makadto

Optical Public Service

Leave a comment Posted by Lana on February 21, 2016

Reading glasses provided at a museum in Wulai District, Taiwan

In Taiwan, service quality in public sector includes the availability of reading glasses in public places.

Reading glasses provided at a tourist office in Wulai District, Taiwan

Taiwan New Taipei City, public service, reading glass, spectacle, Wulai

Noryangjin Fish Market

Leave a comment Posted by Lana on February 19, 2016

This one is an exclusively seafood market. A big one. No such sort exist in the Philippines where seafood here are sold in a specific section of the palengke, or at some corner of the talipapa. So at Noryangjin Fish Market with all its assortment of marine edibles where two-thirds of those I cannot identify, it was a wonderment to be inside, ogling unhurriedly at each edible curiosity, and hearing the din from the collective voices of the fishmongers. Obviously, they can tell that I was just an observer and not a potential customer, but I felt at ease because the ajummas and ajeossis don’t seem to mind, and they seem to understand that it was just a field trip of sort to me.

Korea, Market, Seafood fish market, seafood, Seoul

Posporo

Leave a comment Posted by Lana on February 18, 2016

An example of matchbox packaging in the Philippines

Packaging, Pilipinas Guitar, matchbox, palitos, Philippines, posporo

Toog

Leave a comment Posted by Lana on February 17, 2016

Before concrete utility poles like power poles, trunk of the Toog trees were used as they are straight, tall and hard. This I learned by hiking with someone who is a forestry graduate.

Laguna, Plant forest, Makiling Rainforest Park, Toog, tree

Upo

Leave a comment Posted by Lana on February 15, 2016

Upo hanging above the eggplant plantation

Upo growing beside the kubo, in the vegetable plantation barrio somewhere in Rosario, La Union.

Garden, La Union bottle gourd, bukid, Rosario, upo, vegetable

Birdhouse

Leave a comment Posted by Lana on February 11, 2016

Birdhouse made from scrap galvanized iron and scrap wood

La Union, Structure birdhouse, Rosario, scrap materials

Cute Yellow Fungi

Leave a comment Posted by Lana on February 10, 2016

Never thought a fungus can be cute and pretty

Today I woke up to find this bright yellow mushroom in my potted talinum. Beautiful little things that I instructed my helper not to remove them as they are harmless (as long as they’re not eaten). This fungi is something I want to enjoy looking at before and after my morning run. And as I’m writing this, I’m thinking that my job seems considerably dull as compared to a mycologist.

Pilipinas, Science fungi, Leucocoprinus birnbaumii, mushroom, mycology, potted plant

Mosquito Cake

Leave a comment Posted by Lana on February 8, 2016

Smoldering carabao dung as mosquito repellent

As an alternative to mosquito coils, dried carabao dung can be used instead as what this family farm in Rosario did. It is an effective mosquito repellent and its smoke has no manure smell, I swear.

La Union carabao dung, manure, mosquito coil, repellent

Mini Gimbap

Leave a comment Posted by Lana on February 3, 2016

I love rice and its derivatives that this mini gimbap is one of the several reasons I miss Korea. It’s amazing how addicting it can be when at a glance it’s just vegetables and rice wrapped in seaweed and sprinkled with sesame seeds. But it has a distinct taste, an umami comparable to junk food addiction. It must be from a trace of secret sauce, or from the magical hands of the ajumma.

Food, Korea gimbap, Gwangjang, Seoul, sushi roll

Celebratory Chevon

Leave a comment Posted by Lana on February 2, 2016

Last Sunday I hiked through the rainforest of Makiling. Along the trail, I made use of an outhouse toilet at the back of a shack that sells coconuts to hikers. While waiting for my turn, I saw a slaughtered goat waiting to be immersed in a scalding water for dehairing. Then I heard people talking indoors and I’ve come to understand that the kambing is for somebody’s birthday.

Laguna, Pinoy Way of Life chevon, goat, hiking, kambing, Makiling Rainforest Park, scalding water, slaughtering

Manhole Lids in Korea

Leave a comment Posted by Lana on January 28, 2016

I suppose I must have walked a lot to have spotted all sorts of manhole covers from Japan to Korea. There are more but not all have pictures because it was either too cold to expose my hands, or it was precariously located on a busy road. Sometimes, I’d just scrutinize these things without digitizing.

Korea lid, manhole cover, Seoul, Suwon

Malunggay

Leave a comment Posted by Lana on January 27, 2016

Malunggay tree is a backyard regular (or front yard) in Philippine homes

Malunggay tree is my second most favorite tree on earth. The more you cut its branches, the more it will flourish, and thus will always remain reachable for easy harvesting. I once mentioned to my cooking class teacher in Yogyakarta about malunggay leaves as an everyday food of Filipino masses. She chuckled. According to her, Indonesians regard kelor (Indonesian word for malunggay) as a last resort food, like when one is too poor to procure other kinds of vegetables. When I heard that, I chuckled.

Frequent pruning produce more branches

Pilipinas, Plant balungay, kamungay, kelor, malunggay, moringa oleifera

City Towers

Leave a comment Posted by Lana on January 25, 2016

Seoul’s landmark with American spirit

A prominent city tower becomes a modern landmark, an observation tower, a city icon. Except for the Empire State Building in NYC, I’ve never been inside those city towers, nor have they been intentionally included in my itinerary. I was just contented to gaze from afar, and occasionally marveled its height. Most often I’d use it as point of reference, a lighthouse on land.

In Korea, the surrounding park and the path leading to Namsan peak in Seoul is excellent for walking, even at winter. So we walked to the top and then walked back down using a different route. It just so happen that Seoul Tower is on Namsan, close enough for me to take a snapshot at dusk – to document my walk.