GOODBYE, LOVE

He was undeniably the love of my life. He gave me everything I needed: stability, unquestioning love, happy memories of a solid family life…. I considered myself lucky to have had him in my life.

It happened all to quickly. In five minutes, he was gone forever.

We had gone to Siargao Island, touted to be the “next big tourist attraction after Boracay and Palawan.” It was just Lori, who was on her Thanksgiving weekend leave, Love and myself.

His mind was not on this trip.  A few days ago, the water started gushing out of the latest pump that he installed.  Water!  Water! The gates to success were finally opened!!! For three years, he tried to have a steady source of water, without which he wouldn’t be able to make his farm a success. Now, it was happening… Water! Water!…

Water was also what did him in.  The tsunami waves came, two stories high.  Our boat just lost power, and the anchors had hit corals.  We were truly doomed.  The waves came — ONE, TWO, THREE– Each time, I asked myself, “Until when can I hold my breath?”  But I held on as long as I could.  Finally, my head bobbed out from under the upturned boat.  I gulped in as much air as I could before the next wave overpowered us again.

Finally it was over. The people on the beach watching us, ran to help us as soon as the wave disappeared.  They knew that, if another wave would get us again, we would be lost in the sea forever.

When I saw him at the corner of my eye, I thought he was walking.  “Thank God, he’s safe,” I said to myself.  When he passed me by, being held on both sides by the rescuers, his feet were dangling. I knew inside my heart he was gone. He had atrial fibrillation, a heart condition which meant he had irregular heartbeat. He was on a vegetable diet, and a blood thinner. He must have suffered myocardial infarction. Deadly for him who already had several episodes of strokes.

But he is not gone. It is now two years, and yet, I know he is with me.  I have pursued his dream of making his farm a success. My life is now two lives, his and mine. I took over some of his projects, so he has to be with me to run them the way he wants it.  I have not taken to self pity, why should I?  I have challenges to face, and face them I do. There is no time for weakness. I must be strong.

But it is goodbye, in the sense that I will never share laughter with him. I will never feel his strong hands giving me support when I walk up hills, to stop me from stumbling over holes on the streets.

So I thank you.

TOURING KERALA IN A HOUSEBOAT

https://elsietampong.wordpress.com/2018/02/05/touring-kerala-in-a-houseboat/

TOURING KERALA IN A HOUSEBOAT

We left chilly Munnar before breakfast. We had to catch the houseboats that left the wharf by one o’clock.

There were many choices of houseboats. Some were for honeymooners, others for friends, others for tourists who wanted an unusual experience. It all depended on your budget.

The houseboats were uniquely made. Some were made of the lowly sawali, others were ornately done. All had bedrooms, toilets, a sitting and dining room conducive to taking in the sights, and a kitchen for the in-house chef and his staff.

 

The boats toured their guests around the waters. Picturesque palm trees, quiet waters, stunning sunsets made this place a favorite for movie makers who needed a romantic back drop for their scripts.

Tourists delighted in the local cuisine served to them.

This is what we had for lunch: rice, sambal, cabbage, beans and pappads (crispy bread).

My host always arranges it on my plate, seen above. The red blob is beetroot mixed into curd. Normally the “plate” is a freshly cut banana leaf. It feels more refreshing that way.

Special mention must be made for the entrepreneurial ice cream vendor. He stopped at each boat to offer his wares.

We were sent to buy seafood at their market.

The fishermen wanted tourist prices, so we left.

We will have the usual fare–chapati with chicken, rice and rassam. No seafood, alas!

The government orders all boats to dock by 5:30 pm. We are now anchored to a tree in the island. I better close my windows. The mosquitoes might fancy my Pinoy blood.

THIRD DAY: HONKING ALL THE WAY

In India, the roads in the mountains and hills are barely enough for two vehicles. There are road signs everywhere : The first one is “Pin head bend” –which means the curve is as tight as a pin head. The next one says, “Sound Your Horn”. In all civilized countries, to honk your horn is a sign of rudeness. But in India, under the circumstances stated earlier, it is really imperative to sound your horn in order to notify the oncoming vehicle that you are veering in his direction and must take the utmost precautions. I took a picture of a vehicle with an order to “Sound Horn” to really show you I am not making this up.

Today, we were traveling from the east to the west of southern India. It took us ten hours, going through several national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, and reserves. Since we would be in mountain areas for ten hours, I decided the title of this blog would be “Honking All The Way”.

India was under the British rule. The weather and soil was perfect for raising tea. So the mountains were covered with tea estates.

My newly bought (from Chennai) flaming silk red dress found a perfect backdrop in the verdant tea plantation. I quickly posed in the middle, and just as quickly, jumped back into the car.

Our driver stopped at a viewpoint, the Mettupalayam Viewpoint. This seemed to be a regular stop. But the fog covered the view. A waiting vendor was rewarded with a purchase of his “dirty ice cream” as we call it in the Philippines.

After a while, we found ourselves in the plains. Thank God for a respite from honking. The population was very sparse, cars were few. Then I was surprised by many wind turbines all over the place.

It made sense: land prices were low, and putting up a grid to produce electrity would be a good investment for the local government. There was one building with solar panels for its roof. But that was all I saw. Mostly it was wind turbines.

I closed my eyes trying to remember the studies on India made by the UNCRD (United Nations Center for Regional Development in Nagoya, Japan in the 1970s when we were there. Which states had higher income, which lower? I didn’t have time to answer the question because the honking started again. Yes, we had gone back to the mountains. Our next stop was Munnar, and the vision of tea-covered mountains sprang up once more.

We were back to “honking all the way”.

NATURAL SAFARI IN TAMIL NADU

Just a few hours ago, I felt I was in Baguio. Now I was all set to take a safari.

We arrived in Tamil Nadu. After resting, a jeep came for us to bring us to another aspect of India: its wildlife.

Our first stop was the temple of Ganesh the Elephant God. It was on top of a hill overlooking the villages below it. Perhaps this stop was built for us to say a prayer for us to be lucky to see some elephants living in the wild mountains where we were going.

When we were living in Kenya, you would try to see the big four:– lion, tiger, elephant, rhinoceros. I asked the guide if there were lions here, and he said they were in another state. For tigers, there were only 77 in the two adjoining states, so, there would be little chance for us to see one. I didn’t ask about the rhino, because the answer was obvious.

So the (big) four that we saw in this trip were the elephant, many deers and bucks, a few lemurs, several majestic peacocks. There were wild pigs, too. I had a video of the elephant, but cannot attach it to this blog. Just accept my word that I had one.

So this is India. It is such a big continent, it is not surprising to have a little bit of everything. I am just on my second day of my road trip to the Southern India region. You will have more blogs as I go.

A LITTLE BIT OF BAGUIO IN INDIA

Maalathy, my host for this India trip, tried to make it look easy to pry herself away from her two boys. We were going to be away for ten days. The boys will stay with her mother, and her Dad was coming on this trip with us.

“Why does he have to go? ” I wanted to know. We were already going to hire a cousin who will drive.

“For security, ” she said matter of factly.

We watched the goodbye rituals–powder on the face and pootu on the forehead to keep them safe.

Our first stop was Ooty–the tallest point of India. It took us nine hours to reach there. It was 50 degrees Celsius, very cold for our party.

When morning came, we packed our bags and went to the Rose Garden.

The roses would only be ready in March. But as a gardener, I could take note of the preparations necessary for a good display.

From here we proceeded to the tallest point of India. It reminded me so much of the Mines View Park of Baguio, with all the stalls lining up to the top. The only ones missing were the children who would try to catch the coins that the tourists were throwing.

I felt very much at home here. The houses looked the same, the stalls were the same, the cold of the Baguio that I remember, was the same. It was truly a little bit of Baguio in India for me.

SMALL TOWN, SIMPLE LIFE

Here I am in this small town called Mamallapuram, India. It reminds me of how simple my life was in the olden days.

Technology was understandable.

Just look at this Ferris wheel. It only has four chairs.

And Disney would probably have a fit if he saw Donald Duck in the middle of a makeshift car roller.

Families are also closer. Parents, daughters, grandchildren are all interdependent in the system that we knew then.

The youth would have clean fun, being tossed against the waves.

And love, and the future…

Would be discussed and determined in front of the far horizon.

I feel at home here, not lost in a concrete jungle, faced with complexities unfathomable to me.

Every day one goes deeper into the past.

FIRST TOUR DAY IN INDIA

I put on the thallek or pootu on my forehead. Everyone has this, to protect you from evil spirits. Malathy also gave me my daily flowers to put on my hair. This time they are called “December “, since they only flower during the cold months.

I sit on the swing bed waiting for my breakfast. It is in the middle of the living room.

Breakfast comes served on a banana leaf. Malathy pours some sambal next to the white bread. She puts a spoonful of yogurt and two pieces of vegetarian cakes. To be sure, she sets a bowl of rice cooked with dahl. I’m all set! This is the life!

We will see three places today. The Shore Temples, the Seashell Museum and Arjuna’s Penance with Butterball next to it.

There is a group of children on a school outing.

These two temples are the last temples that have survived the tsunamis.

These sheep guard the temples.

I go inside to pray.

There are more structures, all from solid stone.

I have seen similar temples in Jogjakarta, Angkor Vat. These temples are all guarded by the UNESCO Heritage Commission for their cultural value.

 

ARJUNA’S PENANCE

This next temple was called Arjuna’s Penance.

Inside the structure were scenes of the gods in ordinary situations. The god holding up the sky, as the choir of angels sang his glory.

This statue had three animals in it: an elephant, a goat and a baby cow.

This must have been a lesser god milking the cow.

THE TWO MOUNTAIN STONE CARVING

In the Philippines, the people would think nothing of blasting a whole mountain and quarrying the stones. In Mamallapuram, they sculpted two mountains with thousands of figures. You find the sun god, the moon goddess, the god of snake, and monkey figures.

This is the statue of “Butterball”. It was supposed to be the ball of butter the god would get from his mother’s kitchen to eat. The rock has been on a 45 degree incline and has not fallen for several centuries now.

The tour ended. It was time for lunch.

I had rice, more sambal, some prattaya bread, my favorite lassi, and other dishes.

A lot for my First Tour Day in India.

FRESH EGGS DAILY

Everything I had as a child, I have replicated in my current life.  My grandmother and my spinster aunt were always with us during school holidays, and, having nothing else to entertain them, they raised birds and fishes for company.  They had those lovely parakeets who cooed ever so gently; the canaries that always burst into a song; the lovebirds that seemed wrapped up in themselves. The fish were always gold fishes.

Now that I am the same age as my aunt, I find myself surrounded by birds and fishes. I have parakeets, love birds, parrots, and fishes.

But I have gone one step further:  I have chickens!  A former classmate gifted me with Chinese bantam chickens. They are so beautiful!  He gave me three hens and one rooster.

Initially, I put them in my Farm so they could multiply. Then I found out that the hens didn’t like to lay on their eggs. So, I went back to my friend:  what do you when they don’t like to lay on their eggs?  He quickly answered:  You can have fresh eggs daily to eat!

That was such a good idea, I decided to bring back a pair of the chickens. Well, they had multiplied, and their eggs were hatched by other feathered friends in the Farm.  So their breed was sure to continue.

It was such fun to eat fresh eggs daily.  They looked so yellow, and runny, much to my taste! Every day, it was in my routine to go to the nest and get the egg that was just deposited there!

One day,  I noticed that the rooster was giving my hen a hard time.  He was chasing after her, and she was running away!  When I went to buy birdseed for my smaller birds, the Seller told me that I had to get more hens to satisfy  his sexual urges! He said that the rooster would want to have sex almost eight times a day!!!

So I went to the Farm to get one more hen. That helped my Rooster a bit as far as his temper over not having enough hens for sex.  Now I needed two nests for each hen.  Great, I thought!  More eggs for me to eat.

Pretty soon, the other hen started to lay eggs.  But there was one thing different about her.  She didn’t want to get up from the nest. She was actually going to sit on the nest and not give up her egg to me to eat. I was confused. This was a breed that never sat on their eggs.  Then, I was informed that this was the hybrid hen, where her father was a local rooster, and their breed laid on the eggs.

Today, there was a skirmish, not between the two hens, but between my Maid, myself, and the three chickens, including the Rooster.  The First Hen who didn’t want to lay on her eggs, wanted to have her nest back. The Second Hen had been laying her eggs on the First Hen’s nest for two weeks now, and she wasn’t going to give up her nest that now had six of her own eggs!  The Maid and I decided to force the First Hen to use the other nest. We moved the nest to another place, and locked the Second Hen away from the new nest.  The Maid took the First Hen who clucked wildly to the new location of the nest that she didn’t want to use.  Superhero Rooster heard the First Hen and bit the Maid.  I then shooed the Rooster away from the Maid, who was holding the First Hen.

Finally, we tied the legs of the First Hen to the place where the new location of the nest. She plopped out the egg that was dying to get out, on the nest, and she sat on it for a while.  She was quiet.

We gave her a few minutes. Then we opened the new breeding place and she went off to be with Superhero Rooster.

The Maid asked me, “Are you going to have fresh eggs daily once again?”  I had forgotten about that!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DUNKIRK AND WHERE I AM NOW

I just came from watching the movie, “Dunkirk.” I really didn’t want to watch it, but between some Tagalog movies and “Dunkirk”, I was left with no choice.

It was “Seniors Free” day, where Seniors can watch movies until 5 p.m. for free. The line took too long to clear, and by the time it was my turn, the movie had already started.

When I got to sit down, all the credits were gone. The soldiers were already lined up on the beach, getting ready to move to safety, wherever that was.

I didn’t bring anyone with me. I decided to go it alone. So when the battles started, I felt my blood pressure rising. I clutched my bag to my chest, hoping it would calm me down. But the onslaught of more conflict made me think, “Should I continue with this movie? I might have a heart attack.”

When the dogfights started — that is what my mother used to call the fights in planes between enemies– I felt like the little girl who watched movies everyday again. I was born just after the World War II ended, and many of the movies that were shown continued to be war movies. It was as though the people could not shake off the war. It just had to be there for a while. And if it was a war movie, it inevitably had a dogfight between enemy planes.

I thought to myself, I am so lucky to have been born after the war. And to almost end my life without going through another war. People who were born after me don’t know how lucky they are. Of course, there was that one episode in San Luis, when the hukbalahap (rebels under Luis Taruc, the most infamous product of my hometown), entered the town. It was dark, and there was shooting. My father, who was a military man, brought us all down to the ground floor where we were protected by adobe stones. The more wealthy people constructed a “bahay-na-bato” where the ground floor was adobe and the second floor was made of wood. This was to protect the family in instances like this where the adobe would protect its inhabitants against bullets.

Then came the scenes where the soldiers rode small boats. Actually, it was the small boats that ferried the soldiers to safety, since the big ships of the Allied Forces were targeted by the planes that were involved in the dogfights. In the end, the heroes of Dunkirk were the owners of the small private boats who saved the soldiers.

There were scenes where the soldiers would be thrown into the sea. This became an emotional moment for me, since I recently lost my husband in the sea when the waves were too mighty and capsized the small boat we were riding during a holiday tour of a really beautiful island. I decided to seek refuge in the comfort room to relieve myself. When I returned, the battle scenes were over, and the soldiers were now riding a train to civilization.

It was a happy ending after all. I wasn’t sorry I watched this movie. It brought me outside my comfort zone and into a place which caused me differing emotions. I went shopping to get back into reality. Now I must take a nap to rid myself of the past.