2014: THE B YEAR

balikbayans came. basil died. i went to bhutan, my third trip. and before basil died, there was benguet for a family vacation. then, joy and i went to burma for some volunteer work. and on the return home, we had a short stay in bangkok. my friend butch abad turned 60. this is not just a bad year for him. it's his worst! (he notes though that the country's international credit standing continues to improve). and i met boots gimarino and cousin bernadette in cebu. bansai nippon is just pushing it too much but we were on a budget trip to osaka. B year! 2014 was not bad at all. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Remembering Bebet And How the Bhutan Project Got Kick-started

Roberto Bebet Gaudinez

 Bebet Gaudinez was determined to go to Bhutan even if it were the last thing he did. He was an excellent travel photographer who had made it on the cover of a prominent magazine. He already did several photo exhibits.  And with his gray beard, he looked like the Pinoy version of Karl Marx but with more scalp to show. He did not look sick.

Bebet approached me because he learned that I wanted to go back to Bhutan. I agreed to help despite the fact that his oncologist gave him two years to live. At that time, we calculated he still had about eight months left. I don't know why I went against medical common sense. He was a year my senior in San Beda high school. And he was just a casual acquaintance. I suppose I just could not let down a man who sincerely believed that a trip to the magical kingdom in the Himalayas would make him well.  And having been there, I thought it might just work. 

MARIJUANA AND BANKING

Bebet was a vice president of a major banking corporation. How he even became a banker perpetually baffled classmates at school reunions. We knew him as the best source of high grade marijuana. Perhaps, his brief stay in the Benedictine abbey to contemplate on becoming a monk did him some good. He eventually decided to get married instead and become one of the pioneers of information technology in the Philippine banking industry.  Along the way he also developed his penchant for photography.

THE BHUTAN MEDIATOR

I had to enlist the help of another Bedan schoolmate. Classmates remember him for the great dive he took into the hotel swimming pool in full tuxedo during our seniors’ ball. (I never found out why.) Anyway, Eddie Jose is now a world-renowned Asian Art restorer based in Washington State, USA. He has been visiting Bhutan two months a year for the past 10 years to train Bhutanese monks on how to repair and restore their priceless ancient religious art works. He agreed to help Bebet.

INDIANA JONES PAST MIDLIFE

the routes we took into Bhutan (vista photo)

But Eddie upped the ante by suggesting that we do a cross-country expedition of the mountain kingdom. A country the size of Switzerland should pose no challenge except that it was at an altitude higher than our Mt. Apo. “No one has done this yet”, he said. “And after that, please take photos of the badly damaged wall paintings of two of Bhutan’s most important religious shrines -- the Phajoding monastery and Dungtse Lakhang”, the diving mediator added.

By this time, I had already recruited five other photographers who were “mature” enough to appreciate unique cultures and yet strong enough for the rigorous adventure. But I wondered if the team, mostly overweight, fiftyish city slickers, were all fit for this. Bebet would take the direct flight from Bangkok to Paro. For the rest, it meant months of physical preparation. I also invited Tony, a chest surgeon and a classmate in med school and an avid photographer, to join the team. He was added insurance just in case Bebet turned for the worse.   Tony warned me though that should Bebet develop severe breathing difficulties, he could only tube him up and that we might have to leave him behind. Should he die there, Eddie reminded us that he would have to be cremated first. No cadavers are allowed to leave Bhutan.  Bebet just chuckled upon hearing this.

UNTIMELY DEPARTURE

However, eight months later and just as we were finally getting our long delayed Bhutanese visa, Bebet began coughing up blood. Vince, the lung specialist he consulted, handed out the painful verdict. It deeply saddened everyone in the team. He wouldn’t make it in the thin air of the Himalayas. His lung cancer had progressed.  A few weeks later, on March 31, 2012, Bebet died quietly in his sleep.

And so it was in his memory that our team we called Vista (meaning: view) embarked on a 16-day cross-country expedition of a kingdom in the Himalayas. We flew to India and drove into Bhutan by its eastern and western land border entries. And, we took photographs as we drove past gorges and mountain passes. We met peasants and royalty along the way. We visited their homes as well. We also succeeded in photographing the ancient art works in the two shrines that are due for renovation.

eddie jose lighting a candle for bebet before phuja
(photo courtesy of eddie jose) 

CLOSE CALLS

We survived mountain leeches and some close calls. Ricci developed a serious case of altitude sickness while climbing up to Dr. Gado's birthplace in Haa. Ricci turned paper white and felt like he was going to die. Dr. Gado who was the former secretary of health promptly advised them to go low altitude. Ricci had to stay in bed for three days in Punakha until he recovered fully. Tony was there constantly assuring him that he will survive.  And, Keith fell from his horse while on the way up the atmospheric Phajoding monastery. Luckily, a thicket caught him and the ravine that was two meters away was quite deep.   There was also the constant bellyaching over the long climbs but the satisfaction of being able to reach our destination and witnessing the spectacular views made up for the blisters and near mishaps. 

We made it! I would like to believe that Bebet made sure of that!  You see, there was always marijuana growing in the places we went to!!!

And on the day of our departure for Manila, a phuja, a special Buddhist ceremony, was held in Bebet’s honor. 18 Bhutanese monks prayed for his soul’s next journey as we flew home.

Eddie Jose and the monks offering phuja for Bebet in Thimphu. (photo courtesy of eddie jose)

asiadhrra's 40th anniversary and general assembly in myanmar

the bhutanese

Calling for Support: VISTA exhibit at the National Museum

VISTA is selling photos to raise funds to cover some of the expenses for the coming exhibit at the National Museum this coming April 2015.  Most of these photographs will be part of the exhibit.  Highlighted will be Bhutan's centuries old sacred artworks called thangkas which were restored by a Filipino Asian Art restorer.  

Proceeds will cover expenses for the Bhutanese monks and guests who will grace the opening of the occasion. (Links to the all photos on sale are included below).  And, with sufficient funds, the monks can stay long enough to build sand mandalas in the senate hall of the National Museum.

VISTA has been doing volunteer work in the beautiful kingdom in the Himalayas since 2010.  In 2012, the group did an unprecedented cross-country photography expedition.  Early this year, the group finished its photography of two ancient temples and presented their work to the Royal Grand Queen Mother of Bhutan Ashi Kesang Choden Wangchuck. 

A sample exhibit photo (see attached photo) hangs on a wall at the Centro Maginhawa.  Expertly framed with glass cover and signed.  Size of print is 10 inches x 15 inches. Prized at Php7,000 each.  A portfolio of photos can also be viewed in the said clinic (tel. no. 9217649). 

"Bhutan" by Garrie David

ABOUT VISTA: 

VISTA is a multi-disciplinary group of Filipinos whose passion for photography took them on a series of visits to the Royal Kingdom of Bhutan.   It culminated in a 16-day cross-country photographic expedition in the Himalayan kingdom in 2012.   It was a 2000 km journey that started from three entry points: Phuentsholing in the West, Paro and Sangdrup Jongkar in the East. VISTA went on foot, via SUV and horseback exploring mountain villages, farms and shrines. They met people from all walks of life: royal family members, government officials, simple peasants to the rising urban middle class.  

Documenting Bhutan’s Restoration Efforts

VISTA has been supporting the efforts of Ephraim Jose, a US-based Filipino Asian art restorer, who has been helping preserve many of the Bhutan’s national treasures since 2005. VISTA spent a few days in Bhutan to document religious wall art in two temples that are slated for restoration: Phajoding and Dungtse Lakhang. The group’s work will form part of the national archives of the Kingdom of Bhutan.

Dungtse Lakhang is a Buddhist temple in western Bhutan.  Its wall paintings depict traditional Buddhist images together with those of local wrathful deities. It is unique because it is in the form of a chorten. Its Buddhist iconography is also a unique trove of the Drukpa Kagyu school. The Lakhang is located on the edge of a hill between the Paro valley and the Dopchari valley, across the bridge from Paro.  It is scheduled for restoration in 2015.

Phajoding is a complex of temples situated above the city of Thimphu. It is known for its intricate murals that are largely in disrepair due to damage from the elements. Presently closed to the public, Phajoding is reached by a three hour hike on a rough trail frequented mostly by monks and villagers and traders from the surrounding areas.

Members: 

EDILBERTO CONCEPCION  

Eddie takes photographs with film rangefinder cameras. He keeps several photo blogs and has contributed feature articles and photographs to the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Munting Nayon, a Filipino online magazine based in Holland. He is an acupuncturist.
(choice photos for sale: https://flic.kr/s/aHsk3eqXHD)

GABRIEL DAVID

Garrie is a socio political engineer who develops private-public partnerships and manages national networks of sectoral and political groups for electoral and corporate social responsibility. He is also interested in capturing events and stories of people in various marginalized communities--untold stories of their conditions and concerns that will enable others to learn, and reach out to.
(choice photos for sale: https://flic.kr/s/aHsk69acBz)

RICCI JIMENEZ

Ricci is a documentary and street photographer. His works reflect his passion for travel and the curiosity for the uncommon. He has exhibited his photo stories under the Master Class for Documentary Photography at the College of St. Benilde Professional Photography Diploma Course. He is a contributor for various online documentary photography magazines. He works as General Manager for a real estate leasing company.
(choice photos for sale: https://flic.kr/s/aHsk69MrkJ)

CONSUELO PADILLA

Connie is a treasurer for a foundation that gives scholarships to minority college students. She also does ecological information and education campaigns for local governments and other NGO’s. Her interest in travel and portrait photography has enabled her to publish articles and photos in Homestyle, Prodo and Lifestyle magazines.

(choice photos for sale: https://flic.kr/s/aHsk3dPUUd)

ANTONIO RAMOS

Tony is a thoracic surgeon who has been taking photographs since his teens. He likes to capture people’s reactions to their surroundings. Many of his photographs were taken during his travels to attend medical conventions.
(choice photos for sale: https://flic.kr/s/aHsk3etwLZ)

KEITH SUNDIANG

Keith is a civil engineer who is in the property development and management business. His passions include food, landscape and travel photography. His notable photos were featured in WOW Philippines Magazine, Colors travel magazine, Calibre, C! and Asian Spirit Inflight Magazine. He was also the photographer of the Sonya’s Secret Garden coffee table book.
(choice photos for sale: https://flic.kr/s/aHsk6FiEDA)

VISTA with the Bhutanese monks, Ministry of Culture officials and Ephraim Jose in front of Dungtse Lakhang, Paro, Bhutan

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UPDATE: the exhibit was postponed indefinitely for lack of funds.

A christmaSPArty for doctors

we had music-making, massage, facial treatments, acupuncture, parlor games and dance exercise and (almost) everyone came in lounge wear. we are UERM medicine batch 1984. it was an early christmas celebration for well-being and good, clean fun!