Ouch, but true. I'm a Filipino, been living in Philippines for 23 years already....and I couldn't agree more. I hope your post may reach our government and serve as an eye-opener to them and my blind fellowmen. thank you!
The Emperor Has No Clothes Back in 1998, just after the filming of Brokedown Palace in Manila, Clare Danes was quoted in Vogue as saying that Manila was a "ghastly and weird city." And she made some other, more scathing and less factual complaints as well. Her films were subsequently banned from being screened in the Philippines. Joseph Estrada, then-President of the Philippines, condemned her publicly, and she was declared persona non grata. Clare Danes was all of 19 years old at the time, an American teenage movie star.
For some reason, it is OK for Filipinos to criticize their country all they want, but let a foreigner do it, and oh boy, they will never hear the end of it. Of course, I have to sympathize with those of the rank and file that have to make their life here work, but have no power to make any significant changes.
I've used the Danes descriptor "ghastly" for Manila ever since. I've been an expat living and working in the Philippines for more than 30 years. I've had the mixed blessing of spending four of those years actually living in Metro Manila, and I'm sure those years shortened my life. I have a love/hate relationship with Manila. Now I live in one of the beautiful provinces, thank God (though it has plenty of problems too). But I spend time in Manila several times a year. Ghastly is still an apt descriptor 13 years after Danes used it. However, since I still live and work in this country, I will remain anonymous!
awful manila some people especially those who are elected for public office should see, read and analyze this. as a filipino, it absolutely frightens me when someone(not a filipino) say something really annoying about my beloved country. but the man really does have a point. maybe we should take this as a challenge. the current administration should address this concern with utmost consideration. but believe me mister, we really need to change our ways in order to gradually improve. we cant do it overnight. we have to clean the inside of our house first before we before home improvement. i just would like to thank you for doing this. it probably is a thought. something we proud filipino's need to ponder. if you have an idea on how to address these matters, would you mind giving us some advise? we could probably know your intentions by doing so. thank you
Manila: a ‘dump’ according to travel blogger
Here's my rebuttal to your article:
http://getrealphilippines.com/blog/2011/10/manila-a-dump-according-to-travel-blogger/
End of the comment thread.... I think the "jury", which was overwhelmingly Pinoy, decided pretty clearly that even if I was a bit over-generalized and grumpy, I was substantially right about what I had to say. As for NAIA the verdict of a much wider survey places it as World's Worst Airport.
Thanks to everyone for your comments, whether they agreed with me or not. Awesome! Especial thanks to those who livened the proceedings with their insults and made complete fools of themselves.
And thanks to Travelblog.org for the support. They could have easily taken the easy road and closed me down. Well done!
I'm now not going to respond to anyone else unless there is a radically new perspective offered. Let's get on and trash the next place:) LoL... Just joking!
i am Filipina, but i agree i am filipina, in fact, i was born and raised, and still living in metro manila. but i have to agree with you on this article, sir. i don't find it the least bit offensive. in fact, it is true, and i hope people will look at it as a challenge, as a wake up call that we need CHANGE. if not for the malls and the convenience of having everything in one place, i am seriously thinking about moving elsewhere. in the provinces, far from pollution and traffic that seems to be attached to "manila". it's sad that there's a lot of POTENTIAL, but we're not doing anything about it. and i doubt anyone will, not in the near future anyway.
Hi, I just wanted to say that I completely agree with everything in this post. I came back to Manila after living abroad for several years hoping I can give back to the country that raised me. But now that I\'m back, I feel like there\'s not much I can do here. People are in so much denial and are blinded by politics. Worst of all, people can\'t even see that this city has turned into a toxic wasteland. It\'s like I travelled back in time. There\'s no progress and everything is just rotting. Even Makati is depressing. There\'s just more concrete, but there\'s nothing to see. There\'s really nowhere to go (for me, or my dogs). You did good by writing this post- it\'s not going to clean up the city, but at least it\'s going to spread awareness.
I personally would like to commend you for speaking frankly about the present state of Manila and it\'s \"international airport\". I as a Filipino, am too are disgusted of what is happening here. We had been derailed on the track to progress, from the time of Late Mrs. Aquino up to present. But in behalf of the millions of \"FILIPINOS\" that is benefiting on the \"DOLLARS\" that you spend here in our country, I encourage you to come back!... and visit our country again. We could not offer you anything nice as what you have said, but you can help in making changes here. Please invest... make some change, you \"PEOPLE\" are the kind of person that our government listens to. I do not know if my grammar is correct, hope that you will understand, English is not my native tongue...
Good link Thanks for that link. And VERY good to see that people in Philippines have got the message about NAIA Terminal 1. The issue is not that it needs renovation after 30 years, but that the NEW terminal has never been brought properly on line. Perhaps now it will be.
Har Har I am actually unsure on what title to use here. Yes, I am a Filipino. I actually live in the suburbs and work in Manila. I have to commute about 20 miles to get to work. Living in Manila has never crossed my mind. It\'s humid, crowded, dirty, and the drivers are the worst! It\'s sad that the hotel that you stayed at is now in need of improvements. The last time I stayed there was 8 years ago and the food, service, rooms, and amenities were all exemplary. Seems like your options are limited here, since your reason to go to Manila is ADB, you are left with very few choices, Shangri-La EDSA Plaza being the best.
Unlike others who made a comment here, I will not bash you for stating your opinions. Filipinos go wild when you say anything bad about us. The funny thing is, we defend ourselves from foreigners, but do not think twice about saying indecent things about other provinces.
It\'s just sad that the Philippines has really gone downhill. And yes, the airport is really a traveler\'s nightmare. Just take a look at the restrooms.
I love this country, I\'ve been to some places around the globe, but I will not live nor work anywhere else in the world and say that I am glad to be out of here. What I do want is for Filipinos to wake up and stop defending the country against every criticism that we hear and make it our mission to make it better for the next generations.
Truth hurts. I hate to say this but I agree with every word you wrote...*Sad face* I grew up in Manila but would rather go to the countryside or other asian countries like Thailand, Singapore and the like. Don't get me wrong, I love the Philippines, of course, despite of.
hurtfully true hi, as a Filipino i sadly agree that its true that Manila is not the place to go if you wanna see the Philippines... i\'ve never travelled out of the coutry but i think NAIA really do suck.. The problem with Filipinos is that we can\'t take criticism because it\'s our country and we should defend it... but the thing is how could we defend our country from criticism if what they say about our country is true? if was younger i might take this blog very insulting because when i was younger i think Philippines is the best place to live and i wonder why alot of Filipinos migrate abroad... but now seeing how my country fall deeper than it was and how its been left behind by neighbor countries its really inevitable that alot of Filipinos want to leave our country... for my fellow Filipinos reading this, we should open our eyes that we need to do alot of changes to keep up with our neighbor countries.. theres nothing wrong if we accept that Philippines really do suck it might even help us or motivate us to do something to help our counrty recover from this big fall...
I actually like this country. But as the years pass, i am beginning to dislike it all the more. I'm a Filipino and have been living in Cebu all my life.
Pollution. Even the residents of this country throw their trash everywhere. And to think that's where they live.
Corruption. People keep electing officials who are corrupt. These officials make sure they earn first. Improvement of the country is not their top priority. I know a relative who was about to take a commission work from the gov't (here in Cebu). They asked for the price to be lowered and the deal was set, but they called later to ask if my relative could put a higher price in the receipt. I shit you not and i swear to God this is true. Said relative dropped out from the transaction.
Blind patriotism and being proud of others. People keep inventing songs and taglines saying "proud to be Filipino" and stuff. I've been wondering why we have to keep shouting and singing such a phrase. Why can't people show it instead. Simply throwing your garbage in the proper place says a lot. Working honestly says a lot more. Also, people keep saying they're proud of Filipino artists, and while there is nothing wrong with that, i'd rather be "proud to be Filipino" due to my actions, instead of other Filipinos' achievements.
Sad Reality Although quite some parts of your post were showing a bit of irrational anger and being biased, i must say that the overall message of the post is true.
I skipped reading the rest of the comments since it's too long, but for the Filipinos who are trying to defend our miserable country, wake up and accept the reality of our situation.
Yes, we do have posh malls, business centers, expensive recreational places, but that does not show the holistic improvement of a country. I'm not saying we should immediately solve poverty. Poverty exists anywhere, even in developed countries. What the government, and the people themselves, should focus on is to improve the standard of living for everyone (at least a family can eat properly, live in a small and decent house, and not be covered in filth, even if they are poor). Poverty in this country is too rampant.
There are a lot of things that are wrong in this country. When you identify one aspect that is wrong, it traces back to another aspect that is also not handled correctly by the government, and it goes round and round and round, and now it seems too hard to fix anything.
Let's start with corruption. Corruption is too rampant in this country. And no one seems to be doing anything about it. If there are, they are overshadowed by the masses who blindly follow and vote the same corrupt politicians. This can be fixed if they can be educated. That brings us to the education system. Students spend almost 12 hours at school (we used to go as early as 6-6:30 am to clean our rooms and such, and go home around 5:30; we go home much later if there are group projects). And yet, the quality of education still sucks for some, and most lessons are not even useful later on. There are less extra curricular activities and no clubs our art/sports outlet for a student. Lessons are outdated and spoon fed. Lots of students drop out. Public schools are a disaster and the government leeches off from the budget. Parents can't send them to a better school because they have no money. They have no money because their jobs aren't that much. They don't have good jobs because they didn't finish school and/or the gov't can't provide any.
tl;dr THIS COUNTRY SUCKS. THE GOVERNMENT SUCKS, THE PEOPLE ARE MINDLESS DRONES, THE EDUCATED ONES ARE OVERSHADOWED AND LEAVE OR THEY BECOME THE CORRUPT OFFICIALS. Rizal once said that Education is the key. He wasn't really talking about getting a degree and stuff. He was talking about how the people should be INFORMED/AWARE/NOT AN EMPTY SHELL.
accomodation When I saw the pictures of discovery suites I was appalled. This isnt a plug - but I stayed at a condo in ortigas using airbnb and paid 40% less and was comfotable and had the space to myself! That isnt right!
Well there we are..... ...... Quartermaine's World got it right apparently, i quote:
"The Philippine government pledged Wednesday to improve the country's main airport after it was named the world's worst following complaints of thieving staff, dirty toilets and a collapsing ceiling.
The Ninoy Aquino International Airport's Terminal 1 was given the dubious title by an online budget travel guide, www.sleepinginairports.net, based on reviews from its readers."
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/1160426/1/html
It's called: egg on your face all those that thought I was being unfair.
Very well said I myself is a Filipino. However I couldn't help but agree with your opinions. It's frustrating to know that not only locals have observed the stagnant status Manila and yet every administration seem not to give a damn about it. I hope that for all other Filipinos who have read and will read your post, they will take it as a constructive criticism and realize how crappy our current situation is, at least for Manila.
you are right ............ you are absolutely correct. not only manila, the whole philippines are heavily overpriced and partly dangerous. filipinos can not stand criticism and when confronted with it react irrational.
and the airport, naia 1, is a "smoky mountain" .........
I dont see what is so offensive about this. Manila can be a city of extremes, you see the latest mall/hotspot around, but drive for 5 minutes and then see a rathole with enourmous traffic, rugby boys and bountiful shanties.
The problem is, the authorities can't manage this city. From the "world class" terminal to the public parks and places there are always street people living in it. And in NAIA there are always those people who are "isip-pera" (only thinks of money). I haven't got inside the airport but everytime I fetch my mother from the airport we would be surprised that there are 2 or more "employees" who only touched our cart before asking for a tip. What bastards! They haven't done anything but they ask for a tip. One of them only hung a ID holder, no uniform, not even an ID.
And you people shouldn't nitpick on the blogger's choice of hotel. Look into his blog post in a bigger picture: By the pace of how Asia is evolving, Manila is rapidly becoming the "Shame of Asia".
Thank you for putting in black and white what we have been seeing and forced to experience everytime we regularly fly back home. People complain but fall on deaf ears or concerned authorities are just contented with providing mediocre services.(Blogger Ms Chuvaness has been saying all these for a long time but got only palliative reply). It takes a foreign blogger to be NOTICED BIG TIME. Hope a long term solution will materialize out of this not just palliative measures.
I could be described as a flaneur - Dictionary definition: "an intellectual and physical wanderer, observer of life".
I travel extensively in Asia, the Middle East and East Africa.
My tales, stories and rants here are part fact/part fiction but, I hope, always stimulating and sometimes irritating. PLEASE don't take them too seriously - they are meant to inform but also to amuse and to get under your skin. I hope there's a bit of an "edge" in what I write sometimes.
For those that take themselves over-seriously: it's a BLOG! Not "the Truth"... just my weird personal take on... full info
hazel
non-member comment
eye opener
this is a true revelation of what manila has become. its sad but true