In Mumbai, Day One (Nov 15, 2011)

Hanna and Ten Little Indian Boys: Cricket Team in Colaba

It has been more than a month since my Mumbai trip. Dreadful blogger :-( I hope to catch up this holiday season. I was in Mumbai from Nov 14-18 for a company global meeting. It was totally interesting , both on-the-job, and off-the-job.

The sequence of this entry may be a bit magulo because some were written in real-time while I was on the plane, waiting in line, etc etc...

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How does one even begin to describe Mumbai? Words are not enough ... It is an overall experience : the smells, the sounds, the spirit, the atmosphere... I am so overwhelmed with all the stories I want to tell.

F58 was our gate for Mumbai ( writing this here in case I forget, I heard Changi is huge!). Must be a busy day. We spent 30 minutes going around in circles over Singapore, waiting for a free runway. And 25 minutes circling above Mumbai. When we finally arrived, I felt like the airport was very much like our vey own NAIA 1, once named one of the world's worst airports. A colleague remarked that the ---- looked even better.

Had my first taste of Indian food on the plane!

Mutton biryani with braised masala eggplant - yummy but super spicy
Rawa kesari ( semolina pudding) - yumyum like Cassava but not as sticky

(I was not able to keep track of all the Indian food I ate during the trip: one thing for sure though, I was not biologically created for Indian food. It could be good... But I think my tummy could not digest all that spice! I was woozy by Thursday so I opted not to be adventurous and ate the familiar dishes)

My hotel room has a red color scheme. HOT! I think it' s very expensive, though. Separate review on the hotel, the Trident Bandra Kurla, in another entry ...

November 15th

Typical Indian taxi. No air conditioning , runs on CNG.
(They also have air conditioned cabs that are blue and more expensive)

I have a free morning. Can't wait to see Mumbai by day. Last night it seemed like Manila. Only with wider and dustier roads, crazier drivers ( also right hand drive) and really quaint taxis with personality.

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I met with my colleague from Manila, Milan and from Dianjun (DJ) from China and we decided to embark on our own Mumbai adventure. We hired a cab to take us to an area called "Colaba," which is about 45 minutes away from our hotel. We were a pretty interesting bunch: tall Caucasian guy, small Chinese man, and a Filipina. we definitely stood out from the sea of Indians.

According to one brochure I got from the hotel, Colaba is often considered the prettiest part of Mumbai. Many of its buildings date back to colonial India, and this is where the most well known of Mumbai's icons are to be found: The Gateway of India, and the Victoria Terminus, or more commonly known by locals as the CST (Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus) station. I never did my research before but i was blown over by the massive structure which is actually a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The 45 minute cab ride to Colaba proved to be interesting. Traffic was heavy, but still moving. I loved the vintage look of the standard Indian cabs, and worthwhile to mention that they are ALL made in India and powered by compressed natural gas. I was amazed by how the air here seemed cleaner than the air in Makati.

Top: CST from across the street
Bottom: Bright entrance going to the trains..

When we reached the CST area, I felt the Amsterdam vibe because of the mishmash of people , the colorful signs, and the amazing colonial architecture. It was not rush hour, so I didn't see the scenes I was expecting to see (trains filled up to the roofs!!) Took some pretty interesting photos. I was a bit shy at first because of my big camera - ah but better to be stared at than regret not taking photos!!

Here, I also had my first Indian public toilet experience :o) pretty tolerable.

Since we were walking aimlessly, we were able to really see Colaba... The University area, the sidestreets, and the wide cricket field. A couple of Indian kids called out to have cricket photos taken. Well I had my photo taken, with an Indian slap on the butt as a bonus ( heyyyy!!! ) , we hurried away soon after. Walang silbi mga lalaking kasama ko :oP They were kids tho, so no worries.

Lost in Mumbai. DJ was a good navigator

After getting lost a little bit, DJ got us back on track as we searched how to get to the Gateway of India. The Gateway is a monument in Mumbai - named as such because it was the first structure to be seen in Bombay when people traveled by water . It was a massive, intricate structure that was very photogenic. The plaza sort of reminded me also of Milan, Italy - up to the pigeon-feed being forced upon tourists for some money! It was interesting that most tourists were really local. I spotted very few foreigners hanging around.The Gateway of India: "worth getting lost just to find it"

Hot and tired, we returned to our hotel at around 2pm. We didn't have the courage to try and eat in the sidewalk eateries. we had a few minutes to spare for the IFC organized walking tour of another area in the afternoon.

When I got back to the hotel, the guidebooks said that where we've been (Colaba) was the prettiest part of Mumbai. Okay then, we had 4 more days left in Mumbai... What else would be there to see?

(to be continued!

Following your Heart

This is a response to a friend's Facebook status:

"What would happen if one day you decided to follow your heart?"

I recently had an interesting conversation with a friend. He was telling me to start thinking about what I want to do, and not do stuff according to people's expectations. He was encouraging me to take risks while I am still young.

Me: Yes, young enough and will probably live long enough to remember and to regret.
Friend: BUT, you do not want to live up to 60 and think then of what you could have done.

Hmm. Inspiring. But still, reality pulls you down.

Thanks Karina for inspiring this blog post!

Photographing Corregidor : Oct 29-30

Me against the clear blue sky :-) Photo courtesy of Olga

The Eternal Flame Monument against a purplish sunrise (one of my submitted photos)

.. a late, late post. I vowed to post this first before posting about Mumbai - now that resulted into TWO delayed posts. Tsk. Work really gets in the way of the good stuff...

Several reasons why Corregidor seemed like a good idea last weekend:

1. Had to try out Try, our new DSLR (Nikon DSLR)
2. As "huling hirit"for bonding with one of my colleagues at work ( Milan, who'll be leaving the country soon after 2 years of living here) who has grown to be a great, cool friend.

What I forgot to consider was that it's a Halloween weekend! With all the creepy stories surrounding Corregidor, this time of the year makes it more eerie, at least psychologically.

I wanted to do something nice for Milan before he left the country - he didn't like Manila that much, so I hoped be able to make him bring better memories of the Philippines with him. Knowing that he also dabbles with photography , I thought a photo trip would be a good idea. After considering options from Travel Factor (Bataan - Day trip, didn't jive with our schedules ; Ilocos - 3 days! too long) , I found the Photographing Corregidor trip organized by the Filipinas Heritage Library. So off we went :-)

Our photographer-speaker was Jay Alonzo, coincidentally also my teacher for Photography 101 way back in 2004 (I was still using a Canon film SLR). I liked his style a lot - I feel like his photos has so much emotion in it. And this is what he also hoped we would do : refrain from cliche shots, tell stories, think before you shoot (versus shooting a lot and hoping that something good will come out of it).

I won't be talking much about the history of Corregidor, since you can read about that anywhere in the web. The tour that goes around the island was, in my opinion, one of the most organized ones in the Philippines (similar to National Parks tours in the USA). Our group stayed overnight -- and I highly recommend staying over!

I do like to share with you that it was such a mystical place for me - there is a certain "depth" to the place - as if you are getting so much more than what your eyes can see. It was very similar to the feeling I got when I visited Sagada a few years ago. I did not realize that a place as rich and relaxing as this island is only a 45-minute boat ride away from Manila. There is still much more to be discovered in Corregidor and I am definitely coming back.

Takeaways from the shoot:
(1) I only mess with the settings on Aperture priority. I can never get my shutter speed right. Thanks also to Jay for opening my eyes to white balance manipulation ;-) I love vivid colors and now I know how to get them really POP
(2) Remember your settings! I am guilty with shooting without thinking. I need to devote more patience to composing my shot and knowing my settings so I can tell a story (and be able to achieve similar effects next time.)
(3) Good photos should be able to tell a story even after a long time. How many times have you come across old photos that are quite meaningless? Ah, I look forward to shooting good ones that "speak" ;-)

Sharing with you some of my favorite shots. There will be an exhibit at the Alcove at the Filipinas Heritage Library sometime in December. I wish at least one of my submitted photos can make the cut.

The other Hannah , same sunrise

Early morning, the Cinema

Our team of photographers , speaker Jay Alonzo at far left.


Learn more about The Alcove and the Filipinas Heritage Library
http://www.filipinaslibrary.org.ph/

They have a lot of photography and writing workshops. Highly recommended.

Shorter Takes

Having no time for blogging (and shorter attention spans) called for a place for shorter snippets of what's up. (I'm chronicling the makeover there, BTW)

Behold, the tumblog --- www.bananaspin.tumblr.com

But I'm keeping this site as well.

Move..that..Couch! - A Makeover Story 1

Are you familiar with the show, "Extreme Home Makeover" ? I've always imagined being a being a beneficiary of that show. Aside from a spanking new house, you also get to hug Ty, the hunky guy who hosts the show and leads the design team.

Well, a few weeks ago - a local magazine called me about a possible makeover of the Fort Boni condo! I actually forgot that I entered their makeover promo early May this year , and it was such a welcome surprise. (I didn't write about it for fear of jinxing :-) They conducted 2 ocular inspections - first by the managing editor and then 2nd by the interior designer. Now I can freely write about it because we got picked!

The magazine is giving the design team 2 weeks (starting Sept 12) to plan and execute within the provided budget.

We are excited, but at the same time soo anxious. I didn't realize that we will have to let go of most of our old stuff. Our first "wall (color)," our first dining table, our first carpet, etc. I am also nervous about the stuff they will put in.. what if we get a sticky vinyl couch that eats coins and sticks to the back of people's legs? Wah.

Still a blessing. Still another interesting story to add to our (growing) collection. So for now, let's wait until we yell.... "Move... that... Couch!"

*FYI, for the contest entry - We had to send a family photo and some room photos. I also had to write a 150-word statement about why we deserved the makeover. I wrote about how we'd like to make the place ready for a baby, who is living with my mom in Laguna because we don't have a baby-conducive space. I guess the tiny space challenged them!

Lucky

I really like the word "lucky" - because Luck is the great equalizer. You don't have to be rich, or smart, or a hardworker. You could be the kindest person, or you could be the bitchiest person - but still be lucky. There is no scientific explanation for "luck" !

Look at Charice and Arnel Pineda - I think there are a lot more Filipinos who are better singers , but they got lucky! Manny Pacquiao, lucky (Jinkee Pacquiao, luckier!) . Justin Bieber, lucky. Noynoy Aquino, lucky, lucky, lucky!

People who win the lotto, lucky. Not being caught by MMDA during coding, lucky. Being at the right place at the right time when you first met your partner in life, lucky. Getting what you want after working for it, lucky.

I don't believe that hard work is everything. A lot of people work, work, work - but still don't achieve their dreams. Some blame them for not working hard enough, but I think that's just unfair. Just ask minimum wage earners who really really work hard. Or the Pinoy Got Talent aspirants who get rejected every season...

Hard work and being smart or talented can help. But sometimes, it's better to be lucky.

I just hope all the luck in the world can go to people who really deserve it :-)

My JuJu Journal

I can't even remember when I did my Juju Cleanse! I guess I was just so bummed out with my laptop crashing (again) making me lose my real time Juju Journal! Anyway... now that I finished my other articles for work, I figured that it's a good experience to share and not worth missing writing an entry for...

Drinks 1-6 , Don't they look yummy? Give your body a break by juicing all day.

Juju (Just Juice) Cleanse was started by the same folks who started The Farm at San Benito. I've always wanted to visit that place for major detox but I heard it was crazy expensive. So when I heard about Juju juices from a colleague at work and from Bianca Gonzales' blog (click here, it's somewhere on this page -- I'm a fan) , I decided to try it. You can read more about the juices and the promised benefits on the official site : http://www.jujucleanse.com/

I opted to avail of the 1-day Level 1 cleanse because it was the least expensive one , plus, I was new to juice diets , not to mention veggie drinks. I did not expect to lose weight , but was looking forward to ridding my body of all the nasty oily stuff I love to eat. I was looking forward to that clean, light feeling.

(I admit, the fancy packaging and colorful brochure got to me too! ) I opted to pick up my juices from the Bel-Air pick up point (you can have it delivered..) and was sooo excited to start. I scheduled my cleanse on the day I was renewing my drivers license since I had a planned leave from work. I figured the less work, the less cranky I'll be from "just juicing" the whole day!

Pre-juiceing: Sipped some mint tea from fresh mint leaves that came with my kit. What a refreshing day to start the day. My tummy and tastebuds were all excited.

Drink 1 - The Green Bomb: There were two of these bottles in the Level 1 cleanse. It had celery, cucumber, buko juice, pineapple, malunggay, spinach, lettuce ... the smell really made me gag :-(( .. First sip --- not bad. But I really had trouble drinking it and I was not able to finish it (I left half an inch in the bottle). For future drinkers -- make sure to SHAKE IT everytime you drink. The potent stuff got stuck in the bottom for me so that was what made it soo difficult to drink!

I left for LTO after the Green Bomb with a bottle of water and Drink #2 in my Juju Bag.

Drink 2 - Spicy Limonada: License renewal was surprisingly fast (Ayala MRT station) so I did not get to drink this at the LTO. With the Green Bomb and water in my tummy, I didn't have problems with the mandatory wee-wee test (oops too much info!) I drank Drink 2 on my way home on board the Fort Bus. I am not a fan of spicy stuff but i LOVED this drink. Refreshing lemon with spicy cayenne pepper taste trickling down your throat. Surprisingly, I felt good after drinking it up to the last drop!

Drink 3 - The Red Giant: All I remember was that the main ingredient of this thing were BEETs. I didn't really know what to expect and it looked so yummy. Sort of tasted like... dirt. Haha. I cheated this one out. I did finish it BUT with the help of a (small, I swear) baked organic chips.

Drink 4 - Alkazest : After the BeetJuice, I was so looking forward to this. Finally! Something close to normal! A buko juice , Grapefruit, Orange, Pineapple concoction. Tasted like Del Monte 4 seasons. Yey!

Drink 5 - Green Bomb, we meet again: Because I remembered to shake ... I was able to drink it ! I was drinking this on my way home to Laguna. So happy that I was able to drink up to the last drop!

Drink 6 - Salaba't Lemon : The last drink and the most soothing one. It tasted much like the Spicy Limonada but the ginger added that extra warmth and made me feel like singing. By this time I was feeling good and actually regretted cheating the Red Giant .. :-( For drink 6 , you can choose to have it cold or warm it up a bit like tea.

Was it worth it? Yeah, I believe so. Even if you are not aiming for weight loss, heck even if you just try it for the experience. It was a pure, natural, juicy adventure. The following morning , my tummy was not bloated and I was craving for healthy stuff. I did not feel hungry at all during the cleanse (it was 500ml of liquids at short intervals) and found myself even craving for a Green Bomb (!!!! I could not believe it myself) sometimes during the week! Note: The juice will not do everything for you ... it's still all about discipline and how or what you choose to eat after cleansing!

Yep, I felt healthy and cleansed - and if I can afford it I would love to do the cleanse every other week. For now, I can only do it once in a while :-) I'm looking forward to doing a 1-day cleanse again with my whole family .. that would be fun ! At least we'll motivate each other. I don't think I can handle a 3-day or a 7-day cleanse. But, you never know...

Thanks Juju folks! I promise no more chips-cheating next time for maximum effect ... and , I was wondering ... can I just order Spicy Limonada sets ;-) ? 'til next cleanse!