Macau: The Camoes Garden and the Old Protestant Cemetery

Camoes Garden  Morning Tai CHi

Early morning on to our third day in Macau finds us walking through narrow alleys of an old neighborhood in San Antonio, Macau. Climbing zigzagging stairs, sleeping alley cats and neighborhood shrines to find us gasping a little for breath and realizing we’re already in level of the higher floors of the residential buildings in front of us. I thought this urban landscape of windows, air conditioners and stained walls felt a lot like the Old Manila. But a few more flight of stairs led us to Macau’s largest and oldest park, the Camoes Garden.

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Macau: Threading the Streets of the Old Town

Threading the Streets of the Old Town Macau

It was like a maze if I may say so. Or we were just moving too fast while navigating the inner streets of the old neighborhood of Macau that my sense of direction got lost in the wind. “We better hurry. We got a schedule to keep” reminded Joao, our guide. I couldn’t even remember half of what he told us during our walk. But one things definitely sure, I love walking these streets. It reminds me of Manila, or what it could have been if it wasn’t bombed to the ground.

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Baguio: The North Face 100 Marathon Winners and my 11k Trail Run

The North Face 100 Trail Running Marathon in Baguio

I wasn’t really planning to run. I haven’t really run for years and my last run for 10k was more than 4 years ago as I recall. I didn’t run competitively after that and just do leisurely runs on the nearby track and field near our home. But morning of the 25th April 2010, I found myself running in a pine covered eco-trail in Baguio at Camp John Hay, catching my breath at least 1500m above sea level and racing to finish an 11k race at The North Face 100 Trial Running Marathon in Baguio. It’s my first time to do a trail run which is so much different on running on pavement. It was fun and it was challenging trying to define my limits.

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Singapore: Marina Barrage Night

Singapore Marina Barrage

Singapore is flooded. I think it was almost waist deep. I could see some old cars toppled on the streets and people carrying their belongings above the water. I would have believed if this scene was taken in the Philippines a few months back but that this was taken in Singapore. It was in the 1960s when Singapore suffered massive floods during the rainy season. I was looking at photographs more than 45 years ago at Marina Barrage and was just amazed how floods are nonexistent at this time since then.

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Singapore: The Marina Bay and Merlion Park

Singapore Marina Bay and Merlion Park

Pardon my indulgence as I become a casual tourist on this post. I know there are probably thousands of Merlion photos in the web. It’s just that the first time I went to Singapore, I never got to see the Merlion Statue as it was hidden behind walls on its regular maintenance shower. The 2nd time around I was too busy to go there so it was only on my recent visit that I get to take photos of Marina Bay and Merlion Park with the Merlion there.

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Singapore: Birding at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve

Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve

I always thought that the small island country of Singapore has developed into a full-blown modern city in all corners. But beyond its neatly paved road and architectural playground, I was still able to find some spots where people can enjoy the beauty of nature. While I was looking into the Heritage Parks of the ASEAN member countries, I discovered that Singapore has one nature park listed named Sungei Buloh. So when I was there I made sure to visit the place.

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Manila: Revisiting the Manila Ocean Park

Manila Ocean Park

So how is everything in Manila Ocean Park after more than 1 year and a half since it opened? I remember being proud that we finally have a world class oceanarium here in Manila. I got a chance to visit the Park again just to be updated on the development of the place. Well, as I have seen so far, things have been going rather slow.

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