ANG NAWAWALANG 3 LINGGO NG TAG-ARAW SA PANAHON NG TAG-ULAN

ni hindi natuyo ang daang kalabaw
at parang kabuteng nagsusulputan ang mga binunot na damo pagkatapos ng ulan

halinhinan ang pagsalakay nina 
Kabayan, Liwayway, Marilyn, Nimfa at Onyok

ang tatlong linggo ng tag-araw ay naligaw
at ang berde ay nanatiling berde dahil sa putik na sumaklit sa mga palayan 

magkasunod na nilakbay ang 
Munoz, Talavera, Sto. Domingo, Talugtug at Lupao

ang araw sa wakas ay dumungaw
sa huling linggo ng Septiyembre kuminang ang laksang ginto sa kabukiran 

samantala, tinakpan ng tapis ang puson ng mga natalo sa pusoy at naghimagas ng kinilaw na isda pagkatapos ng hapunang litsong baka  

THE DEATH OF CONSTANS

History speaks of Constans II, son and co-ruler of the Roman Emperor Constantine III, killed during the revolts against his father's rule.

Constans of Freemasonry is the representation of every Scottish Rite Mason, "eager to serve humanity but caught between self-interest and the call of duty", killed defending his kingdom.

I am Constans, battling the winds with my bike, breaking fast with goat meat and black coffee.

We buried Constans on Friday evening but like the phoenix, he will rise from the ashes to live again.

SMIB.

SIEM REAP

Cock Tales

The name is is attributed to a New Orleans druggist named Peychaud who in the early years of the 1800s concocted a brandy drink called "coquetier", later pronounced as "cocktay" and eventually "cocktail" whose invention in 1862 is credited to a Jerry Thomas (Google).

In other words, the cocky Americans created the cocktail, selling at Pub Street for $5 for two drinks during Happy Hour or 50 percent off between 4-8 pm at the Lobby Lounge Bar of the Angkor Paradise Hotel where I was welcomed with a Green Paradise (white rum+) and did a James Bond moment with a Dry Martini.

Pub Street is where the action is: an excellent Passion Lover (vodka+) at Khmer Idea on the first day, a usual Mojito (white rum+) at Angkor What?'s and an overrated Tomb Raider (cointreau+), allegedly mixed for Angelina Jolie, at Red Piano on the last night, and an intriguing Angkor Dream (gin+) at the Trip Advisor-recommended Monsoon Asian Fusion on the last day.         

Beer and Loklak

I prefer my liquor straight and on the rocks, which means I'm not really into sugarcoated and ice tempered glorified punch that the cocktail is, and would rather have beer in the absence of my preferred liquid fire (scotch whiskey, blended or single malt), in this case Angkor for my first loklak dinner and Cambodia for my last loklak lunch, both at the Ratana Restaurant which caters mainly to a local clientele.

Loklak is Mekong-ized beef steak served in cubes --- inspired by the French, adapted by the Vietnamese, loved by the Cambodians --- which is a popular local dish as adobo is to the Filipinos, while Angkor and Cambodia are lager beers, the former the equivalent of our San Miguel Pale Pilsen and the latter a personal choice for my spicy pork and fried river fish on Monday, my fried frogs on Tuesday, the steamed fish on Thursday, and a superb somlar on Friday.

There was of course rain catching us while walking (and then running) to the Siem Reap Brewpub, allegedly the best craft beer joint in town, where we dried ourselves with a sampler of light to dark ales (Blonde, Golden, IPA, Dark) and a platter of fried wontons and mushrooms.       

Pub Street

I got bumped off from an overnight field visit to Preah Vihear which I don't mind since I need to catch up with work and gave me a reason to discover more of Siem Reap which is small enough to be easily explored by foot.

Once the emails have been responded to and my presentation done, I checked on Google Maps one more time and started walking: [1] 800 meters to the Royal Residence in Siem Reap where King Sihanouk and Gen. Lon Nol plotted Cambodia's independence in a nearby garden; [2] 950 meters from there to Wat Preah Prom Rath which houses a reclining Buddha made from pieces of a boat prow that is said to have saved a monk's life in 1500, allegedly growing in size and sinking deeper to the ground since then; [3] 290 meters more to the Old Market (Psah Chas), choked by souvenir shops but its soul as a people's market still intact, frames of which I was able to capture with the limited capacity of my Samsung A8 mobile phone camera; [4] another 170 meters to Pub Street where I lunched and cocktailed and passed by the Night Market that is actually open by day before walking back [5] 1.5 kilometers to the hotel under the fierce mid-afternoon sun.       

Bar Hop

Friday came, our meeting concluded so we (me, Jack, Natacha, Vin, Jo, Nima, Alastair) took off to the Old Market for souvenirs to take home and Pub Street (the second time in a week for me) where we hopped through its oldest and most famous bars (Angkor What?, Temple, The Red Piano, Siem Reap Brewpub).

Saturday came, my bike tour to the countryside got rained out so I went back to Pub Street with Vin and Jo where they lunched and bought fish net bags while I cocktailed on green kryptonite.

The Upgrade

But my most memorable image of Siem Reap is a line of saffron-robed monks marching in a single line with plates in hand for what I assumed to be their lunch at Wat Kesararam, once used as a prison by the Khmer Rouge and one the 24 killing fields in Siem Reap where an estimated 44,258 people were murdered.

And my best moment was a pass to Bangkok Airways' lounge at the Siem Reap International Airport, and to be reverted back to my PAL Elite Flyer status and therefore access to the open bar of the Miracle Lounge at the Suvarnabhumi International Airport on my way back to Manila. 

NE-MLA-BKK-REP

three days

That's all I have between Bangkok and Siem Reap but enough for 78.32 kilometers and 1,411 calories burned while at the Vuelta, Nario Quintana finished strong at the mountains of Cortals d' Encamp to take the maillot rojo.   

two days

I was on TOIL and with old friends downed two bottles of whiskey on Friday, had 4 bottles of beer after our Saturday meeting then shared two monster Zarck Burgers with Bulan and the wife before taking the bus to Manila.        

6 days

That's the number of days I will be staying in Siem Reap where so far, I've had two Anchor Beers and a kryptonite cocktail, and counting.

It will be a long week.

BEER, CRAFTED, DRAFT OR BOTTLED...

The title is a pun from Agent 007's martini preference: "Shaken, not stirred".

And beer has been around since 5,000 years ago, in what is now Iran (or Iraq?) of all places where the omelette also originated, and probably brought to Europe by soldiers of the Roman Empire and took on by the Germans who concocted the ales and lagers of today.

But it was to the UK that we owe the microbrewery movement which began in the 1970s, the progenitor of craft beer which is defined in Wikipedia as "small, independent and traditional".

In other words, craft beer should be artisanal (hand made), small (home-based) and local, like the those offered by the taps of Pierre's Craft Beer and Liquor Cellar in Morato corner ERod that showcase an array of potions from nearby provinces (Life of Pablo IPA from Boracay, Juicy IPA from Makati, Juice Ko Po NE IPA from Pampanga).

Pierre is actually the owner who exlained that he intentionally kept the bar unsigned to capture the speakeasy context of the past, and Oskar was happy being there after our Manila Face-to-Face.    

I am too because to me, Pierre is KUYA Pierre.

The Philippine craft beer movement is in its early years but has been expanding fast from its Manila enclave to the provinces, and I was happily surprised that a local brand (Amihan Blonde Ale from the Santiago Brewery and Malthouse in Antipolo) is in the menu of the Cavite Republic Restaurant in Trece Martires City.

I struggled whether to attend the constitution of Kalayaan Court No. 61 in Cavite or just stay in Manila where I will leave for Bangkok the next day, and that unexpected experience assured me I made the right decision. 

The craft beer culture is alive in Bangkok but precariously due to draconian regulations that has effectively ensured Thai Beverages' (maker of Singha, Chang and Leo through its Boon Rawd Brewery) monopoly over the Thai beer industry, so much that Thai craft beer has to go underground by being brewed outside the country and exported back.

There were good taps at Brewski and Bad Burger (Thai White Ale) but those from Hair of the Dog and Craft that I taste-tested during the ASEAN Lawyers' Meeting are mainly imported craft beer (US and European) which in my opinion does not qualify as local and therefore not 100 percent craft.

Honestly, I think these self-declared craft beer joints are just fancy bars selling imported beer to northern expats in Bangkok.     

I am hopeful that someday, Thai craft beer will have the enabling environment it requires to grow and prosper but in the meantime, Lao Beer is in and Singha/Chang/Leo out as my contribution in challenging the hegemony of the monopoly, although I am disppointed to be denied entry to the Havana Social (no slippers policy) and did not really enjoy the Westin Grande Sukhumvit's superb breakfast buffet due to a dental issue.