Arts...Travels...Writing

It was a rainy Tuesday when we went to Pinto Art Museum in Antipolo, Philippines. Such a weather would have been ideal for a museum tour, normally an indoor activity. Pinto Art Museum, however, is not just an ordinary museum. It is a cluster of galleries sitting in more than an hectare of landscaped gardens, in the hills of Antipolo, overlooking the huge megalopolis that is Metro Manila. It is a place that begs to be explored, both inside and out. So armed with our umbrellas, we braved the rain, and was rewarded with the many charms around. The cozy cafe by the entrance is perfect for late breakfast... or simply a good cup of coffee - a steaming one was just right for the weather that day. The pouring rain almost stopped us from discovering the charms beyond the gates. Glad that we had "rain or shine" as mantra that day. A small chapel near the entrance. With an umbrella in one hand, and a camera in the other, taking a decent photo was a bit tricky, and so I m...

Some cities are more equal than others. And even among the more equal, I would say Tokyo is probably unparalleled. It is not surprising then that this unique and bustling city has inspired many creative endeavours, be it in fashion, culinary arts, or film. My favourite movie about the place is of course Lost in Translation, and at some point I wanted to build our itinerary around this movie's locations. In the end though, we did not exactly follow the itinerary and instead we just let our moods guide us. By going this way though, we managed to see some of the talked-about locations plus a few others that were pleasant surprises. Overview before touching down at Haneda airport. From the plane, one could see many of the tower/power grids dotting the city. But for a highly industrialised one, it is surprising to see such deep-blue bodies of water around the city.  After checking into our hotel, we went out to the nearest place we could put our fingers on...Shibuya. Before r...