Finally did it!

Just announcing that I have just launched a new blog. It had taken me quite sometime to think about it and really getting to the task of creating one. It's a not-so-fancy blog as the purpose is more of a diary for my doctoral studies. Since I think most the technical stuff do not fit in here, I'd better have another one just to contain them. So I would like to invite you to visit my new blog at http://fishfulexistence.blogspot.com. For those interested in research and in fish, hope the blog will be useful for you. For those not really interested now, who knows in the future there might be some insights you will glean from reading the posts and comments. Thanks in advance for visiting.

LP: Palengke

Kakaiba ito. Alam ba ninyo kung ano ang binebenta sa munting palengke na ito sa Laos? Kahit sa Isan ganito rin sila magbenta lalo na pag medyo malayo ang pinanggalingan. Mga semilya ng isda tulad ng tilapya, barb, carpa, hito. Kawawa naman ang mga isda lalo na pag mainit. Dahil sa kulang talaga ang semilya sa mga lugar na ito, kailangang bumili dito kahit papaano upang merong mailagay sa fishpond.

Marami pang klaseng palengke doon sa Litratong Pinoy.

Do you fancy any of these?

A few weeks ago we went to the Agricultural Fair at Kasetsart University Kampangsaen Campus, Nakhon Pathom. Key was so excited to show me around as he was part of the organizing group for his faculty. It was kind of nice to be with people and to see many nice things, such as orchids, fish and other aquatic animals, vegetables, and many varieties of plants. It took us about 2 hours to get there as we stopped along the way for breakfast. We had a Thai style breakfast at one of the popular local restaurants. What I had was so different from the ones I usually have in the office.

The orchids were so pretty and I was quite tempted to buy a few but then I was thinking that what happens after the flowers are gone? Although some have bulbs ready to bloom but I do not have the skill and time to take care of them. I remember buying them before and after a few months I had to give them away to friends who are better at taking care of orchids. So I resisted the temptation despite the fact that the colors were so attractive.

Of course we spent more time at the Fisheries booth. The main attraction was the whale shark made from fiberglass material. They had to transport this from the Fisheries Museum in Bangkhen-Bangkok campus where it is normally displayed. Nearly every visitor wanted to take photo of the shark as well as to pose with it. I also did the same as hey, I've never seen the real one. Gotta go to Donsol, Sorsogon for that where they have a Whale Shark Ecotourism Program. I had to wait for my turn, of course as there was a small queue forming. There were other samples of fish and aquatic organisms which were preserved from the real ones.

At the fair, after moving around the booths we went to see the food stalls. They were selling all kinds of food stuff. Some familiar ones and some not so familiar ones. Do you fancy any of these crispy creatures for your snack? Maybe down it with some ice cold pop soda? This is a delicacy here and now they are being packed in cans so anyone can take them anywhere. I did not dare to try to eat them. Would you? Or have you tried them before?