When Paths Cross: Talks on Boundary Issues, Maritime Interests, and an "Old Friend"

- June 18, 2013, Tuesday.

- The UP Asian Center, in cooperation with the Magna Carta, was fortunate to be able to invite Retired Major General Vinod Saighal from India, to give a talk on the growing maritime interest of India in Southeast Asia. Major General Saighal had just arrived from India yesterday, although he looked far from tired when we saw him this afternoon. He was a very tall guy.

- The forum was attended by many distinguished guests from the different embassies and relevant organizations. Former Philippine Senator Shahani was also present. Scholars and academics from different universities, both local and international, packed the event.

My adviser and professor, Dr. Joefe Santarita.

Major General Saighal.

Representative from the Magna Carta.

- His Excellency Amit Dasgupta, ambassador of the Republic of India to the Philippines, was able to make it during the first quarter of the event. He sat a few seats away from me, and I was able to say a quick hello to him. I was glad and honored that he remembered me, at least by face - but that's more than enough.

With His Excellency.

- The talk surprisingly focused on China and its role in Indian international relations, as well as the territorial disputes in both India and Southeast Asia. The talk was very technical, so much so that I had to force myself to grasp an overload of information in a span of two hours. Still, I learned a lot from Major General Saighal, and the other speakers.

With Major General Saighal.

With former Senator Shahani.

- Snacks were served in the Philippine Hall after the informative forum, and I was able to interact with the Major General, as well as Mr. Tashi Phuntsok, secretary of the Department of Information and International Relations of Tibet, who is currently based in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh, in India. Mr. Phuntsok gave me a CD with "everything about Tibet" in it, and was happy to hear me speak some Tibetan (and trust me, I can't speak Tibetan to save my life.) I do hope (wish, pray) that I get to visit Tibet some day. It is such a wonderful and magical place to go to.

- My evening class was cancelled because my professor decided to, since he had to entertain, and deal with our international guests, and fortunately so, since the rain tonight has poured more than cats and dogs -- more like pigs and camels.

Gatecrash-History Field Trip: Bringing Down the Walls of Intramuros

- June 1, 2013, Saturday.

- For a change, my piano teacher and I met neither in my weekly piano lessons, nor our concert rehearsals, but in the middle of the street, on the way to the train station. We had planned to visit Intramuros before the school year starts, and try to explore whatever we could in one of Manila's iconic landmarks.

- We first headed to Luneta, since it was closer to the LRT station, and the "secret shortcut vortex" to Intramuros' "historic trail" (at least I can it that,) can be found near Luneta's Japanese Garden

Where the GomBurZa priests were killed by the garrote.. 

- Our first stop in Intramuros is the San Agustin Church. Again, I'm quite happy with it's color right now, the original stone-color, and not that horrendous pink-flesh color it used to have after one of its earlier "restorations." We opted not to go inside its museum, a large eerie one that houses a lot of saints' statues, priest costumes, and other sculptures. Instead, we went to Casa Manila right beside the church. Casa Manila was built to replicate the typical aristocratic house during the Spanish era.

San Agustin Church.

Outside Casa Manila; no photography inside.

- We passed by the Manila Cathedral, still under renovation, on the way to Max's Restaurant for lunch. We enjoyed the sago't gulaman a lot, since it was quite a hot day today, and the blend wasn't too sweet as well.

- Rehydrated for the afternoon, we went to Fort Santiago, the highlight of the trip. Although the Rizal Shrine was still under renovation, like a lot of the churches and landmarks across Manila, the staff had made a small section open, and exhibited a small fraction of the displays from the Shrine. The iconic big-framed paintings of O-Sei-San (Rizal's Japanese girl friend,) or Rizal treating his mom's eye, or some of the first editions of Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo were there.

Mini-exhibit.

- After going through all the dungeons, and seeing Rizal's final holding place beside the Rajah Sulayman Theater, we took more photos around the vicinity, before leaving the Fort Santiago compound.

- Our last agenda for the afternoon was rediscovering our roots in "Bahay Tsinoy," a museum dedicated to retelling the story of the Chinese living in the Philippines. I haven't been to Bahay Tsinoy since 2003, giving a 10-year different between the first time I went there for my freshman-high-school fieldtrip, and my second time earlier. The museum is now a lot more interactive, and has betterl ighting.

A replica of one of the terracotta warriors.

How the Filipinos traded with the Chinese way back when.

- With legs tired and sweat dry, we rested and had some halo-halo in Chowking before a short walk home. Although we went home an hour or two later than expected, it was nice to be able to spend time with my teacher some place else other than inside the piano room during lessons, or in the ensemble room during concert rehearsals.