(Almost) BEER-LESS IN BANGKOK

I did solemnly swore that I would stay dry in Bangkok as I did in Poblacion on Saturday night and at PAL's Mabuhay Lounge on Sunday morning , a vow reieterated while attempting a seance with the ghosts of the 1937-era National Stadium of Thailand to find out who were the Filipino medalists during the Asian Games of 1966, 1970 and 1978.   

Pratunam Market's Soi Sangkarn Petchaburi at Monday noon is bustling with food and traffic while L migrated my files from THBKKNB191 to THBKKNB199, the railroad tracks silent as a motorbike burst through an alley and I walk 1.3 kilometers for a rendezvous with Nipuna to what is allegedly the best breakfast place in Bangkok.

What can be the signage of the Soi 19 Sab Sab Wanton Noodles is a plaster of posters declaring it has "No Branch in Singapore" but unfortunately, we were too late for its famous Ter Kah Pork Trotters (braised and poured in a rice plate with slices of pork intestines, tofu, boiled egg and pickled vegetable) so we settled for a bowl each of its signature wonton noodles that came aldente with roasted pork, dumplings (read: wonton) and just the right hint of fried garlic which is more than okey, and a wonton soup which is forgettable.    

I roamed the Rama I area of the National Stadium later in the evening with my "Stay Dry" policy firmly in place as street shops set up their wares along Banthat Throng Road and Soi Chulalongkorn, Google Maps leading the way through structures as old as the National Stadium, roasted corn and an assortment of burning meat wrestling with the maladorous fumes of a nearby canal as I turned right to Charat Mueang Alley.  

Jeh O Chula is listed in the 2019 Michelin Guide and as announced, there is already a long line seated in blue plastic chairs although I was 30 minutes early from opening time, my culinary expectations on a high as I got listed, seated to wait and finally led inside after 20 minutes to an amazing bowl of its famous Mama Tom Yum Seafood topped with slices of phenomenal crispy pork and an equally awesome spicy pink salmon salad on the side, and these superlative adjectives despite the use of instant noodles in the tom yum and without the signature raw eggs too which is only served at 11 pm.  

Since everyone has to wait for their turn, Jeh O Chula is an embodiment of equality and this I was almost to tempted to raise as an operational best practice in our conference on sharing prosperity and addressing inequality where my imposed teetotalism gost a boost from a welcome halal dinner at the Cholay Seafood Restaurant after leisurely walking 1.3 kilometers from Chulalongkorn University to MBK on a balmy Wedesday afternoon.    

The conference ended on Thursday and was a smashing hit which deserved a team dinner at where else but Jeh O Chula which we had after a quick meeting of the ASEAN Working Group, and there I surrendered to superior forces and had my chastity corrupted. 

SILHOUETTE WEEK

Blue skies on green

Mountains outlined in between

Phantom blurred in light

Blacked out on Thursday

I wore a cap and we're fat 

A beer-less BeerFest

THE RISE OF THE CREATININES

I play ball (sometimes), I bike (often), I think (always).   

My body therefore produce high-energy phosphates more than the average person to recycle the adenosine triphospate generated by my biking and thinking.

The resulting chemical waste is creatinine that is filitered by the kidneys and discharged in the urine.

An elevated creatinine level in the blood means that the body's purifiers (the kidneys) may be out of sync.   

But other than strenuous physical activity (which my biking is not) and being muscled (which I am not), red meat and a high protein diet (which I have in the last 3 months) can also jack up creatinine levels.

On a happy note, medical studies were not able to establish any association between alcohol consumption (which I enjoy) and an increase in creatinine level, although it is a fact that execessive drinking (more than 4 drinks a day) can impair the kidneys and hamper its function which will result in excess creatinine in the body.  

Mine is a borderline case and no reason for concern but perhaps, white meat (fish and chicken) and more veggies will make my skin smoother. 

And I'll be drinking only during official fellowships and birthdays from now on because moderate alcohol consumption is in fact "beneficial in the prevention of cardiovasculr disease".

Humankind must triumph over the creatinines. 

AMBUYAT AND KAMPONG AYER'S LUCKY CHARM

My first encounter with ambuyat at the Rizqun International Hotel is not pleasant at all, perhaps because that is what's expected of hotel food or maybe due to the buro-like but-not taste of the dip conjured from several pots by a well intentioned hotel restaurant staff.

Ambuyat is Brunei's national dish and I have learned a long time ago that hotels are not the right place to explore the local cuisine but with the residents themselves, in our case Judy Morente and her husband who took us to a place patronized by locals where we had our best meal ever in Brunei. 
     

Ambuyat is actually a feast where the main dish is pot of thick sago paste extracted from the rumbia tree/sago palm, harvested from the pot with a V-shaped bamboo fork called candas then lightly drenched in a cacah dip and eaten with a variety of side dishes or ulam-ulaman which for our dinner were beef jerky (tapa) and deep-fried cow lungs, a kaldereta-like beef dish (rendang?), sauteed fern shoots, fried fish and slices of fresh vegetable.

Brunei is the second smallest ASEAN member state in terms of land area at 5,765 suare kilometers but with the least population at 5.4 million people, and the 5th richest country in the world and therefore considered as a developed nation, so rich that its citizens do not pay any taxes and social services are free and of high quality.

It has so much surplus money that Brunei built The Empire Hotel and Country Club which is probably among the world's most opulent hotels with tiger eye gemstones (PHP 58-80 per carat) adorning the rails of its grand staircase and an assortment of semi-precious stones paving its floors, while its toilets are lighted by gold plated switches and its cavernous fully airconditioned halls are adorned by massive marble columns.

The hotel is huge with more than 400 rooms, a man-made saltwater lagoon, olympic-sized pools, an 18-hole golf course, and a hefty price tag for a night's stay that is almost the average annual family income of other less fortunate ASEAN countries. 

The Masjid Omar Ali Saiffudien which is known as Brunei's Star is considered as one of the most beautiful mosques in the Asia Pacific, and Brunei is so wealthy that it can afford cover its main dome with pure gold. 

It was there where we encountered Lucky Mel, a freelance licensed tourist guide who led us inside the fully airconditioned mosque and offered a tour of Kampong Ayer (the water village which gave birth to Brunei) for BND 20 per person which is cheap compared to published commercial rates so we took it.

The remnants of Magellan's fleet docked here in 1521 after escaping the wrath of Lapulapu and as Lucky Mel picked on his nose, he told of a great fire that almost wiped out Kampong Ayer and how the government rebuilt the wooden houses on stilts with modern ones to keep the residents from moving, the water taxi gliding from new settlements to the oldest in Tamoi to the mangroves in a futile search for crocodiles and monkeys, passing through the reflection of the gleaming golden dome of the Sultan's palace and the equally palatial residence of the Crown Prince which is being renovated, and back to the Brunei River and the USD 100 million Sungai Kebun Bridge.    

We parted with Lucky Mel near the bus station, us to The Mall to shop for nuts and Old Town Coffee to take home before one final dinner at the Gadong Night Market, he to the widow he married and her two sons who share cars.

We did travel to Brunei for work and met with PhilWEN over egg tarts and cheesecake, had our 15-minute audience with the ASEAN Committee on Women to sell our work on addressing unpaid care work, and got invited for two hours of reflection and visioning with our government counterparts.

My last photo in Brunei is at a gallery displaying children's artwork against smoking, something I enjoyed but promise to forever quit when I turn 50 next year. 

ROYAL BRUNEI

Precy was a school teacher who quit her job to work as a househelp in Singapore, went home after a year unaware that her family has relocated to NELA in Isabela, her eldest travelling to Almaguer on borrowed fare money as she made her way to them (mobile phones were unknown then) with both finally catching up as Precy was handwashing a mountain of laundry.

Among the pasalubong she brought home were the silverware from Royal Brunei (real utensils were used for inflight meals then) where she flew from Singapore, most probably via Brunei to Manila, the memory of which slicing through the thick cheesecake of Bo's Coffee in San Jose, effortlessly deboning the tender chicken adobo and fried itik of Kantina Sabel in Makati, and rustling through patches of flowering wild sugarcane in Sto. Tomas.  

That was my prelude to my last of the 10 ASEAN member states, an almost empty red-eye Royal Brunei flight depositing me to the care of a half awake liaison officer at the Brunei International Airport who led me to a bus where I was the sole passenger, which took me to Gadong, the designated commercial area of Bandar Seri Begawan (the capital), and Brunei's "grandest and biggest mall" where I foraged for local cuisine in an almost empty food court. 

There is actually not much in Gadong, The Mall is more of the pre-Robinson NE Pacific in Cabanatuan, and I had kambing bakar (roasted lamb) and iced milk tea for lunch.      

In nearby Gadong Wet Market, I killed some of the afternoon hours and it must be frequented by Brunei's Filipino expats judging by the way I was recognized and greeted like a longtime suki. 

What might be the jewel of Gadong is its Night Market (Tamu Pasar Besar Gadong), open daily from 4 pm until almost midnight, where I have my fondest recollections of small durian fruits with gold and red bulbs, jackfuit with a smooth skin, vats and bowls of an assortment of noodles, grilled fish and meat (mainly chicken and lamb), rice cakes and other local snacks, multi-colored fruit juices and milk tea, and the plain joy of rummaging through the stalls for dinner, sharing tables with strangers, and getting high from the heady smoke of cooking food.

The downside: Brunei is strictly alcohol-free.  

SPELUNKING

ang magyuyungib ay bumutas ng lagusan sa pagitan ng mga pinitak at makapal na hangin

makunat ang kalamay na inilalako sa Baloc kaya naidlip ang driver ng trak na sumadsad sa CLSU

dahilan marahil kung bakit ang mayayabang na palay sa Camnacsacan at Maligaya ay nagsidapa nang ako ay nakiraan sa Matingkis   

ang magyuyungib ay dumayo upang magpista ng daing na bangus at makisayaw sa Lingayen

isang libo ang inipit sa kilikili ng banda at ang natira ay isinuksok sa singit ng pusa na may gamunggong nunal sa dibdib

makunat ang balat ng litson at ayaw bumuka ang pinasingawang talaba