Foot and Fire

The Bookseller of Kabul Asne Sierstad Paperback, 276 pages Virago, 2004 Kabul is in Afghanistan and Mikrorayon is the hometown of our bookseller. When Journalist-author Asne Sierstad came to buy books from Sultan Khan after she joined the army operations for days searching for news, she became interested to the life lived by the man whose hopes is to build a huge library after the war ends. Sultan Khan had dedicated his life salvaging books in the name of Afghani literature and culture, and in the process, he was able to save some old books from wherever source. But keeping the books safe from illiterate soldiers who burn anything with living things on the cover or anything that seems immoral is a challenge that could even mean his liberty and life.  This extraordinary passion led the author to turn more stones and she proposed to live with the household of Sultan Khan. She was able to live with the Khans for four months and the resulting tale reveals a portrait of an Af...

In my new Sunday's best, I want you to observe me do the subtle hand sway as I walk along the bulb-lit alleys. I want your eyes to pursue me. In my new leather stilettos, I want you to anticipate me do the lightest steps as I near the historic center. I want your gaze to trail me. In my newly bought scent, I want you to witness me do the gentlest stroll along the streets of this old Italian town. I want your mind to follow me. With my hand-held gelato, I want your buds to share it with me while we do the laziest strides together towards the piazza. Come quick, keep up with me. Gerlie M. Uy Copyright 2015. *This poem is inspired after reading Under the Tuscan Sky and It happened in Italy . Click on the links to check out my reviews on this book.

Here I am sitting on top of a temple in Bagan during my April 2014 vacation. 1. No Visa anymore for Filipinos to travel in Myanmar; No Exit Fee of crisp ten dollars. 2. There are banks and money changers in Myanmar but they accept crisp dollar bills only. As far as I can recall, the money changer at the airport only accepts Singapore Dollars and another currency aside from US Dollars for exchange to kyat. There are atm machines too. 3. There are budget hotels that can cater to backpackers with rates of about $10/person but they have no websites. Big hotels are the ones which can maintain websites. (I will post the top ten budget hotels in Yangon, Bagan and Mandalay which I got from the local maps in the next post). 4. Myanmar trip is one for culture exploration. You will be heady with temples after days if you are not prepared yourself. No beach as Myanmar is landlocked and has lakes and rivers only. No classy malls too. Look at me who can explore a temple like a mall. ...