China: Back in Beijing

I can't believe I'm back in Beijing in less than a year! I'm attending the Seminar on Conservation and Management of Cultural Heritage for Asian and African Countries organized by the China National Institute of Cultural Property (CNICP) from August 1 to 15. However, I arrived a day late because of the GMA event last August 1.

I was hoping to see more ASEAN countries here but it's just me and the two delegates from Myanmar. There are some from the former Soviet Union such as Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkmenistan, as well as Nepal (South Asia) and Mongolia (East Asia). But most of the delegates are from Africa. There are also some Arab delegates attending another seminar.

As always, we're being served several courses for breakfast, lunch and dinner. And at the rate I'm going, I might gain more weight. Sigh! Most of our time will be in sessions at the CNICP. But on weekends, the group will go on educational trips.

Today, I was back at the Ming Tombs and the Great Wall of China, both UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Good thing they brought us to those I have not yet seen. Last year, I was at Zhao Ling and the Great Wall section at Badaling. This time, we visited Ding Ling, the mausoleum of the 13th emperor of the Ming Dynasty Zhu Yijun and his two empresses. It was completed in 1590. We got to visit it's underground palace (burial chamber) since this was the first of the thirteen tombs to be excavated (only three have been unearthed to date). There was a museum built near the entrance which features all the treasures they found in the underground palace.

We had lunch in the bus before proceeding to Juyongguan Pass which is the section of the Great Wall nearest to Beijing. What is unique about this section are its fortified gates.

Since it looked like it was going to rain (and it did), I decided not to go to far up. I was able to explore the walls on both sides of the gate. In front of the gate, I was also able to get on a camel for a photo. We got back at the hotel at about 4 p.m. which gave us two hours to rest before dinner was served. Tomorrow, I will be back in the Forbidden City. More photos is Multiply.

Technorati Tags: beijing, china, great wall, ming tombs, unesco, heritage, architecture, travel, travel blog

Pangasinan: GMA opens transport terminal in Rosales, Pangasinan

For the past few weeks, I've been traveling from Manila to Rosales, Pangasinan almost everyday to monitor the final preparations for the inauguration of the Carmen Rosales Central Transport Terminal. Finally, the project we've been working on was opened this morning.

Leading the ceremonies was none other than President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Also in attendance were Speaker and Mrs. Jose de Venecia, Sec. Leandro Mendoza, Sec. Arthur Yap, Rep. Conrado Estrella III, Rep. Robert Estrella, Gov. Amado Espino and Mayor Ricardo Revita among many others.

Despite my exhaustion, I have to begin packing my stuff in a while. I'm off to Beijing tomorrow to attend the Seminar on Conservation and Management of Cultural Heritage for Asian and African Countries organized by the China National Institute of Cultural Property. Since most blogs are blocked in China, I won't be able to see my own blog for the next few days. But it's good I could still update it.

Technorati Tags: rosales pangasinan philippines transportation travel travel blog

Marinduque: Boac, Marinduque and its architectural heritage

This is day two of my Marinduque trip. We were planning to visit the Tres Reyes Islands which we saw from Mount Malindig. But we were just too tired and spent most of the morning resting. After lunch at the beach house, we went to the Boac town proper to check out the church.

It was a pleasant surprise as we got down the jeep to discover that Boac still has a sizeable collection of architectural heritage. I really didn't expect to see the town virtually intact, so many heritage houses and buildings! Although you could see that progress is fast setting in.

If controlled properly, Boac can become a great heritage town. The heritage district can be a showcase for the municipality and province and a potential tourist attraction if the heritage structures are protected, new buildings and development in the heritage district are controlled and regulated, and heritage structures properly restored.

Heritage ordinances have successfully been enacted by LGUs such as the City of San Fernando, Pampanga; Dagupan City, Pangasinan; the Province of Pangasinan; and Vigan, Ilocos Sur. These legislative measures prevent the demolition or improper renovation of heritage structures which are cultural treasures and the pride of the community. If the local government knew how to play its cards right, it would preserve the historic core so that it would become a major tourism attraction for Marinduque. I hope they realize that sooner or later.

We went up the hill to the Boac Cathedral. The exterior is still intact. But not for long because as I write, they are plastering the buttresses with cement! The interior was covered with bricks and it's obvious it isn't the original. But at least the retablos are still intact. Boac would be such a waste if people there are not educated as to how important it is to restore heritage properly.

We also got to see some morion masks in the shops. They aren't cheap though, about PHP4,500 per mask. From Boac, we took a jeep to Balanacan Port in Mogpog for the 4 p.m. ferry back to Lucena. We decided to stay at the rear end of the ferry so that we could enjoy the view. We arrived at the port three hours later and boarded a JAM Liner back to Manila.

Part 1: Hiking up Mt. Malindig in Marinduque

Related entry
Romblon, Romblon is a heritage town

Technorati Tags: mogpog, boac, marinduque, philippines, beach, travel, travel blog, heritage

Marinduque: Hiking up Mt. Malindig in Marinduque

I climbed another mountain today. Mount Malindig is the highest peak in Marinduque. For a second climb, I was told, Malindig was something. And imagine, my first was also a Level 2. What a consoling thought for the blisters I got!

From the Buendia LRT Station, we took a Jac Liner bus to the Dalahican Port in Lucena, Quezon (PHP193). I was with Gideon Lasco and Sharif Gonzales. Sai Sicad followed, taking a bus from Cubao. Our bus arrived at the port just in time for the 2 a.m. departure of the ferry to the Balanacan Port in Mogpog, Marinduque (PHP125). But Sai arrived a minute late (we actually saw his tricycle arrive at the port as our ferry pushed away) so he had to take the 3 a.m. ferry to Sta. Cruz, Marinduque. So plans changed and we met up with him there.

We arrived in Balanacan at about 5:30 a.m. Vans were waiting outside and we took one to Sta. Cruz (PHP70) to meet up with Sai. At Sta. Cruz, we had breakfast at Rico's Inn and checked out the old church. The church and retablo was intact. From there, it was a jeep to Torrijos where we took a jam-packed tricycle (there were ten of us including the driver) to Brgy. Sahi in Buenavista, the jump off point for Mount Malindig. Just look for the tricycles to Malibago and ask the driver to take you further down the road to Sahi.

The forested volcano of Malindig, previously known as Marlanga, is located at the southern tip of Marinduque. The climb is usually 1 hour and 30 minutes. But with me around, it took 3 hours to get to the base camp which is about 900 meters above sea level. Unlike the Pico de Loro climb which was rainy, muddy but forested, the Malindig climb was scorching hot with no trees to give us any shade. but the views were fantastic such as the Tres Reyes Islands named after Melchor, Gaspar and Balthazar.

We wanted to be back down before dark so that we could pass by the Malbog Sulfur Springs so I decided to stay behind at the base camp (to speed up things and to recharge) while the rest went up the summit which is 1,157 meters above sea level. There's no view up the summit since it's covered by thick forest growth. The best view is from the base camp where according to Gideon, you could see many the major mountains in Southern Luzon including those in Romblon, Mindoro, Batangas, Laguna, Quezon and the Bicol Region.

Our descent took just an hour. Back at the jump-off point, we took a tricycle to the springs in Malbog. We had to cross a small river to get to it. The group only stayed for a while since we wanted to be in Boac before it got really late.

On the way to Boac, we stopped at the town of Gasan for dinner. I was surprised to see some good places to eat. We picked an Italian sounding restaurant which did serve pasta and a variety of American and Filipino dishes. It was value for money since I got pasta for three (the menu says good for two) for just PHP70! Everything was so cheap. We also got ourselves some tuba to drink at the beach house.

For the night, we stayed at the private beach house of Lizel, Sharif's girlfriend. The last photos are some experiments I made with my camera. Those are night shots, quite dark when I took them, but with super long exposures. See the stars?

Part 2: Boac and its architectural heritage

Technorati Tags: mogpog, santa cruz, torrijos, buenavista, gasan, boac, marinduque, philippines, beach, mountain, volcano, travel, travel blog, heritage

Manila: Bring back the good old days at the Met

I've been gathering information about conservation projects all over the country for a report I will be presenting at a seminar next week. So I passed by the Metropolitan Theatre, which I believe is the most prominent heritage structure currently undergoing restoration. Yes folks, they're restoring the Met!

I was toured around by Archt. Richard Bautista of the NCCA. Indeed, the interiors and exteriors will make you go loco over Deco! For more information on the project, check out the article which I posted as a comment below. Calling all Met alumni, I think a fund-raising reunion concert is in order. What do you think?

I also checked out the Arroceros Forest Park. Well, it does not look like a forest anymore. How sad it was to see a concrete covered forest no thanks to Atienza. It's now the Arroceros Concrete Paver Park with matching building at the entrance. Indeed, Atienza deserves the tag "Butcher of Arroceros" for the travesty he committed.

Anyway, since the park is along the banks of the Pasig River, you could see two bridges namely the Quezon Bridge and the Ayala Bridge (its precursor, the Puente de Convalecencia, was said to be have been designed by Gustave Eiffel). More photos in Multiply.

Technorati Tags: manila, metro manila, philippines, heritage, conservation, historical sites, architecture, art deco, travel, travel blog