Anything Potted: In Bhutan and in Capalonga
Posted on September 2, 2007
Filed Under Fun, Information, Pinoy Moms Network, Travel | Viewed 1440 times
Today, the first Monday of the month (and every first Monday of the month thereafter, Pinoy Moms Network members share photos through the Fam Pics project. This month’s theme is Anything Potted. Here are my 2 entries.
See the pots and pans above? They are part and parcel of a typical home and a typical roadside restaurant in Bhutan. As you can see, they still use wood to cook their food. Yes, this is in Bhutan. I had the chance to visit Bhutan three times in my lifetime. Each visit is unforgettable, once in a while, I got the experience a waylaid life, a quiet, simple life, amidst the pristine beauty of the country.
The Kingdom of Bhutan is a country nestled in the Eastern Himalayas. Visitors and guests in Bhutan will be surprised that the culture and traditional lifestyle in Bhutan is still richly intact and at the degree to which it permeates all strands of modern day secular life. The country has consciously adopted a controlled tourism and development policy to safeguard its rich and natural environment and culture. As of 2004, only 9,000 visitors have entered the kingdom, and the numbers in the coming years are not expected to increase greatly (they currently receive 5,000 visitors a year).
Trivia: Instead of Gross National Product it uses Gross National Happiness to measure posterity.
This is the altar in the Chinese Chapel in Capalonga, Camarines Norte. The Capalonga Festival, an annual celebration is held every May 11-12 honoring the feast day of the Black Nazarene. It draws people of Chinese descent to this small town to seek favors for an auspicious business climate. A series of masses are held both in the Chinese Chapel and in the Main Church during the festival, and processions are held around the main streets of the town.
See the potted plants and flowers that surround the altar? Next year, I will go back for a pilgrimage, let me also see again the simple but beautiful potted plants and flowers, reflective of the simple but beautiful hearts of the people who gather around the chapel year in and year out.
Trivia: I heard that every year, during the festival, a large number of buses would park in Lawton, to ferry pilgrims, for free to Capalonga and back to Manila, courtesy of the rich Chinese and Taiwanese (both from the mainland and those from the country) who have earned graces through the intercession of the Black Nazarene. True enough, I saw a lot of Chinese and Taiwanese devotees, and people from all walks of life in this small sleepy town. And yes, the airconditioned buses were there, waiting for the people who would like to go back to Manila.
Here are some more “potted” posts from fellow sexy Pinays:
he other moms who participated in the FamPics
- Julie’s flowers
- Raqgold’s Potted Memory
- Cookie’s different kind of pot
alt=:” class=”wp-smiley” /> - KK’s indoor and outdoor pots
- Rach’s Flowers and a Smile
- Lynn’s Pot Shots
- Lady Cess’ The Best Tea
- Feng’s Tagaytay Pics
- Analyse’s Life isn’t easy being a nomad
- Purple Girl’s Coffee Alamid
- Mitch’s very edible photos
- Vicky’s Potted Fruits and Vegetables
- Auee’s From one pot to another
Related
- Happy Valentine’s Day–God’s Small Wonders
- Bhutan–Window in the Sky
- BHUTAN: Where Gross National Happiness is measured rather than GNP and GDP
- Sexy Mom’s FamPics: Learning
- A Pilgrimage and A Beach Holiday
- Previous post: UAAP: ATENEO’s SWEET VICTORY over UST ON 30 August
- Next post: Sexy Mom Rubbing Elbows with Technorati and the Best of Literati
- More articles at the archives
- Jobs and Business Opportunities for Probloggers @ The J Spot
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28 Responses to “Anything Potted: In Bhutan and in Capalonga”
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About Me
Dine Racoma is Sexy Mom, a Filipina doing what she likes best—writing, her passion. She writes freelance, does research, advises on new media, and manages a virtual assistance office for home-based jobs. A mother of 7 (what joy!) foremost, a wife, MIL, grandma to 2 pretty girls and an angel in heaven, sister, daughter, friend. Was in the corporate world for 27 years, the first 5 as Executive Secretary to an affiliate of the country’s biggest drug chain, and the last 22 as an international civil servant in an international development bank with HQ in Manila. Traveled extensively to many countries bringing about rich experiences and lessons learned to share with dear Readers. All these—in The D Spot
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waa! di ako nakahabol.
GNH. i think the philippines has a high GNH
thanks for the intersting info about Bhutan. learned something new today 
interesting pics, dine. bhutan is one place i’d like to see. remember we were talking about it when we had dinner
may project kami dyan sa capalonga!! haven’t been there, though. but my dad said it was nice daw. maraming ginto dyan
Hi Dine. Interesting pictures. I like the trivia part. Gross National Happiness … I like the sound of that.
I’ve never been to any of those two. It must be a pleasure to travel to many wonderful places.
How do you measure GNH?
yippeee! thanks dine!
maybe bhutan is one of the most peaceful countries in the world. i haven’t read/heard about the country since i read about it in the encyclopedia (yup i read those for fun as a kid ;D) thanks for the info!
what a traveler you are! interesting photos for the PMN FamPic’s theme potted.
lucky you for having been in Bhutan for three times. and the photo above certainly capture what life in Bhutan is all about.
like Rach and Cess, I’d definitely agree with the GNH.
and the altar at Capalonga, it definite reflects the Chinese atmosphere esp. highlighted by the wooden furniture behind, it has carvings like what can be seen in a Chinese temple. and the terracotta pots behind it too added more Chinese details.
interesting facts, sexymom!
thats interesting,mom dina.
Nakikibisita laang, nasa akin ang pc today, hehehe;
siya, bisita ka uli sa blog ko, if feel tumawa hanggang sumakit ang panga! see you there!
dine, in the province where i came from, most people still prefer wood over gas for cooking because it is a lot cheaper.
i miss the deadline again for Fam pics.
Interesting places and interesting trivia. Thanks for sharing these, Dine!
I wonder what’s the GNH of the Philippines.
I like that slice of life photo in Bhutan. They say cooking using wood makes the food tastes better.
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GNH! if only all countries use the same measure to evaluate posterity no?
I like the trivia bits most! We could use the GNH instead of GNP ha
Hi Dine, I was going to ask pa naman what’s life like in Bhutan, until I’ve read the rest of this post, thanks for sharing. I’m gonna tell my kids this info…
[...] Dine’s anything potted in Bhutan and Capalonga [...]
Hi Sexymom,
Wow! 3 times in Bhutan? You’re one lucky lady! It must have been such an experience to travel there. Thanks for such an informative post on the pots.
Have a great weekend!
[...] Dine’s anything potted in Bhutan and Capalonga [...]
Hi Dine! Bhutan is only must-see list of places. I hope to make a pilgrimage to one of the holy Buddhist temples.
The Filipino-Chinese have a unique “religion”, no? A mix of Buddhism-Taoism-Catholicism. My in-laws have a Sto. Nino statue beside great Budhhas and Toh Ti Kongs.
Ay, you know of course that I missed this fam pics edition. Despite having lots of potted photos pala in my archives, I was too tired and sleepy to post an entry.
But am recovered and blog-hopping now!
hmm… bhutan is a very mysterious place to me. hope i can visit the kingdom in the future.
those pots look old but shiny and very clean for a woodfire stove. Now I know more about Bhutan..and those are nice pots and plants and flowers for the Chinese Chapel.
[...] Dine’s anything potted in Bhutan and Capalonga [...]
hi
is there a flight from manila to bhutan? if not, what’s the best flight plan to and from manila? Thanks 
SexyMom: You have to take the flight from Bangkok!
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