it has been a month now since we've dropped ourselves at aunt delle's "territory", but...due some unavoidable circumstances, i still havent completed my full report of the said journey.

so, just so i could fill up the "inip" of our dear readers (hehe), i'll just post the gist of our trip.



  NAIA....it's nearly 10pm....we're checking in our luggages




dinner is served....air niugini,around 11pm or 12mn




PORT MORESBY...arrived at 3AM




tulog.....at the port moresby waiting lounge. around 6 or 7 AM




  gising na si auntie joy... still at the moresby waiting lounge




yey! we are now boarding for cairns airport




takbo! akyat! bilis! ...it rained as we were boarding




one for the road...yeah




i got separated from the group....




wooohooo we're here!  cairns airport, around 10 or 11 am




exit please




auntie delle's car....going to get a snack at.....




  hungry jack's




  siesta at auntie delle's salas




  at the town....innisfail



these 3 succeeding photos were taken at the clinic, where we celebrated auntie delle's birthday

b-day girl with her presents





group pic number 1




group pic number 2



these 2 photos were taken at the WARRINA LAKES...in celebration of the Filipino-Australia independence day [or something :) ]








these 3 photos were taken at the YORKEY'S KNOB...it was soooo windy













3 photos taken when we stayed at CAIRNS

  uncle davis's place


  at the CAIRNS CENTRAL




.....more pictures to come

it has been ages before i could finally post this entry.....
happened on the 3rd sunday of September.
hay nako talaga....

here goes...

ang araw na to ay ginugol ko sa teritorio ng isang kaopisina at kaibigan.
pagkat ngayong araw na to ay binyag ng kanyang unica hija--ang aking panibagong inaanak--si ALTHEAH MIKAELA GACUSAN





it was just a small(really minimal guests),simple gathering.
mas matagal pa nga yung seminar sa mga godfathers/godmothers right before the Christening proper e(sana lang tinutukan namin,haha!)


it was three on three(so i had been told)
three ninongs, by the husband's choice
and three ninangs, as chosen by the wife
(hmmm...sino kaya ang nagbitbit ng extra?)








yay! mahirap maging ninang at photographer at the same time!
punyeta muka na kong basura sa kodakan portion! arrrrr!





what can i do? i brought a camera and damn right i will use it even if the priest condemns me for taking a truckload of photos! haha!




these events happen only once,diba? kaya lubusin na! kapalan na to!



we had lunch at Max's (Pacita Complex)

a little introduction ng mga ninangs sa ninongs before chowing down (asows super smile galore daw o)

tapos, uwian na...

kung tutuusin walang 30minutes yung binyag e, di man lang nga uminit pwet ko sa upuan
pinatagal ko lang konti dahil sa picture taking

it had been alright naman.

solved sa food,hehe.

shet...kelangan ko na ata magbawas ng pounds...

recently, a branch of one of the popular malls in metro manila (SM City Manila branch), held a photography and documentary contest.

theme's made up of three categories, but all boiled down to having manila as the main subject. manila scenes, that is.

so i got my ever reliable handy dandy camera in tact, and made shots around the metro like mad. (well, that was an exaggeration obvioulsy)

anyway, i did get more than enough photos for my entries, but the city just had so much to reveal (mostly when the city lights start appearing, as if trying to fight against the dimming sunlight), so i took a couple of extras more.

voila.

the excesses.

by the way, these were taken on a sunday.




"freedom cat"

animals have the right to be free as well,y'know.













plaza miranda A







plaza miranda B






plaza miranda C







carriedo







carriedo B








plaza miranda












Manila City Hall










hmmmmm......

maybe i should upload my REAL entries too.....


tomorrow perhaps.

this entry shouldve been made/posted weeks ago...and right after the event even.

fortunately the photos havent acquired any algae yet.

here goes.




15TH of SEPTEMBER 2007.........

mahirap ang nawawala sa eksena pag may happenings.....

miss out on all the action.

most of all................the food (sucha glutton, hehe, tsk tsk)



ENJOY THE STREAM OF PHOTOS......no cuts. no captions. ala silent movie mode, hehe.

look what ive run into in Naga City's bus terminal office.....

























sayang...

i'd be long gone out of Bicol the day their gig starts.

from lola, to aunts & uncles, to cousins

thanks to mah cuzn, MD,M.D ...told me bout it. translated it too. catch the rest of them clips on youtube. just type benjo

"goofing off"
location: cubao terminal. aboard penafrancia bus.
time: 7th of september. 7AM









"busy city"
location: ortigas area







"nagbabadyang ulan"
location: laguna borders









"papa up front. mama and liza...tulog"









location: laguna grounds still








"seat number namin ni bro peh"







"the greens"
location: laguna









"sakayan patungong balibago"
location: laguna









"one of the many colette's on our way to bicol(pasalubong store)"









"road sign"









location: more or less batangas area na










"kotseng kuba...pendong!"




















"one of the many checkpoints along the highway"










"riverina pala...kala ko rivermaya,hehe"










"san pablo city...san na nga bang territory ito?"












"san pablo parin"










"san pablo railroad"























"bathroom break"
location: somewhere in batangas












"anu???wala sakin yung ticket!"











"sigi pala...umpisahan nalang natin maglakad ngayon..haay maryosep"












"1st stop over namin"
location: batangas...yata.hehe












"window to the world"










"welcome to quezon province"










location: quezon province still














location: quezon province parin






"wow legs...ni jp"






"cemetery along the highway"
location: quezon prov
















"arko...(look beyond the windshield)

























"bokal"

























note: sariaya quezon na yung church earlier
















"sign board ng jeep"















"approaching next bust stopover"








"a friendly reminder"









"swak"









"unahan makakain"
location: quezon province
time: around 12noon








"pasalubong area"









"we're off again"



















"overview of the pacific ocean from up the mountain"









"presenting...the pacific ocean."








"amaaazing"
it was refreshing to see a body of water after hours and hours of land and trees.
i AM a water person anyway.




















"nakarami...ng tulog si mama"
i can NEVER ever sleep sa mga ganitong biyahe, not because it's not comfortable,but because i dont wanna miss a thing(wow aerosmith ba?)














"immaculate concepcion cathedral"







"twilight"
location: pili














after this, it's already hard to take photos dahil madilim na.


arrived at ligao (bahay ni lola) at around 7 or 8pm.









THE NEXT DAY....






"way to lola's house"
time: 8th of september. 7am
note: before reaching lola's house, tutulay muna ng creek.






"ito yung daan na may creek sa gilid"







"ayan na yung Mayon!"





"asan!"


note: just outside lola's house,makikita na agad yung mayon volcano...if it's not cloudy,that is.







"wag nyo kong kausapin.puyat ako"






"im just a guy,standing in front of a wheel...ehek"
location: garden ni lola






"lola"
(papa's mum)






"caterpie"
caterpie is one of the animal characters in the japanese anime POKEMON























"yehey lunch na!"














note: husband ni auntie remi(papa's younger sister) yung naka white. si uncle 'win






"wow...men...umulan. pano na ang Mayon sighting..."
note: since the day we arrived,we (except papa) have not seen kahit peak lang ng mayon volcano.






"tayo na sa cagsawa!"


























note: not for the weak-hearted

the succeeding shots show the aftermath of typhoon reming, where a lot of people died...and these are just parts of the many areas where lives had been taken due to the typhoon.



























"putol na railway"
note: maraming bahay dati sa area na ito










"just after the rain. ayaw magpakita ni Daragang Magayon"










"sagana sa ulan"










"braso ni mama. on the way to cagsawa ruins"











"here we are at the town of cagsawa"

















"huwaw, eto ba tourist guide dito?"











just after the entrance, may village pa muna bago makarating sa mismong cagsawa church.
this was what has been that village once.
after the typhoon. after the wash out.
properties, livelihood, lives, gone.


























"life goes on"
pinagkakitaan ng mga survivors yung tragedy na nangyari by selling pictures

















"closed na pala"
we arrived at 5pm


























museum from outside the gate









entrance to the ruins









may bilihan ng japanese swords sa entrance.
(japanese swords pero gawang batangas)
price: 900-1,200


























jp from inside the churchbell tower





























































still no sign of









phivolcs.
right side when facing mayon.





































"haaay ayaw talaga ipakita ang entire grandeur"










"merienda muna. matatagalan pa yan"










"lets do the mayon-mayon-magpakita-ka-samin-mayon dance"










"mga kapatid, hindi yata tumalab...kakahiya yun a"










"bad idea nga talaga. sino ba may pakana nung sayaw?"










these crosses stand for all those who have not been found from the destruction that mayon volcano gave.











this was the entrance to the remaining part of what was once a church.
quite dark inside. it was just 5:30 though.
claustrophobes should definitely stay away from this area.










ganito kalaki yung mga ibinato ng mayon the day it ruined the cagsawa church.





























"haaay, will she ever show herself"










time to head on back home.
it's getting kinda dark.
this was the same path we took on our way in to the ruins earlier.










"gloomy"



















we left the place with prayers in exchange for its memories.




+ + +


time to meet our cousins




a mall in legazpi.
stroll stroll narin.
typical mall.
sorta like the annex of sm north edsa.
time: around 7pm











"last day"
ayan na,picturean galore na

















penafrancia cathedral(naga city)










unibersidad de isabel
just beside the cathedral



















the penafrancia basilica









nasa ceiling ito nung open dome, a couple of metres in front of the basilica.












eto yung open dome
we stayed here and viewed the basilica




















para sa mga devotees na gustong makahawak sa milagrosong imahe, may daan sa likod ng altar,then may small opening,just enough for an arm to get a hold of the saint.

















just enjoying the surroundings.
only a few more hours left before we leave for manila.






we are to board the bus bound for manila by 6PM.

still hoping na makita ang mayon.....................






AND THEN----------














jumped out of the pedicab here when i saw it...in the middle of a busy market.
haha!










haaaay sa wakas........




















it was worth the wait.....














the search is over

according to the ofw or owwa, considered balikbayan na daw ang isang pinoy if he stays out of the country for a year or more... i wonder applicable din kaya yun sa locally? if i had stayed out of my hometown for more than a year, does that make me a balikbayan as well?

'travelling(vacations rather)',as a known guitar icon once said before, 'are always good'

last friday, i was bound to ligao,albay(my pap's hometown).

after more than a decade, ive finally set foot on the place again.

*more to come: pictures and more details

ATTENZIONES

you in a band?

wanna be a part of an underground gig?

interested parties:

email me (hikaru404@gmail.com) or sms me (09214366144)

to all that ive missed greeting their birthdays for the last few,,,erm,,weeks,months,,,belated ^_^

am sorry

for ive benn busy ^_^

sarap magbakasyon!
^_^

ilang bwan na ba?
amoy langaw na yata tong journal ko...

much as i wanted to throw in some haps and mishaps in my so-called life,this week(and the week before) had just been really..hard.

hopefully nobody i know has gone to the afterlife yet.

currently watching(while journaling): elfen lied