President Benigno Simeon Aquino III congratulates the 39-member Philippine Balangay Expedition Team for its triumphant four-month voyage across six countries in Southeast Asia in a courtesy call Thursday January 20, 2011 at the Premier Guest House Lobby, Malacaņan Palace. The expedition began September 2009 with a Philippine leg then to neighboring Asian countries, to retrace the early Filipinos' trade routes with reconstruction of the pre-Hispanic indigenous water vessel known as balangay. The team sailed 12,600 kilometers from Butuan City to Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, and Cambodia using ancient navigation methods, such as charting courses by watching the weather and the positions of heavenly bodies. (Photo by: Jay Morales / Malacaņang Photo Bureau) |
