Never Sorry

The documentary starts with a story of a cat. One that is different from all the other numerous beasts living in the artist's home. This one can open doors. Just like the other cats it has seen humans do it many times. One day it decided to do the same.

What's the difference between a human and a cat? Only the former feels the need to close the door he has opened.

Genghis Khan

Mongolia blew my mind this summer. Though I had dreamt of travelling there one day, this trip came as a surprise out of nowhere. Some challenging planning, personal economy struggles and convincing my boss later I found myself in the middle on never-ending Mongolian planes inhabited only by some semi wild horses.

Besides nature the country is known by it's great leader despite the fact he's been dead for nine centuries. Genghis Khan was the first Great Khan, united the nomadic tribes and lead Mongolian army to occupy most of the, then known and not so well known, world. His army was bloodthirsty, obedient and heartless. They were ruled by fear of loosing their lives or staining their honour. Khan's name you can read pretty much all over the country and boy is his statue grand in Tsonjin Boldog, which could also be called in-the-middle-of-nowhere.

Scary as he must have been at his time Genghis Khan also had pretty original ideas. For instance the Great Khan should be elected by Mongolian leaders. (In reality this didn't happen.) He also used religious scholars from Buddhist, Christian, Taoist and Muslim backgrounds as his advisors. This was religious tolerance beyond belief at that time. Genghis Khan was convinced an end would come to his empire and he advised his successors to keep that in mind. How many leaders today would say that out loud?

Finally an end did come. Europeans gave a sigh of relief and Mongolians returned to their nomadic lifestyles occasionally bothered by the Chinese. Little is left from those days in modern Mongolia. The ruins of Karakorum are barely seen and the ancient temple of this former capital has been rebuilt thanks to Japanese aid.

I'd still like to say there's something to learn from this leader despite his cruelty. I mean how many Asian names are so famous worldwide as his dating so far in history.

Easygoing Sunday

This one is fun to watch. Guest appearances from various animals were slendid. The whole story is on youtube for instance.

I'm angry too!

Never quite made it to New York, but I did visit Occupy at St. Paul's in London. This is Sebastian Errazuriz's view. It's an actual chair to sit on.

If these walls could talk

Think you’ve attended the best historical tour? Meet this guy and say that again.

My friends, who were obedient followers of Lonely Planet, told me we should attend a tour by Carlos Celdran. (Never heard of him before.) This was the thing to do in Manila. I agreed mainly because the history proportion was ridiculously small in that amazing city. Every time the locals wanted to do something with us we ended up hanging out in a mall slightly bigger than the previous one.

Every now and then when abroad I’d like to wear a t-shirt saying “I’m not American.” Silly I know, but history usually means events that took place within the past fifty to hundred years and the Americans have kept themselves (or their army) busy globally within that time frame. Emotions run high when visiting historical sites and you don’t want to share them with someone whose nation caused some of the pain.

What Carlos Celdran took us through was heart breaking, controversial, interesting and amazing. I didn’t have that t-shirt with me, but because of my appearance I didn’t feel the need of one saying “neither am I Japanese or Chinese.”

The Philippines is a wonderful country. Best part of it is the people. (Nature comes close second.) My Filipino friends were shocked during the tour just as I were. They hadn’t heard all the historical back rounds to some of the most bewildering events in their country. It was not all in what was said but rather how it was said. There was an artist at work.

In Vietnam and Cambodia I have felt numb, empty, sad and ridiculous after getting to know how cruel a human being can be to another. This is why I have to regulate my original venue history doses. However Mr. Celdran tried to avoid that. His tour had a message of hope and an idea of a better future. He did not cry for help from abroad, he believed in the country he loves. The wonderful Filipinos.