San Francisco

The only joined city-county in California, the City and County of San Francisco, is the cultural epicenter and foremost economic hub of the San Francisco Bay Area and Northern California.

Encompassing a land area of about 46.9 square miles (121 km2) on the northern end of the San Francisco Peninsula, giving it a density of about 17,620 people per square mile (6,803 people per km2), San Francisco is the most densely settled large city (population greater than 200,000) in the state of California and the second-most densely populated major city in the United States after New York City. San Francisco is the fourth most populous city in California, after Los Angeles, San Diego and San Jose, and the 14th most populous city in the United States—with a Census-estimated 2012 population of 825,863. The city is also the financial and cultural hub of the larger San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland combined statistical area, with a population of 8.4 million.

Founded on June 29, 1776, San Francisco (Spanish for "Saint Francis") was established when colonists from Spain built a fort at the Golden Gate and a mission named for St. Francis of Assisi a few miles away. The California Gold Rush of 1849 brought about rapid growth. This made it the largest city on the West Coast at the time. Due to the growth of its population, San Francisco became a consolidated city-county in 1856. After three-quarters of the city was destroyed by the 1906 earthquake and fire, San Francisco was quickly rebuilt, hosting the Panama-Pacific International Exposition nine years later. During World War II, San Francisco was the port of embarkation for service members shipping out to the Pacific Theater. After the war, the confluence of returning servicemen, massive immigration, liberalizing attitudes, and other factors led to the Summer of Love and the gay rights movement, cementing San Francisco as a center of liberal activism in the United States.

San Francisco is a popular tourist destination, known for its cool summers, fog, steep rolling hills, eclectic mix of architecture, and landmarks including the Golden Gate Bridge, cable cars, the former prison on Alcatraz Island, and its Chinatown district. It is also a primary banking and finance center.

Bridge Over Troubled Water

You Can Call Me Al

Every Breath You Take

50 Ways To Leave Your Lover

Englishman In New York (+playlist)

I Hung My Head

Fields Of Gold

America/Message In A Bottle

For The Dance

The Goddess

Blanco's Garden

The Temple Guardian

The Monkey Temple

Bali Nights

Bromeliad

Boracay Rains

Moon Over Angkor

The City From Afar

Nearing The Entrance

A Nearer View

With The Man-made Lagoon

In All Its Majesty

Built between roughly A.D. 1113 and 1150, and encompassing an area of about 500 acres (200 hectares), Angkor Wat is one of the largest religious monuments ever constructed. Its name means “temple city”.

Originally built as a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Vishnu, it was converted into a Buddhist temple in the 14th century, and statues of Buddha were added to its already rich artwork.

Its 213-foot-tall (65 meters) central tower is surrounded by four smaller towers and a series of enclosure walls, a layout that recreates the image of Mount Meru, a legendary place in Hindu mythology that is said to lie beyond the Himalayas and be the home of the gods.

The city where the temple was built, Angkor, is located in modern-day Cambodia and was once the capital of the Khmer Empire. This urban center contains hundreds of temples and a population that has been estimated to be as high as 1 million people. It was easily the largest city in the world until the industrial revolution.

 The temple is surrounded by a 650-foot-wide (200 meters) moat that encompasses a perimeter of more than 3 miles (5 km). This moat is 13 feet deep (4 meters) and would have helped stabilize the temple’s foundation, preventing groundwater from rising too high or falling too low.
Angkor Wat’s main entrance was to the west (a direction associated with Vishnu) across a stone causeway, with guardian lions marking the way. To the east of the temple was a second, more modest, entrance.

The heart of the temple was the central tower, entered by way of a steep staircase, a statue of Vishnu at top. This tower “was at once the symbolic center of the nation and the actual center where secular and sacred power joined forces,” writes researcher Eleanor Mannikka in the book "Angkor: Celestial Temples of the Khmer Empire" (Abbeville Press, 2002). “From that unparalleled space, Vishnu and the king ruled over the Khmer people”.

The Laperal House

Since the first time I saw the Laperal House in Baguio City, I have been in love with it. The house, also known as the White House, is a gem of turn-of-the-century architecture. It is just too bad that it is more famous as being one of the most haunted places in the city.

Even the house' interiors are beautiful swathed in rich chocolate wood, with large windows that let in the light to showcase its gleaming balustrades and airy rooms. Straight in from the front door is a parlor with a dining room that seats around 20 people beyond it. The first floor also has a sitting area with a fireplace to the right. The second floor boasts balconies in its front rooms. A beautiful white corridor at the back with a window framing the mountain scenery outside leads to yet more rooms. A narrow staircase made with more of the same rich chocolate wood leads to the third floor, which has an attic room.

My fervent wish is that they could repurpose this beautiful house into a high-end bed and breakfast. Still, I guess its reputation will make it difficult to market. In any case, I am very glad that after all these years, the Laperal House is now open to the public. It is a glimpse at a more poetic past that we can only dream of visiting.

Kambal Mini Resto And Bulaluhan

I admit that I'm adventurous when it comes to places to eat. I especially love roadside "carenderias". I find them charming in their banality. One such lucky find in Tagaytay would be Kambal. Kambal in Tagalog means twins, so I'm guessing either the owners are twins or they have twins. The name aside, the food upon first inspection showed promise. Looking into them from the glass case common to these roadside diners, they looked absolutely yummy.

I must confess, the adobo was a little too sweet for my tastes. It had more of an asado feel to it. The beef caldereta also left much to be desired. The house specialty though, the bulalo, was a revelation. Not needing much of the marrow's flavor to hide any imperfections, the stock itself was flavorful enough to carry the whole dish. Being situated in Tagaytay, they had no problems using Grade A beef and the freshest greens. The freshness of the greens added another dimension to the dish... crispness. Another favorite would be the tawilis. The availability of this fish in Lake Taal ensured its freshness as well. Lastly, there was the luchon kawali. Okay, okay. It takes vast ammounts of stupidity to bungle up this dish which is innately good, but the crispiness of the pork skin was absolutely sinful.

All in all, flying beetles diveboming onto the table notwithstanding, the whole Kambal experience was a treat for my palate... And P1,000++ for all 12 people, it was a welcome treat for my wallet as well.