Goodbye to all That

I told myself I should be an expert at this but saying goodbye seems more difficult when you're older. How do you make partings easier?

I always believe in short and sweet and saying all you're closures and sorries and being still friends after that. It will shorten the time of healing. So what am I doing making this time longer that it should be. I should have left three years ago. I should leave now.

Kris Allen Sucks; Jabbawockeez Rule

It was a long road for most of us Filipino fans. Dreaming of seeing American Idol contestants perform onstage live is a long shot for most. I resolved that I would see Kris Allen or Adam Lambert when they perform here no matter what after the finals. So I headed with my friends to the empty lot in Mckinley hills to see the season 8 winner perform.

It was good that there was no rain but the air was cool and there were few stars that night. After dinner at Abe at Serendra over sinigang sa bayabas, pla pla and crispy tadyang, we got a taxi to the concert site. The place was not jampacked as I expected. I thought there were millions of Kris Allen fans out there. Hey following a thread on pinoy exchange I really thought there might be a legion trying to vote his songs to number one. But a ticket booth in front of the concert site is proof it's not sold out.

I never expected anything great from Boyce Avenue. It might be hard to do a front act. Their rendition of Wonderwall and Bleeding Love can make me forgive the almost half a dozen original songs they sang that never did take off with the crowd.

It was Jabbawockeez that was a major revelation that night. Although the start was slow and everyone kept on standing and blocking each others view, their dancing made me change my mind about it being a major work of art. Their "single ladies" and "ocho coho" numbers were hug crowd pleasers. It was a marriage of funk, rnb, breakdancing and mime that thug the souls of the audience. Nobody needed to tell the crowd to clap or scream or stand up They had everyone captured with their performances. That part when one of them say that performing here is a humbling experience, I say Mabuhay to the group. You make us proud to be pinoys.

Now that Kris Allen sucks. After waiting for 3 hours, he came out singing on top of the stage. At first it was mesmerizing imagine that was a live idol winner performing even if I'm on 30th row left side, I was filled with excitement. But a couple of songs later, it was sheer bad performance and song choices that were not actually suited for him. He was singing songs from his album that would have been better sung by Adam Lambert because of a U2 rhyth to them. Remember what Adam did to U2's "One." Well it feels like Kris was trying to do that but well he will never be an Adam.

Aside from those, Kris Allen looked like he was performing just for the sake of performing. When he went down to the crowd and starting pointing "You get up. You go up." and the whole time he was singing onstage, I could only think of two things, he is on drugs or he is so beat up and tired that he was not enjoying performing anymore. He was banging his head. He was sweating like hell because of the heat. He was all over the place. His voice never faltered though because he never sang "No boundaries." But his performance was lackluster. He was bored performing. He was not happy with his songs. He uses his guitar as a safety blanket to make it look like he is doing something on stage because he could not command the crowd. Being pretty can only take as far. Talent can take you all the way. So I wonder why he won the contest.

Going back home, my friend opened his copy and listened to the tracks in the car. Mine is still in its original sealed plastic cover. I'm seriously thinking of getting a refund.

Luang Prabang

After a two day slow boat ride from Huay Xai the forest lined banks of the Mekong River suddenly changed into a city. Walking up the concrete pavement from the pier, one arrives at the entrance to the former Royal Palace now the National Museum. It was magical and that must have been the experience of every traveller who took that route.

The city was lined with french colonial houses and dotted with several temples (Wats). The old houses are now converted to restaurants and boutique hotels. It is good that it is a world heritage site so that much of the colonial architecture is preserved. Sala Prabang is a hotel along the river bank. It is conveniently located to the usual tourist spots around the city. a former resident of the first Lao prime minister, the architecture is superb and matches the climate of the area with huge french windows and elegant slanting roofs and large open courtyards. Except for the tough beef teppanyaki on new years dinner, the place is a steal for the price.

Primarily a Buddhist community, the temples and the monks play a major role in the lives of the people. Most monks enter the monastery because they could not afford a good education and because they could not feed themselves. Everyday at dawn, the monks walk through the streets receiving alms from devotees. The practice becomes a tourist havoc when there are a lot of tourists disturbing the solemnity of the ritual with their cameras and gawking. But try watching in a regular day in a far part of town and you will surely enjoy the solemnity of the event.

As Derek of White Elephant puts its, you can never do justice to Luang Prabang with the usual 3 day stopover. Staying longer means, catching the sunrise and sunset at Mount Phousi, being able to see the three waterfalls, ride an elephant, visit the Pak Ou caves and marvel at the life along the river banks, visit an abandoned temple, trek through the tribal villages, more time to shop at the night Hmong market.

Lao cuisine is similar to Thai and not a long shot to Filipino. Imagine eating in Villa Santi and choosing from the royal menu a dish that turned out to be chicken curry. I suggest eating at Tamarind for authentic Lao dishes. Try the dipping sauce or the traditional Lao dishes platter. The waiter will gladly teach you how to eat the food and explain each dish. The Lao coffee at the plaza and the baguette sandwiches are good fares after a walk or a bike ride around the city.

Yes do come to Luang Prabang before it becomes extrememly fashionable and touristy. Taste and Luxuriate in Culture.

Election Frenzy: Or how they sell their soul to the devil

Its election time once again in the Philippines. And as Charles Dickens put it, it's the best of times and the worst of times. We see the flood of money maybe not directly, but notice the number of roads and bridges that are being repaired even if they don't need repairs and the projects that suddenly were completed after being left for granted in the past three years.

what is worst though is that the candidates are starting their mudslinging. What is more appalling though is that alliances are made that stinks to the core. Wala na talagang prinsipyo at delikadeza. I use to believe in Liza Masa and Satur Ocampo but forging an alliance with Manny Villar, the same party that carries the candidacy of bon-bong Marcos is worst than Comelec allowing Erap to run.

I am saddened because suddenly I don't have heroes anymore.

The Philippines is not worth it anymore

Bring it on. I don't care anymore. They are not afraid of burning in hell. They just want hell for all of us. Thank you your honors, mr. president, mr. speaker and honorable gentleman and ladies. Thank you for hell on earth.

LUANG PRABANG

It's not an Asian thing. Going to that remote old Laotian capital in the middle of the Mekong river may just be the adventure I needed to speed me back to my groove. There's actually 26 days to left.

Sad Day

They wanted to make it appear that the 47 just disappeared so they buried the vehicles with the bodies. The sad thing is how no matter how gruesome the massacre is, the police and military cannot point to anybody as responsible for the crime.