Sai Ngam Park: Where the beautiful figs abound

One good thing about having to join a study tour is that even though we have an itinerary to follow and a series of events to cover, the host country will bring you to places where tourists would likely to go. But since they are “unscheduled” they tend to be “fillers” meaning, you’ll be given (a very little) amount of time to look around and for my case, to take (good) photos. Also, because our hosts do not talk a lot, they didn’t even tell us that they brought us to Sai Ngam Park. They’d probably thought we could understand Thai calligraphy.

The roots of a Banyan tree hang down from its branches.

Sai Ngam Park is located at Phimai District, about 59 kms from the city of Nakhon Ratchasima. Later I learned that “sai ngam” actually means “beautiful banyan trees” which pretty much tells a lot about the place having been known for its 350-year old banyan trees.

Sai Ngam passes through an irrigation project which has a dam built across Moon River.

The branches and roots of banyan have become so intertwined that it is impossible to identify where one tree ends and the next begins. The only way to be sure that there is more than one tree is by counting the trunks under the canopy providing shades and covering the island on which the grove is situated. The Thais believe that this may be the biggest banyan grove in Asia.

One of our Thai companions informed us that visitors could walk underneath these interwoven trees taking in the scenic views and the tranquility of the place. Since we had very little time for that, I didn’t even bother going inside.

Further along the road there are souvenir stalls.

Standing tall are lines of tamarind trees offering shades to visitors.

Tamarind and mango vendor. She selling fish powder too with chilli of course.

One thing I enjoyed though are the huge tamarind trees which I languidly stared at while we are having our lunch at the park. They are so huge and the fruits dangled from the branches as if they were teasing me.

Anyhow, there were vendors selling all sorts of processed tamarind food.

The Colors of Baguio City

STRAWBERRIES being sold at the Strawberry Farm. A box costs 200 pesos.

COLORFUL TAMBO (soft broom). How about dyeing my hair like that? Hmmm.

FLOWERS IN BLOOM. I spotted them in front of the new Lopez Hall of Leaders at the Philippine Military Academy (PMA).

I was in Baguio City last week. I was directed by my boss to cover a story in Pangasinan so we had to rush to this farm in Manaoag on a Tuesday morning. I had to finish the script the night before so we had something to work on for the video shoot. We finished the job early so we decided to pass by Baguio City first before heading back to Manila. We stayed there for two days. We went to the Strawberry Farm. There's not much strawberries this time of the year because they are not in season. A box costs 200 pesos and they are not even the best ones. We also made some sidetrips at the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), and Botanical Garden and Mine's View Park among others.

This week I will be coming back again to Baguio City for another assignment. :-(

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[postscript]

a moment ago, i was attending a meeting. i got bored. so bored i wanted to walkout in middle of a discussion. but i changed my mind. i need to be there. it's my lost if i walked out. so anyway, while ms. A and ms. E were discussing on the "issues of life" which i got bored listening to, i found myself writing a poem (which i haven't done in ages).

Blinded by colors

I came into this world
remembering nothing
– but a darkly lit room.

The night was solemn
but I didn’t know that.

Black was the first color I recognized
White was my last.

Then a yellow flick of light
cut into the night
creating shadows and funny shapes.

The glow quickly swayed
Playing and dancing
Slowly vanishing
as if someone deliberately blowed onto it.

Then there was darkness.

I felt home again.

-rtdc/011042008/darkcornerdenyingmyexistence

She gives, then she laughs

…could it because I look funny? Or was it because the instance was funny? I think it's both.

Anyway, I bought a kilo of her guavas and ate them with gusto. The guavas are sweet. She's a nice lady.

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Postscript:

[Istarbaks, Congressional]
napapansin ko napapadalas ang daot ko. kundi lumalaklak ng kape, madalas nakatingin sa kisame. wala lang. yung thesis proposal ko wala pa ding porma. may isang sociology prop na ang nag-offer ng tulong sa ‘kin para lang tapusin ko na ang thesis ko pero wala pa din. yung institusyon ko inoperan na ko ng pera matapos ko lang MA ko, ala pa rin. pordyosporsanto, ano bang hinihintay ko? siguro, siguro pag-ikaw na ang nagalit, makukumbinsi ako. pinagalitan mo na ako dati. naging epektib. nagkumahog ako. napaisip. kaso ngayon, kailangan ko nang mag-amot. mag-amot ng pansin. di ka na 24-7. kailangan laging may opisyal akong rason. di na pwede yung walang lang. naknakan.

Tasting the dragon

…well not exactly the mythical beast but the fruit.

I’ve learned about this exotic fruit three years ago when one of our writers was assigned to write about the promising industry of dragonfruit. One of our partner agencies used to bring boxes of dragonfruit in the office for us to taste but I just ignored them. I got intimidated by this strange-looking fruit. It's large and err...too pink!?

Dragonfruit is currently the leading fruit export of Vietnam. When I visited Ho Chi Minh City late last year, one of the villages that we visited in Cai Bai also served us slices of dragonfruit along with other exotic fruits. Foreigners were amazed by the dragonfruit as it was their first time to see it.

Some weeks ago, we visited an experimental station in Manambulan, Davao City and I encountered these amazing fruits again. This time, I saw a whole production of them. I had a nice chat with the fella who was assigned in the production area and he made me realized how interesting this fruit really is. He explained to me the story of he got into the production--from acquiring the planting materials to its marketing aspect.

Dragonfruits are distinct in their vibrant color and size.

Dragonfruit is an amazing fruit. It picks great interest for the inquisitive-type especially with its vibrant color, size and unusual appearance. This fruit is also known as “Strawberry Pear” but locally it’s known as “Pitaya” or "Pithaya".

It comes from the family of cactus.

Dragonfruit comes from the Cactaceae family. It has various varieties but the most common is the Hylocereus undatus with its bright pink skin and large scales in the outside and white flesh and dark seeds inside. The flesh differs in color i.e. red, magenta depending on the variety.

We sampled a freshly picked dragonfruit.

It tastes like kiwi with all the seeds which are pretty much chewable and crunchy. The variety that Manambulan Station is growing is sweet and delicious. After a few slices, I found myself craving for more. I ate two. The fruit is better serve when chilled.

The Hylocereus undatus variety has white, soft flesh and numerous black seeds.

Dragonfruits are native to Central and Southern America but are now being widely cultivated in Southeast Asia including the Philippines, particularly in Cavite and Southern Mindanao. This fruit is packed with fiber, Vitamic C, and minerals. It has antioxidant properties too.

We loaded some more fruits in the truck.

After going around the area and filling our stomachs with its sweet flesh, we harvested more dragonfruits and put them at the back of the truck for our deserts.

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Of Watermelon and Honeydew

At the corner of a street, I chanced upon this little girl in her yellow and pink dress, accented with her loverly pearl earrings and bracelet. I was at the other side of the street and I believed she saw me with my camera. Her facial expression looked inviting so I dived in for photo op.

She was selling honeydew and watermelon (pakwan) for 35 pesos a kilo. She's also selling shrimp paste (bagoong) sauted in kalamias (I don't know the English translation of this fruit but it's sour and juicy and comes from the Averrhoa family, the likes of Carambola/Starfruit).

At first, I thought the girl was just tending the stall for his mom or whoever she was with but it seemed like, she was really the vendor for the day. I inquired about the prices (with no intention of buying at all) and later asked if I could take her picture. She smiled for the camera.

A closer look at the watermelon she's selling. I haven't seen this variety before. It looks more of a papaya to me than a pakwan. But surprisingly, the flesh is red and succulent, with lesser seeds. One thing I hate about eating watermelon are the seeds, which you have to constantly spit out everytime you eat a munchful of pakwan.

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