A visit to Ark Avilon, Ortigas

Since early 2008, I've been hearing about this supposed mini zoo right in the middle of Ortigas in Pasig City. Called the Ark Avilon, it first gained my attention after a supposed incident involving one of the creatures accidentally biting a visitor made the usual e-mail rounds. I think it arrived with a batch of Microsoft is giving away millions chain e-mails so I paid scant attention to it. Months passed and since then, nothing but good reviews was heard about Ark Avilon, so last December 30, 2008 Duke and I decided to pay a visit ourselves.

The place was easy enough to find. It was right beside this humongous children's playgound facility in the Tiendesitas - SM Hypermart area. By the way, this playgound is also worthy of it's own dedicated visit one of these days.



Oh, and before I forget, right from the onset, our trip almost ended in disaster (well at least for me anyway). It was only after arriving that I realized I forgot to bring a camera! Oh the humanity! I wasn't planning on bringing my DSLR (next time I will), but I even forgot to pack my trusty Fuji F50fd. Major bummer. Luckily though my Aiptek AHD200 camcorder had still photo capabilities so that's what I used for most of the day. Even my mobile phone, a 2 megapixel Sony Ericsson K530i was suddenly pressed into active service. Better than nothing I figured. Actually, the first two images in this entry are from my mobile phone.

Anyway, back to our trip. Camera or not, Duke had an absolute blast! In my opinion the P200 entrance fee was worth every penny as far as we were concerned (your mileage may vary he he). Being an animal lover he was thrilled at the opportunity of directly interacting with these beautiful creatures. He's been to the Manila Zoo in the past but nothing came close to the level and quality of interaction he experienced here.


This bird isn't your run of the mill chicken.


Up close and personal with a primate.


Not just something on TV anymore, a real live donkey!


Sheeps and lambs have always held a special place in Duke's heart, courtesy of those Serta plush toys his grandfather sent him. A chance to finally meet some real sheep was a great experience for him.

I must admit though, that I had mixed emotions over my Ark Avilon experience. On the one hand, it made me happy seeing my son enjoying his visit to the "Ark", interacting with the creatures he saw. We spent the greater part of the day there since he simply couldn't get enough of the place. Which makes a return visit a given.

But on the other side of the coin, I couldn't help feel a twinge of sadness seeing majestic animals like these big cats cooped up in such a confined space. I'm no biologist, but I don't think these animals were ever meant to live this way.


Maybe this beautiful fowl (which by the way was free to roam the Ark), crocodile, fluffy bunny rabbits or fish won't mind, but I'm sure not all of the other creatures feel that way.


There are a number of ways I could probably justify this situation. Phrases like, "at least the animals are well cared for", (which they are) can make up for any pangs of guilt one might feel. Or maybe "they don't have to worry about predators or food". Let's also throw in a "they educate humans about the animal kingdom". All well and good except for one small detail: I doubt if any of these creatures chose to be where they are right now. In all likelihood a human made the choice for them.

At any rate it is a difficult conundrum, and one which will not be resolved any time soon. If there is any consolation to this story, it is that the creatures who currently call Ark Avilon home are treated the best way possible, well at least by Philippine standards.

And on the subject of Philippine standards, maybe we could also think of these wonderful creatures as sort of entertainers who are just trying to make a living. Whether they're being exploited in the process is another matter entirely. Perhaps this charming little Hill Myna (Gracula Religiosa) could give us a little insight on "entertainment" and "exploitation". Why don't we hear what it has to say?

First day at work for 2009

The final weeks of December 2008 were specially good for the Pinoy worker. A lengthy two week vacation to top off the year. Not to mention it was Christmas! A great time for all (well, almost all).

But sadly, like all great vacations it eventually had to end. And now it's time to confront the sobering reality of trudging back to work and facing what could be one of the bleakest years in recent memory. Let's hope it turns out better than what the experts predict. The road ahead is going to be a long one that's for sure. Let's just be thankful we have work to trudge back to.

New Year's Eve 2009 Fireworks

It is often heard at New Year's Eve celebrations that "last year's was better..." The good-old-days syndrome, when the past was always better than the present. Always.

And if the doom sayers are even partially right about this economic recession (or should I say, depression), then you don't need to be a Nostradamus to predict that this year's fireworks display will most certainly be better than the next.





Spectacular displays like this may prove to be simply a reminder of better times in the not too distant future. Let's enjoy it while we can.


Speaking of enjoyment, I really got a blast (pun intended) from my neighbor's fireworks that mimicked an effect from the movie Platoon. It sure looked like the tracer effect (was the film trying to mimic tracers?) in the last battle scene.


The "Platoon" Effect from Charlie Laigo on Vimeo.

The Lambency Golden White "Lightsphere"

Another made in China knock-off of an extremely popular photographic tool. Costing a mere P750 to P800 in Hidalgo, Manila, it is definitely much more affordable than the $200++ original Gary Fong version.



Labelled as the Golden White Lambency Flash Diffuser it is probably named so because it comes with an amber (golden) and white dome. Not very imaginitive these knock off makers he he.

So, does it work? It does!




The light is diffused and much more evenly distributed compared to a direct head-on flash exposure.

However, it is not without it's drawbacks. For starters, it does look like a cup of instant noodles landed on top of your flash.



Seriously though, the danged thing is quite heavy and if you're flash's head isn't rigid enough (like my Sunpak 383) then it does tend to droop if not held correctly. I would hesitate to use this in a wedding though, it's too heavy for my 383. Then again, it would look much better than using this on your flash: