The Philippines: 3,000 Pairs of Shoes, Whalesharks, and Cheese Ice Cream

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Well, I just returned from a 10-day visit to the Philippines, and I have to say that I really loved the country even though initially it wasn’t exactly our dream destination. We had a break from classes in celebration of the Chinese New Year, and while we were originally planning to head to Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Burma, Japan, or South Korea, flights were either sold out or way too expensive by the time we got around to booking. When we found a decently price flight to the Philippines, we booked it without really being sure if there would be anything interesting to do. Also, as the trip grew closer, we started finding unsettling articles on the Internet: “Foreign Governments Warn Against Unnecessary Travel to the Philippines” and the like. Further investigation revealed that if we stayed clear of the far south (land that is inhabited by terrorists and pirates) we would probably make it out of the country alive. Upon leaving Hong Kong, that was about our only expectation of the next 10 days!

Manila
We began our trip in Manila, and while many consider it one of the world’s most unattractive cities, we encountered enough to keep us occupied for a couple of days while we waited for a flight to the beach! English is one of the official languages of the Philippines, and this was not only convenient, it gave us an unexpected view into daily life. For example, we were able to read the job requirements for cashiers at the local mall (height requirements, x-rays, and much more), see that our beach resort also sold fighting cocks on the side, and note that many educational institutions are committed to the values of Senator Loren Legada (a lot of paint will be in order when someone else comes into office!).

The Marcos Regime
Also while we were in Manila, we took a fascinating tour about the Marcos regime of the 1970s. Imelda Marcos is quite the character! During her husband Ferdinand’s time in office, Imelda built extravagant buildings and monuments (that the country could not afford), aided her husband in implementing martial law, and (in one of Imelda’s proudest moments) brought the Miss Universe pageant to the Philippines. Eventually the corruption in the Marcos regime became so bad that couple had to be flown out by CIA helicopters in 1986 after protestors flooded the palace. Imelda and Ferdinand were soon involved in 901 separate cases mostly over the charge that they had stolen over 10 billion dollars from the Filipino people as a result of their lavish living. For example, she once had white sand flown in from Australia to be poured on a new beach resort. Also, after protestors stormed the palace, they found over 3,000 pairs of shoes and 800 handbags. In response to the incident, Imelda replied, “They went into my closets looking for skeletons, but thank God, all they found were shoes, beautiful shoes” (“Marcos Steps Out” The Milwaukee Journal Sentinal. 17 Feb. 2001). However, even after all of the courtroom battles (from which she was generally acquitted), she has more or less made her way back into Filipino society. Many have spotted her at local grocery stores, and she even ran for president in 1992 and 1998 and won a senatorial election in 1995.

Jeepneys!
In Manila, we also enjoyed observing all the forms different forms of transportation available to Filipinos. One of our favorites was the jeepney. Jeepneys started as a popular form of transportation after WWII when American army jeeps were left behind in the country. Today, the jeepney has 2 benches that line each side of the vehicle so that a center isle is available for transporting grains or the occasional chicken. The decorating technique is very much in line with Filipino tradition and follows the philosophy that more is indeed more. Most of the jeepneys are painted bright colors and have all sorts of horns and streamers stuck on any available free space. My favorite jeepney had a huge mural of Jesus next to running horses and an enormous Spider Man hanging off the back. Tricycles, or motorcycles with sidecars, also became a favorite mode of transport. We grew to like squeezing two of us in the sidecar and the other behind the driver of the motorcycle and watching our luggage dangle precariously from the upper racks as we whirled around tight curves, jeepneys, and cows on our way to our respective hotel. It was most fun at night when the tricycle driver only occasionally turned on a headlight.


Swimming with Whalesharks
Outside of Manila, we had the opportunity to go swimming with whalesharks in Donsol. Whalesharks are neither whales nor sharks, but they are the largest fish in the world and weigh up to 20 tons and measure about 10 meters in length. They are totally harmless creatures (except for their powerful tail) and eat plankton. In Donsol, the whaleshark is no longer hunted because the people have found that the amount of tourism produced by keeping the creatures alive is much more profitable. Furthermore, most of the guides are former fisherpeople because they have the most knowledge about where to find the whalesharks. When we arrived at the site, we headed out to our boat, a former fishing vessel with 3 long arms on either side that were formerly used for large nets. We cruised about for a few minutes before our guide shouted, “Get ready!” We got on our flippers and snorkel masks and waddled over to sit on the side of the boat. All of a sudden, with the boat still moving quite quickly, our guide yelled, “JUMP!!” and flung himself into the water. Our reflexes were a bit slower, but we had no choice but to jump in after him and hope to avoid being tangled in the arms of the boat! Mass chaos ensued in the water since there were about 10 other boats that had also found the same whaleshark. I had no idea which boat is mine, where the rest of my group or guide was, and I had never actually snorkeled before (I was starting to think this was not such a great idea) when suddenly our guide grabbed my hand and started swimming rapidly and pointing frantically under the water. Suddenly, I saw it! It was swimming right underneath us! I got a couple of good looks before it dove beneath the surface.

For our next jump, we were a bit more prepared and landed in the water much closer to our guide. There were also fewer boats this time, but the guide immediately went for my hand and starting pulling me frantically along. There it was! It was much closer than last time - maybe only 2 feet below us! We swam with it for quite sometime, and I was able to see its huge open mouth! I tried to get some pictures as the guide continued to pull me along, but we were so close, and the whaleshark is so big that I think I might have just gotten large patches of spots!

We made a couple more jumps (some turned out to be false alarms as the whaleshark had swam away before we could see it), but we did get a couple more glimpses. After a couple of false attempts, my premature entrance (actually more of a fall) into the water added a bit of excitement to the afternoon. Our guide promptly fished me out and pointed to the bars indicating that I should hold on next time! All in all, it was a really amazing experience.

Although Donsol has been transformed by the amount of whaleshark-related tourism, it still retains much of the characteristics of a rural village. Cocks can be seen in cages alongside the road awaiting the next fight (cock fighting is HUGE all over the Philippines), and on the side of the road opposite the resorts, the land is covered in rice paddy fields. At night, we also saw fisherpeople with lamps on their heads wading through the water with nets or paddling along in small vessels trying to catch fish and crab to sell at market the next day.


Other Adventures
After our whaleshark encounter, we went on a firefly tour as soon as the sun set. Our guides took us in a small fishing vessel along the Donsol River where fireflies congregated by the thousands around certain trees lining the river. Much of the time, the fireflies also appeared to be synchronized and flashed on an off like big neon signs. To see so many of them in one place was really beautiful - especially under the starry sky, away from all of the lights of the city.

Following our encounters with the whalesharks and fireflies we passed by Mount Mayon volcano, which is famous for its almost perfectly symmetrical cone. It is still an active volcano and last erupted in the summer of 2006. We also spent some time at Rizal beach, and since it was the off-season, we were one of two groups (see encounter with the NPA below for some info. on that second group!) in the entire resort! It was a great place to relax. We also went swimming in a natural mountain spring and purchased baskets at a local cooperative that sells items such as baskets and bird toys to companies such as the Body Shop and Petsmart.


Amazing Filipinos (and an encounter with the New People’s Army!)
Wherever we went, we found the Filipinos to be so friendly and helpful. People would stop on the street to ask if we needed help, and they would always lead us to the correct jeepney and tell the driver where we wanted to be dropped off. When we misunderstood a price and were prepared to pay twice the actual price, we were corrected (on multiple occasions) and given the correct change.

Our guidebook had warned us of some possible activity related to a group in opposition to the government called the New People’s Army (NPA) in the areas around Donsol. It told us to stay away from the mountains and hills because that is where the group is usually stationed. Anyway, while reading a book on the beach one morning, I was approached by a young Filipina also staying at the resort with her American boyfriend (another interesting story that involves him sweeping her away from a local café and her life in poverty when she was only 16). We started talking about where we had been traveling in the Philippines, and I mentioned that I had heard about some possible danger in the areas around Donsol. “Oh!” she replied. “There’s no need to worry about that. I’m a member of the New People’s Army, and we never hurt civilians or tourists. It’s only the government that we have a problem with. Don’t worry!”

On our way back to Manila, we met this sweet old lady who, as you can see from the picture, loves to dance. She also loved having her picture taken with us, and as we drove away we could see her relating to her granddaughter how many pictures we had taken with her. It appeared to be one of her proudest moments that week.

Sugar blowout - Filipino style!
On our last day in the Philippines before heading back to Hong Kong, we had a sugar blowout in Manila. We finally tried the famous Halo-halo, the country’s national dessert, and found that like the jeepney, the “throw it all on” philosophy prevails in this case as well. Depending on where you purchase halo halo, the mixture usually contains most of the following: ice cream (usually a couple of flavors), at least three types of flavored gluten cubes, red beans (with tons of sugar), sweet corn (again with plenty of sugar), flan, crushed ice, ube paste (ube is purple sweet potato), glutinous noodles, and at least a couple types of fruit. We decided to go with the “extra special” Halo-halo - more is more, right? Thus, we also got a shot glass of buttermilk to pour over the top. Wow. I have to tell you, it was kind of disgusting. The beans and corn, not to mention the buttermilk, was a bit too much.

To off set this disappointment, we tried all 6 of Dunkin’ Donuts carnival-flavored donuts: cola, popcorn, coffee, caramel, bubble gum, and cotton candy. We especially enjoyed popcorn, but cola was a close second. Then we moved to ice cream. Cheese, ube, and avocado were our favorites mostly because the flavor was very subtle, and they were very colorful. We also found mango-dipped ice cream cones, which were amazing. After all of this sugar, we were crazed enough to head back for one more popcorn donut. The buttery goodness of movie theater popcorn on top of a raised donut was just too tempting. On that note and more than slightly nauseous, we headed to the airport.

Well, I hope that all is well with you, and, as always, I love hearing from you. Thanks for keeping me updated on your lives back at home!

Rachel

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Photos

Requirements for working as a fastfood cashier
Wow! You need x-ray records and at least 2 years of college to work as a cashier at the mall in Manilla!

The tricycle
One of our favorite forms of transportation!

Mount Mayon Volcano
The volcano with an almost perfectly symmetrical cone.

Dancing with a Filipino woman at the bus stop
She loved dancing (and having her picture taken)

Halo-halo
The national dessert. We found the corn and beans a bit disgusting.

Comments

[mikel]

FYI..
those were coconut in your halo halo, not noodles! funny! glad you had a good time in the islands. manila is not the most disgusting city in the world...mumbai, delhi, some parts of bangkok, cairo, and dozens more!

[joy]

thanks for coming to our beautiful country!!!