FOOD TRIP 2: Kokak
It took six hours to cover the 68 kilometers from Bangued to the village of Gacab in Malibcong, Abra. That’s how bad the roads to the mountains were. And when I finally got off the land cruiser, I came face to face with a squad of New People’s Army (NPAs) loitering near a sari-sari store, all carrying high-powered guns.
One particular NPA caught my attention, and that was because he could have been no more than a boy. I told my guide slash interpreter to ask the boy how old he was and why he joined the communist movement at such a tender age. Speaking in Tingguian, the boy answered that he might be young in age but he was certainly old in terms of the cause he was fighting for. Tsk, tsk. I wondered how much he understood of the cause he was ready to kill and die for. He was only 15.
I was going to stay for the night at a village leader’s house. It was a poor man’s hut with no furniture and no electricity. During dinner, we had to squat on the floor to eat a simple meal of rice and tadpoles.
TADPOLES??!
Yes, tadpoles. Those slimy, black, wiggly baby frogs one normally finds in canals and stagnant water. There they were, swimming in a bowl of broth with bits of leafy vegetables thrown in for added texture. Yaiks.
Of course I had to eat them in deference to the hospitality of my host family. I couldn’t tell you what they tasted like, though, because I just swallowed them whole without chewing on them.
Bon apetit!
One particular NPA caught my attention, and that was because he could have been no more than a boy. I told my guide slash interpreter to ask the boy how old he was and why he joined the communist movement at such a tender age. Speaking in Tingguian, the boy answered that he might be young in age but he was certainly old in terms of the cause he was fighting for. Tsk, tsk. I wondered how much he understood of the cause he was ready to kill and die for. He was only 15.
I was going to stay for the night at a village leader’s house. It was a poor man’s hut with no furniture and no electricity. During dinner, we had to squat on the floor to eat a simple meal of rice and tadpoles.
TADPOLES??!
Yes, tadpoles. Those slimy, black, wiggly baby frogs one normally finds in canals and stagnant water. There they were, swimming in a bowl of broth with bits of leafy vegetables thrown in for added texture. Yaiks.
Of course I had to eat them in deference to the hospitality of my host family. I couldn’t tell you what they tasted like, though, because I just swallowed them whole without chewing on them.
Bon apetit!
posted by Miki at
9:00 AM
2 Comments:
di ko alam kung masusuka ako or mahihilo... the thought of it being slimy... but it always feels so brave after eating exotic food... hihihi!!!
isog kaayo ko (that's what I felt) after eating fried grasshoppers in Bangkok... hahaha!!!
gharyjohn
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