Stories of Places, People and Photography in the Philippines and Beyond
We had to pull ourselves from the cool comforts of our bedroom that afternoon. But we all agreed we’d be going to Victoria Peak, Hong Kong’s tallest mountain, for sundown. So off to the streets we went with map in hand to find our way to the peak. As always, one of the first few things to learn when in a new place is their mode of transportation, and now’s a good time to learn how Hong Kong’s transport system works.
It’s my first trip to Hong Kong. And it’s funny because I’ve been to other parts of Asia but not in Hong Kong. It’s one of those countries visited by Filipinos when they first go out of country much like Singapore and the Filipino community is strong there. Probably because I’m not much enamored with a city full of sky scrapers that’s why it’s not on top of my list. But I was given a chance to visit the place so I kept an open mind as always when visiting a place for the first time. I didn’t have any specific itinerary for our free time but just allowed myself to see where my feet would take me this time.
Let me say this first, that this trip to Batad is already my 4th time and that says something. It’s one of those places that I don’t regret going back to. It’s both good and bad on my part. The good is, I get to see how the place have changed since the first time I went there and second is seeing how bad things may have changed since then. It’s my fourth time there but it’s going to be the first time I’ll be writing about here in length along with Banaue.
The day after our Malacca visit, we head out to the Kuala Lumpur LRT Station on our way to Genting Highlands. We could use the Van to go there but Marie wanted us to try riding the LRT to the last station heading there which is Terminal Putra to get a feel of what it’s like to use the public transportation. While I’m a bit familiar with the Light Railway System in Kuala Lumpur, I’m excited to see what I could learn more.
For me who has lived just a block away from Ilog Pasig (Pasig River) most of my life, I have seen how the river turns from bad to worse in this urban jungle. In the early 80’s I remember we were able to catch some fishes on its brown water (as rivers usually are). But now I’m not sure if there are still any. But with the efforts of the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC), they hope to bring back the previous glory of the of the old Pasig River.
