Sadyah

Ano ba ‘tong November palaging umuulan. Andaming paperworks pero nakakatamad. Hala, sige tambay sa strabucks at gasto para sa 24 stickers for that leather and mas magaan kaysa last year na planner. This month also brought a lot of anxiety na parang walang ibang patutunguhan kundi ang usual drama ko namang ‘hanggang dito na lamang at maraming salamat." Buti na lang walang katapusan ang supply ko ng compli ticekt sa CCP. Got to watch Ballet Philippines "Nutcracker" last Saturday, Nov.17, with my sis Riza, after sitting as a panel sa isang MFA thesis defense. Go rin ang beauty to catch "Lions of the Lamb" sa RP. And whaaat, it’s Robinson’s Midtown na. Parang ang daming nangyayari di ko alam. Haay, that sneakers sa Shoe Salan na gusto ko. Buti na lang di pa open ang Levi’s kasi naku, gusto ko ng bagong pants and when it comes sa fit & reliability, Levi’s lang talaga for me. Open din ang Powerbooks. Pero wala pa rin ang latest book ni Umberto Eco. Sa Shang ko pa ‘yon na-inquire, nung Cine Europa pa. Then this Sat afternoon, after a meeting & lecture sa school, go ako sa UST for consignment sa book ko kasi got a conference sa Iloilo so sayang naman. baka makabenta. Signed the contract rin, and what, I’ll gonna have a royalty na. Kaya lang 10% lang. 15 if marami bibili. Kaya sige na, buy my book. hehe. Then biglang umuulan. As in baha. Naku, nag-taxi ako for Beowulf sa RP. Kasi super mahal sa MOA even if I’m raring for that IMAX experience. Sige na lang, naka-3D experience na rin naman ako sa KL. Sige na, libre n’yo kaya ako. Hehe. Okey rin naman manod mag-isa. Wala na akong problema. Pati pagkain mag-isa sa Bacolod Chicken Inasal. Paano ba naman kasi It’s Complicated ang status ng ka-churvah. No puwede ang emote so buy ako ng Body Shop lotion saka tea tree concealer. Haay, life…masaya na ako na i can afford to take a taxi pauwi kasi it’s so near yet so far for a jeep, making lakad-lakad pa and all hassle.

Never thought I’ll find myself Sunday morning in CamSurWaterSports Complex in the Provincial Capitol of Pili for wakeboarding! The place is beautiful, clean, affordable rate and friendly staff, with Aussie-Jap-Korean-Manilans-and lots of local enthusiasts.  So there I was, in my kneeborading experience. Kasi begginer pa lang. Sarap ng feeling! Babalik ako doon. Sama kayo. Hehe. Para mas masaya.

Rode the Philtranco bus last Friday night to Naga for research. Got one chapter set there, in a cemetery, with my Muslim character.

Arrived at dawn and thought there were 24/7 stores. Aside from Biggs, Bicol’s pride in food industry. So checked in at Naga Regent Hotel. Affordable price. Clean room, with hot shower and cable TV. Rested, and past 10, met KC at Coko Cafe in Ateneo de Naga (Maganda).

Here’s one shot by KC in front of the campus (more shots from KC - paki-email na pls. Hehe). Then off we met Carlo at Green Earth Cafe, a Vegetarian and Health Food. We had veggie spring roll, iraqi fried rice, steamed broccoli w/ tofu, camote taops salad, herbal tea, and later in the day, pad thai and banana ice cream.

Ang sarap, ang mura. Also bought two eco-friendly bags. KC read my first three chapters. Then off we went to my mission: the cemetery and the Muslim area.

The Penafrancia Catholic Cemetery was a sight, so was the Muslim area with their newly-built mosque. It was an enriching day, what with wonderful, knowledgeable Bicolanos as writer-friends.

Catched up some news over BBC after another coffee-cake moment with KC at StarMarks, in our usual ‘tsikahan.’

Saturday, the 2nd day, found me in the National Mosque. Nakakalula - ang kintab, ang gara. All of a sudden, nagka-epiphany ako! Kaya pala it must be KL kasi I have to be here - inside this mosque, after a certain datu, the overseer of the mosque in Quiapo, refused me entry and reprimanded the guard for letting me in the vicinity without the ‘talukbong’ (veil).

   The Imam, with a Ph.D., gave me a copy of the Koran and many brochures that will help me in my understanding of Islam and Muslim for my novel.

When I was about to leave, the lady guard asked if I’m a Vietnamese (Asian Malay talaga beauty ko). When I replied "Filipina," she spoke to me in fluent Tagalog. Nakakaloka. Never been in Pinas daw but her hubby has a lot of Filipino workers (!) so there, she got to learn Tagalog!

I went back to Chinatown for more shopping.

Then stayed at Starbucks with KH’s "A Thousand Splendid Suns." And I met a new friend, a French-Canadian based in Bangkok. We had dinner in Bukit Bintang’s street.

The next day, we went to Little India and had a sumptuous lunch of the best of Indian’s meals. Kainis, wala na ‘kong enough dollar or ringgit. mas mahal dito kaysa Chinatown. And daming magagandang Indian dress. Feel ko sana. Anyway, my new friend bought me a beautiful yellow scarf for souvenir and accompany me to the bus station.

It was raining hard on the way to the airport. Thanks to my Angel, the flight back home was smooth.

Unpacking in Manila, I discovered I forgot to turn-over the key of my Number 8 room. Oh well, might be a sign that I’ll be back there soon.

It was a trip out of impulse and there was no turning back after Cebu Pacific emailed my e-ticket; a.k.a HSBC bill! Whooa, life!

The Flight: There were series of turbulence; kept convincing myself di pa ako mamamatay kasi di pa tapos nobela ko. Parang gusto kong i-hug ang pilot when we landed na sa KL airport. The flight back home though was smooth. Yes, go Cebu Pacific pa rin. Sayang ang miles sa PAL, kaso sobrang mahal. Haay…

Past 1 in the morning when we arrived and sarado ang mga money changers. Akala ko 24/7 din. Naku, can’t get out with my USD and Peso. Buti I made laakd-lakad. I saw a money changer. Intindihan mo naman kahit nasa Bahasa ang label.

First Malaysian Meal, the Guesthouse,and Rides (Bus, Taxi, LRT & Mono Train): Gutom and excited to taste my first Malaysian meal (na di sa resto d2), I ordered nasi lemak for 8.90 ringgit + a small bottle of water for 2.50 at Asia Kitchen (front of Duty Free near the Departure entrance). It’s rice pala with egg & chicken & dilis. This is considered to be the Malaysian meal.

So with my backpack, I made lakad-lakad some more and saw buses. I chose Airbus for 8 ringgit. Buti na lang sumakay agad ‘ko kasi super layo pala ng airport sa city. Ok, I’ve read it sa internet pero as in layo talaga, more than 2 hrs.? Basta, spacious streets at maraming trees. Went down when we arrived at KL Sentral. Then hailed a cab. We agreed on 5 ringgit. Puwede rin metro pero ewan ko nga ba ba’t nangontrata ako. Basta, mabait ang mamang driver at magaling mag-English. Sabi ko dalhin n’ya ko sa cheap + nice+ clean hotel. Ok, I did research and was thinking of Swiss Hotel but I know I can look for a cheaper one there. Mabait talaga ang mamang driver. He brought me to Number 8. I read this is in the Smiles mag sa plane so I checked in.

It’s a guesthouse in BukitBintang, the Malate-Ermita Area except that this is not a red-light district, but the place to go for foods.  Number 8 is clean and cheap. Only 30 ringgit/night for a dorm-type room. Ito na lang ang may vacancy. Fully-occupied na; mostly Europeans and Aussies. I was with a Singaporean Chinese, a German, and an Aussie. We had not chat till the last day.

I bought a 7 ringgit worth of light rail ticket which is good for a day. One thing I noticed was walang masyadong mga naka-make-up o naka-sleeveless dun. Oo nga pala, Muslim country sila. I saw a Universiti station so I went down and took a cab to University of Malaya. Parang UP siya. Talked to the Chair of the Asian Studies Dept.,a friend of Dr. Ruby Alcantara. Mabait siya. Mukhang Malaya talaga. Hirap kumuha ng taxi sa loob. Buti na lang mababait talaga mga driver dun. Pinasakay ako ng isang black, as in sobrang itim talaga na mama pero magaling mag-English - of course in their peculiar accent din - kaya nakabalik ako sa train.

Dumiretso ako sa Chinatown. Dun ako nag-lunch ng sobra ring mura at saaarap. In fairness, malinis ang Chinatown, at syempre, shop to the max ako.

Then went back to the guesthouse to rest for the 6:15 SkyBridge walk at The Petronas Tower. Graveh, first time sumuot ng 3-D na eyeglasses for the orientation part. Here’s some during that walk:

Then go sa Menara Mall/Suria KLCC. Went inside the Petronas Gallery. Proceeded to Kinokuniya Bookstore. OK, kelangan ko palang pumunta ng KL to be able to buy Khaled Hoseeini’s 2nd book, A Thousand Splendid Suns. Bought his bestseller first novel, The Kite Runner, in Bangkok branch.

It’s for 20% off when you bug another one, so grabbed a collection of Malaysian fiction.

My first night was a tour of Bukit Bintang food shops. But I ended up in First Cup Cafe. Felt safer there. Then ended up shopping at Adidas’ factory outlet with it’s 30-70% discounts.