Pandoraspace

Other than the pine trees, I was also confronted by the Baguio fog the last time I was there.

I was driving around town with some people when a thick fog suddenly enveloped us. While the person driving us around was very tense trying to figure out whether we were still on road, I sat back, smiled and told myself that this is the Baguio I remember.

My grandmother who lived in Baguio all her life told me that, when she was a child, there were so many pine trees in Baguio that you could smell the scent of pine all over. I never experienced Baguio smelling like pine all over but there were certainly many pine trees everywhere when I was growing up.

During countless picnics in the parks, quiet walks around town with friends, and skirmishes in the playground the pine trees were there quietly watching from the sidelines.

I had forgotten about those pine trees that saw me growing up until a chanced upon them during my recent trip to Baguio. While many things I knew and loved while growing up in Baguio are gone, some of the pine trees of old remain. Just looking at them got me all choked up as I remembered a time when my grandfather held my hand tightly as we stood and looked up at the same pine trees. I wish with all my heart that these pine trees would never die so I would still have a reason to keep coming back to Baguio.

Session Road

This photo of a young boy sitting on top of a sign post at the bottom of Session Road was taken by Lito Tesoro.  In the background, there is a sign that reads Bombay, which refers to Bombay Bazaar.  When I was growing up, there were no malls in Baguio and people would shop at dry good stores like Bombay Bazaar, which, like D&S Grocery, no longer exists.

More of my favorites from Rose Bowl…

Ho To Tay Soup

Sweet and sour meatballs

Lion’s Rice at Rose Bowl

Although many things in Baguio have change, my Rose Bowl Lion’s Rice is a constant and a part of the Baguio I remember.

While I was growing up, my parents took me to eat at Rose Bowl countless times. Rose Bowl is a restaurant located along Harrison Road and facing Burnham Park in Baguio City.

I vividly recall being brought to Rose Bowl past my bedtime and falling a sleep several times before the soup arrived. I remember my parents having long discussions about things I could not understand while I sat and stared at the paintings of daisies on meadows in Rose Bowl and waited for the food to come. And, as far back as I can remember, I have always had Lion’s Rice.

Lion’s rice is a dish with lechon kawali (deep fried pork chop), chop suey (sautéed vegetables of fresh button mushroom, cauliflower, carrots, fresh peas and brocolli) and a cup of steamed rice. Sometimes, I asked for a sunny-side up egg to go with my Lion’s rice.  To this day, my parents give me perplexed funny looks when I order Lion’s Rice, which I eat alone, while everyone else gets to eat “family style”, i.e., everyone shares all the dishes ordered.

The thing about Lion’s Rice is that its taste has never changes since I was a child.  Its familiar taste not only gives me comfort, it reminds me of my wonderful childhood in Baguio.

This website defines the Filipino word lamon as “to eat with gusto - more like a swine.”  Lamon is exactly what Monk and I did at Cavite after a grueling work morning.

As usual Monk played a bad trick on me. He told me that he would pass by for me at 5:30 a.m. because of the traffic in the Southe Express Way but he arrived well past 6:00 a.m. Grrr… We concluded our business in Cavite by lunchtime, and before we headed back to Manila, we ate at LZM.

For months Star, Monk and a host of other friends have been raving about the bangus (milkfish) at LZM. Although I am not a fan of fish, I was curious to try this bangus that people were raving about.

By the time we got to LZM, Monk and I were starving and poised to pig out. I suppose sleep deprivation makes one want to pig out. We ordered the boneless bangus, Bulalo (boiled beef and marrow with vegetables), salted red eggs and a mountain of steamed rice. I wanted to order the lechon kawali (deep fried pork) as well but that was a bit too much.

While waiting for our food to arrive, Monk and I started making our own sawsawan (dip). Monk mixed calamansi, which according to this website is a “small, very round citrus fruit that’s ubiquitous in the Philippines”, soy sauce and sili (tiny hot chili peppers). I mixed patis (fish sauce), calamansi and sili.

The bulalo was fine but I think they popped in some beef bullions, which altered the taste of the broth. I prefer bulalo without the enhanced flavoring as the beef shanks, when boiled for a long time, can adequately flavor the broth.

Now the bangus did not disappointment. In fact, it was so tasty and tender that I ate half of the giant bangus served to us. I ended up eating the bangus with rice sans the sawsawan because the fish needed no extra flavor to enhance its taste. Monk and I barely spoke while we were eating the bangus like swines. This bangus is definitely something worth coming to this place for specially if your are in the mood for a lamon.

I am taking a breather for a couple of days.

I learned a very important lesson today.  

I learned that, as with all physical activities, yoga must be practiced correctly and with care and consideration for the body.  In his book Light on Yoga, B.K.S. Iyengar explains that when yoga is not practiced correctly, a person will feel a sense of unease and discomfort for several days after.   

For the third day now, I have felt discomfort and unease.  During class a few days ago, I knew I was not doing the asanas correctly not because the instructions on how to do them were wrong, but because, I simply could not get myself to follow those instructions.  So, here I am feeling out of sorts.

I remember Faeq Biria giving very specific instructions about how to move the body to avoid injury.  He was very careful to say that most injuries are not immediately felt but occur after sometime when an asana is performed incorrectly through time.  B.K.S. Iyengar recommends that when such feelings or discomfort or unease arise, one must consult more experienced practitioners to ensure that the asanas are done correctly.  I think this is wonderful advise.

If there is one thing I could impart about yoga, or about any physical activity, it is this: It is best to learn yoga (or other physical activity) from experienced practitioners who are able to explain the rationale behind the activities and to teach one how to avoid injury.  Then, supplement what you learn be reading about it.  

Reflection after Faeq Biria’s class:  Could a person immersed in a world that calls for one to be aggressive and to always doubt the veracity of things that come before him even achieve the benefits of yoga while living in that world?  Rina had said time and time again that a person achieve the  benefits of yoga through the practice of non-violence.  I wonder whether it is possible for me to ever achieve those benefits when I live in a world of aggression.

Day 2 of Faeq Biria’s workshop: An awareness in my cells

Alya introduced this concept that was so alien to me sometime ago.  She said that one of the great yoga teachers told her that a benefit of practicing Iyengar yoga is to have awareness in the cells.  

Usually, when we are given instruction on how to move our body, the instruction is first processed by our mind and then the mind signals our body to move accordingly.  When we have awareness in the cells, that period wherein our mind processes the instruction and transmit it to our body is significantly reduced or eliminated.  I suppose it is akin to how we react instinctively.  For example, when a stray ball is about to hit us, without thinking, our body tries to avoid it.  Within the period when that unexpected stray ball is about to hit us, we have no time to think will our selves to avoid the ball.  We just do.

On the last hour of Faeq Biria’s workshop, I was picking up a block, and in the process, I happen to look at the hand picking up the block.  At first, I found my hand rather strange but I could not immediately tell why.  After what seemed like a long time, I realized that my fingers were bent in a funny way to make it easier for me to pick up the block.  Of course, when I realized my fingers were bent in a funny way, my mind immediately commanded them to straighten and they did.  

On hindsight, I wonder if I had in a tiny way achieved that so called concept of awareness in the cells when my fingers bent in a funny way to pick up the block without my mind telling my fingers to bend that way.