Gaudi Meets Alice in Wonderland

In Dalat, Vietnam, we were brought to a place called Crazy House. Because I was busy chatting with the rest of the girls on the bus, I didn't pay much attention to what the guide was saying, so had no idea what this place was all about. Apparently it's one of the more popular tourist destinations here, as well as a place to stay for the more adventurous folk. For 100,000 Dong, or US$5, you can visit it like visiting a museum.

Crazy House is a totally unconventional structure, and parts of it are still under construction I think. At first, I found it too quirky. I was exploring the outer grounds and was wondering what the fuss was all about. It just looked like some ill-constructed Disneyland structure from outside, and didn't bother to look inside. As I was headed for the exit (we only had 20 minutes to explore) I happened to peep through a passageway and a chandelier caught my attention.  I was drawn into the house.

At once I liked the contrast of the kitschy exterior, and elegant interiors--even if the only things that gave it a bit of elegance were the crystal lighting fixtures. That was the "hook" for me. I quickly went in since I only had a few more minutes.

The fixtures are not anything spectacular, but it is the contrast that is attractive-- outlandish but civilized, rustic but elegant, new but old. There were a few simple chandeliers and wall sconces, but I think that made all the difference.

You get to the bedrooms upstairs through narrow winding but easy to navigate staircases. I think there should've been more crystal fixtures in the bedrooms. Maybe small chandeliers in one corner, or even more wall sconces.

There are no straight lines in this building, and all I could think of was Gaudi. The kids would haven had a heyday exploring these structures I thought, but then my friend Edna, who is scared of heights told me got 'stuck' in the middle of one of the narrow bridges that connect the buildings to each other. The side railings are too low in some areas, and she was momentarily paralyzed. I didn't get to the other two buildings in the compound.

The view from the topmost room in this building, looking at the other two structures, and the narrow bridges with low side railings 

There are many other bizarre things about the Crazy House and I regret wasting time outside. On the way out, I snapped a photo of a message from the owner/designer. It was posted together with other letters and photos in a little gallery up front (note to self: don't do a tour backwards again!)  We were  told that she was inside the room behind the ticketbooth, if we wanted to ask her questions. It would have been interesting to meet her, sayang, but I wasn't prepared.

I admire the designer Hang Nga for what she did--not that it fits my aesthetic, but because she set out to design what she wanted without caring what other people thought.  Then when she realized she caught the people's attention, she was even able to turn it into a business right away. Being different certainly has its advantages. That's one of the things we always tell the kids--being different is good, don't try to conform and be like everyone else (hoping to teach them to avoid peer pressure this early!)

Our visit to Crazy House was too short. I'm reminded again not to be too quick to judge and dismiss--I would've seen everything had I been more open-minded. My interior design take away from this experience? I will hang that small unimportant-looking chandelier that I already own, somewhere in the beach house.  I think the contrast will make it look important and give the room a needed point of interest.

Late Night Comfort Food

After a night out on the town, which means a full dinner and a number drinks in a bar, my Asian friends always look for a snack of noodles or soup before going home.  My very svelte Malaysian friend says "I always have to have my noodles before going home"--and they don't like noodles in some hip restaurant (we would have done the hip restaurant for dinner), it almost always has to be something on the street. When we were in Koh Samui, it was this street cart that caught our attention.

This Thai noodle cart had yellow noodles and white noodles. You could have it with or without soup. 

Waiting for our cooked-to-order noodles

The noodles were delicious and really hit the spot. I don't know how they all pig out and still stay so thin.

When we were in Singapore, our local friends there were eager to show us their comfort food. After a big night in a nice restaurant, and then drinks at the top of some fancy hotel, we headed off to a part of town where she said had the best Ba Kut Teh in town. There were two or three other shops beside it but no, she said this was the one she been coming to for years. We took a table on the sidewalk and were served in 3 minutes flat.

They all ate as if we didn't have dinner. I was still full, so I just tasted the soup and  it was really good! Yum! Ba Kut Teh is the Singaporean version of our local Bulalo, or bones (beef or pork) cooked forever in a soup.

Imagine cooking with Ba Kut Teh stock--the dishes would be so wonderfully flavored. I'm sorry to say, but those shortcut bouillon cubes, which are really just cubes of salt with a little bit of flavoring,  just can't compare with cooking with real stock. It just doesn't have that depth of flavor.

The shopowner put all these dishes on the table, but we returned the three dishes in the middle. We only wanted the Ba Kut Teh.

I never have a noodle/soup nightcap in Manila because after a big meal, I just want to go home and veg! I usually don't even do the drinks part of the night much to my friends' disappointment. I've become such a cornball.  Tsk tsk!  But I think I better look for a midnight Bulalo place in the city just in case--I know my Asian friends expect this type of nightcap.  My western friends just think we eat way too much.  

Raffles Hotel in Singapore

The Raffles in Singapore has beautiful colonial details. I like the baseboard and molding details, the lighting fixtures and the furniture. It was a source of inspiration when I was renovating the house. I didn't stay there so I don't  have any pictures of the rooms. I only took of the public places.

I liked these chairs because they had woven cane (solihiya) sides.

I like this look--rattan chairs, white walls with lots of molding. Even the columns are fluted. There's lots of shadow detail even if it's just a plain concrete wall. Then the nice contrast of brass light fixtures.

Even the bathroom details are very well done. Simple glazed white tiles with solid wood trim. Very low key and tasteful.The finishing is really pulido.

The tropical gardens are beautiful also.

I have a friend whose house looks like the Raffles, but instead of British colonial, it's Spanish Colonial.

This is a view of the courtyard and front door from the picture window of the kitchen. The window details have colored textured glass. I think they are old antique panels, I'm not sure.

The veranda is full of beautiful solid wood antiques like this round table. The top is one solid round piece.

There are very thick double cornices and wooden shutters all over the house.

I'd love to bathe in this atmosphere. In fact if I had a bathroom like this, I'd probably stay here the whole day, read, paint, surf the net.

I bet you can't tell the difference which is the Raffles and which is my friend's house! It's amazing and I love the details of  her house. Of course her garden is beautiful. This is only one small part, at the side of the house.

She might kill me if she finds out I posted pictures of her house so she shall remain unnamed.

And you, if you're reading this, this is not your house. Any likeness to your house is pure coincidence!

Antiquing On the Way to Nasugbu

A lot of enterprising folk have set up shop along the main road in Silang and Tagaytay--the route you pass on the way to Nasugbu, Batangas. Long ago one could only shop in fruit and produce stands but now, a profusion of furniture shops and woodworkers are scattered along the way. Some of them look like they are reworking old wood, but a lot of them look like they always have a fresh supply of newly-cut hardwood on their premises. Is this legal?

Anyway, lots of the shops are from La Union, and they have just moved there because the rent is cheaper and they have a steady supply of moneyed customers plying that route ever weekend, on the way to their homes by the sea. 

What never ceases to amaze me is how loosely they use the term "antique". I stop to check out the antiques and I don't see anything that resembles even a Philippine antique. Maybe they started out with "folksy" antiques, but once they were gone, they started reproducing them. Then they started creating new designs. Then they are not remotely "antique" in any sense of the word! Many times I've even come across signs that say "Made to Order Antiques" (can't find that photo just now)--can you imagine such a thing? I've realized that to them, "antique" means anything old, doesn't matter how old, and made of wood. 

I admit it's usually beautiful solid hardwood, and a many of the woodworkers really know their stuff. They like to show you the old slabs and chunks of wood that they have, and tell you that the wood won't move, warp or crack on you--hopefully. Then they offer to create an antique for you, in any style you like. Antiques, made to order. An interesting concept indeed!

Which Louis Are You?

Can you spot the difference between a Louis the XV and a Louis the XVI chair? It's quite simple actually. Louis XV is curvy and feminine. Look at the delicately curved cabriole-legs, and the feminine curves of the back. This is also known as Rococo style...

I have two of these chairs in my girls' bedroom, also gold leafed, but in green silk. I love them. My younger daughter, the modern one, just asked me if she could re-do the chair if she moves out of her shared bedroom. I told her she can get new chairs and just leave this pair alone and she said, no, she really liked this one but just wanted it redone- "I want the gold part painted white and I want it to be purple"!  I must say, at 7 years old,  she's got her style down pat and even knows how to rework a classic!

Rococo is from the French word for "shell", so the shell motifs abound in other furniture of that era too, like these mirrors. I love them and I want one of them!

A Louis XVI is neo-classical. This is the time when design started going back to the classic design of Greek times. The curvy feminine lines are gone and now replaced by straight lines. Look at the legs on this chair. This is  Louis XVI chair.

Straight fluted legs.

I have 5 of these in my living room.  I totally love them and love them more each time I see them.

Now, the first Louis (in furniture design that is..) Louis XIV comes before  Rococo-- heavy-set--paw legs, etc. I don't really care for this design and era so I don't have any chairs that are in the Louis XIV style. Oh, I actually do, but I don't like it anymore so I'm selling it. Actually it is quite nice and I bought it more than 20 years ago. I don't have the space for it anymore and I realize I'm a rococo and neo-classical sort of gal.

This divan is for sale. Delivery in Metromanila only or pick up okay.

Family Immersion in Vietnam

It was on one Sunday dinner  in November, a few years back, that dad decided he wanted to take all of us on a New Year trip. It had to be somewhere that didn't need a visa and close enough for only 6 days.  Most local destinations would be booked, and by this time, all the flights to New-Year-type destinations would be booked too--not to mention outrageous hotel prices for this time of the year. Hong Kong and Singapore were definitely out of the question. People book holiday trips like this in August. We did Thailand the year before and everyone got a kick out of our Chiangmai/Bangkok escapade. Why not Vietnam? None of us had been there yet (at least then).

When I called my travel agent, she said no problem, seats are available for all 16 of us. She even recommended a couple of hotels--The Majestic or Duxton in Saigon, and the Guoman in Hanoi. She had these hotels in her list and would be able to get good packaged rates. In a couple of days, our flights and hotels were all arranged. Then I researched online and added a Halong bay cruise to the Hanoi part of the trip. When I wondered aloud why we were able to get flights and rooms for everyone at this late stage, she mentioned again that our destination was not really top of the list for New Year revelers. Perfect, no crowds! Or at least no tourist crowds.

This guy looked as if he was really painting... 

I was told that Hanoi was going to be quaint. I didn't see it as "quaint" at first, but after seeing Saigon, then I realized yes, Hanoi was quaint in a rickety sort of way. Lots of art and craft shops. Stores upon stores selling tablecloths, bamboo dinnerware and other things for the home.

Our hotel was a bit of a walk from the old quarter, and walking the streets is a bit like walking in Malate. There were artists working in some shops and I actually stopped to watch to see if the artist was really painting. You see, in Piazza Navona in Rome, there are artists who would pretend they are painting on the spot. I tried to watch one closely and he just couldn't begin painting as I was watching-- which made me suspicious. I passed again a few hours later and he kinda hid from me. There wasn't any progress on his painting, all his painting supplies were just props.

The Piazza Navona painter in Rome. 

Okay, back to Hanoi... On our second day there, we took a cab from our hotel to Handspan, the agency where I booked the overnight Halong Bay cruise. The cab driver took advantage of our confusion with the money and kept screaming at us to pay him the 250,000 Dong the meter was showing. Since there were other taxis honking us from the back, we just paid him only to find out that it was supposed to be 25,000! My dad was upset that he was conned--it didn't matter that he only lost $10--just that he was taken for more than a ride!

Handspan did a good job of reserving our Junk for only our group. We initially wanted to book on the Dragon Pearl but it was full, and we wouldn't have gotten it all to ourselves. Then I came across the Halong Ginger which was fabulous. I think dad would've loved it. But again it was not available. I would rate our Junk 3 stars, but at least it was only for one night and all ours.

We stayed a few days in Hanoi, was bussed an hour and a half (or was it 2?) out of town to spend one night aboard the junk.  Being on a junk in Halong Bay was a bit eerie at night  but we were comforted knowing there were about a dozen other junks anchored for the night. We haven't been at such close quarters (with no escape) since we were kids so just being on the junk was a very unique adventure for all of us.

Halong Bay scenery is similar to Palawan sans the Vietnamese Junkboats. 

This is the view from a cave exit in one of the cliffs!

I realized that on this trip, the family stuck together and did things together unlike when we go to more familiar places. When we do family trips to Hong Kong or Singapore, everyone has their own agenda for the day and we only meet up for dinner. This doesn't happen in an unfamiliar destination. Everybody sticks close together and is willing to do "what the group is doing".

Never mind that it was more of an "immersion" type of trip (the words of my travel agent!). I think it's good for the kids to experience trips like this and not only Disney-type destinations. They learn to appreciate what they have and how they live.

We enjoyed meals at Brothers, Indochine and Quan an Ngon in Hanoi. In Saigon, I liked Temple Bar and Mandarine. I particularly liked the interiors of Temple bar and took many shots until I was told it wasn't allowed. If they only knew how many people post photos of their restaurant online...

Temple Bar interiors

Below Temple Bar is a very popular ice cream parlor called Fanny's. The kids had a hard time choosing which flavors to get because there were just too many. My girls are vanilla and strawberry girls, nothing exotic for them. I think this sundae below was mine.

Interesting as this trip was, I don't think we will repeat it--at least not with the same cast of characters. It definitely  rated high in "family bonding" category so it was appropriate for a family trip. 

Merged

I finally learned how to merge the content of two blogs! For the longest time I thought it was such a complicated process only to find out it was just a matter of 3-4 clicks.  I think Blogspot has greatly improved the software because it's also so easy to upload photos now when before, it was like dealing with a PC (obviously I'm on a Mac >:). So many clicks. It's still not drag-and-drop but it's close to it, and that explains all my posts in April.

Now I'm excited to post my trip pics and also my home finds--all in one blog. But I kinda liked the name Kantomesa only because of the way it sounds.  NoDoors is more appropriate for both topics tho. (It originally came from Fodors--get it? hehe. So baduy)

Banh Xeo in Saigon

When we were in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon), our friend Ly who lives there brought us to Wrap n' Roll for lunch. It was bright and attractive with its lime green decor. When the food came, it matched the decor perfectly so it was a pleasant site--nothing clashing--haha.. Wrap n' Roll is comfortable casual dining--and the food is fresh and healthful. 

Btw, see that coconut drink in the picture? Nice, smooth and bald--I'm talking about physical characteristics, not the taste. I wonder how they get them that bald. Even the coconuts sold on the streets of Thailand are bald (and I heard they are roasted, that's why it the drink has some sort of smokey roasted flavor). I only see Philippine ones served with the full green husk either as a drink, or as a bowl for ice cream. Okay, once in a while it is de-husked, but not as clean as the ones in Vietnam of Thailand. Do they have  special way of doing it ?  Our bald one is the niyog--the one that's scraped for the gata. But that's also hairy.

Anyway, back to the Banh Xeo...Ly taught us how to eat it properly--you wrap a chunk of it inside a lettuce leaf, garnish with other green things, roll up, dip and enjoy.We ate a lot of other things but it this was my favorite of all.

One thing nice about Vietnamese food is it uses a lot of greens, and is hardly ever oily. Wonderful combination of flavors. 

Wrap n Roll

62 Hai Ba Trung Rd.

District 1, HCM City