Pugita Cooking Class

Here is the proper way to cook a pugita steak in just 4 easy steps.

Step 1: Buy a pugita from your local Tagbanua dealer. The freshest ones are those with skins that still change color - this indicates that the animal has recently died or is still dying.


Step 2: After cleaning the ink from the creature's insides, fill a wok with water and bring to a boil. Plunk the dead motherfucker into the wok. Make sure you have an ample supply of firewood.


Step 3: Boil for an hour, occasionally turning the thing upside down. When the water has boiled out, replace with 500ml of Sprite. Keep boiling until the softdrink runs out.


Step 4: Transfer to a plate, taking care to arrange the tentacles in an aesthetically pleasing manner. You are now ready to serve your tender juicy pugita steak. Pugita steak goes well with beer, suka and rice, and is best eaten with the hands.

Rainy Tuesday

The recent typhoon (it was Mitag, I think) had me stranded in Coron on Tuesday. No choice but to hang around, nothing to do but take pictures of downtown:



It was a refreshing forced break, though. Coron is a small community where everyone pretty much knows each other. It's the kind of place where motorbikes and tricycles rule the streets, where smiles are met with smiles, and where people still walk around on afternoons chatting up the neighbors. It's my kind of place.

Tuesday night found me at the Coron community centre hanging out with the members of Tribu Calamianes, a local Battle of the Bands champion group. The band is composed of a blind guitarist, a sculptor, an ex-choirboy vocalist, a Glock-wielding gun enthusiast, and an award-winning photographer. These folks drink as well as they sing. Hic. Damn good company.

And Al, you rock!

Fisher Folks

The day's catch for a Tagbanua fisherman in Coron Island:


Tagbanua boys man a little "fishport" at the seaside village of Cabugao, Coron Island:

Tagbanua fishermen typically stop here to unload their catch and have it weighed before they head to their homes.

San Agustin Church

It's nice to spend the weekend at home in Manila :)

Same Same Same

Art mimics life at the Ta Prohm temple in Angkor:



Shot with a Voigtlander Bessa R & Industar 61 lens, + Era 100 film at E.I. 200.

Postcard Store

A young Cambodian awaits customers at her postcard store inside the Preah Khan temple in Angkor:



Shot with a Voigtlander Bessa L & Snapshot Skopar 25mm lens + Era 100 film at E.I. 200

Same Same

...but different:



The Khmer woman vs the French woman. That's 700 years and a few thousand miles of culture apart. The image at left is an apsara statue from the Bayon temple in Angkor, while the image at the right is a wall carving from an old French colonial mansion in Phnom Penh. Funny how they almost the same, but different...

Money Trees

Money may not grow on trees, but on some days it seems the case in Thailand:



Villagers offer donations for the upkeep of the Na Phra Larn Buddhist temple in Koh Samui, Thailand. The occasion is a community event, with hundreds of locals turning out to pin money on the branches of these potted "trees". Traditional dancing is performed, followed by a solemn, yet rather festive procession around the temple.

Koh Samui, Baby!

A waitress prepares for evening diners at the Zazen Restaurant in Bophut Beach, Koh Samui:



This was shot on the last night of my Samui assignment, after a long month of shooting different locations each weekend. I'll be desk-bound for the next few weeks, but hell - I can't wait for the next overseas shoot... :)

Shot for Fah Thai, the inflight magazine of Bangkok Airways.

Stories on Walls

Seen on the wall of an old French colonial mansion, just behind Sisowath quay:



I wonder what those Khmer writings mean. Placed against this patriotic looking sticker, one can probably say the graffiti speaks of love of country, or subversion, or politics, etc.

Or maybe it just means "bawal ihi putol titi".

Anybody wanna guess what these writings might mean?