VN Highlights: My Son

Dubbed as a mini Angkor Wat in Vietnam, My Son (Holy Land), was the site of religious activity for the kings during the Champa Kingdom. It was also a burial place for Cham royalty and heroes. My Son is one of the first Hindu temple complexes in South-East Asia, together with Borobudur in Java, Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Bagan in Myanmar, and Ayutthaya in Thailand.

VN Highlights: Hoi An Ancient Town

Suddenly became too busy with work. Anyway, here are some highlights of our recently concluded Vietnam trip. =D

I absolutely LOVE this place!! Hoi An Ancient Town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The ancient buildings and architecture are very well-preserved. While walking around, you get a feeling of being transported back to times when it was known as "Champa City".

Lots of tourists and backpackers go there for all the cheap finds and uniquely Vietnamese food, handicrafts, paintings, and what have you. The walking tour is also very interesting as you get to visit temples, old houses (really well-preserved), and conference halls.

messing around in one of the temples

dragons in the pond

i love the streets of the Old Town

one of our many food adventures: white rose

the alleys of Hoi An

Hoi An's popular lanterns

LOMO Love!!!

I love love love my Holga!!! =D Got it during the St. James Christmas Bazaar in Ayala-Alabang. Couldn't wait to use it. Thankfully, the playground served as the PERFECT shooting location! Here are the results:

And its 1 year old brother, the action sampler:

City Lights

I miss taking pictures of the Makati skyline from the roofdeck of our old condo. =( But this is just as good =)

taken from Greenbelt 3

and the moon was still full =)

Symphony of Lights

To commemorate the "face-lift" of the Ayala Triangle park and to welcome the Christmas holidays, Ayala put up a light and music show inside the Ayala Triangle Gardens. This "symphony of lights" is similar to the one in Hong Kong, complete with Christmas tracks and a light show unique to the Philippines. Light designer Voltaire de Jesus and sound designer Jethro Joaquin came together to put on a wonderful show that makes every onlooker feel like a child again.

Ayala Triangle Gardens Music and Light Show from gelopots on Vimeo.
In time for the holidays, Ayala transformed the forest terrain of Ayala Triangle into a landscaped and walkable park. For this Christmas season, it boasts of a music and light show every weeknight from 6 to 7:30 pm.Unique metal sculptures scattered around the garden also add to the unique attraction that the park brings.

Aside from the light show, there are also scrap art and brass and iron sculptures around the park that serve as another attraction to the park-goers. The scrap art exhibit is by Ral Arrogante, in collaboration with Art Galleries Philippines; while the metal sculptures are by Castrillo-Hill.

Other attractions/perks of going to the ATG, as they call it, are Globe Tattoo's FREE WI-FI (it was pretty fast) and food concessionaires (Caramia-Amici's branded gelato and Big Chill).

Here are some shots from my Nokia N95:

Christmas is in the air! Part 2

More snapshots of Christmas trees, holiday decorations and whatnots =) Enjoy!

Carat's very own Santa Claus wishes you a Merry Christmas

Our area's humble Chrismas tree

Mark and Cham strike a pose with the Liberty Center Christmas tree

SM Mall of Asia

Lights and music show at the Ayala Triangle Gardens

National Geographic's International Photography Contest 2009 - The Big Picture - Boston.com

National Geographic's International Photography Contest 2009 - The Big Picture - Boston.com

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Holgarrific!

Last year, I got an Action Sampler for my first lomo cam. Pictures here.

And now, it's time for another one! I've been debating on getting either a Fish-eye or a Holga since I love them both. The vintage effect and vignettes of the Holga are just classic but I also love the distortion that the Fish-eye provides.

Thankfully, after much online canvassing, I stumbled upon Lomoflavors that sells a Holga 135 with a Fish-eye lens! Now I can have the distortion of the Fish-eye with the effects of the Holga. =)

And best of all, I don't need to look for those 120 films anymore as my Holga only requires the normal size (135).

my Holga 135 BC

fish-eye lens for Holga

Christmas is in the air!

What's your Christmas sign? I get my first feel of Christmas when I see the red cups from Starbucks, those red paper cups that call out to you every time you buy your favorite cup of Christmas coffee =)

Since this is my first Christmas with Blogger, Just to pay tribute to this festive holiday, I've collected a few snapshots of this year's Christmas designs around the metro.

lantern vendors along Wilson St. in San Juan

Promenade, Greenhills

Greenbelt 3

Bonifacio High Street

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

*pictures were taken using Nokia N95