26 places on my bucket list
As the Carpenters’ song goes, I’ve been to many places in my life and time. The journalism profession has given me wings to fly to different parts of the world to interview newsmakers, feature events and cover openings. And no event is too small, as Andy Warhol once said, “even if it is just the opening of a can of sardines.”
It all began when, fresh from college, one of my first assignments was to join a “floating university” on a ship that traveled to Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan. I haven’t stopped floating and flying since then.
I’ve seen countries I never dreamt I could visit, including New Caledonia and Norway. But, still, there are many places I am aching to visit — or revisit.
1. Boracay. Shocking, yes, but I haven’t seen the top pride of my country, the best island in the world, so curse me! My phobia for beaches began when I almost drowned as a child — and got my second life — in a river in Zambales, my father’s home province. My kids had a deprived childhood, as I never brought them to beaches; the poor kids got a chance to swim only in swimming pools with lifeguards. Two years ago, I was all set to fly to Boracay, with Shangri-La Boracay no less as my hiding place (from the deep waters), and guess what happened — all flights were cancelled that day due to a storm! I viewed it as a case of deus ex machina.
2. Zambales. I want my kids to discover their roots in the towns of San Antonio and San Marcelino, where my father used to bring us every summer. And meet my father’s relatives — including the Bolipatas and the kin of the late Anita Magsaysay-Ho (my father’s grandmother was the sister of Anita’s grandfather) — and my kids will hopefully better appreciate the shared love for music and art.
3. Pulilan, Bulacan. I want to revisit my mother’s hometown and eat halo-halo, hopefully, from same the corner store where we used to take refuge from the summer heat and watch the musikeros march during fiestas.
4. Alaska. It should be such fun interviewing Sarah Palin. I would also like to find out if — as she claims — one can really see Russia from Alaska.
5. Mexico. I took a 10-day cruise to Mexico a few years ago but never got to see any artwork by my favorite artist, Frida Kahlo. This great surrealist once said, “I was born a bitch,” but then this bitch’s life was filled with pain — physical pain from a streetcar accident which forever ruined her spine, and even more hurting pain from the infidelities of her husband, artist Diego Rivera. This time, I would like to retrace her steps and write about these — from her childhood in Coyoacan to the time she bloomed as an artist, joined Communist street demos, had an affair with Leon Trotsky (perfect revenge!)and painted her famous self-portraits even from her sickbed.
6. New York. I lived here for three months in my younger years, earning shopping money by writing for the Filipino Reporter. Now I would like to see the projects of my favorite designing couple, Robert and Cortney Novogratz, which I’ve seen only on their TV show, 9 by Design. I love their style, which mixes a sense of art with a sense of history and humor. They mix Frank Gehry’s wiggle chair with artworks by Francisco Larios, a few found objects from flea markets, such as a huge train station clock from Paris, a vintage lamp from an old hotel in Monte Carlo, throw pillows from Target, a quirky figurine from a Chelsea shop, and make a space look so beautiful. I would also like to meet their lovely seven children, which include two sets of twins.
7. New Jersey. I would like to look for my favorite poet, Judith Viortz, who is perhaps residing now in New Jersey. I first read her columns in the Redbook magazines of my mom, and I’ve been following her age-related series of books: It’s Hard to be Hip Over 30 and Other Tragedies of Married Life which she wrote in 1968; How Did I Get to be 40 and Other Atrocities (1976); When Did I Stop Being 20 and Other Injustices (1987); Forever 50 and Other Negotiations (1989); Suddenly 60 and Other Shocks of Later Life (2000); I’m Too Young to be 70 & Other Delusions (2005).She is an idol. She used to join protests against the Vietnam War in her younger years, and for two decades was doing weekly volunteer work at a hospice.
8. Lourdes. Like my idol, I too, would like to do volunteer work in the little town of Lourdes in France even for one week. Following a personal vow of thanksgiving, I have been here 11 times as a tourist, and I would like to make my 12th visit more meaningful by assisting the sick and the elderly who line up in their wheelchairs to pray and bathe near the miraculous spring at the grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes who appeared before Bernadette Soubirous in 1858.
9. Paris. This would be my logical stopover from Lourdes. I would like to take a more leisurely tour and visualize the scenes in Midnight in Paris, which I consider the best and most charming movie ever done by Woody Allen. At the Sixth Arondissement is Paris’ version of Greenwich Village. Just like in the movie, imagine encountering F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso, William Faulkner, James Joyce, e.e. cummings, and Alice B. Toklas on boulevard Saint-Germain. For a bit more of literary history, I would like to visit the Hemingway Bar at the Ritz, but according to John Baxter (in his book The Most Beautiful Walk in the World, a gift from my ever-traveling friend Jingjing Romero), Hemingway never drank at this bar named after him — it was actually F. Scott Fitzgerald who made the bar legendary .
10. Prague. Yes, I have seen how the power of prayer has brought about healing among my loved ones, so I would like to say a prayer before the miraculous Child Jesus in Prague, who is said to have come to the aid of expectant mothers. My prayer? More grandchildren, please. While in Czechoslovakia, a visit to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum is a must. To also say a prayer for the 263,000 Jews who were killed by the Germans in Czechoslovakia in 1938.
11. Lisbon. Some 90 miles north of Lisbon in Portugal is the shrine of Our Lady of Fatima who appeared before three shepherd children — Lucia, Francesca and Jacinta — in 1917, urging the world to pray for the conversion of Russia. As in Lourdes, healings attributed to the miraculous Fatima water have been reported.
12. Akita. In this Japanese town in 1973, Our Lady appeared before Sr. Agnes Sasagawa who then saw blood flowing from a cross-shaped wound in her hand. Soon, drops of blood began flowing from the statue of Our Lady. Later, what flowed was sweat — and then tears. Obviously a message that there is too much conflict, greed and inhumanity in this world.
13. Jerusalem. Israel’s largest city remains in the forefront of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and yet it is one of the holiest cities in the world. After all, this was where Jesus Christ was crucified. Perhaps every Christian dreams of a trip to Jerusalem.
14. Auschwitz. I shed tears when Oprah featured this Concentration Camp Complex in Poland on TV. This is where Hitler’s men killed a total of 1.1 million people, 960,000 of whom were Jews. Such unspeakable cruelty was performed in gas chambers and crematorium ovens, not to mention laboratories where pseudo-scientific experiments on sterilization, castration and hypothermia were performed on prisoners. On TV, Oprah showed the glass-enclosed areas where the clothes, luggage and hair of prisoners — obviously meant to be transformed into wigs — are still intact.
15. Xian. I have been endlessly wishing to see this place in China where, in 1974, farmers discovered a whole army of life-sized terra cotta warriors — some 8,000 soldiers, 520 horses and 130 chariots — were buried near the tomb of China’s first emperor Qin Shi Huang in 210 BC. Perhaps the most magnificent funerary art ever discovered, these figures were meant to protect the emperor in the afterlife. Yes, I would like to bring home one warrior — only a replica, of course.
16. The Underground River in Palawan. Recently declared one of the new Seven Wonders of Nature, this amazing UNESCO World Heritage Site is also said to be the longest underground river in the world.
17. The Farm. This wellness spa in San Benito, Batangas is a treat for the body, mind and soul. Quoting Hippocrates who said, “Let food be thy medicine and let medicine be thy food,” The Farm serves organic vegan cuisine. This is my children’s idea of heaven.
18. Batanes. Looking at beautiful photos of Batanes, I am reminded of picturesque countryside scenes of Scotland. I look at this place with a mixture of awe (at the breathtaking “Home of The Winds”) and fear (that the winds might gather into a typhoon and leave me stranded for days in Batanes).Truth is, I also want to see the late Pacita Abad’s artworks properly enshrined in an art gallery-museum by her family.
19. Hollywood. Seriously, I would like to visit a Hollywood where I get to see my fave stars all in one day, perhaps at a Starbucks coffee shop. Starting from the already horribly wrinkled Robert Redford (better to remember him in The Way We Were or Great Gatsby), Mel Gibson (think Forever Young) and Kevin Costner (think The Bodyguard )to the current cuties Gerard Butler (think PS I Love You), Channing Tatum (think Step Up). Ryan Reynolds (think The Proposal) and Chris Hemsworth (think Thor).
20. Burma. It would be a privilege to interview Aung San Suu Kyi, the renowned political prisoner, on her pain and passion as a freedom fighter and how she kept her sanity and inner strength for 21 years.
21. North Korea. A bit eerie though, that starting from your arrival in this country you have to surrender your cellphone and all communication gadgets at the port of entry. Would it be safer to say that all you want to do is a report on hairstyling trends in North Korea?
22. Tuscany. I went to this idyllic and inspiring part of Italy to attend the wedding of Myrza Sison and Andrei Wisniewski a few years ago. Hoping to go back someday and indulge in my first love — painting — and do a Grandma Moses.
23. Martha’s Vineyard. There is something charming about this fave hideaway of the affluent and famous in Massachusetts (including the Kennedys, Clintons and Obamas) and at the same time tragic (remember Chappaquiddick where Ted Kennedy’s girlfriend died; and the plane crash that claimed the lives of John Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette). It was the setting for Stephen Spielberg’s Jaws, in case you didn’t know. Still, I want to see the Martha’s Vineyard that the likes of James Taylor and Carly Simon loved.
24. The Hamptons. I was fascinated by this locale of the romantic comedy Something’s Gotta Give starring Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson. It looked like a genteel place redolent with the aroma of freshly baked bread. And old money. It is the playground of affluent New Yorkers. I want to see why.
25. El Nido. It would be nice to enjoy peace and quiet in this paradise and be able to write a book someday — perhaps a book about untold stories in Manila. Those stories that we lifestyle journalists hear about in whispers but never write about. Hmm, perhaps I can print only one copy of the book.
26. The site of the next Damayan. I’ve always dreamed of joining — together with my Lifestyle team — an Operation Damayan project of the Philippine STAR, our charity arm started by STAR founder Betty Go-Belmonte and now vigorously being continued by our president Miguel Belmonte. I hope it won’t entail a typhoon for this to happen. As I always say, the STAR is the center of my universe. And that universe is not complete without a Damayan trip.
