(1076) MUSIC AND ME (Sept. 03, 2015) MR. KURATA IS BACK! Performed w/ Roberto at The Taj and PMCC

BACK IN PALAU FOR 4 DAYS
     The multi-talented musician, Mr. Yoshiharu Kurata, right, is the music partner of Roberto Hernandez for almost 2 years. Having performed at Palau Pacific Resort, Palau Royal Resort, Airai View Hotel, Rip Tide, Tototo (Mingles), Rose Garden Resort, Palm Bay Bistro, Pentecostal Missionary Church of Christ (4th Watch) Palau Locale, and Kramer's Cafe. Mr. Kurata stayed in Palau for 4 days only but they were able to performed at The Taj on Sat., August 29, 2015 from 8:30-10:00 pm and at the 10th Anniversary of PMCC on the next day, Aug. 30, 2015.                           (Photo by Yoshiharu Kurata)


              MR. KURATA IS BACK!
          Performed with Roberto at
                             The Taj 
                                 and 
       Pentecostal Missionary Church of 
       Christ (4th Watch) Palau Locale's
                  10th Anniversary and
                           Thanksgiving

 
MR. YOSHIHARU Kurata was introduced to me by Mr. Tadaharu Namoto, in late 2012 at Palau Royal Resort. When he talked to me at that time, I thought he wants me to teach him how to play piano. I didn't know that he is a very multi-talented musician that can play saxophone, ocarina, guitar, quena, keyboard and flute. He can sing also Spanish and Venezuelan songs.

Before my music partnership with Mr. Kurata, I featured the Namota family in my Music and Me column.

THE NAMOTO FAMILY AT PRR
    From left, Roberto Hernandez, resident musician of Palau Royal Resort, Mr. Tadaharu Namoto, his daughter Chihiro and his wife Chiyoko. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE BOTTLE OF SHOCHU.
                                                         (Photo by Roberto Hernandez)


           OKAMA BIN LADEN

IN EARLY 2005, I and my wife Flor are always assigned at Café Olei at the departure area of Palau International Airport. It is only operating when there are departing flights to Manila, Taipei and Japan.

                One night when there is a chartered flight of Japan Airlines going to Narita airport, there are Japanese sitting at the bar of Café Olei. I’m talking to them in English and they answered me in Japanese. I know a little Nihongo so sometimes I answered them in ‘broken’ Japanese.

                I noticed that one of them is gay or okama in Japanese language. When the conversation was focused on him/her, I suggested or teased him with these words: “Tabon kare no namae wa “Okama Bin Laden” which means maybe we call his name as “Okama Bin Laden”. A loud laughter ensued. They thought that I can really speak Japanese.

                WHAT HAPPENED NEXT IS “COINCIDENCE, FUNNY OR LUCKY”.

                The guy who is sitting next to a middle-aged, skinny woman talk for about a minute all in deep Japanese language that I understand only 3% of it. As he is talking, I’m prepared to say what I would respond –“wakaranai”. It means “I don’t know”.

                When he finished talking, he asked me a question which I don’t understand also so I just replied “wakaranai”. THE MIDDLE-AGED, SKINNY LADY IS VERY FURIOUS WITH MY ANSWER.

                A few hours after they left, I realized why she is “furious” because of the way I said “wakaranai”. The guy is asking me, “If you are sure that Okama Bin Laden is gay, what do you think of this lady beside me?”

                The way I said “wakaranai” is indicating that I’m not sure if she is really a woman! What I want to say is that “I don’t understand what you have said”. There is loud laughter after I said that from all of them but not from that skinny woman, although ‘furious’ but smiling.  GOMEN NASAI. (I’M SORRY).

                At Café Olei also that I was able to ask a young Japanese couple the Romaji title of “Oribia Okikinagara”, a very popular song among middle-aged Japanese.

                One day I’m operating karaoke at Image Restaurant in 2005, a lone, Japanese lady is singing Japanese songs with a few laser discs of Japanese songs that we had at that time. Alternating with her, I also sang some songs like “Itoshino Elly” which she thought I can speak and read Japanese alphabet. Those Japanese songs laser discs are all written in Katakana, Hirakana and Kanji. Because I’ve memorized the Japanese lyrics of “Itoshino Elly”, she thought that when I'm looking at TV, I’m reading the Japanese characters.

                Those laser discs Japanese titles were ‘marked’ by me so that I know where to look for titles written in Japanese. Like when Papa san and Mama san or Mr. and Mrs. Kubota of Sushi Bar Mito when they are singing Japanese songs, I will mark the songs that they are singing with “P” for Papa san and “M” for Mama san.

                When Mama san is singing, I will look at all songs with “M” mark and “P” when Papa san is singing. They also thought that I know how to read Japanese character because when they come back to sing again, I know what to play already. Mama san likes “Kawa No Nagareno Yo Ni’, “Midare Gami” and some songs that I don’t know the Romaji translation, mostly they said “Okinawan songs”.

                In February 11, 12, 13, 14, 2007, I played for 4 nights at Palau Royal Resort during their Valentine’s Special. I’m still working at Dragon Tei at that time. Mama san and Papa san were guests then on Feb. 11, 2007. She knows me by face and as a musician but she can’t remember where I used to work before. She asked a waitress (Josephine Amutan) and she said, “That’s Robert, the former pianist of Image Restaurant.” That’s the time that she remembered me and when she heard me played her 2 favorite Japanese songs, she gave me $20.00 tip.

                Since then, every time they come at PRR on Tuesday evening, they always give me $10.00 tip. Sushi Bar Mito is closed on Tuesday. One time, Mama san noticed that I’m playing with my reading glass on. She said, “You’re wearing eye glass now?” I said, “Yes, I’m old already.” She said, “Me also.” We’re both diabetic with me taking a 5 mg medicine while she is having insulin already.

                Last month on a Saturday evening at Waves Restaurant, Mr. Tadaharu Namoto, a teacher at Maris Stella School, asked me to play the song “Tsuki” or moon. He brought the musical notes of that easy song and I was able to play it right away. He said he will come back on Monday at 9 pm to record my playing so that he can teach the dance steps to his students using my live performance the he will record with his cellphone/camera.

                We recorded it with me using a piano at Waves Restaurant and a keyboard at Breeze Bar. He came with his wife Chiyoko. They gave me a glass of red wine and a whole bottle of shochu. 

Source: Music and Me by Roberto Hernandez

              Tia Belau Newspaper

              Pages 8-9

              Volume 22

              Issue 11

              February 07, 2013

    

http://palau-chess.blogspot.com/2013/02/music-and-me-feb-07-2013-okama-bin-laden.html

Mr. Kurata is a Senior Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Volunteer in Palau. An architect by profession, he's retired but can participate in Palau marathon and even in Iron Man competition or Triathlon at the age of 63! 

When we started our 'lessons', I have to charge him extra $3.00/hour for gas because he's staying about 15 kilometers from Palau Royal Resort where I'm staying at Dormitory 1.

Our lessons is from 11:30am-12:30pm (his lunch break from Airai State Government's Office) every Monday and Thursday. He's paying me every Thursday $30.00 for 2 hours of 'lessons', which I can say 'jamming' because he already knows how to play those instruments. I'm doing the background or accompanying music with a keyboard or guitar defending on the songs that we are playing.

One of the most important factor in our partnership is his timing which I have to be strict to follow. I would also suggest if the song needs to be sung and if only instrumental. Mostly, the ad libs and intros of the songs were done by me.

Those 2 hours a week of practice are bearing fruits as we have found our rhythm. We will sing "Besame Mucho" with me in intro, 2 of us in singing (me at 2nd voice) and him at the last half of the song.

In the song "Take Me Home, Country Roads", he will play the guitar. In "Let It Be", he will play the keyboard or grand piano at Airai View Hotel and I will be singing it.

In the song "My Way", he'll play the keyboard again and I'll play the guitar. I will sing it in English, he will sing it in Spanish and we will end with me singing it in Japanese! That's how versatile we are!  

I like it very much when we sing our finale song, the Venezuelan song "Moliendo Cafe". The tempo is fast, the chords are challenging. He starts with flute, in the middle of the song, he will shift to guitar and sing it in Venezuelan language. Since I have the lyrics in front of me, I learned to sing it with him in harmony (2nd voice). The song is 6 minutes long and the ending is swift and with emphasis.

We have to divide our songs according to the instruments. If he will be playing the sax, we will follow it up with ocarina as a sort of resting. He's catching his breath sometimes because sax is not easy to play especially the alto or tenor sax.

When I suggest to him before, to make the last part of "Speak Softly Love" (The Godfather's Theme), half step higher, he tried it but when we performed it live at Airai View Hotel, one of his Japanese guy friend criticized some inaccuracy in the part where it is play half step higher. Since then, we never do it again.

When we have some performance coming, he always asked me to come at least 4 times a week as preparation and we will make a list of our songs from stage 1 to stage 3 or 4.
I must admit that I envy his talents in so many musical instruments especially the sax. In my early part of being hooked to music, I wished that I could play the sax.

It becomes a 'reality' when I worked in Bahrain for 2 years and 3 months at Khayam Taverna (Greek Restaurant). The Yamaha keyboard that I am using then had a sax instrument that produces a sound like original sax. Now, my wish has somehow fulfilled because of modern technology.       

Before performing at The Taj on Aug. 29 (8:30pm-10pm), we practice for more than an hour after lunch at Mr. Kurata's room in VIP Hotel, the same hotel where he spent his last 2 weeks before going back to Japan after finishing 2-year volunteer work at JICA. Just like the old days, he still insist on paying me for the lesson/practice.

One hour before the performance of Mr. Kurata at the 10th Anniversary and Thanksgiving of Pentecostal Missionary Church of Christ (4th Watch) Palau Locale, I made a music score for the song "Amazing Grace" which is appropriate for the occasion. Because Mr. Kurata doesn't have the music score for it, we are planning to play "Love Me Tender" instead. During the choir practice on the eve of the occasion, I made that music score. The same sequence of performance like we did 2 years ago --he will play the flute (in key of C) in the first part of the song, I will do the instrumental of Amazing Grace while he is setting up the saxophone for the 3rd and 4th part of the song. We will transpose to key of Eb when he is playing the sax.
                                                         (Photo by Roberto Hernandez -- Taken by Darwin Cal)

Bro. Rolly Adducul played with his electric guitar midway in the first stanza of Amazing Grace, knowing that there are only 3 chords in that song. He didn't know that we will transpose it to Eb when Mr. Kurata will use the sax. Bro. Rolly struggles with the chords in Eb so I made a gesture for him to stop playing so that the song/performance will not be ruined by his inaccurate chords. Four days later, I apologize to Bro. Rolly about that while I'm dropping him off to his staff house after we both attended the Morning Devotion on Sept. 03, 2015 from 4:30am-6:00am.            (Photo by Roberto Hernandez -- Taken by Darwin Cal)





Sources: Music and Me
              By Roberto Hernandez
              Tia Belau Newspaper
              March 15, 2012 -- April 2013
              http://palau-chess.blogspot.com
              April 2013 -- September 2015

              Chess and Music (Perfect Combination)
              The Beginning of Chess in Palau
              By Roberto Hernandez
              To be published as a book in the future 

(520) THREE PERFECT DAYS: PALAU

LINE MAN
     Local jack-of-all-trades Gary Esplago.


   THREE PERFECT DAYS: PALAU
                                            By Jacqueline Detwiler
                                   Photographs by Whitney Tressel
                      From: Hemispheres Magazine of United Airlines

THE appeal of an island paradise usually ends at a point where water meets land, but the attractions of this Pacific idyll go much deeper than that. All the way to the ocean floor, in fact.

                           DAY ONE
Trailing a sea turtle into a coral forest, relaxing to a soundtrack of jungle birds, swapping diving tales at the bar.

                                           DAY TWO
Venturing among the jellyfish, taking own nature's beauty treatment, making a foodie pilgrimage to The Taj.

                           DAY THREE
Repairing to a private island retreat and kicking back by the sea with fresh-caught fish and good conversation.



AS THE WORLD INCREASINGLY retreats into an echo chamber of car horns and email alerts, it's nice to know that somewhere in the middle of the Pacific there's a whole nation of smiling slightly salt-frosted people deftly navigating speedboats around idyllic islands, pausing here and there to lop the tops off of coconuts or admire a well-formed brain coral.

That's not to say Palauans never have a tough day at the office, but in general this 300-island-plus archipelago feels insulated from the clamor of modern life.

This feeling stems in large part from the exceedingly low ratio of concrete buildings to half-hidden lagoons and sighing palm groves, but also from the influence of Palauans themselves. 

One of the most close-knit populations on earth, they still hold traditional festivals to provide money and support for neighbors with newborns. 

As Palau increasingly becomes known for more than a diving meccas that made it famous, however, one can only hope that the country's track record of ecological preservation will keep it prestine for many years to come. Paradise, after all, are notoriously fleeting.

DAY ONE
Your ceiling fan is spinning lazily as the midmorning sun slants through your windows at Palau Pacific Resort. The pool has already been taken by kids in water wings, but beyond it is a beach laced with coconut palms that remains pristine and untrampled by tiny feet.

To the sound of chirping birds, you wander down an elevated outdoor walkway to the resort's Coconut Terrace where you load up on croissants, fresh papaya, honeydew and pineapple from the breakfast buffet in preparation for a long day in the water.

And let's be clear: You will be spending much of your time here in the water. A shark sanctuary and dive destination nonpareil.

Palau offers 944 miles of coastline, plus coral reefs, lagoons and little mushroom-like islands so teeming with rare and beautiful fauna that they were added to UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites last year.

A speedboat from Fish 'n Fins, one of the major dive operators in these parts, is waiting for you at the resort dock. It ferries you to a dive center, where you admit to being more of a pool diver than a pro. "This will be like learning to walk-- and then standing on the summit of Everest," promises the attendant helping you to fill out the paperwork. "You will be ruined forever." 

Properly outfitted, you will visit some of the popular dive spots around Ngemelis, a southerly member of the Rock Islands that sits like a finial on a long banister of coral reef.

At Blue Corner, you pause in awe mere feet from a tremendous school of wahoo. Next up is New Drop Off, where you follow a majestic sea turtle about 40 feet underwater to where a half dozen divers have anchored themselves with reef hooks among the purple and red sea fans, holding as still as possible to observe the more elusive creatures. You begin to understand what the attendant meant about Everest.

Around lunch time, your boat glides to a stop at an unspoiled beach dotted with picnic tables and monitor lizards. Your guide has brought a selection of traditional Palauan foods from Yano's Market in Koror: boiled bricks of yellow tapioka, a whole roast parrot fish, the simmered meat of a giant clam, pork roasted in banana leaves, and a sweet mixture of pumpkin and coconut milk. Now that there aren't hundreds of sea creatures vying for your attention, you're shocked at how hungry you are, and devour quite a bit of the spread.


                    PALAU BY THE NUMBERS 
                                                 POPULATION
                                                       21,032

                                          NUMBER OF MAIN ISLANDS
                                                              8

                                              NUMBER OF ISLETS 
                                                            300+

                      NUMBER OF TOURIST VISITORS IN 2001
                                                        45,866

                      NUMBER OF TOURIST VISITORS IN 2012
                                                       118,754

                     NUMBER OF JELLYFISH IN JELLYFISH LAKE
                                                      5 MILLION +

                     NUMBER OF TIMES PALAU HAS BEEN USED AS A 
                                     LOCATION FOR "SURVIVOR"
                                                             2

                     NUMBER OF SPONGES, GIANT CLAMS OR HARD CORALS
                              THAT CAN BE EXPORTED UNDER PALAUAN LAW
                                                              0               

                        THIS MEANS WAR
                     For history aficionados, there's deeper meaning to be found   in Palau waters. 

Among World War II buffs, Palau is famous not for its aquatic life but for its role in the Pacific battles between the Allied forces and Japan. 

Particularly notable is the Battle of Peleliu, one of the most devastating amphibian conflicts in U. S. military history and a key focus of the 2010 HBO miniseries "The Pacific".

Though the soldiers are long gone, Peleliu and other spots in southernmost Palau are still littered with abandoned war machines. Many of the underwater artifacts are sunken Japanese warships that are open to intermediate and advanced divers, while a few that languish in shallower water are appropriate for beginners.

Non-divers will find rusting tanks and concrete bunkers hidden amid Peleliu's greenery and they might want to visit the Peleliu World War II Memorial Museum, which opened in 2004 on the 60th anniversary of the Battle of Peleliu. Though small, it hold a treasure trove of artifacts, including helmets and weapons, plus the found personal effects of soldiers.

You're practically in meditative trance by the time you return to the resort, where you shower off the salt before wandering through progressively more jungle-like elevated walkways to the resort's Elilai Spa.

During a two-hour "frangipani body glow" treatment there, you are rubbed with lime and ginger salt and scented monoi oil while alternating between drowsing and trying to determine which bird calls and surf sounds are real and which are part of spa's own soundtrack.

Having to pry yourself off the massage table is made bearable only by the promise of dinner, which you have planned at Elilai Restaurant and Bar (elilai, Palauan for plumeria flower, is a popular name around here). 

In this charming eatery perched atop a cliff of tropical greenery, you order a tangy papaya and cucumber salad with clams and scallops from the island's mangrove swamps, along with bread so fluffy it seems on the verge of floating off your plate, and follow it with a juicy bacon-wrapped tenderloin over potato cakes.

Perhaps because they can't talk to each other while submerged, divers often enjoy garrulous evening recap over a few beers. 

After dinner, you join them on the turquoise deck of Kramers. The more you hear, the more you're convinced that everyone who goes diving in Palau is, in fact, ruined by it forever.

And that, no matter what else happens, you have to see a shark.  

    
 DAY TWO

The local fruit is ambrosial, but if you're going to be chasing ocean predators all day, you'll need something a little heartier for breakfast.

On your way to the dive operator Sam's Tours, you stop at Blue House Market to pick up a few tama, which are a bit like condensed, sweetened balls of funnel cake.

Nibbling at the confections  to keep them from burning your mouth (they're fresh from the fryer), you board a boat filled with sightseers chattering excitedly  about their piscine wish lists.

After some thought, you decide that in addition to a shark, you'll look for a giant clam of the sort you ate yesterday. Clams can't swim, you think. How hard could it be?

Your first stop underwater is a shallow, sandy reef called Fairyland, which is clamless but ethereal and serene. Light-colored corals conceal cuttlefish; oddly graceful hawksbill turtles drift around you. 

A blacktip shark slides by glowering. You back away instinctively but it's too busy to be concerned with you as it surveys its domain. Scattering smaller fish with its approach, the blacktip possesses the majesty of a lion.

You emerge from the water invigorated to have seen it.

At your next stop, the coral garden at the end of German Channel, you pop your face into the water with "mwooogh" (which is what 'wow' sounds like through a snorkel).

Snorkeling here is like swimming in the aquarium of a ritzy dentist's office. Phalanxes of triggerfish, parrotfish and Moorish idols navigate a field of vibrant corals studded with teal-mouthed clams the size of a love seats.

You free-dive until you're inches away from one of the things, with its pursed lips and nacreous stripes. In spits in your face. Mwooogh, indeed.

After polishing off a quick coastal lunch of roast chicken, salad and rice, you head to the center of one of the Rock Islands to check out Jellyfish Lake, which is famous of being chockablock with golden jellyfish.

Having spent eons in an environment with no predators, the jellyfish lost their ability to sting--something that you only really believe once you swan into a horde of thousands. As you gingerly tread water, the jellyfish bouncing off you body like slippery little hacky sacks, the scene you take in through your goggles is very much like something from outer space.

Finally, you visit Milky Way Lagoon, whose bottom consists of white mud so good for the skin that it's harvested for use in Japanese beauty products. Hopping off the boat, you cover your body with the stuff. Once it dries and you start to look like a powdered doughnut, you snap a few pictures, wash it off and admire the results, feeling only slightly pampered than you did after yesterday's spa treatment.

Back at the resort, you shower, change and take a taxi to The Taj. Overseen by a Kerala, India native Robert Scaria, it's been recommended to you by several of your boatmates.

Soon you're surrounded by metal bowls aloo gobi (spiced cauliflower and potatoes), vegetable-studded rice and lamb vindaloo, plus a hefty glass of Australian chardonnay.

The way you see it, any calorific excess here is canceled out by your swimming. In fact, this may be the first vacation ever where you've actually lost weight. 

For a nightcap, you join a few of your fellow divers at Drop Off Bar & Grill, an open-air jam bar that resembles nothing so much as a beachfront porch. It was built during the taping of "Survivor" in 2004, for crew members who wanted to take it a little easier than the cast. 

Looking across at the island where the reality show was shot, you raised a frozen daiquiri to those silly enough to rough it in a place this perfect.

DAY THREE
Since you didn't come all the way to Palau to do the back-to-nature thing halfway, you head to the boat depot after breakfast to be transported to Ngellil Island Resort, a no-frills eco-resort built in the style of traditional Palauan bai (meetinghouse).
 el
An outpost of the cushier Palau Plantation Resort, it stands alone on a small limestone island, has limited running water and power and is accessible only by boat. Chickens and dogs herald your arrival, and Gary Esplago, the resort's Filipino factotum, hacks a hole in a coconut and hands it to you with a straw.

Along with Gary, the only people you see on the island are a receptionist, a cook and an older Palauan who goes by the name "Uncle". 

After settling in, you take a boat back to Fish n' Fins, where you secure an all-terrain vehicle and a guide to show around Palau's biggest island, Babeldaob.

You spend the afternoon careening through red mud tracks with your heart in your throat, stopping at one point to splash around in a chilly waterfall  deepp in the humid jungle. Getting to the falls involves negotiating slippery rocks, water crossings and rope. 

It's a far cry from a liability -free hikes you've been on in the past. The feeling is of wandering lost in a prehistoric forest, but with better lunch.

Back on Ngellil Island, torches have been stuck into the lawn and an array steaming victuals is sizzling on a tiny grill. Gary is stalking fish for tomorrow's lunch, crouching with a spear and a net in the gloaming. "How can you find them in this light?" you ask. 

He dives and emerges with a silver fish flopping on his spear.Shrugging, he then lifts a bag of smaller fish and says, "Should we fry these?"

At dinner, plates lined with coconut leaves appear one after the other at your table by the sea. There is barbecue pork, sweet corn, smoky grilled oysters and crispy grilled rice cakes shaped like hearts. 

A platter of fried sardines--the same fish Gary pulled from the lagoon-- is presented along with ramekin of tartar sauce.

After dinner, Uncle and the others show up bearing a six-pack of Filipino Red Horse beer. You retire to hammocks to drink, watch fireflies and listen to the waves slipping over the rocks. 

You know that your email is pringing back home, and there's undoubtedly someone you should call, but Gary is preparing to show the four of you a card trick. 

The world you're on the run from hums along far away.



Much to her co-worker's annoyance, senior editor JACQUELINE DETWILER has started to say "mwooogh" in response to particularly interesting work emails.



BOARDING PASS   From stunning coral reefs to lush jungles, the South Pacific island nation of Palau offers a getaway to remember. United can take you there with connecting service via nearby Guam or Manila, which are served by a number of Asian hubs, as well as Honolulu. Before you go, remember Premier Access, the fast lane through the airport. An earlier place in line and the opportunity to board and get comfortable sooner will make your trip even more relaxing.
For detailed schedule information or to book your flight, go to united.com.             
        

  
DAY ONE

Palau Pacific Resort
Meyuns, Koror
Tel. 680-488-2600

Fish 'n Fins   Koror Island,
Koror, Tel. 680-488-2637

Blue Corner Reef

New Drop Off Reef

Yano's Market  Main Street,
Koror Island, Koror

Elilai Spa   Palau Pacific Resort
Meyuns, Koror
Tel. 680-488-2600

Elilai Restaurant and Bar
Ngerkebesang Island, Koror,
Tel. 680-488-8866

Kramers Pirate's Cove
Malakal, Koror
Tel. 680-488-8448


DAY TWO

Sam's Tour   Malakal, Koror
Tel. 680-488-7267

Blue House Market   Koror Island, Koror
Tel. 680-488-1701

Fairyland Reef
German Channel Reef
Jellyfish Lake     El Malk, Rock Islands

Milky Way Lagoon
Rock Islands

The Taj      PDC Building
2nd Fl., Koror Island, Koror
Tel. 680-488-2227

Drop Off Bar & Grill
Neco Marine, Malakal, Koror
Tel. 680-488-1755


DAY THREE

Ngellil Nature Island Resort
Ngellil Island, Airai
Tel. 680-488-3631

Babeldaob Island