I often have things to rant and rave about the Philippines with no venue to vent them through. The notoriety gained by the Philippines as often perpetuated by media is unfortunate as I believe that there is just as much good and beautiful as there is bad and ugly to focus on and proclaim to the world. While I believe in the watchdog-role of media, the seemingly rabid attention on the negatives serves to negate the rich heritage, the abundant resources, the natural wonders, the man-made marvels, and the inherent talents and characteristics of the people.
Nonetheless, there are many things that are often and fatalistically blamed on “culture” or “the system” that are ignored and even accepted as a way of life. And I believe that it is in the smaller things where the change must start.
As such, I embark on this blog to chronicle my personal observations, views and sentiments on places I visit, events I witness and people I meet that move me or otherwise affect me personally and Philippine society in general. While I will try to focus on the good and the beautiful, I will inevitably touch on the bad and the ugly. For this, I apologize ahead of time. Otherwise, I hope this helps or serves to inspire.
Rave - Filipino Hospitality
September 23, 2008My daughter Nina not long ago signed up with www.CouchSurfing.com, a portal for people looking for and offering a place to stay to fellow travellers. Soon after, she informed us that a girl was coming to stay with us for two nights. She wanted to see a bit of Manila and was going to Cebu, Bohol and Palawan. The idea at first seemed novel to me but having a complete stranger at home gave me a bit of apprehension. After grilling my daughter prior to giving my consent, I learned that our would-be visitor was Raisa Simula, a youngish single Finnish girl coming from Vietnam where she was currently teaching English and that she was travelling alone. I agreed reluctantly and the day of her arrival soon came and we picked her up at the Mall of Asia where she waited until Nina and I got out of work.
My first impression of her was something straight out of the Lonely Planet complete with sandals, road-worn clothing and a small tattoo on her left upper arm to boot. With preliminary introductions done, we proceeded to barrage her with questions which she had to answer all over again when we got home and this went way past dinner. She also informed us that she was going to Taal Volcano the next day and asked if we could just direct her to a place where she could get on a bus to Tanauan in Batangas. We were stumped so to speak. Here I was a Philippine-born man in my fifties and I would think more than twice about trekking Taal by myself. I didn’t even have to foggiest how to get there by public transport. We would have taken her around if it was a weekend. I nor Nina and my wife have ever been on the volcano island. And I thought I was pretty well travelled in the Philippines.
Nina said she would drop her off at a bus terminal along Taft Avenue and that they would meet up in Makati in the afternoon before returning home. Apparently there is a Couch Surfing meeting place there where all the in-country backpackers converge. My wife and I, like typical parents, warned her about the risks and dangers about travelling in the Philippines (or anywhere for that matter) especially for a single white girl alone on the road in a strange country. She acknowledged our advice but I don’t think it would have made a difference. She seemed tough and wise for her age and I suppose you get that way travelling around the world by yourself. I was a bit adamant against visiting Mindanao and she assured us that she had no destinations in those parts.
The following evening she filled us in on her day and we again had our questions, more curious about how she fared alone. She had no problem in getting to Batangas and in getting a ride to and from the island. She mentioned that she had lunch in a street-side stall. She even made friends with a Filipina on the bus and met up with other backpackers on the island. She enjoyed the boat ride and the trek and had only good and kind things to say about the locals she encountered. The following day I was to drop her off in the NAIA Terminal 3 for her trip south and asked if she could stay with us again after 2 weeks as her return to Manila did not coincide with her trip back to Vietnam.
Raisa stayed in touch with Nina while she was in the south and we kept track of her progress. When we didn’t hear from her in more than a couple of days, we asked Nina to text her and check up on her. I am not sure how this goes with other people in other countries but we felt concerned and responsible for her while she was in our country like we would for our own daughter. Still, you had to admire the girl and her like for her bravery and sense of adventure. We become hostages to our fears especially from hearing news of victimized tourists both local and foreign. But in the process, we miss out on so much.
Raisa has since returned to Vietnam. Nina picked her up the night she arrived from Palawan. While away, she said that she was offered a job in Thailand and was moving there. She had her next six months planned and sorted out but could see no further than that. She was all praises for the beaches she had been to and the diving she had done and the countryside she had seen. She was even able to attend a barrio fiesta and tried many type of Filipino food which she swore was better than Vietnamese food. She mentioned that Vietnam or Thailand could not compare with what we had. More importantly, she could not say enough about the people that she met and the warmth she enjoyed while visiting all the places she had been to. She had always felt safe and was never cheated or taken undue advantage of. She even signed up for a volunteer job planting mangrove trees.
More than glad that she had a good time, I am so proud of our kababayans who treated her well and welcomed her into their homes and hearts and who went out of their way to make her visit enjoyable and memorable. Raisa is one girl who, despite her bravado and daring, arrived with apprehensions and left a fan of the Philippines and the Filipino people. This also reaffirms the hospitality that we are so famous for. Still, as one would do when diving, know the waters you intend to swim in. If the water is murky then you would most likely see nothing. If the current is too strong you could get swept out to sea. If there are sharks around you are asking to get bit. And finally, many tourists and visitors who have gotten into trouble have had more than clean fun in mind. If you have to deal with shady characters, go to questionable places or otherwise do things that are clearly illegal then you are almost certainly going to get in trouble where ever you are.
Stay safe, Raisa, and we await your return to the Philippines.
Rant - Vito Cruz Road Work Traffic
September 5, 2008I have been driving one or another of my kids to and/or from school in La Salle for the last 5 or 6 years and this is something that I will be doing for 4 or 5 years more. This almost daily routine has allowed me to talk and bond with them despite my busy workload and the other demands on my time. When schedules require it, I don’t mind waking up at 5:30 AM to get them to an 8 AM class or staying later than I have to in the office to pick them up from a late class.
At earlier hours, the drive used to take 45 minutes to an hour all the way to my office in Makati from our home in Las Pinas. As bad as that was, it became worse when portions of Vito Cruz were dug up for civil works including the stretch from the corner of Vito Cruz and Taft Avenue all the way past the new St. Benilde building. Now, the drive takes an average of an hour and a half with 15 to 30 minutes negotiating 2 miserable blocks along Leon Guinto.
I would normally drive down this stretch of Vito Cruz dropping the kids in the corner of Taft Avenue on my way to Makati. Otherwise, I would have to turn right past Estrada and turn right again on Leon Guinto to get back on Vito Cruz. This was already undesirable then as the road to get onto Leon Guinto was narrow and double parked and Leon Guinto itself badly paved.
Even with Vito Cruz at the corner of Taft Avenue open, there were always jeepneys parked near the corner waiting for passengers made worse by ambulant vendors on the sidewalk. Usual with jeepney drivers, they mostly did not care if they were blocking traffic waiting for passengers or would stop dead in the middle of the road to pick one up and you can honk your horn or scream yourself hoarse and they would not care. It is important to note that there is a police outpost on the very next left hand corner with Leon Guinto but seldom a cop in sight to direct traffic or shoo away the jeepneys.
Now, with the traffic detoured to Leon Guinto, the jeepneys drivers have taken the liberty of converting the corner of Leon Guinto and Vito Cruz into a passenger stop and parking lot, right beside the police outpost no less. Past this corner, despite being single laned due to the actual road work going on infront of St. Benilde, the traffic starts to flow smoothly.
This road work started around April or May of this year. Although it was the start of the first 2008 trimester of La Salle, it was not so bad since the other schools were out. I assumed that they would rush the work and get done before the start of the normal school year and the rainy season. It is now the start of the second trimester and the rainy season seems about to have ended already and they are nowhere near done.
I mean, for Pete’s sake, doesn’t anyone else see this? Are the powers-that-be afraid of these jeepney drivers that they can’t discipline them? Or maybe they are afraid of losing something else? I am no urban planner or traffic management expert but it doesn’t take a genius to see that a more thought out rerouting would help alleviate the situation if they can’t get rid of those damn jeepneys. They are mostly empty anyway. Why don’t they park further down Leon Guinto and get dispatched when the one waiting in the corner gets filled?
Calling the attention of Mayor Lim of the city of Manila or Chairman Fernando of the MMDA as well as Secretary Ebdane of the DPWH, please, gentlemen, look into this.
