Boarding Gate 101

The first modern art museum established in the Philippines was just across the road from my university but I've only visited it recently, with my regular art buddy  +Nyel O'yek .  The Ateneo Art Gallery, located inside the campus of Ateneo de Manila University, was established in 1960, seeded by a large donation of artworks given by philanthropist Fernando Zobel. Since then the museum's collection has grown into more than 500 pieces of art. A painting by Lyle Buencamino The artworks, part of the permanent collection, encompasses the works of post-war modern and post-modern Filipino artists - including Vicente Manansala, Ang Kiukok,  Napoleon Abueva, Arturo Luz, and by Fernando Zobel himself. The museum's collection of Filipino masters is comparable in breadth with that of the neaby Vargas Museum in University of the Philippines.  Kawayan de Guia's Bomba Aside from the permanent exhibits, Nyel and I saw also the current exhibit ...

Months of preparation and coordination was put in jeopardy when a sudden downpour drenched the streets of Manila which flooded the streets and snarling the already-notorious traffic. We were on our way to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 to pick up my brother, who was going to accompany to a sports spectacle that we've been waiting for a long time in Manila: an NBA game.  MOA Arena The pre-season game, announced months ago as part of NBA's 2013 Global Games series, was to be between the Indiana Pacers and Houston Rockets. I've bought the tickets as soon as they were announced on sale, and I have cajoled and basically bullied my brother to get his plane tickets to Manila so we can watch the game here. Their flight was rescheduled twice already, and the plane landed about an hour before tipoff. The flood caused by the sudden downpour made our trip an hour longer than usual, and we arrived at MOA Arena, the venue of the game, just as the secon...

After you're done surfing , or trekking to a waterfall to cool down, or c limbing the 600-year old balete tree , there are other interesting things to see and do in and around the town of Baler. The first choice would be just to laze around the beach, but you can also get to know the history of the town as an alternative, by visiting the town museum.  One of the galleries of the museum The town museum, imaginatively called Museo de Baler, is right in the town center. Housed in a two-story rust-colored building, the museum is adorned with a mural on its facade that gave a preview of the town's colorful history,  dating back from the 17th century to the present.  Museum mural We arrived at the museum just after lunch. The entrance is free but it is recommended to give a small amount as donation. There weren't a lot of people inside when we enter. At the threshold is another mural showing the different period of the town's history covered by the mus...