I took a great nine-day trip to South Korea a month ago. I've been meaning to write about it, but I've been putting it off because I had no time. Yet today, a friend asked for some tips on where to go for a short visit. Since I would like to give her a comprehensive itinerary, complete with links and photos, I decided to just do it here. That would be hard to do over email.

So here's a sample itinerary for a short four-day trip to Seoul:

Day 1

My tip for the first day is to familiarize yourself with the area you will reside in. Roam around to know important stuff, like where you can buy food and other supplies, or where the nearest subway station is. I stayed in Amsa, and within minutes of settling in I already found the lovely local market where food is really really cheap.



But if you want to hit the ground running right away, you can go to Myeongdong to shop for food and supplies. Myeongdong is also Seoul's main shopping district, so you can try out various street food, like this yummy egg roll:



But my fave food stand there is this hotdog stand, which offers many variants of hotdog on a stick, along with a selection of weird sauces. It's near Lotte Department Store (across Young Plaza, near a Starbucks branch) so you won't miss it.





Myeongdong is also home to rows and rows of skincare shops, so you can stock up on beauty products there. There's also a dog and cat cafe somewhere; I just wasn't able to find it.

Myeongdong also has an amazing underground shopping district where you can buy traditional souvenirs. Or just head over to the nearby Lotte Department Store to buy food and other supplies.

Head on home and sleep early, because Day 2 will be early.

Day 2

This is a good time to head over to Nami Island and Petite France. For convenience, book this trip from Trazy.

In the morning, head on over to your preferred pickup station (I recommend Myeongdong Station) to ride the bus. The trip's around two hours, so you can sleep on the bus. 

Your tour guide would recommend where to go first, depending on the weather. Ours was Justin, who made us go to Petite France first.

Petite France is a quaint little town that's made in honor of Antoine de Saint-Exupery's landmark book The Little Prince. 

The area contains a lot of unique rooms where you can view dolls, puppets, trains and other crafty knickknacks. The area is great for Instagram.

Two hours after, we were back in the bus and on our way to Nami Island. We needed to ride a ferry to go to the island (fun for kids!), and the island is a notable experience. You shouldn't miss it.









The tour bus will take you back to Myeongdong at 5PM. If you're not yet tired, you can head over to the Namsan Seoul Tower to get a view of the city at night. You will get to ride a cable car (fun for kids!), and would have an amazing view of the city from on top of the mountain.



There's also lots of things to do at the tower. There's a Teddy Bear museum. There's a nice Starbucks branch with exclusive souvenirs. And of course, you can hang up your own padlock if you still believe in love (meh).

Day 3

The third day should be a chill, relaxed day after the previous long day. Late in the morning, you can head over to Itaewon to go to this special LINE store. Three floors of amazing kid-friendly characters begging for you to take photos with them. The atmosphere is youthful and fun all around.

Itaewon is also known as "Western Town", because the area has restaurants that serve non-Korean cuisines. So what's for lunch? Persian, Italian, French, Mexican or anything exotic? Have your pick.

After that, head over to the COEX mall in Gangnam for the aquarium. This is one of my most fave places that I visited in Korea, because I was finally able to view underwater creatures. It's very memorable.

Day 4

Last day? Head over to Everland. It's a full day affair with lots of walking. Wear comfortable shoes.

Everland is divided into several sections. My most favorite one is the safari section because Panda World is in the vicinity.

I also liked this scary roller-coaster (fastest in Asia 😱), and this weird topsy-turvy ride.





You can then finish the day with fireworks at 8PM (if you are there on Friday or on a weekend).

Other places

Here are other places I visited that I liked but they're outdoors so they might be too hot during summer:

Olympic Park

Gyeongbokgung Palace

There are two exits at the back. One takes you to the museums.

The other takes you to the viewing area for the Blue House, or the residence of the South Korean President.

Namsangol Hanok Village

This area contains several traditional houses. You can also try out Korean costumes, like this king costume I wore.

Lastly, don't forget to eat at a traditional Korean bbq restaurant so you can get the full experience. Enjoy!

Sorry but this post is not for the faint of heart.

1. I just saw someone die.

2. I was walking from Starbucks on the ground floor of Megamall A to the supermarket. I was near the elevator when I saw a pair of legs drop beyond the railing, from up top. Then it disappeared below. Then a thud.

3. I was the only one screaming because I instantly knew it was a person. The others looked at me then ran to the railing, and looked downward. More screaming.

4. I also ventured to see. The legs again, now with blood splatter around it. The body was hidden from view.

5. A Chinese lady from Bread Pan approached to tell me that the same person tried jumping from the fifth floor yesterday, but a crowd stopped him. She said it is a man. I walked away, shaken.

6. I reached the escalator near the supermarket. A mother was riding the escalator upwards, while toting a child in her arms. She was screaming in horror: No one should go down! Or else!

7. In retrospect, I'm lucky that I have not seen his face.

*originally posted on Facebook yesterday, February 9

Tonight, I had to go to Gateway Mall from Ortigas to pick up these Starbucks cards from a seller:

I collect these now.

The trip was a test of wills. It was not that long because there virtually was no traffic, but it was hard to catch a ride.

I.

6PM. I originally planned to take the MRT from Shaw Blvd, but I went off-route because I walked with a colleague to Megamall. I tried to take a bus from Megamall A, but it was nearly impossible because the crowd was thick and there were a few buses. After waiting for a bit, I decided to walk to the MRT's Ortigas Station. It was nearer than Shaw. So on I walked.

II. 

There was a queue from the bottom of the stairs upwards to the Ortigas station, which was situated about three or four stories high on top EDSA. So yes, it was a long line.

After about ten minutes of waiting in line and inching slowly to the top, I reached the entrance to the platform and realized that the line went directly to the ticket scanner. I had no ticket, so I had to remove myself from the line to buy one. Once I got the ticket, the guard told me that I could not go back in line, and I have to go back downstairs to line up again. I decided not to because staying in line while on a narrow staircase made me queasy.

So on I walked.

III. 

The sidewalk from the MRT to Robinsons Galleria belonged in an episode of Takeshi's Castle. A lot of obstacles were in the long long way. There were thick-trunked trees that took up half of the space, the pavement was uneven so you can trip at any time, metal bars were erected everywhere with no reason, and beggars were sprawled every few meters. Then there were fellow commuters who were going the other way as I was; the narrow space didn't let two pass comfortably at the same time. We needed to play patintero. It was exhausting.

But I pushed onward, determined to reach Robinsons because I knew that a lot of folks alight the bus there, so there would be space for new riders. I repeated this idea again and again, until it became a fact in my head. I was talking to myself like a loony person. I'm sure the other people walking with me were doing the same.

But this was a waste of words. What I had was an alternative fact, because there again was a thick crowd in front of the mall, and there were almost no buses. I pondered if I can walk to Cubao. I can do that, of course, but I'm not sure if I can keep reciting a hopeless prayer to myself the whole way. I might become a literal loony if I do that, so I hesitated.

Instead, I chose to use my muscles to tackle people when a bus approached. Thankfully, I didn't need to do much because in front of me was a stocky lady who might be in her 40s. This brave woman barged into the other commuters in front of her, and they gave way. I stuck to her like glue, until we reached the bus's door.

IV. 

The lady was quick to jump into the bus, while I was only able to step halfway in. There just wasn't anymore space. Half my body was hanging out while the bus was moving, and the driver tried to close the door but I was in the way so it was stuck. I did not give up, and I didn't care. I continued hanging. Finally, the tough lady pushed inwards to give me space, and I was able to enter. The door might have closed, but it would smash me whenever it opened.

This was my bus. I was standing in front of that sign inside the bus the whole trip. I hate that door.

EPILOGUE.

Was public transportation ever this bad in Manila? I used to take the bus two years ago, before I discovered the UV Express and this concept of going home before the rush hour. I knew commuting on buses was already awful then, but I don't remember people hanging with their bodies out of the door. Commuting seems to be worse now.

All throughout the trip, I wondered if our dear lawmakers knew about this situation. If they do, why isn't resolving it a priority? Do they care? Perhaps we should make them commute every day so they would be motivated to fix it. We should take their cars away and make them commute home on these cramped buses. There should be no other option for them, because the citizens that they serve almost never have options too.

What I would always remember from this hellish trip is the determination I saw in the eyes of the lady who helped me finally get to my destination. We didn't speak, but we exchanged glances the whole way. We went through a hard task together, but there was no grief in her eyes. She was joyous, because even though she'd be standing during the whole trip, she knew she was homebound, perhaps to a loving husband, or to her beautiful children. She gave me the prettiest smile, and I did the same.

SPOILERS! Turn away if you have not seen the film yet.

Die Beautiful is a remarkable movie about transexuals and their place in society. Throughout the film, Tricia (Paolo Ballesteros) kept trying to find real love after being shunned by her immediate family, led by her homophobic father (Joel Torre). The climax showed how the father tried claiming Tricia's body from the morgue, even if her friends are opposing it because Tricia did not want to be laid to rest with her former family. The father even wanted to hack off her boobs! Eventually, Tricia's sister Beth (Gladys Reyes) stepped in and let her brother's friends take the body home without the father's knowledge.

That was the last we've heard of Tricia's family, and so it seems like we haven't had a proper conclusion for that part of the story. There were also scenes in the film where Tricia's friends indicated that the funeral should be secret because the father may find them, so I was expecting that a confrontation will happen after the grandiose funeral became viral.

Now, a deleted scene is taking the rounds on Facebook, showing that there was supposed to be a confrontation in the script. Here's the deleted scene, showing that the father and Beth came to the funeral with cops behind them:

I agree with this cut because it won't work well with the mellow conclusion, since this would increase the intensity. But I still think we need a better conclusion for Joel Torre than just him disappearing at the end. So I thought up a good scene:

Have Gladys Reyes watch television alone in the same spot where she was watching Tricia's pageant earlier. She's watching a news story about Tricia's funeral. In the previous scene, she turned the TV off when Joel Torre walked in. This time, Joel Torre walks in but Gladys does not turn the TV off. Joel sits down beside her, looks at the TV. Looks at Gladys, Gladys does not look back. Then he looks back at the TV with no visible reaction. The camera lingers for a bit, with no dialogue exchanged between the two characters. Then it cuts to the next scene at the funeral for Barbs's final speech. (I was thinking something like acceptance dawns on Joel's face or Gladys holds his hand, but might be too cheesy.)

This is a good scene for several reasons:

• It is a parallel between the previous scene where Gladys is scared of showing Joel her acceptance for Tricia with her watching the pageant, to not caring that the homophobic dad sees her.
• It gives Joel a chance to conclude his story. We also show Tricia's family for one last time.
• It shows that the funeral has been truly viral because it made the news. I remember seeing a reporter in the funeral but we never actually saw a TV report.
• It finally give us a final scene where a TV is involved. There were a lot of scenes with television. I think there was a fascination with media, because of all the references to TV and movies in the jokes. It's a nice subtext.

I kinda wanna see this in the director's cut but I don't know how to reach direk Jun Lana. If you're reading this, kindly tell him, please?

Obosen ang mga dilaaan.
#OustLeni

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Tonight is the awards night of this year's artistically-inclined MMFF 2016. My prediction: Jun Lana's Die Beautiful will sweep the awards, with Saving Sally and Seklusyon s runner-ups. Here's my prediction:

• Best Picture will undoubtedly go to Die Beautiful. It's a rare film that straddles the line between artistic and commercial, so it is perfect for this festival. It is really really entertaining, but thought-provoking at the same time.
• Jun Lana would win Best Director for Die Beautiful, as expected. If not, Avid Liongoren would take the award for his monumental work on Saving Sally.
• Paolo Ballesteros will win Best Actor for his brave portrayal of a transgender on Die Beautiful. His only real contender is Joshua Garcia, for a surprisingly strong performance in Vince & Kath & James.
• Then Christian Bables will win Best Supporting Actor for being the foil to Paolo on Die Beautiful. No question.
• It's hard to predict who should win Best Actress. Nora Aunor is the perceived front-runner, but Kabisera's horrible script and direction may have sabotaged her. It does look like Rhed Bustamante, who played the kid devil in Seklusyon, should take this award. But that depends if she's considered to be a lead actress in that film. If she's up for Best Supporting actress instead, Irma Adlawan would take the acting award for Oro. Or maybe Julia Barretto will win for Vince & Kath & James? I wouldn't mind that too.
• Again, if Rhed Bustamante is up for Best Supporting Actress, she would take the award as expected. But if she wins Best Actress, I think the award will be a toss-up between Ina Raymundo and Shamaine Buencamino in Vince & Kath & James.
• Technical awards? Best Makeup should go to Die Beautiful. Best Sound would have to go to Seklusyon. Best Cinematography goes to Seklusyon too. Best Musical Score would go to Saving Sally. Best Production Design may go to Saving Sally, or Vince & Kath & James. Best Original Story and Best Screenplay should go to Die Beautiful.
• Sunday Beauty Queen misses out on most of the awards because it is a documentary, but I think it should get the Gatpuno Antonio J. Villegas Cultural Award, or the Fernando Poe Jr. Memorial Award for Excellence.

Congratulations to the (would-be) winners.

It is a yearly tradition for me to watch all the entries of the Metro Manila Film Festival. Call it willful torture, if you will, because the MMFF, traditionally, is full of horrible movies made for commercial purposes. (Read my MMFF 2015 review here.)

This was why I was very happy when it was announced that the line-up for this year's MMFF will only include quality films. The usual producers of the cash-grab movies complained, it was fun to watch their bitter, bitter tears.

Anyway, I'm done with all eight entries for this year. I watched all of them in four days, and I could say that I'm satisfied with what I've seen. Here's my ranking:

At the very top of my ranking is Jun Lana's Die Beautiful. It fits well in MMFF because it's a huge crowd-pleaser, but it is also artistic. Strong performances from Paolo Ballesteros and Christian Bables anchor the film anchor the movie from its light to its tragic moments. 5/5

Next is Saving Sally. Outstanding in scope and vision but meets all of it and more. It's a visual feast. Animated scenes are an eye-candy. Non-animated ones have remarkable production design. Lots of things happening in the background too and I wanna see the film again just to watch just that. 5/5

Sunday Beauty Queen is third. The first documentaty in MMFF history is surprisingly good. Drama is organic and not forced. The message is not presented heavy-handedly and never preachy. My only gripe is that the pageants are more of a framing device, so there are unanswered questions about it. 4.5/5

Vince & Kath & James takes a while to get rolling but once you settle in it becomes enjoyable and fun. Strong acting performances from Joshua Garcia and Julia Barretto. Ronnie Alonte lacked energy (but oozes charm) while Maris Racal had too much she annoyed me. Production design is top-notch. 4/5

Seklusyon is a good psychological horror that unfortunately loses coherence in the second half of the film. It may be a contender for best cinematography and best actress for the demon kid, Rhed Bustamante. 3.5/5

Ang Babae sa Septic Tank 2 was a letdown for me because I expected a lot. Sadly, most of the good jokes were in the trailer and the plotting is also too busy--shifting from the scenes at the spa, to the fictional film, to the director's marital problem. The parallelism between the movie and the crumbling of the marriage is a stretch. 3/5

Oro had a good theme but ending was eh. Two problematic scenes near the end: Irma Adlawan recorded a video but the shot was like she was preaching directly to the audience, who has her sympathy anyway. Mercedes's breakdown scene beside the coffin was too melodramatic. Then what happened to Leticia? But what I can't accept is that it seems like they killed, burned and gutted a dog on cam. Killing an animal for a movie is unethical. 2.5/5

Finally, the only film that I truly detested in this year's line-up: Kabisera. The movie squanders the talent of its cast on a weak script and bad direction. Dialogue is clunky and cringe-worthy. People do not talk like that in real life. I only liked the unintentionally funny Leila de Lima copycat. 0.5/5

--

All in all, I think MMFF 2016 is a success, from an artistic standpoint. I hope next year brings more of the same quality films to the theaters. No more commercialized fare please.

(06/08/2016) New updates below this post.

This sounds like a conspiracy theory but it doesn't sound so far-fetched.

So days ago, journalist Ed Lingao had an anti-Marcos post on Facebook that was deleted. It has since been restored and Facebook apologized:

The post was incorrectly removed and has since been restored. We promptly restored the content once we realized this, and we’re sorry for the inconvenience caused.

Now there's a case of a woman on Facebook telling the story of being harassed this morning by Duterte fans. It has been removed too but here is a screenshot:

After the post went viral, her account was also reported multiple times so she was banned from logging in without verification. Her inbox has also been filled with hate mail and death threats.

It is suspicious how it was removed. I know you can report posts on Facebook. I have done these many times and Facebook quickly returns with a message saying the posts do not violate standards.

I have reported posts that are offensive and they were not removed. Ed Lingao and the lady's posts are not offensive but they were removed. I wonder why.

I can make assumptions. Maybe Facebook automatically deletes posts that have been reported multiple times at the same time. I don't know how many the reports should be though.

What's creepier, though, is if the posts were removed by a human moderator. They are based in Manila. What if these moderators are pro-Marcos and Duterte that they consciously censor Facebook posts that criticize their idols?

Facebook should look into this because if this continues we'd have a scenario where the anti-Duterte posts, even if valid, get censored on Facebook. People who post legitimate criticism on the next President and his government may even be banned from Facebook.

Sure, Facebook is just a website, and a private company at that, but censorship is never a good thing. The moderation should only be if the images are pornographic, or if they carry gore. But if they are opinions, they should be left on the site. Freedom of expression should be respected on all platforms.

UPDATE: More cases like these have been reported since this post:

On June 4, Saturday, the Facebook book of a group of journalists was taken down. They suspect that it was mobbed by Duterte supporters after they posted their condemnation of the new President's seeming endorsement for media killings.

The other case may have confirmed this secret mob. On June 5, the Juan Nationalist page, which regularly posts anti-Duterte stories, was taken down for a few hours. The page owner reached out to a Facebook official, who confirmed that his page had been reported by a mob.

One question that should be answered is why this mob takes the time to ban valid opinion on Facebook. Their President has assured that he will protect the media and he also invokes freedom of speech. Is this another case of double-speak, where a politician says one thing, but directs his followers to do the opposite? It's not surprising because Duterte is known to change his words as quickly as he changes clothes. Tunay na pabago-bago, so to speak.

And who is this mob? Is it an extension of Duterte's 10-M social media campaign team that now wants to terrorize the internet with their new-found power? And who is their leader?

I hope more details about this get revealed in the next few days.

This happened weeks ago.

On the way to my brother's graduation in PICC I made a wrong turn in Makati. It being about a week before the elections I do the right thing and have the officer issue me a ticket.

I'm not a stranger to traffic violations. I am a conscientious, safe driver, but Manila streets are filled with traps particularly for unfamiliar drivers that I got my share of violation when I started driving. Growing pains, so to speak. Battle scars.

Filipino drivers know the weird regulations in every city. For example, there's this trap in Gil Puyat in Manila, just before World Trade Center, where the second inner lane suddenly becomes a must-turn-left lane. This is unusual because the second inner lane is usually the optional lane. There are no signs that point to it except for paint on the road, which when you see it is already too late and the enforcers stationed there has caught you.

Enforcers, yes, because three or more enforcers are standing near the area at any given time to grin at you while flagging your car. And when you talk to them you'd know quickly that they are asking for bribes. I have experienced this but perhaps it this story is for another blog post.

Anyway. So there we were in Makati. Driving from Marikina to Makati took a lot of time already, and at those moments I have encountered cars with Duterte stickers on them saying "change is coming". And yet, they are the worst violators of traffic rules out there. Hypocrites.

So when the Makati enforcer flagged me I decided to do the right thing and not give a bribe, because I am better than those Dutertard assholes.

The enforcer's name was Fidel de Lima. He was wearing a yellow uniform. I asked him when can I get my license back and he said I can go to Makati City Hall by the following Tuesday to claim it. It was a Saturday so I only had to be license-free for two more days. Besides, the ticket he issues can act as a license until the following Friday.

The ticket I was issued.

So here's where everything went to shit:

On Tuesday, I headed to Makati City Hall to get my license. I got to the traffic violations office early so I still have the afternoon for work. However, the personnel at the that office told me that my license was not there.

I was confused at first. The traffic enforcer said I can already get the license on Tuesday, so why didn't he surrender it to their office? The personnel told me I can wait for the afternoon or just return on another day. He gave me their landline number so I can call them before going back.

Because I believe in efficiency, I decided to wait until after lunch so that I don't waste my Uber credits when I go back to Makati on another day. I stayed in a nearby 7-Eleven for a while, playing games on my iPad.

I came back to the traffic violations office after lunch. The personnel was surprised to see me and chided me for not calling before heading back. I got a little pissed at that point, but I had no other choice but to leave.

The traffic violations office in Makati.

The election was happening on that following Monday, and I am a registered voter in my old province so I need my license so I can drive to vote. Yes, the ticket can be used in place of the license but it is only applicable inside Metro Manila.

This is why I did not give up on following up. I called twice a day, morning and afternoon, on Wednesday and Thursday. The license still wasn't there.

Friday was a red alert day because the ticket was about to expire then. I called in the morning, and because the license still was not there, they promised to find the enforcer, De Lima, presumably to take my license from his irresponsibly unbreakable grip. And yet, I called them again before lunch and they said they were not able to contact him.

They told me that I should still go to their office nonetheless so they can mark my ticket with an exception. They said this is the best option I can get.

My second visit to the traffic violations office was eye-opening. Apparently, I was not the only driver that  had this problem because I witnessed several drivers there who were much angrier than I. I talked to this senior dad who had his license on hold for nearly two weeks already. He said he did not understand how this can happen because enforcers are supposed to surrender all the licenses they confiscated. Do they take the licenses home instead? Why?

I had the same questions.

Then the traffic personnels ushered me into their office. One of them apologized because the enforcer, supposedly, took an extended sick leave. Presumably. That still does not explain why my license was still with him.

After that, they extended my ticket to about a week after elections. The extension was just ink penned behind the ticket, with an official signature. 

Then the energy of the elections (I commuted to the voting precinct) made me forget about my license altogether, so I wasn't able to follow up until the next Friday. I truly forgot about it until my mom reprimanded me for not asking about my license sooner.

And yes, I was able to claim my license that Friday, two weeks after it was confiscated. I paid 500 for the violation.

The unanswered questions remained unanswered. Why was my license gone for so long? What did the enforcer do with it? Was he ever reprimanded? Is this a rare case, or is it more frequent than I think?

If this is a frequent matter, the powers-that-be in Makati should do something about it. Makati advertises itself as a red-tape free city, but I experienced another thing altogether. Yes, you can claim your license in about five minutes, but that does not matter if enforcers do not follow procedure. Heads should roll.