Roasted pig, or lechon, is a staple food in the Philippines especially during celebrations, gatherings and big events. There are so many “lechonhouses” in the malls and almost in every streets that is it readily available if you don’t roast your own. To be most crunchy, crispy and yummy, it has to be slowly cooked over a fire for several hours to a day. The pig is completely cleaned and its internal organs are removed for another menus or whatever way one wants to cook them. Inside the pork for roasting are several spices and seasoning for greater taste, especially lemon grass that removes any pungent meat smell and makes it fragrant. The roasted pork/meat is very tender and the skin is very crispy the food is very delicious. It is best served with ketchup or any sauce.

I missed lechon so much, so it will just wait till I go home!

I remember an email circulating around about “only in Vietnam”, featuring the scenes and stuff that happen only in the land, or in the streets of the Viets. Motorists using the motorbikes and loading them like they would a big truck. The more load, the better is the driver, I guess, because he has to have more control and balancing. This also reminds me that in Netherlands, thousands of bicycles are rolling down the streets as much as the four-wheel drives. This is the beauty of going to a lot of places for we will learn new things and about the other people and their culture. And I love it.

Do you let people know that you are in town? And if you do, how do you do it? Today a man in New York was arrested for misdeanor and ticketed for blowing his horn excessively. Of course he is DWI for which he is charged with. He just wanted to let people know that he is in town. Whatever, intoxication really makes one to do unimaginable and unreasonable things. Speaking of horn blowing. The very first thing I noticed while traveling in India right outside the airport was the excessive horn blowing! Horns honking here and there always, and by always it was almost every second. I was surprised at first, but of course, I was entering into a different place with a culture of its own. But when those horns stop blowing, one would definitely kind of miss it, for the roads are not complete without vehicles and rickshaws that don’t blow horns, loudly.

A photo of us at the Taj Mahal one chilly early morning in December last year. Our tour guide took this photo. It was a wonderful experience. Isn’t it lovely?

Frontier trivia of the day:

There are calligraphies everywhere in the Taj Mahal compounds. As we enter through the gate of the Taj, there is one that says, “O Soul, thou art at rest. Return to the Lord at peace with Him, and He at peace with you.”

Namashtè! I just want to share these photos we took a while back. You see this man, he did not look like a beggar to me, but after all, we were strangers to the place. But our tour guide said that he collected money for the elephants, his elephants, or for the sake of the elephants, whatever it was. It was fine, we really were going for an elephant ride just for experience, which in the end, I found it so much fun. That day he had an elephant with him on the road carrying a load on its back. It was just one of those elephants we always see on the roads. What I like about this picture are his clothes and the silverware he’s carrying, and also his bag. Somehow I felt satisfied being able to capture them.

Frontier trivia of the day:

In India there are a total of 3,400 domesticated elephants owned by different groups, and 23,900 – 32,900 total elephants in the wild (eleaid.com)

Namashtè! We are heading to New Orleans in few days. We are glad that the hurricanes did not do considerable damage to the crescent city, so our schedule does not change. We had been to New Orleans a few times but we are not yet so familiar with the whole city so of course we rely on maps and guides. I found this cute widget online I would like to share. A guide to New Orleans, interactive city map and photos, with review links for sights and attractions, restaurants, bars and more…

There are many souvenirs to buy, and other products in India that they also export, and one of them are carpets. We stopped by one large store to see their products for sale. Most of that store’s displays were jewelry items, carved products and woven stuff. In one corner of the store I spotted this man weaving a carpet. It was beautiful. Such an intricate handwork, that it is so great seeing what he has woven thus far. Of course he must have very long patience.

Frontier trivia of the day:

The hand-knotted pile carpet probably originated in Central Asia. The importance of carpets in the culture of Turkmenistan is such that the national flag features a vertical red stripe near the hoist side, containing five carpet guls (designs used in producing rugs). (Wikipedia)

This was on our way out from the Taj Mahal. Children selling souvenirs. The girl was selling a pencil. I have had a load of souvenirs that time. It was a great time. It gave me the souvenir of the Taj not just in pictures but in my mind, forever.

Frontier trivia of the day:

Poor children in India begin working at a very young and tender age. Children are often exploited and deprived of their rights in India, and until further measures are taken in the matter of tackling the problem of child labour, many Indian children will continue to live in poverty. (indianchild.com)