I will take you to every place that promises permanence
Hoping that in every place you may find forever in those brief moments
we share
Pinto Art MuseumMacarthur Park at Palo, LeyteTemple of Leah, Cebu
for we encrypt histories in monuments
and every piece of art adds value to collector’s items
Baluarte, Vigan
I want to freeze our stories with those artifacts you see
and when your eyes can no longer find beauty in me
you can always look back at those paintings
for paintings outlive my youth
hoping that the details of my face are crystallized
in those paintings you see
Pinto Art Museum
I will take you to places born with stories
so that even if you choose to forget our story
You will never forget the heroes and artists
whose lives and works outweigh our story
Juan Luna Shrine, Ilocos NortePanday at Sand Dunes, Ilocos Norte
I will always like to take you to museums
I will always want to be with you in museums
because in those places we make an illusion of forever
“There’s something that always sends us hurtling head over heels. Travel. Regardless of whether you’re married, dating, heartbroken or happily single, if you’re traveling, you can have that beautiful feeling of falling in love all over again, again and again.” – Revati Victor
He was able to articulate what I wanted to say, “Traveling is the closest to the feeling of falling in love. It is the feeling that you do not want to end.” If you are someone who likes romance but not so much on relationships, traveling is your best companion. Every place you go is like a summer fling. You get so excited at first and heartbroken once it leaves you too swift. But right now, I want an endless summer fling. I want to keep my feet moving until I reach a new destination. Traveling is ephemeral. The value of fleeting moments becomes more apparent in traveling. Nothing lasts forever. Every moment is fleeting. Everyone is leaving. Everything is depleting. We don’t know the extinction of every bird, and every plant. We don’t how long we can swim the seawater.
Traveling is ephemeral. So take a camera with you
I just realize how wonderful God made the world and I realized I have not seen half of it. I want to do stargazing in the woods, and write in my journal Pablo’s Neruda’s famous lines “Tonight I can write the saddest lines.” I can never measure the words infinity, abundance, grandeur, borderless, and unlimited but when I travel, it is the only time that these words have real meaning. When I walk near the sea, I see infinity. When I reach the mountain tops, I stand in awe. When I reach a foreign land, there is just too much to absorb. When I get to know people and culture, there is just too much to learn. You will always use the word “too much.” I also want to see the works of people all over the world including handicrafts, paintings, and old and modern architecture.
SingaporeChatuchak Market
We appreciate history. We appreciate stories if we see their remnants in monuments, in artifacts, in museums, in tradition, and in places. While books can tell you when and why, traveling reaffirms what we know about the world and makes us discover what we haven’t known for a long time.
CaviteCorregidor
When life is just too dry, I dream of cherry-blossoms, maple trees, and long bridges. I want to touch snow, see Taj Mahal, climb Mt Pulag, and maybe get a tattoo from Kalinga. I want to ride a bike with basket of flowers and pretend I’m in a Korean film. Traveling makes life look like movies. I want to travel as often as I can, partly because I want to escape the truth that some things have to be permanent. As what most people say “walang forever” (there is no forever). But there is always a feeling of forever, maybe in small infinities or in bigger infinities.
I only have two dreams: To go as many places as I can and to eat many kinds of food. The rest is negotiable.
I will make your feet sore
You will receive many smiles.
But One will be the brightest
Maybe from a Thai, maybe from a farang
Wat Pho
We will take motor rides
in highways
in alleys
There is danger
But there is liberation
We will ride a tutuk
It will take us to many places
including a jewelry shop
And if they know you have no money
Just tell them I’m here
to find an engagement ring
Then I’ll pretend and say
“I change my mind”
Trust me,
It’s a scam
Grand Palace Photo by Rima Granali
If you want to have a sign from heaven,
ask for a bird to come near you
I will take you to the nearest park
and call a flock of pigeons to gather around you
Then..
I will ask you, Have you heard about the movie The King and I?
There’s a line, “Will you be my new romance?”
And I will point you to Grand Palace.
Grand Palace Photo by Rima Granali
We will travel along Chao Phraya River
we will survey the Old Bangkok
and notice it is a city of rainbow
where red, orange, yellow are alive
where the person next to you is pale
and your driver is made of bronze
We will visit Jim Thompson’s house
If you ask me if I want to live there
“No, I don’t want to live in the past.”
Jim Thompson’s House
If you want to cry but you just can’t
I will let you eat the spiciest food
If looking into the elephants’ eyes hurts you
Just look at me
and you will laugh
We will climb the highest temple
Wat Arun
We will climb all the temples of Ayutthaya
Photo by Rima Granali
We will never stop climbing
Photo by Ted Dy
until I hear you catching breath
Wat Phra Mahathat
There, we will wait for the sun to sink
for the ruins to be at peace
like scratches of pain healed
Wat Phra Mahathat
We will see ruins and say they make a beautiful disaster
Wat Phra Si Sanphet Photo by Rima Granali
We will smile at the camera without thinking that this sight
is a place where many have rebelled and died
we will not think at all
We will not be weary
even if our feet will tell us
even if our stomach will grumble
We will just be happy