Tutup Encounter

Sometime 2006. On my first trip to Jakarta, I went down to the lobby of our office building so I could go to the bank to change my US dollars.  When I got in, I saw two tellers.  The other one had a line while the other one was free.  As I made eye contact with the teller where there was no line, I walked towards her place.  In front of her was a neatly made up sign which said "Tutup".

Indonesia Posts...Coming Soon...Hopefully

It's funny but out of all the Asian countries I've visited, I've been to Indonesia the most and yet my posts have been very few.  I will try to unearth pictures and make a few notes.  Hopefully I do get to do this.  I always tell my friends that if there's any asian country I'd like to work in, Indonesia would be it.  Jakarta is so like Manila.  Take note- their malls are so much better.  Shopping at Bundung is wonderful too.  Bali is just a cheap plane ride away.  It even costs less than what we'd pay from Manila to Cebu.  I love the krupuk, nasi goreng, etc. Plus, I do have really nice friends over there.  You'll probably get to see their pictures in future posts.

Talking about backlog...this is way too late.