Melissa Cantello's blog: 2015

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Monday 20 July 2015

Wat Si Sasket, Arch de Triomphe/Patuxai, Pha That Luang - Vientiane, Laos

The main Wat Si Sasket is beautiful. A high wall surrounds it and you have to pay an entrance fee of 5,000KIP (about £4). The wat had an outer courtyard filled with golden statures of Buddhist deities and spirits, and of Buddha himself of course. The wat itself was protected by another inner walled corridor which was roofed over with dusky red brown tiles to shelter all the statues within its walls. The inner wall of the corridor had hundreds of pockets in which each sat a tiny statue, placed a regular intervals along the wall. These were guarded by large statues of spirits sitting in the lotus position and gently fragranced flowered bushes in pots.

The inner temple was protected at the rear by a long boat-like structure. At its bow, as the mast head, was a large dragon or narga, and over the stern sat a delicately carved swan. Inside the temple itself was an ENORMOUS golden bronzed Buddha which filled the far wall from floor to ceiling. You were forbidden to talk photos either inside the temple or from the door looking in as a stream of locals, monks and (mainly Asian) tourist entered the wat to pray, meditate and pay their respects. After another long slow walk around the gardens surrounding the wat, I’d drunk my fill, and so began the long hot dusty walk alongside a large dual carriageway to Laos’s answer to the Arch de Triomphe, Patuxai.

After about twenty minutes walking under the baking sun I was very tempted to get a tuktuk, but resisted the temptation as I always thing that you experience more by walking. I paid 3,000KIP (about £1.75) upon arrival to the tower to climb the four, mainly spiral, flights of stairs up to the roof which afforded excellent views of the city. After descending, I took a much needed 10 minute break sitting by the refreshing fountains to cool off. I then took a tuktuk to the incredible gold guilded, Pha That Luang, as it was another 30 minute walk from where I was, and my energy levels were beginning to flag and my feet were becoming increasingly swollen! The vista was well worth it. The entrance fee was 5,000KIP (around £4) and was so worth it. I was basically the only western tourist there, the majority were Asian tourists who were obviously also Buddhists and had come to pay their respects. The sun glinted deliciously off the bright gold of the temple roofs and made an idealistic picture against the bright baby blue of the sky and the lush green of the grass.

Wednesday 15 July 2015

Paperweight (Schyler Fisk and Joshua Radin) - Cover by Melissa Cantello

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Monday 13 July 2015

Wat walk, Vientiane, Laos

Thankfully I had a good 10 hours sleep thanks to exhaustion and the great massage id had down the road – only $6 for an hour! The private room at Dream Hostel 2 was dark, quiet and clean with a comfortable bed. I made sure I got up in time for the excellent free breakfast (choice of pancakes, French toast, omelette, scrambled or fried eggs with toast and bacon and tea/coffee). Once my hunger was sated, I set off to explore. I’d seen on a map at the hostel that it was pretty much a straight line of wats (temples) leading to the main temple, Wat Si Saket (Vientiane’s oldest and most important wat – the rest were destroyed by the Khmer Rouge during the late 1970s).

Boy it was hot, after the first few temples I took out my umbrella to use as a parasol. The pagados (temple buildings) were so beautiful and majestic under the scorching sun. high inverted V shaped rooves with elongated sections reaching towards heaven. They had nagas (dragons) and garuda (a large bird-like creature that appears in both Hinduism and Buddhism ) standing guard under the eaves. Nagas and garudas are natural enemies but when they are depicted together it represents peace.

The sky overhead is mainly a grey cloudy haze with the bright sun periodically busting through, drenching everyone with roasted light. The range of russet reds to earthenware browns picked out with white and gold stood out in sharp contrast with the wide variety of bright luscious greens of the palms and vegetation surrounding the wats. The heat is omnipresent, with the oppressive sun still streaming its way through the cloud cover.

Most of the wats are complexly void of tourists, making photo taking an absolute pleasure. This enabled me to choose the exact angles I wanted without having to carefully choose shots which excluded my fellow camera-slung rucksack-ridden tourists. Every now and then, the vivid orange of a monks robe caught my eye. They were generally sitting under trees or in doorways by the wats. Either praying or just sitting in quiet contemplation. In Buddhist culture monks are forbidden to eat after midday, so I imagine they want to conserve energy. I did my best not to disturb them.

Friday 10 July 2015

Hello (Schuyler Fisk) - Cover by Melissa Cantello

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Monday 6 July 2015

Checked in, Vientiane, Laos

I have to say I was very relieved to check in and take a much needed shower. The private bedroom was clean, quiet and comfortable with AC, large wardrobe, a TV (not that I would be using it), a fridge and en-suite bathroom. All for a tenner a night with a yummy free breakfast included. I then laid on the bed for 30 minutes with my feet in the air as they were somewhat swollen from the 14 hour flight, even though I’d done my best to get up and move around. After unpacking a few things I decided to walk to the Mekong River and stretch my legs whilst walking past the local nightly riverside market. I deliberately didn’t take my camera as I wanted to soak everything up unobstructed. As much as I love taking photos I think that sometimes the photo taking can get in the way of just being in the moment. Also, the first time you visit somewhere I think it’s good just to allow your senses to soak up everything without your brain having to think about camera angles etc.! Plus, even though my cameras are gradually getting larger and/or more expensive as I get older, no photo cannot accurately describe what it was like actually being there. Sometimes it’s best to just carpe diem.

Upon arriving at the (raised concrete enforced) river bank I had a slight sudden shock. Where was the river? I had arrived at the beginning of May, so at the end of dry season. It was clear by the contours of the landscape of the river bed that by half way through rainy season the river would become a wide vast flowing rampage of water hurtling its way southwards towards the Cambodian border and then beyond to Vietnam and the Ocean. Currently, from where I was standing, over half to two thirds of the enormous river bed was a dry dusty sandy yellow, only interrupted by small irregular fields of some sort of long green grasses and bulrushes and the occasional large pool of water. The ribbon of water was just visible through a late afternoon haze coasting along the far bank. The diminished river was ebbing its way slowly along the opposite bank, at least it looked slow moving from a distance. I couldn’t see any boats moored or otherwise so I could only presume that the water must be rather shallow.

On a raised sand bank in the middle of the ‘river’ sat several large sand sculptures. As I watched, a jeep and several motorbikes were winding their way towards them from about 500 meters further down the river from where I was standing. My stomach was beginning to growl with hunger so I promised myself I’d come back the following evening for a closer look.

Wednesday 1 July 2015

Revolutionise - Original Song by Melissa Cantello

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Monday 29 June 2015

Arrived in Vientiane, Laos

I stepped of the plane into an oppressive wall of hot water vapour. It didn’t even feel like air it was so stifling. The humidity (which during the trip was sometimes up to 95%!) clings to my skin and settles itself deep in my lungs. The ‘air’ feels so thick it’s almost as if you need to wade through it. In the short walk from the plane to the terminal building I could already feel sweat begin to break out along my hairline. Not that I’m complaining as I’m very happy to be here. This is my first proper trip to South East Asia and I cannot wait to explore properly.

After quickly queuing for a visa and collecting my bag, which amazingly was already there after only 15 minutes of getting off the plane, I was headed to the money exchange counter. It’s impossible to buy or sell Laos KIP outside of the country so I purchased enough for a day or so. I got talking to a fellow solo female traveller and as luck would have it she was staying at my hostel so we agreed to share a taxi together (my first tuktuk ride will have to wait until tomorrow). A fairly short but interesting (in terms of the view) journey later and we had arrived at Dream House Hostel (2), Vientiane.

The staff were very friendly and welcoming and even carried my rucksack up to my room (which was unusual for a hostel in my experience!). I’d made sure I’d memorised ‘hello, good day (sam-bah-dee deh), how are you, thank you very much (gchop-choy deh), please etc.’ on the plane ride over. It always really helps slightly breakthrough the skin of a country if you can at least speak the basics (sometimes it’s highly necessary if no one speaks English!) and locals will always really appreciate it that you’re trying make an effort. Also, for me it’s about respecting someone else’s culture.

Friday 26 June 2015

Wanderlust by Melissa Cantello (Original)

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Tuesday 26 May 2015

No more TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership ‘Agreement’) #stopTTIP #noTTIP

Thanks for watching :) #stopTTIP #noTTIP

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) is a comprehensive free trade and investment treaty currently being negotiated – in secret – between the European Union and the USA. As officials from both sides acknowledge, the main goal of TTIP is to remove regulatory ‘barriers’ which restrict the potential profits to be made by transnational corporations on both sides of the Atlantic.

#TTIP and #CETA are a threat to democracy, the environment, consumers and labour standards. But we can stop them!

Information on TTIP:
What is TTIP? - http://www.waronwant.org/campaigns/trade-justice/more/inform/18078-what-is-ttip

TTIP: The EU-US trade deal explained - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-30493297

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transatlantic_Trade_and_Investment_Partnership

What is TTIP? And six reasons why the answer should scare you - http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/what-is-ttip-and-six-reasons-why-the-answer-should-scare-you-9779688.html

Petitions to stop TTIP:
http://occupylondon.org.uk/petitions-to-sign-stop-ttiptafta-the-tpp/

https://stop-ttip.org/

http://www.waronwant.org/act-now

https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/page/s/eu-ttip-petition

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/European_Union_Stop_TAFTA_TTIP/?pv=33

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/Eu_Parliament_Stop_TTIP/?pv=3

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/Stop_the_EUUS_free_trade_agreement/?pv=17

Lyrics:

No more TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership ‘Agreement’)

Chorus

No more TTIP, No more TTIP

Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership

No more TTIP, Must stop now

Verse

So you’ve heard of this trade ‘agreement’ called TTIP

In other words an attack on, jobs and democracy

Bridge

The rich will get richer, will the poor suffer

Verse

Governments think that removing regulations is going to help

Social standards such as labour rights, privacy and food safety

Bridge

Removing trade barriers, will cost a million jobs

Verse

They want to keep TTIP private so we can’t speak out

We must protest as this is going to affect, everyone round the world

Chorus

No more TTIP, No more TTIP

TTIP is a recipe for disaster

No more TTIP, No more TTIP

Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership

Must stop now (x 3)

Bio:

Melissa Cantello (formerly known as Emma Saville) is a singer/songwriter who has worked throughout the UK and internationally. She sings soul, funk, Latin, jazz, blues, gospel, R&B, rhythm and blues, house, and chillout. Melissa is based in London and also plays the piano, guitar, djembe and clarinet.

Wednesday 15 April 2015

Happiness is an inside job - Melissa Cantello (Original)