Tea or Me? (at the BOH Tea farm, Cameron Highlands, Malaysia)

To visit the BOH (a.k.a. Best of Highlands) Tea farm was one of the reasons why I wanted to go to Cameron Highlands in Malaysia. I’m simply fascinated by sprawling and lush terrain - it's not only relaxing and refreshing but also liberating to cast one’s sight on such vast greenery.

But why BOH Tea specifically?
 

Well, it’s the one with reputation, a tale to tell and a more magnificent vista than any other tea plantation. It was founded by a Scott decades ago and is now being run and operated by 3rd generation descendants. I find the place no less than breathtaking and awe-inspiring. Such is my love for it that I went there not only once but twice. BOH Tea Farm is in Tanah Rata township, Cameron Highlands, Malaysia, a 4-hour vertigo-inducing bus ride from Kuala Lumpur.

 

the view from a distance

Left: on my 1st day at the tea farm; Right: went even closer on my 2nd day 

The tea trees undergo periodic pruning (i.e. once in three years) to prevent them from growing into full-blown trees taller than humans which will render them useless. Photo below shows the essential differences among the various areas of the tea farm.

patch of brown on top of photo is the part of the farm

with tea trees that have been recently pruned; yellowish

patch in the middle shows the leaves that are ready for

harvest which is done once in three weeks; the green area

is the part of the farm that has recently been harvested

the tea tree (or plant if you will) stands at about a meter

high from the ground due to constant pruning; the pruning

process allows shoots or new leaves to sprout; by the way, 

these tea trees are 80 or so years old and can last for about

150 years

BOH Tea has a dedicated area for a deli/cafe which allows one to shop for various kinds of tea and to take a sip while enjoying its breathtaking view. It only produces black tea though, not green tea. If I remember the way it was explained to us, black tea has undergone a fermentation process while green tea has not.

my favorite travel buddies getting ready to shop for

some tea; the cafe is right behind them

holding on to their loot of various

kinds of tea enough to supply us

for a year or over

I Like "Va Bene"

Finding “Va Bene” (VB for short) is a joy in itself; and for a walk-in diner, getting a table there is yet another joy.  It’s always best to reserve even though one might think that no one would ever stumble upon a nice Italian restaurant in a busy Petron gas station. Yes, that Petron by the corner of EDSA and Pasay Road, near the gate going to Dasmarinas Village. But VB has loyal diners, mostly repeat customers who call up to reserve before walking in. In my two times there though, my companions and I just took our chances and drove right up into the gas station. We’re in luck that each time we arrive, some diners had just finished dining and a table is ready for us to take over.  (Sorry, will post the number next time.)

I first read about VB in a Margaux Salcedo article a couple of years ago. I never had the chance to dine there until recently, once in March 2013 and one more time this April 2013. It’s now one of the 3 Italian restaurants that I fancy, all in most unlikely places. The other two are Bellini’s at the shoe expo in Cubao (owned by an Italian who is a former paparazzo) and Casetta del Divino Zelo (run by an Italian religious order) located in the middle of nowhere (in a farm near Tagaytay, adjacent to Ilog Maria Bee Farm). I’d keep coming back to VB.

Left: the menu cover;  Right: Chef Massimo when he was still at Mi Piace

If one wants to go beyond the usual spaghetti, penne, angel hair, etc. pasta, VB is definitely an excellent option. It’s got more pasta variety, freshly made at that, owing to the fact that the chef used to be the one in-charge of Mi Piace of The Peninsula Manila. But it’s neither cheap nor expensive, something like relatively mid-range. For instance, a cannelloni that serves two can set one back by PHP350, a good price for an authentic dish that tastes several notches better than the so-called “Italian” restaurants in malls.

Miguel here just arrived from Singapore for a quick break 

from his studies; brought him to VB right away and he almost 

finished our polpette antipasto (menu says that polpette 

is traditional italian meat ball cooked in tomato sauce 

with ricotta cheese and thyme crostone)

menu describes this as arugula salad with chicken

milanese, roasted onions and caramelized apples

in balsamico dressing

Left: menu says it's portobello mushrooms cannelloni in light tomato cream sauce;

Right: rolled spinach cannelloni with smoked ham and light tomato cream sauce; 

I asked the waiter why the portobello mushrooms cannelloni is creamier than

rolled spinach cannelloni and after saying "that's a good question sir" he quickly

answered that the first one is creamier due to the mushroom sap; 

VB also serves good ravioli, which we ordered during our first visit 

Cars can be parked at the gas station. An attendant hands out a parking coupon which can be validated at the restaurant for a free parking good for 1.5 hours.

Before Philamlife Theater's Last Curtain Call

Although I'm not an artist - far from it - I somehow managed to wrestle some performances at the Philamlife Theater during my 4-year/10-month tenure as an employee of Philamlife by singing two anthems, solo and a capella, to formally open employee programs – one, the National Anthem (Lupang Hinirang) and two, the Philamlife Anthem or hymn. My personal claim to fame therefore is that at one point in time I launched my “singing career” at the Philamlife Theater. (lmao)

(left): the theater with its unique floor-to-ceiling wooden panels; 

(right): the wood carvings of Paete artists lend an elegant and

warm ambiance to the theater 

It was with trepid apprehension then when we learned about the sale of the property on which the theater and the Philamlife building sit. With the sale seems to go the inevitable  destruction of both the theater and the building to give way to new development. Apparently, the site has been sold to SM Development Corporation (SMDC).

the building and its cantilever entrance

obviously, it has luxury of space - the spacious lobby and hallway

the lifts fronting the lobby with priceless Manansalas

As regards the theater and building, VERA files by Pablo A. Tariman has this to say:

Known for its excellent acoustics, Philam Life Auditorium on United Nations Avenue in Ermita is a 780-seat theater whose acoustics were done by Bolt, Beranek & Newman, which also did the acoustics of the Sydney Opera House, United Nations Assembly Hall in New York, Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall, Cultural Center of the Philippines and Baltimore's Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall.

The Philam Life building was designed by Filipino architect Carlos Arguelles and built in 1961. The Urban Roamer website said, “The building was built in accordance with the International Style of architecture, a style that emerged after World War II that emphasized on the building’s ‘natural’ beauty …rather than relying on decorative facades.

The idea of the theater being turned into a shopping mall has alarmed the classical music community. PPO’s music director Olivier Ochanine has launched an online petition asking the theater’s new owner to spare the auditorium.

“This is one of the best performance halls in the entire Philippines and must be saved,” the petition, which has so far netted an initial 3000 signatories, said. “It has some of the best acoustics for Manila's orchestras, choirs, and solo musical artists and its destruction would be a gigantic loss for Filipino culture and heritage. We must stand together to protect this, our most acoustically ‘sound’ performance venue. Let us make this one of the biggest uprisings Manila has seen.”

“This is by far the best hall I've sung in,” said Arthur Espiritu, the first Filipino tenor to sing at the La Scala di Milan. Espiritu ranks Philam Life Theater’s excellent acoustics second only to the little theater in Carnegie Hall.

Acoustics in the theater is so good such that when members of the audience talk to each other, even those seated on the last row can be heard by the performers on stage. I once watched a play halted momentarily by the director in medias res as he heard some audience members talking in decibels distracting to the stage actors. Still at another time, Cecil Licad was intensely playing one of her classical pieces when this actress who was with her actor-husband unwrapped a piece of candy in the middle of Cecil's performance. High-brow society matrons heard the irritating sound of the plastic wrapper and looked over their shoulders to find out where the noise was coming from. The actress had to stop unwrapping her candy in order to stay under the prowling eyes. 

My friends and I, who are either current or ex-Philamlifers quickly organized a photo shoot for posterity before everything gets consigned to oblivion. We enjoyed every moment of it as we reminisced our happy and wacky moments in Philamlife. Our special thanks goes out to Mags who arranged for a photographer for our photo shoot.

some of the shots we took inside the theater

pictures taken by the stairs leading to the loge section of the theater

pictures taken outside the building; did some costume change at this time

Zhoujiajiao (Shanghai), Beauty in Antiquity

What a difference an hour makes !!! 

We sneaked out of cosmopolitan Shanghai and journeyed back in time to its ancient water village town, Zhoujiajiao, a one-hour trip that brought us back to a thousand years. The water village has a long history (about 1,700 years) and it is just one of the ancient water villages worth visiting near Shanghai. Although a good friend of ours suggested a visit to Suzhou, another water village, we had already made plans for Zhoujiajiao having earlier read that the latter is the least commercialized, therefore, with less tourist traps, and allegedly the most well-preserved.

Had fun riding Zhoujiajiao's traditional boat as it navigated through its network of canals as well as walking on the same ancient cobbled streets where the emperor’s men during the Qing and other dynasties lorded it over.

due to its navigable canals, Zhoujiajiao easily gained

recognition as the "venice of the east"

Got to see the 18th century post office of the Qing Dynasty and the centuries-old stone bridges (the much fabled 5-arched Fang Sheng, for instance, was constructed in 1570 and still in much use up to now).

18th century post office of the Qing Dynasty

the 5-arched stone bridge in the background is called fang sheng, 

constructed in 1570 and is still very much functional even now

Tea for Three at The Lakehouse

Sometime middle of last year, I planned on a trip to Penang-Langkawi-Cameron Highlands-KL, all in Malaysia. I had booked everything when half of it went bust because of the crazy schedules of my travel companions (Miguel was still wrapping up his 1^st year studies at Singapore Management University and Mayi could not take some time off yet). We ended up doing only the other half, starting off with Cameron Highlands (CH).

CH is considered as Malaysia’s largest hill resort, about 1500+ masl, and discovered in 1855 by William Cameron, a British surveyor. It is around 4 hours by bus from KL, 2 hours of which is spent on dizzying zigzags guaranteed to throw one's innards up. It's like going up to Baguio except that the twists and turns are sharper, ascent steeper, mountain passes narrower and the mountainsides lush and verdant.

We spent our first day in CH having afternoon tea as well as dinner at The Lakehouse, a Tudor-type structure built during the British colonial time. Such a picturesque setting framed by lush mountainside and a lake right below, provides a relaxing place for tete-a-tete over tea with loved ones. It is located in Ringlet, one of the three (3) townships in CH, the other two (2) being Tanah Rata (where we stayed) and the farthest, Brinchang. Here are some photos of the place.  

the lovely setting of The Lakehouse allows for intimate afternoon tea

amidst the cool and crisp weather of Cameron Highlands

while they were enjoying their afternoon tea, I took a quick stroll around 

the sprawling ground and green surroundings of The Lakehouse,

snatching a solo shot in the process

The Lakehouse viewed from another angle

     

The Lakehouse manifests its elegance both inside out

Yeah man, it's Kalanggaman !!!

My trip to Kalanggaman was a fulfillment of a childhood dream. I’ve known it since I was a child of 10, obviously decades ago, when the Aboitiz ship we’re aboard from Leyte en route to Manila came cruising on the seas between the northern part of Cebu and Leyte where the islet is. Each time the ship passed by, I always wondered as to when I could get there. It became a possibility when I learned about an officemate who dropped by the islet for a day tour all the way from Manila via Malapascua Island in Cebu (2 hours from the islet, one way).

Yet again, it remained a fervent wish until my cousin camped out for a night on the islet with her family. Taking my cue from there, I made plans thru my nephew who wasted no time arranging for the motor boat ride (45-minute fun ride) from Palompon, Leyte that owns the islet, which for a while rose to national prominence when the late Celso de los Angeles of the Legacy scam/infamy claimed ownership of it. The LGU now operates it.

this is the rocky side of the islet, facing Cebu;
so providential because this is the side that gets
constantly battered by big waves; the rocks on this side
protect the islet and spare the sand on the other side
from getting eroded . . .

the islet unfolds its drama when this sand bar appears
during low tide; conversely, it disappears when the
water reverses its flow during high tide; there is also
a similar sand bar at the far end

The islet’s upside is its naturally unpolished allure (fine white sand, clean and crystal-clear water and its relatively unspoiled nature).

what looks like a perfect day: blue sky, patch of green, fine white sand, 

still and crystal clear water . . .

Its downside is the absence of accommodation (pitch tents), electricity (bring gas lamps and flashlights) and water (bring your own). It has toilets though but seawater is used for flushing. 

we brought tents to the islet and slept under the stars; my companions 

who didn't feel like sleeping inside the tents opted to sleep in the half-

open cottages which can be rented; sleeping bags or nice thick 

blankets will suffice to survive the chilly night wind 

Given the inconveniences, my relatives were curious why I was so gung-ho about getting to the islet. Well firstly, to fulfill my childhood dream; and secondly, because it’s there, the latter I borrowed from Sir Edmund Hillary when he was asked why he wanted to ascent Mt Everest. 

good catch? yes, not by me but by the
fishermen who occasionally drop by the
islet to sell their day's fresh catch 

the islet is fringed with coconut trees in between which
one can hang his/her hammock where he/she can lull 
him/herself to dreamland and let time stand still