Azkals Live

I confess to be non-sporty thus rendering my ignorance in the world of sports, in simpler words, lampa. Hindi ko alam pa'no ko naitawid 'yung mga PE subjects ko noong araw. Hehe! I'm not good at any ball games but I'm relatively good at CHEERING!! So, when we learned about the 2nd leg of the Thai-Phil game for the semi-finals for AFF Suzuki Cup here in Bangkok, we hurriedly went to buy tickets to cheer for the Philippines. Besides, the husband is a football fan so he really wanted to watch it live. Unfortunately, it was sold out. I wasn't completely disappointed, but I know the husband was. Later on, we learned that Phil. Embassy staff and officials were given complementary tickets for the game! Yay! Buti na lang hindi kami bumili. 

                                             

It was my first time to watch a sport in a huge stadium and was tremendously astonished by the Thai crowd! All of them were in high spirits to cheer for the Thailand Football Team (The War Elephants), everyone was bringing huge Thai flags, they were wearing shirts with Thai symbolism, their faces painted with Thai flags and some even wore bandana around their heads in Thai flag colors (blue, red and white). The way they cheered for their team pushes their players to kick the ball to the goal! I'm not even sure if we, Filipinos, reached 1% in the crowd. We were drowned in the Thai spirit. 

Rajamangala Sports Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand

The Philippine Football Team (Azkals) lost the game with a crashing 3-0 score in favor of The War Elephants. The "boos" from the crowd every time an Azkal player kicks the ball to the goal helped in decreasing the latter's morale. I am not a sports commentator of some sort (lampa nga, 'di ba?) but having a Thai referee who waved numerous penalty flags and one red tag for the Azkals and ignoring foul actions from the The War Elephants, demoralized the Filipinos more. Sa crowd pa lang, dehadong dehado na tayo. We cannot contest though how great football players the Thais are, they are homegrown talents in comparison to our very own Azkals who are 90% imports. Adding to that, football is not rooted in our culture the same way basketball is. A friend told me that when the 1st leg of the game was held in Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila last week, the Filipino crowd was very few. That alone says so much of our support for the Azkals. :( 

                              

After the game, we met the team at their hotel and it was an awkward salubong. We did not know what to say. The air would be very different if they won the game, but losing with a score of 3-0 is so downgrading. We still congratulated them for giving their best for the country and had quick photo ops. 

The Philippine Football Team (Azkals) with the Phil. Embassy staff, officials and spouses. They cannot even smile for the camera. :( 

Masakit maging talunan. The Azkals did a great job though by putting the Philippines in the map of AFF and their performance increased our rank in FIFA. I really hope that the next time I would be cheering for them, I'd be screaming Pinoy sounding names and not foreign-sounding ones. Mas nakakaproud yun. 

Weekend in Pattaya

When the husband mentioned about a possible consular outreach, I was really excited! The plan was initially in the southern island of Phuket, but was changed to the nearby Pattaya City in Chonburi province because of increased airfare during the holiday seasons. I wasn't disappointed because wherever province we go, it would mean straying away from my daily housewife routine and traveling for free!! Hehe! The consular team, me and one of husband's officemate's family who were also tagging along, checked-in in a hotel owned by a Filipino. It's called Hotel Vista Pattaya  which employs Filipino staff so, for the first time here in Thailand, I hadn't had difficulty asking for and understanding directions and it felt so much at home being with the homies! Naks, homies! Haha!

Complimentary fruits 

If you get to visit their website, I think our room is called the Club Luxx, an upgrade of the Deluxe Room "with an extra touch of youthful design". I checked on the price and was quite surprised that with the kind of amenities that provides comfort and convenience for the clients plus a super delish breakfast buffet, per night only costs 2,200 baht!! That's roughly around 2,800 Php. Not bad, 'di ba? If you come in a group of 4, super sulit na 'yan!  

If you come in a group, kasyang kasya kayo sa king size bed na yan. :)

                      

The sleek and chic bathroom and powder nook. 

What's also great about Hotel Vista (don't I deserve to get paid with this kind of hotel promotion? Haha! I should make this a job! Patty Laurel lang and peg.) is it's very accessible location. It is situated in the heart of Pattaya City so most of establishments catering to a tourist's needs can be hiked! The famous Pattaya beach is like three minutes away so as restaurants and convenience stores. I've been roaming around whole day while the husband was at work. Not all establishments and tourists spots are accessible by foot though, that's where Songthaews come to the rescue. It is a pick-up with seats at the back and is the general mode of transportation around the city. It is akin to our very own jeepney as tuk-tuk is to a pedicab/tricycle. 

Songthaew

According to the tourism promotion flyers, the Pattaya Bay Area is one of Asia's largest beach resort, no wonder it is the second most visited city in Thailand. Tourists from all races, mostly Caucasians are scattered basking under the sun. It also offers water sports such as jet skiing and parasailing. With the many small boats sailing on the sea and the crowd of tourists, the beach is highly polluted. It is definitely NOT your go-to beach. 

Pattaya beach. I took this early in the morning so there were few people yet. At around lunchtime or past noon, it becomes increasingly crowded.

As I got tired walking along the beach, I sat down on one of those, what do you call them, sun bathing seats? Until I felt a Thai woman tapping me on my back and saying something in Thai and the only thing I understood was "/foh-tee/ baht"! Hahahaha! So may rental fee pala na forty (40) baht! I thought it was free since it is a public beach. I sprung up immediately and walked away. Hahaha!!!

  

Buddhist worshiping corner at the Beach Road. This road highly reminds me of Roxas Boulevard, except that nobody would dare to take a plunge into Manila Bay. 

                      

I have long been nagging the husband that we go to Khao San Road  here in Bangkok for an authentic Thai-style street food experience. Aside from the heavy demand of his work, he does not like eating street foods for haram-precaution (most soups are made from pork broth) and sanitary reasons. I understand him for that. When we arrived in Pattaya, we saw an open-restaurant street-food style along the beachfront. We checked it out and after finding out that they're serving mostly sea foods, we didn't think twice. We had fried crab rice, blanched mixed seafoods (prawns, mussles and squid) in chili Thai sauce and stir-fried morning glory or pat pak boong (kang kong sa Pilipino). We were so delighted that we almost finish the entire meal good for four people! Haha! I am really gaining weight fast here. 

When my Bangkok-based nephew learned that I am tagging along to Pattaya, he told me to "enjoy The Sin City!". Eto pala yun. Not far from where we were staying, just along the beach road is the red-light district where rows of host bars, clubs, massage parlors and hourly hotels are located. It was a good thing I passed by the area in the morning, otherwise how awkward it would be for someone wearing hijab to be walking in the street of prostitutes. Hahaha! Astagfirullah. 

Red-light district

Travel Advisor suggested many a tourist attraction, but what really caught me was The Sanctuary of Truth. In fact, it is the only tourist spot I visited while we were there because I was highly satisfied with what I have seen. MashaaAllah. 

The Sanctuary of Truth  or commonly known to the Thais as Prasat Sut Ja-tum is a gigantic ornate temple-like complex made entirely of wood, I was deeply astonished by the beautiful Thai artistry and woodwork skills!!

Front wing

                     

It felt surreal! I felt like I was in a set of a movie or something, enveloped by the Buddhist mythical and legendary creatures. Haha! It is dubbed as "The Magnificence of Heaven Recreated on Earth" through arts and culture which are used to reflect the Ancient Vision of Earth. It is called The Sanctuary of Truth from the concept that human civilization can only succeed in this world if it can find eternal peace for all mankind. Apparently, eternal peace can be attained when we devoid ourselves from materialism and return to the old values centered to moral and spiritual contentment.

Exterior of the left wing

The intricately carved wood sculptures adorn the entire complex, inside and out. I don't think there is any space not covered with carvings. It presents the seven creators according to Buddhist belief: Heaven, Earth, Father, Mother, Moon, Sun and Stars. 

                    

On top of the four spires of the sanctuary are the four elements that will lead to the ideal world according to Eastern philosophy, Nirvana, I presume. Each step to the ideal world include war between good and evil. In one of the four wings of the complex, wood sculptures presented the epic story of Mahabharta and Ramayana which are, accordingly, meant to extinguish personal desires and lust. 

The vast interior designed elaborately.

All visitors were advised to wear helmets as some parts of the building was under renovation. Some rotten woods are being replaced by new ones with the exact sculptural design. 

Look at that dyahe moment!! I waited for all the tourists to transfer to another wing when I set my phone-camera timer and made an attempt to do a meditation pose then suddenly, these foreigners came and I caught them staring at me the whole time! Hahaha! Na-conscious ako kaya hindi successful ang capture, plus they photobombed me!!! So much for sariling sikap shots. Tsk. 

It is magnificently beautiful!!! 

                      

After seeing everything inside the complex, I sat for another half an hour outside the building just staring at it and appreciating the people who conceived such idea as well as the talents of those who labored hard to materialize such beautiful creation. I may not believe in the Buddhist mythical and legendary stories of creation but it has a similarity with the Meranao legend of Bantugen which has long been forgotten as the Western culture crept into the Meranao society. I guess, the legendary Bantugen and the rest of his story will remain in the memory of my grandmother who sung the victorious songs of Bantugen by heart. It was never passed on to neither my mother's or my own generation. I contemplated on the Meranao wood sculpting artistry, had it been cultivated, developed and promoted among the youth of our generation, we can do better than this. By now, we also have equally beautiful torogan to boast. Sadly though, by keeping at par with the modern technology, we have totally dropped the skills unique to us seeing it as an obsolete and dying industry. I guess, it also has something to do with the increased knowledge in Islam as some Islamic scholars forbid sculpture because it may lead to worshiping idols. I just hope admiring beautiful forms of art is not forbidden because admiration is not tantamount to worshiping. Right?  

A cultural dance treat for the visitors

When the husband and I met at the hotel later that day, I was full of stories and shared many photos with him. He has only one thing to say: "Mas miya-enjoy ka oba sakun nah" (you enjoyed more than I did). Hahaha! 

Dinner at Toscana Italian Restaurant where we had the usual pasta and pizza but in authentic Italian flavor. Delish!!

In continuation to my promotion about Hotel Vista Pattaya, (hahahah!) they have one of the best breakfast buffet I've ever been (on top of my list was in Marina Bay Sands in Subic). On the first day, I had one of the best pad thai I've ever tasted (on top of my list was the one in a Thai resto in Burgos Circle, Taguig? Forgot the name), salad with French dressing (I chose that for a change) and the BEST cream cheese EVURRRRRR!!!! As in it was all I was thinking of whole night long that I already planned what to put on my breakfast plate the next morning. I know I don't need to look around because I already know where they are located on the buffet table. Hahaha! Much to my dismay, pad thai was not available on our second morning. I wished I had eaten more during our first day. Haha!

My breakfast on our second morning. No pad thai. :( But I did have loooooots of cream cheese with herbs. Hihihi. 

Best cream cheese ever. 

                

                   

That's me and husband on a drop lamp.

                                  

Thank you Hotel Vista! Thank you Pattaya for the wonderful weekend and of course, thank you Philippine Embassy in Bangkok for allowing me to tag along! Sa susunod na consular outreach ulit ha. *winks* Hihi.

Quarter-Life Crisis

If you happened to read my previous post about The Secret, it has something to do with me undergoing "quarter-life crisis" pala. I just learned about it when I was reading an article and came across with the word. It summarized everything that I was feeling, I was going through a phase pala that I didn't recognize. What I knew was that I felt a lot of resentment about everything. It happened right after I was deployed in Maguindanao for my DTTB stint and eventually got married. Everything seemed to happen swiftly that I lost track to cope. I thought everything was perfect for me--- I had my license as a physician and earned respect from society, I have a fulfilling job, I married the kind of person I was praying for--- but I was feeling doomed. I dealt with a lot of emotional pains caused by too many factors and here, let me count the ways: 

1.) The hassles of being a Doctor to The Barrio
   
      Being pulled out from one province to another due to a rift with the local chief executive, going to the mountainous terrains, walking under the sun to reach barangays located in what seems to be the endmost part of the world, dealing with hard-headed and delinquent staff, seeing the miserable condition of the people in a municipality forgotten by civilization; and at the same time, witnessing the fabulous and glamorous lifestyle of the handful of people who are supposed to make life easy for those in the far-flung mountains. I was witnessing the irony in my own society. I was disillusioned. I cannot believe how money and power can rip off some people's conscience, rendering oppression to those in the lower strata and how the latter can all be purely innocent of the injustice lashed at them. For two years during my whole DTTB stint, I was in complete desolation. Yes, I have survived DTTB, I am in a good state now, but the people in the municipality I had left are still eating out from one powerful man's hand, struggling through their daily survival, waiting for a miracle to happen.

   For two years, I have witnessed how corruption from the lowermost level occurs and how the people from the grassroots suffer the consequence and worse, how they tolerate the powerful ones as if stealing the money rightfully owned by the mass is a normal thing to do. And the worst feeling is knowing that you are not, by any means, capable of doing something about it. I came to a point of wishing DTTB would end soon so I can get out of the loop to stop witnessing everything. 

2.) Long distance relationship

      Before my husband and I got married, he already talked me out of the DTTB stint and offered to pay back my scholarship so I can join him in his post in Nigeria. I vehemently refused because I was really looking forward to DTTB and I know I will regret it if I wouldn't join the program. I have already accepted our LDR set-up thinking that I have never been emotionally dependent to one person so it wouldn't be a problem. One month after we got married, he left for Africa and we were both back to our pre-marriage routine. Much to my huge surprise, I had a severe separation anxiety that I had occasional outbursts of crying!! Adjusting with the contrasts in our personality with a seven-hour time difference, it was one hell of a crazy LDR. Thanks to technology, but it wasn't enough to make up for the physical absence. Facetime or viber cannot detect the real mood or environment we were in so there were plenty of times when I would burst into outrage and he had no idea why, and then later on he would find himself profusely apologizing for something he did not understand. I was just PMS-ing lang pala. Hahaha! Thank God, he was/is very patient with me. Oh well, he now has a broad understanding of women and he had my mood swings to thank for. Haha!

3.) Pressure from attending to social obligations

      I was never a social butterfly as opposed to my own mother. Being labeled as "the physician daughter of *insert my mother's name here*" and immensely after I got married, I forced myself to pretend to be the social butterfly that I am expected to be and forced my brain to memorize family genealogy. It is quite difficult to be in the Meranao society, I tell you. You are forced to be who you are NOT because of  certain expectations coming from certain labels, and if you fail to live to that expectation then expect murmurs about you behind your back. Guess I will have to live with those murmurs and just shrug my shoulders as I live my life because honestly, I cannot live to pretend. 

4.) Pressure from the masteral classes

       The biggest perk (the ONLY perk actually) of being in the Doctors to the Barrios Program is being enrolled for free in a masteral classes in the prestigious Development Academy of the Philippines. The classes, which we call the Continuing Medical Education or CME, are conducted every six months for two whole weeks in the DAP Convention Center in Tagaytay City. CMEs are always being looked forward to as a breather and a refresher, it is what every DTTB loves. Upon returning to area, we were bombarded with assignments and action plan and projects (APPs) that needed beating a deadline. With the fluctuating internet connection in our place and with the impending works in the rural health unit, it was hard juggling my role as a student, head of unit and subordinate all at the same time. 

5.) The chaotic world

        Everywhere I looked at was chaotic--the core of the society I live in, my country, the whole world is in the verge of war. Natural catastrophes ground us to rubble because of man's own doings. My eyes opened up to the real world and how miserable it is. Negativity started to sunk into my being, it was eating me from within and my whole perspective about this world started to change. I was letting the happy girl in me slip into a hopeless being. Everything, including my own room, was in chaos.


It never occurred to me that the transition from my extended adolescence to adulthood would be a formidable one. I realized that I actually underwent a life-changing phase when I already emerged out of it. Haha! Yeah, it was quite late but I'm just glad that I managed to get through everything unscathed. I am grateful I'm surrounded by the positively-energized people who peppered me with relevant advice and it also helped that I read self-help books. I read all the three books of Rhonda Byrne: The Secret, The Power and The Magic, I read the entire Qur'an (the English translation) for the first time and tried to understand it by consulting some verses with my father who has better understanding of the Holy Book and of Islam and I listened to lectures of Islamic scholars particularly Mufti Menk and Yasmin Mogahed. Perhaps when you're conscious that something is going wrong in your life, it is a reflex that you try to bind yourself together by looking within you the purpose of your very existence. I clung to my faith and by counting my blessings, all the chaos and negativities hovering above me gradually disappeared. The greatest thing that happened to me while I was in crisis was accepting that what is happening in our lives is way beyond our control, that we can only do so much, and recognizing the power of The One Above who is The Best Planner, The Most Gracious and The Most Merciful. I believe I understood more things now about my faith than I do before, and there are still a good measure that I am yet to learn and understand.

I am grateful to three people who got my back while I was in crisis, the three people who made me see how blessed I am and who returned my positive outlook in life, they are the ones who I constantly talk to about my problems, who had awkwardly seen me crying, and despite my tantrums and everything, they still loved me unconditionally: my father, my husband and my brother J. I love you three!! 

Aiscape and I

I have this love-unlove relationship with my blog. It's not "love-hate" because I don't really hate my blog. It's like having an old geeky friend whom you've ditched for the cooler newbies in school (twitter, facebook and instagram). If this blog can only speak, I know it holds a lot of hurt feelings toward me. I, on the other hand, keeps a looooot of stories to tell an old friend when we've finally have a time to catch-up. And that time depends on ME. Right after the medical boards exam, I vowed to  write about the untold stories during the review days and write a lot about my Doctors to the Barrios experience. Two years later, I scanned through this blog and horrified I was upon realizing that I actually wrote just two (!) entries about my whoooole DTTB experience (click this and this one, too) . I've been confiding a lot to the cool guys a.k.a twitter, facebook and instagram instead of my old geeky friend who has been waiting in vain for my stories. 

I keep a public blog where nobody reads my entries randomly because I wanted things to be private between me and my readers (who are just my close friends anyway, unless someone finds his/her way here) only, but I noticed that I wanted to share the experience to the crowd! I like people to "like" my posts and agree with whatever I say on the social media!! I felt alarmed though because I read somewhere that people who are very active on social media are those who have tendency toward depression and those with low self-esteem!! And then I came to ask myself, do I really need that validation from people? Am I depressed? Do I have a low self-esteem? Perhaps yes, perhaps no. 

What I noticed about myself though is how short my attention span had become. It started during later years in med school that I cannot focus on something for quite a long time, I need to distract myself with something else and that is how I found my way to the social media. For instance, I have been thinking about writing an entry for the past weeks since I've been here in Bangkok (yes! I'm already here living with my husband!!), but not until now (on my fourth week here) that I finally started a paragraph. And even before writing the first letter and finally coming up with what to write, I have been scanning other people's blog, update myself on twitter, instagram and facebook almost simultaneously! Delaying tactics, you know. But why? Perhaps because first, I don't know when and how to build this friendship with my blog again, and second, I am afraid of grammar nazis. Seriously, I am always afraid of committing a grammar mistake that I think I always end up of having plenty of them! Law of attraction daw. The more you fear about something, the more it is being pulled towards you. Haha! 

Anyways, I already made up my blogsignments in my phone (and in my head) and since I am a full time housewife for the time being, I really hope to catch up with my old friend, Aiscape. :) I won't make promises but I will see to it that I finish an entry at least once a week. Let me start with this. 

Bismillahir rahmaanir raheem.