Tag: museums

Bahay-na-Bato in Luna, La Union: Stone Art Gallery, Noble Home, and Pebble Beach

I kept hearing about Bahay-na-Bato from friends and acquaintances, but I suppose they were never enough to pique my interest to make the effort to personally go there. It wasn’t until the parentals made a spontaneous decision to go on a day trip out to Luna, La Union to check out Bahay-na-Bato that I *kinda* looked into it. When I realized there’s a 3D art gallery featuring stone art, as well as a pebble beach nearby, then I went, I’M IN.
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Being Part of Art in “Art In Island” in Cubao, Quezon City

I miss the sun. Often we take for granted how the sun just makes everything warmer, brighter, that we complain when the day is becoming “too hot” or her glare is too bright for us to see anything. And then she doesn’t show up for a couple of days and we again complain why that’s the case, then start praying for her to come back, as if we didn’t shun and even curse at her before, when we were all sweaty and kinda dehydrated.

But with every raindrop comes rushes of remembrance, so that we recall things we thought were forgotten. Like that time we became part of art in “Art in Island”.

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Drive-by: The Bontoc Museum in Bontoc, Mt. Province

Every single day we wake up and go about our daily lives the usual way, our minds occupied with schedules and meeting objectives, there just seems to be room for, well, not much else. Most of us go online, and check out what’s going on in the world or with other people and, if curiosity strikes us, even try to learn about them: their cultures, their quirks, and even the most random things about them. So it is quite a bit of fresh air when, once in a while, we are reminded of how our own culture – our own quirks and randomness, even – are just as interesting, perhaps even more so, than that of some strangers’ in another side of the planet.

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Jeju-do, South Korea: The Jeju Stone Park

If I am going to be completely honest with you, I never enjoyed going to museums very much when I was younger. For me, they were mostly a fixture or a building housing rare stuff that has some historical or cultural importance, and that my only reason to visit them was because I need the credits at school. I blame that noncommittal attitude towards museums to the fact that, well, there weren’t much fun to be had at the museums around me. They all practically looked the same, so how was I supposed to get excited over a visit to one? But visits to South Korea (and Japan) changed that.

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Down South: The Macaraeg-Macapagal Ancestral House in Iligan City

It seems that, even with zero intentions, I still end up visiting a museum of sorts whenever I go anywhere. Don’t get me wrong; visiting museums is interesting, but compared to being outdoors, personally, the prospect pales in comparison. We did not even know about this place, until our driver-slash-guide for our day-of-chasing-waterfalls mentioned it. Continue reading “Down South: The Macaraeg-Macapagal Ancestral House in Iligan City” →

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Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam: The Central Post Office

Back when I was a teenager, I was, for a time, into this whole “pen pal” thing. It allowed me to interact and be friends with people on other parts of the globe. Some, to this day, I still keep in contact with, albeit sporadically. So a huge chunk of my schedules back then included trips to post offices. Then e-pals (pen pal, only this time, thru e-mail) happened. Who knew, years later, that I’d be spending a lot of time at a post office, and see it as a tourist attraction? Because that’s exactly what the Central Post Office in Ho Chi Minh is. Continue reading “Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam: The Central Post Office” →

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Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam: The Independence Palace

I cannot believe we’re nearing the end of July, guys. Time flies so fast when you’re having fun. Or so busy. Which is sad, because deeeern, when do we get to do all the fun things, eh? I’m having a bit of a walkabout-drought here, it’s a good thing I can let my mind drift back to previous visits, like this one foray into a palace in the heart of Saigon: the Independence Palace, or the Palais de l’independance.

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Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam: The War Remnants Museum (Part 2 of 2)

People visit museums for several reasons. One of the most common reasons is so that they could take a peek at something far removed from what they are familiar with, and be transported back in time, albeit through relics, photographs or works of art. However, I doubt that a visit inside the War Remnants Museum would make you want to go back in time, to this particular wartime.

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Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam: The War Remnants Museum (Part 1 of 2)

Remember how I said that, when I was inside the Hoa Lo Prison and was surrounded by what may be one of the darkest periods in the history of Vietnam (the French occupation, to be more specific), I felt this certain heaviness that kinda made it difficult to breathe? Well, that still did not prepare me for my visit to the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh. The pain is real, and I wasn’t even part of that period of history. (This post is rated PG. Parental Guidance is strongly advised… due to some violent and graphic images and descriptions.) Continue reading “Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam: The War Remnants Museum (Part 1 of 2)” →

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Hanoi, Vietnam: The Imperial Citadel of Thang Long

It’s close to the midway point of the year, you guys. How’s 2017 been treating you so far? I just came off a couple of weeks of trips and seminars, and I honestly still feel sleep-deprived for some reason. I’m currently wading through thousands of photos from the activities over the past couple of weeks, and it’s actually overwhelming, considering how much backlog I still have from my previous adventures. I guess that means I should get on with them,albeit slowly, eh? So here’s another one. My visit to the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long in Hanoi, Vietnam.

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Hanoi, Vietnam: The Temple of Literature

Growing up, I’ve always had a soft spot for literature. I was a sucker for stories and I lapped them up when I had the chance, reading whatever I can get my hands on. At that time, I loved it as much as I loathed Maths. (The fact that I ended up in a profession involving numbers is beside the point.) The library is the closest thing that we can have to a place-dedicated-to-literature. I swear, if my country had something that’s also called a “temple of literature”, you’d have probably found me there. Worshipping. Daily.

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Hanoi, Vietnam: The One-Pillar Pagoda & The Ho Chi Minh Museum

I’ve always seen museums as the best place for a crash course. Like, say, you don’t know much about a person, place, or incident, (and you don’t feel like going through tons of narrative or listening to a lecturer go on for hours about it), then GO TO A MUSEUM. I’d be honest, though, and say that museum visits are low on my list of things to do, especially when visiting a new place. But curiosity wins out in the end, and this one in particular was conveniently located, so I thought it made sense to check out Ho Chi Minh Museum.  Continue reading “Hanoi, Vietnam: The One-Pillar Pagoda & The Ho Chi Minh Museum” →

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Hanoi, Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum & The House-on-Stilts

OK. Things are getting way too summery, so let’s buckle down a bit. According to CNN’s 2012 ranking on the “Top 10 Ugliest Buildings in the World“, sixth on the list is the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi, Vietnam. I wonder what they based the ranking on, since I was going through the list, and I wondered if I had to have some technical know-how on architecture and construction, because most of them looked pretty OK to me. That ranking did not seem to have an effect really, since it hardly made a dent on the high level of interest that the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum generated – and continues to generate – to this day.  Continue reading “Hanoi, Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum & The House-on-Stilts” →

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