cambodia

food trip in cambodia! although somewhat similar to thai food, cambodian cuisine is interesting because it's not as spicy as the food from its neighbor to its west. commonly used are kaffir lime and a wide assortment of dipping sauces, similar to pinoy food. some restaurants also serve fried peanuts while you wait for your food to be served. as is the case with vietnamese food, they also have the french baguette, ours was served with sunny side egg, butter and strawberry jam, plus banana.

siem reap

some pics in and around siem reap.

friendster

friendster's demise. gone are the days of friendster... as they say, it's so 2003. but in their effort to revamp and revitalize asia's myspace, they're removing users' contents and will soon relaunch the site... i wonder if they could even make a dent in facebook juggernaut.

tamad

Always allow yourself to have time to be lazy and unproductive. Rest isn’t a luxury, but a necessity.

- Juan Tamad

pingpong

... [first part was this.]

and then the ping pong show high came to a screeching halt. we were in that establishment for no more than 15 minutes when the fat mama san mightily approached our table, shouted at us, in thai of course, violently banged on our table and demanded that we pay them 5,900 baht! showing a laminated piece of paper outlining the cost of watching the show, complete with well rehearsed hostility, she screamed in broken english, "no pay, no watch! pay! pay! pay!" we of course, know our stuff. we answered back that their aiza told us that it would only be 200 baht per head and that should come with a bottle of beer. after this, the pot-bellied mama san shouted, "ok, pay… pay!" since we know that no matter how much we argued with these people we won't win, we paid 200 baht per head and then left that im-perfect bar without even finishing half of our beers.

walking back to where we met aiza, i saw her immediately but upon seeing us, she instantly turned to avoid us and hid. we decided to walk a little bit away from that aisle but came back right away to see aiza back. we confronted her saying that she got us scammed and she actually led us to that trap in perfect bar. while this was happening, other touts have already surrounded us and as if practiced, aiza responded, "how much you pay? how much you pay?" end of discussion, as if saying to us that you already got what you paid for. final round to the perfect bar's mama san and knockout uppercut from aiza.

it was clear that what happened was an orchestrated trap to dupe unsuspecting tourists from whom these joint operators can extract unimaginable amount of baht. the deception started with the aizas and then the mama san will have to act violently to deceive customers into that ruse. while we may be the willing victims that time since we wanted to see what the infamous ping pong show could offer, such verbal violence was altogether appalling, especially as thailand prides itself as the land of smiles. we knew that we'd have to shell out some good sum of money, but getting shouted upon and threatened should not be part of it. anyhow, these kinds of acts are somewhat accepted in thai society. while i'm sure that some of them frown upon prostitution, the fact that these are tolerated and openly advertised, haggled and consumed, it's definitely one of bangkok's infamous come-ons.

in hindsight, anyone who ventures in these kind of adventures ought not to expect to be treated professionally. as seedy as it is, prostitution differs in form and having the money does not necessarily ensure that you'd have the upperhand or the power to demand what you can see. people involved in these kinds of acts have to resort to various forms of dupes since these actually put the balance of power in their favor. such empowerment means getting the biggest possible payout for a night's show… as they say, all in a day's work. people should venture at their own risk and anyone could really get more than, verbal abuse in foreign language included, what they bargained for. ping pong shows are definitely not your usual commercial transactions where you can stipulate exact visual SLAs and get your money's worth.

i just wonder how much do those ping pong girls make in a day. of course, you can easily sense that they're veterans of the skin trade, probably started out as typical bargirls and as they grew older, graduated to performing improbable acts that exhibit the harnessed power of vaginal linings and pelvic muscles. most, if not all, these girls may have been trafficked from thai provinces or from neighboring countries like cambodia, burma or laos, doomed to ply in a grimy industry. through them, a whole lot of people like the aizas, mama sans, waiters and even those zero energy bargirls get paid. sadly, by becoming willing victims of this tourist trap, we unintentionally contributed to human trafficking and slavery. while a part of me still believe that these women are also willing victims of their plight, they also deserve to have further choices in life other than using physical torture to earn a living and being totally at mercy of the fat mama sans.

curiosity snuffed out and egos bruised, we hopped on a taxi hoping to be transported to more familiar and wholesome treats. but as if the aizas and mama sans from bangkok heaven were conspiring against us, the taxi driver brought us to another girlie bar, tucked away in one of bangkok's seedy dark corners around phetchaburi road. we wanted to go to clean joints where you can have beer and chitchat without any touts hovering. as jan puts it, a bar where you can bring your family along, to which the taxi driver answered, "go back to your hotel and sleep!" we ended up in a deserted siam square and we decided that it's best to walk… cross rama road, go back to phaya thai road and on to ratchatewi bts station. jumbo singha beer at hand, we're glad that we're back to that good old clean fun… although we felt that we shouldn't have been charged 30 baht for ice. chalked up the ping pong show to experience, with manny pacquiao in the background saying, "now you know!", we called it a night… ping pong pat pong night. ping pong balls will never look the same again.

ping pong

it was supposed to be a fun adventure - an adventure into the realm of that infamous bangkok treat. but it wasn't. it turned out to be one of those experiences you'd like to relay to other people, not because you enjoyed it… but because you want them to avoid the same fate and regal them with a peculiar cultural phenomenon, somewhat akin to the numerous talent shows on tv. i've already heard of this as early as 1999 from one of the worst ever instructors i had during my UP days (clue: he used to teach comm 191 - ethics and used to be a member of the journalism department). mr. r, in one of those boring meetings, told us that talented girls in bangkok's patpong area empty a bottle of 8-ounce coke into their vaginas and can actually put the entire softdrink content back to the bottle… all part of what patpong touts openly advertise to tourists in an area where you can also buy fake rolex and LVs. i've been to bangkok a few times already, but i didn't have a chance to visually sample this strange tourist trap called ping pong show, until this early march.

just as wide-eyed as primary school freshies, we went to soi patpong, silom area after a very nice dinner at ban khun mae in siam square. not too long, we met a boylady (butch lesbian) who we branded as aiza, one of those street callers flitting around the area to shepherd tourists in one of the bars that headline ping pong shows. she didn't exactly look like aiza seguerra but she'd fall into that typical tibo look - crop-haired, short, overly manly… hence aiza. she offered the show for 300 baht, but of course we won't pay much, so haggle we did. we settled for 200 baht - with beer and the show. pure fun and exposure as expectations, off we went up the bar called perfect bar.

i already noticed that there are not too many customers that tuesday night. apart from the four of us, there were just another group of three on the left side of the stage. when we entered, there already was a girl blowing horn on the stage. she was using a horn much like what potpot, the typical urban magbobote used when going around barangays. of course, she wasn't blowing the horn through her mouth but through that other orifice, using ultra cervical muscle control. beer was served and the second act was already underway… another girl lied down on stage, lit a cigarette and smoked it using her vagina. a few more vaginal puffs and the cigarette was done… as they say in pilipinas got talent, it was a yes for me! after this act, a really fat ladyboy went up to me asking me to buy her lady's drink. thanks to arms, we were able to shoo him away and avoided paying for another 300 baht, especially when he didn't do anything at all.

i can't remember if the same girl did the first two acts, but i just knew that the ones doing the act are totally unattractive. they look like spent lifesize voodoo dolls who make use of their super talented clits to make a living. there were also some four to five other girls on the stage, topless, standing but pretending to gyrate in cabaret sounds. they're supposed to be doing erotic dancing but they just stood there with almost zero energy. among those chiwariwap girls, there was only one who could pass to be attractive enough… really curvy, fair-skinned, tall and have boldstar-material tits. of course, this one was easily the best-looking that you'd immediately think that her body was manufactured, especially her maui taylor-like boobs. upon more careful observation, my initial thoughts were true… she's actually an operated ladyboy.

anyway, after the two acts, two girls approached us to ask for tips for the ping pong girls. we were talking among ourselves, asking how much to give… when from out of nowhere, a sudden gush of water blew to our direction and completely doused mia. before we were made busy by the girls asking for tip, we already noticed that a girl came up to the stage and had two bottles. she was striking these bottles violently and it turned out that she needed this process in order for her to remove the bottle crown using her inner thigh and pelvic muscles, close to her vaginal canal. that third act was not enjoyable at all. we didn't know what kind of liquid was vaginally and forcefully siphoned to our direction but we knew that this was some soda water, otherwise it won't erupt like it did. i thought that they specifically did that to startle us so that we'd be forced or be fascinated to give a tip. unfortunately for them, we weren't… rounds one to three to the four cheapo pinoys!

the ladies asking for tips came back to their stations, as a new girl was coming on to the stage. she had a small basket of white ping pong balls. as experienced as she appeared to be, she took her bikini off and took to the position - flying V, with both legs spread eagled to our direction. the first ball came close to my direction, flew out of her vagina to her left. her succeeding balls still flew to her left and i felt that she was actually targeting me. but these first few balls still didn't have the accuracy and needed acceleration to travel far and beyond the sides of our table. however, just like a tennis ball machine used by rafa and maria during their trainings, the lady in no time got her groove on and soon was cannoning ping pong balls to our directions. i would imagine that this act would be similar how professor trelawney would have heaved her crystal balls towards death eaters in the final chapter of harry potter! her talented vagina and its marvelous might continued to fling cannon throws to our direction that arms even picked one of those wet balls. after about 20 balls flung, pitched and lobbed here and there, the act was finished. while arms picked one with her bare hand, the chiwariwap girls actually had catch basket to pick up the ping pong balls. clapping our hands, i think this is what we hoped to see. looking back, we thought that she actually needed to insert one or two ping pong balls inside her vagina in order to fling the balls out. similar to how bata reyes or django would sargo nine balls in billiards, she would need a cue ball to slingshot the ball on top to her audience's direction. we won't know for sure.

after this one, the girls came up to us again to ask for tip. and again, we told them that we'd give a little later. in what would be the final act of this show, a girl came on to the stage holding a quasi-cake with around 12 esperma-looking candles. she sat on stage, lit all the candles and took to that now familiar position. spread-eagled with the cake in front of her vagina, she started to blow the candles… one by one! with her vast experience, she put out the candlelight as methodical as nadal would put away a forehand winner. the candles were arranged in three rows, four candles on each and her vaginal blows were accurately aimed at only one candle each time. you would imagine that her orifice, as wide as it is, would spread the blows uncontrollably that all or at least two candlelight will be put off. but her amazing vaginal prowess came with athlete-like control that she was able to direct the air deliberately. at that point, i was amazed… two yeses from me! of course, she might be using some version of tooter to blow air from her vagina, otherwise the air would just be released ala fart.

[first of two parts]

whine

is whining a new form of art? or is it a new wave of crazy fad a la white beach diet? maybe it's a new sport, a throwback to when futsal was starting to grow in popularity. i don't know. but it seems that some privileged individuals have run out of issues or problems to deal with that even the slightest imperfections in their lives would call for sudden and costly measures "to get things right" and "find herself", similar to what liz gilbert did in eat pray love. and all these started with whining, the liz-gilbert-privileged-but-lost whining.

imdb summed the storyline as: liz had everything a modern woman is supposed to dream of having - a husband, a house, a successful career - yet like so many others, she found herself lost, confused, and searching for what she really wanted in life. newly divorced and at a crossroads, she steps out of her comfort zone, risking everything to change her life, embarking on a journey around the world that becomes a quest for self-discovery. in her travels, she discovers the true pleasure of nourishment by eating in italy; the power of prayer in india, and, finally and unexpectedly, the inner peace and balance of true love in bali.

i like seeing new places, eating good food and some amount of quiet time. all these things happened to be captured by what julia roberts' character experienced, so i liked the traveling portions of the movie: finding "working" apartments in italy; having solo lunches; trying out new and foreign cooking; meeting new friends in the process and learning a new language... even the hassles of traveling alone or the only-in-india urban chaos, and/or getting drunk once in a while. but what was wrong in liz' marriage with stephen (billy crudup) again? nothing of note really. just some petty longing for something more grand i guess. and what did she do? she whined. complaining to her reliable whinee, delia (viola davis), who should have told her that there's nothing wrong with her life. delia should just counseled her on how to stop complaining about the baseless emptiness in her life and actually try to look at what she got instead of what she didn't get.

she divorced her husband and eloped with david (james franco), a struggling actor. all things were going smoothly... but once again, the emptiness bug bit her again. of course, this went on not without a whole lot of bellyaching. she went back to delia and decided that she'll venture on a tour of the said countries. while the "finding one's self" idea is passable since it led her to the travels and those travels are what i enjoyed, the idea of actually turning your whole life around but ending with another unsure tryst, this time with felipe (javier bardem), was totally "ass-numbingly wrong", to borrow the term from chicago reader's andrea gronvall.

since the movie's liz is a privileged whiner, julia roberts' usual whiny histrionics was appropriate. but she did well in quiet scenes such as when david called her when she was still in india or when richard from texas (richard jenkins) finally had the guts to open up and share... which by the way was the single best scene of the movie, outside of the travelogue. i've seen jenkins in six feet under and he's really one of the best underrated actors. the emotions of a father who could not forgive himself for running over his son and causing the break up of his family was moving and felt real. bardem was miscast. everybody knows that he's spanish and naturally, he oozes the spanish vibe. sadly, he could not breathe a portuguese character.

in some sense, the movie will make you think about the choices you've made or examine your flaws. but as rotten tomatoes puts it, without the spiritual and emotional weight of the book that inspired it, eat pray love is too shallow to resonate.

st. cloud

charlie st. cloud's highest point was when this line was uttered by sam st. cloud: "... no one ever gets to see what could've been." other than that, it was all too clouded, just a vehicle to allow zac efron to graduate from being disney's singing and dancing high school boy. while the audience can and might relate to the guilt charlie felt when sam died, the film's take on charlie's dilemma of keeping his promise to sam to play baseball with him every night fall or going after the girl he loves was cheesily presented and overly predictable.

zac efron tried to infuse whatever emotions his character ought to feel but what transpired was a combination of the filmmaker's shallow imagination and corny lines. the concept of being back from the dead and being able to speak and interact with ghosts were put to misuse. competent actors like ray liotta and kim basinger had little scenes and you'd be left to wonder why claire (basinger), charlie and sam's mom, had little to do with charlie's ultimate decision to finally live life and come back to reality. the movie kept with its hollywood romanticized concept of romantic love as the definitive and supreme answer to one's folly, slump and protracted despair. once again, another material that induces the idea that to be able to move forward, one has to find that one true love and it's ok to wallow on misery because eventually, one will find his "tess".

amor

i always wanted to sample what viaje del sol could offer... and this early april i got the chance. we had our family day in sitio de amor (km. 88 maharlika highway, san pablo city, laguna. tel. no.: 02-5527340, 0918-9274346), just one of the stops in viaje del sol's roadmap to leisure. the call time was at 6 to 6:30 am, but our rented van happened to have a "fail" driver and alice was late, so we only left makati 30 minutes to 8 am. the infamous slex traffic as well as the weekend jam in maharlika highway caused major delay and we arrived in sitio de amor past 10 am.

morning snacks (yes, too late for breakfast!) were served - palitaw, suman with slice of mango and sugar syrup, plus coffee. we played buntot pagi, piko, dr. kwak kwak, some frisbee and that good old shake shake shampoo! then lunchtime. they served chicken in oyster sauce, grilled blue marlin, halaan soup, grilled liempo and that oh so nice pako (fern) salad and sago't gulaman. after some noontime swimming, we played putbol. afternoon merienda was pancit, oven baked bread and buko juice.

the food was great, especially the halaan soup and pako salad. but it was supposed to be buffet... and as we all know, buffet should have more than enough that if people wanted to have third or fourth and even fifth or sixth serving, they can have their fill. sitio de amor should have plated the food because the serving was actually very limited. there were 17 of us and they actually served just exactly for 17 people only. we thought that they would refill the viands but they didn't. there were only four slices of blue marlin and only half chicken. there was sufficient serving of halaan soup 'though, but with all those kiddie games and running that we did, most if not all, were looking for hefty servings of these nice ulam. aside from the pool, nice pavilion and wide open spaces, there were not much amenities in sitio de amor. their restrooms badly need repair but the hosts were friendly enough. the 1,000 per head day trip package was very expensive for what we got. skipping this side of viaje del sol the next time around... next destination please.

ignoramus

there's this one completely culturally ignoramus...

but negative vibes don't have much space in here... so happy friday!

singhal

marami ka ba talagang hinanakit sa buhay? o di kaya'y kakulangan ng atensyon noong bata ka pa? maaari rin namang kabawasan sa mga materyal na pangangailangan... dahil ang una mong reaksyon sa bawat bagay ay singhal. singhal sa mga tanong. singhal sa mga mungkahi. singhal sa mga walang wawang hirit. singhal. puro singhal... pinaglihi ka ba sa sama ng loob?

mahirap ngang ituro ang pag-iwas sa asal-kalyeng kinalakhan ngunit di sa lahat ng pagkakataon ay pakikisamahan ka ng mga taong nakapaligid sa iyo. pinalala pa ito ng sobrang mataas na pagtingin sa sarili at kakatwang paniniwala na lagi kang tama.

'wag gaanong maging jologs. tangerks.

taguang bato

taguang bato naman! tamang duda o hinala ang kalakaran sa larong ito, bukod sa kakayahang magkunwari ng bawat kasapi ng grupo. kakatwa ang larong ito dahil maaaring hawakan ng lider ng kabilang grupo ang tainga ng bawat kasapi ng kalaban upang malaman, daw, kung sino ang may hawak ng bato. bagamat may siyentipikong paliwanag dito dahil magiging higit na malamig daw ang tainga kapag "guilty" ang isang tao... noon sa novaliches, parang bahagi lamang ito ng laro pero di sineseryoso upang maging bahagi ng pagpapasya.

ito ang alituntunin sa paglalaro nito, ayon pa rin kay father leo:

1. sa pamamagitan ng bato-bato pik, malalaman kung sino ang unang magtatago ng bato.

2. ang bawat grupo ay magpupulong upang ipatago ang bato sa kanilang mga kamay.

3. mayroong 30 segundo ang kabilang grupo upang hulaan kung na kanino sa grupo ang bato.

4. maaaring hawakan ng lider ng kabilang grupo ang mga tainga ng bawat kasapi ng kabilang grupo

5. bawat tamang hula katumbas ay isang puntos para sa isang team. kung sakaling mali ang hula mapupunta ang puntos sa kabilang team. unang makakuha ng 7 puntos ang siyang mananalo.

premyo: bragging rights bilang tatanghalin na "kayo na! may basehan ang duda sa bato eh!"

piko

piko hasler daw ako... dahil kami ni ate my ang nanalo sa piko. pero di naman talaga hasler, ako lang siguro (at si alice) ang may pinakasariwang memorya sa paglalaro ng piko, habang ang iba'y di naman gaanong nakapaglaro nito noong bata sila. sheltered daw kasi ang karamihan sa mga tao sa opis, hehehe! mga alituntunin ng laro, ayon kay father leo:

1. magkakaron ng 5 team na tigdadalawa - isang mader at isang beybi.

2. sabay ang duweto sa pagtira at paggawa ng bahay. ang pinakamabilis na makagawa ng bahay ang siyang mananalo sa laro.

3. sakaling ma-dead ang beybi, maaari siyang isalba ng mader. kapag na-dead din ang mader, hihinto sila dito at iiwan ang pato kung saan sila huling namatay.

4. para malaman kung sino ang mauunang tumira, palapitan ng pato sa guhit ng over.

piko ang isa sa mga pinakapopular na laro namin ng mga kababata ko noon sa novaliches. tsok at pamato na balat ng saging o bulok na yero lamang ang kailangan, larga na ang laro. madaling mabura ang guhit na gamit ang regular na tsok mula sa eskwelahan, kaya pumupunta pa kami sa tambakan ng mga rejek at sirang lababo o inodoro malapit sa katayan ng baboy upang manguha ng tsok. dahil may maiging mga saydwok at gater sa jazmin street, may sapat na espasyo upang iguhit ang mga linya ng piko. maiging laruin ang piko, di kailangan ng maraming tao. bukod sa mader - beybi, palagiang indibidwal ang laro nito. di rin nagdudulot ng ingay gaya ng sa buntot pagi, patintero o putbol.

maraming bersyon ang piko. may pikong number, may step no, may pikong bahay ('yung may arko sa pinakadulong kahon), may pikong walang over... ngunit ang pinakamadalas naming nilalaro dati ay ang pikong puso. di gaya sa ibang piko, sa pikong puso di tatapak ang tumitira sa kahon na may pato, maging pato niya ito o pato ng kalaban. dahil dito, darating ang pagkakataong mapupuno ang bawat kahon at dagling magkakaroon ng tsansa ang sinumang malayo tumalon na makaungos at madaling magkabahay. kapag wala nang kayang talunin ang malalayong kahon, kailangang maglagay ng tainga, kung saan maaaring tumapak ang sinuman upang makatawid at magbalikbayan. sa pikong puso, madalas na "dead lahat-lahat". ibig sabihin nito, dead ang sinumang kalahok na tumungkod sa pag-abot ng pato, nagpalit-paa, nag-atras kabayo, tumapak sa mga guhit at bahay ng iba at nagkamali sa paghagis ng pato sa tamang kahon at marami pang iba.

sa piko, masusubok ang kahutukan ng mga kalahok sa pag-abot ng pato mula sa malayong mga kahon. masusukat din ang kakayahang tumantiya ng hagis ng pato, lalo na ang matutong kumontrol sa bawat pag-igpaw upang di mawalan ng balanse. higit sa lahat, itinuturo ng piko ang pagkakaroon ng tiyaga, sipag at abilidad upang makamit ang isang layunin - ang magkabahay. pagsusumikapan mo talagang matapos agad ang lahat ng kahon upang makapagbalikbayan na at magkabahay... dahil higit na mahirap para sa mga kalahok na maka-abante kapag wala kang bahay.

putbol

putbol... hango sa soccer ng england, ngunit sa 'pinas, pinaghalong soccer at baseball ang larong ito. may diamond base din pero sisipain ang bola at di hahampasin ng bat. may pitsel (pitcher) na galing sa baseball, ngunit walang goalkeeper tulad ng sa soccer. kailangang tapakan ng bawat kalahok ng opensang pangkat ang tatlo pang mga base bago makabalik sa kanilang home base, tulad ng sa baseball. mas maliit sa bola ng soccer ang bolang plastik sa putbol, ngunit mas malaki naman ito sa bola sa baseball.

ayon ulit kay father leo, ito ang mga alituntunin ng laro namin sa sitio de amor:

1. sa pamamagitan ng bato-bato piks malalaman kung sinong grupo ang unang sisipa sa bola

2. mayroong 3 strikes para sa isang tao at 3 outs ang grupo

3. hindi maaring mambuhay ang sinuman

4. 3 strikes ay katumbas 1 Out

5. 'pag nasalo ang sinipang bola ay katumbas ng 1 out

6. isang buong ikot sa (3 base) ay isang puntos

premyo: bragging rights bilang tatanghalin na "kayo na! malakas sumipa at magaling sa putbol"

para sa amin ng mga kalaro at kababata ko, isang malaking extravaganza ang paglalaro ng putbol noon. kadalasan ay bato-bato pik ng mga lider ang pilian ng bawat kasapi ng magkabilang grupo. ang nanalo sa bato-bato pik ang unang pipili sa magkakopong-kopong. tubig pa nga mula sa kanal ang gamit upang tantusan ang apat na base, hehehe! ang kagandahan sa putbol, puwedeng sumali maski yung mga salingkit, basta may katapat siyang salingkit din sa kabilang grupo.

kapag nag-umpisa na ang pitselan at sipaan, ariba na rin ang enerji ng mga bata. kadalasang naeentad ang mga bola sa bubong ng mga kabahayan lalo na sa bubong ng bahay namin sa jazmin street. minsan naman ay pumapasok ang bola sa loob ng bakod ng kapitbahay at may asong nakatanikala kaya di agad-agad makuha ito ng depensang grupo. kahit na yupi-yupi na ang bolang plastik, hangga't gumugulong pa ito ay pagtitiyagaan namin, makalaro lang ng putbol. kahit tirik na tirik pa ang araw o di pa nakapagbibihis mula sa eskwelahan, tuloy-tuloy ang laro nito! kontrabida siyempre ang mga matatanda, kasama na ang lola ko, sa kalye namin dahil madalas kaysa hindi, pinatitigil nila ang anumang larong tulad nito dahil sa ingay na dulot ng dami ng bata sa aming zombieland.

ibayong saya ang dulot ng putbol! bukod sa na-ehersisyo na ang buo mong katawan, may pinaglagyan pa ang tila walang patumanggang enerji ng mga batang tulad ko... dati. isang masayang laro na sumusubok sa pisikal na kakayahan at humuhubog ng team spirit, ang putbol at sangkatutak pang mga larong-kalye ay nagbigay-daan din sa pagiging malikhain ng aming henerasyon... biruin mo namang humabi ng bagong laro mula sa dalawang magkaibang sports! sa panahon ng internet, nawala na halos ang mga ganitong larong-kalye. paunti nang paunti ang mga batang naglalaro sa kalye at umiimbento ng mga bagong laro o paglilibangan, dahil na rin marahil sa iba't ibang mga kapahamakang maaaring magdulot ng anumang pinsala sa katawan o higit pang panganib. karamihan ng mga bata ngayon ay sa internet shop mo makikita o di kaya'y sa harap ng kompyuter kapag may koneksyon ng internet ang kanilang bahay. sedentaryong gawi at walang likas na pakikipagkapwa ang maaaring idulot nito, sana'y maranasan din nila ang mga larong-kalye at 'pag nagkaedad na sila, may masayang babalik-tanawan na tampulan ng masasayang huntahan. sarap maging bata!

pagi

sitio de amor, san pablo, laguna... unang sabado ng abril, araw ng muling pagiging bata at pananariwa sa mga araw sa gitna ng kalye't paglalaro ng mga larong lansangang maaaring katutubo o binigyan ng pinoy na lapit mula sa larong banyaga.

una na rito ang buntot pagi! may ibang bersyon nito sa ibang mga lugar gaya ng dadagitin ng lawin ang mga inakay ng isang manok, pero sa amin sa novaliches, ang pagi (sting ray) ang inspirasyon ng larong ito. may paniniwala kasi na maykapangyarihang taglay ang buntot pagi na panlaban o pantaboy sa mga aswang o mga kauri nito.



ayon kay father leo, ito ang mga alituntunin ng laro:

1. ang isang pangkat ay nakapila at magkakakabit (yapos sa may bewang), nasa unahan ang nanay at nasa likod niya ang lima pang mga miyembro.

2. kailangang protektahan ng nanay mula sa kabilang grupo ang lahat ng nasa kanyang buntot. di dapat makuha ng kabilang grupo ang pinakahuling miyembro ng kanyang pangkat, kundi magkakaroon ng puntos ang kabilang grupo.

3. hindi dapat maghiwalay ang isang grupo sa buong laro. oras na maghiwalay ang grupo, ibibigay ng awtomatikong puntos sa kabilang grupo

4. unang makalimang puntos ang syang mananalo ng premyo.

5. premyo: "kayo na! nakahawak kayo ng maraming buntot eh"!

dati, nilalaro lang namin ang buntot pagi upang maisali ang mga maliliit pang mga bata o mga salingkit, para di tawagin ng mga nanay nila ang mga kalaro namin. sa sitio de amor, walang humpay na hagalpakan at hiyawan habang nilalaro namin ito... mas napagod pa kami sa pagsigaw at pagtili kaysa sa mismong laro. dahil nakabitiw ang ibang miyembro ng kabilang grupo ng dalawang beses, nanalo ang pangkat ko... ako at ang mga nagbabagang babae! (",)