Impressions from a Grand Tour of the Philippines
January 31-March 8,2010
by MimanMetty
Tourism is taking off in the Philippines. Its development is one of the “proyecto” of the GMA administration. The beaurocrats in tourism overall is doing a great job laying the infrastructure for tourism, with the building of roads, airports and refurbishing docks and ports, identifying and restoring historic sites, constructing tourist facilities like clean toilets and rest areas, credentialing hotels, travel agencies, transport and taxi services, tour guides, and streamlining arrival and immigration procedures. Terminal 3 will soon open to all international carriers and the Skyway will take you to Makati in a breeze. Many local festivals have been retooled to appeal to tourists. What I found most appealing are the heritage shrines and the museums. I did not find many tourists here, and I think they will hold little appeal to most except the history and anthropology aficionado, and the native or expatriate searching for the intangible.
There were none of these museums when I left the Philippines in 1967 and during my several visits since, there was no opportunity to check these out as the visits were for specific purposes of seeing family and friends or burying parents. I haven’t really seen the Philippines so this time I have devoted 5 weeks and devised an itinerary that took me to Batanes to Davao and points in between.
I started in Cebu and booked a Korean Air flight, which had the lowest fare from Atlanta, directly to Mactan International Airport. The flight carried mostly Koreans. They can be seen in all major centers in the Philippines, in hotels, in malls, in tourism venues, in golf courses, in schools, in business. In Boracay, the masseuse and hairbraid girls on the beach solicit patrons speaking Korean. Koreans travel in their own group, gathered together by their own travel agency with their own guide, they are billeted in Korean owned hotels, and eat in Korean owned restaurants. They do not employ Filipinos or leave profits in the Philippines. The taxi drivers avoid picking them up if they can manage it. They are vague about their reasons. I am somewhat put off by them myself. First they are intimidating with their numbers and because of that and interacting only among themselves they seem to be oblivious to how they affect others. They are noisy, they jostle, and cut in front of a queue, they don’t apologize when they bump into you and they don’t smile or offer eye contact for a friendly greeting to a fellow traveler. In the golf course they hit the fairway before you can get out of range. But Korea’s economy has gotten prosperous, and more and more of them can afford traveling and studying abroad and the revenue they generate is welcomed. There are many students enrolled in Philippine schools, because it is cheaper and because they can learn English closer to home. Are they the new Chinese?The Chinese build malls and condos and gambling resorts, and sell them to the Filipinos who buy them with money earned overseas, that then is circulated away from the Philippines into the Chinese mainland. Our Ilustrados, the Spaniards and mestizos descended from our conquistadors were enriched by exploiting the natural resources and grabbing the lands of the Indios, remain on top of the food chain. They still rule in politics and industry, the higher the status the whiter it gets. They too hold themselves apart, and send their profits back to Spain. The successful Indios send their profits to Swiss banks and with the politicians continue to hold the Philippines in colonial clutches. However we can cultivate the Koreans for we can learn a lot from them. I think we have very similar histories in that they were under imperial rule and they too have just emerged from a devastating war even more recent than us.
Though elections is not until May and campaigning is not official until this month, Villar is closing the gap fast with Noynoy and would you believe that Erap is pulling 13% in the polls? Only in the Philippines can a convicted felon and raider of the national treasury run for President again. Because he received presidential pardon, technically he’s squeaky clean again, but such gall. In Ilocos Norte Imelda is running for congress and her son is a senator. My pride and sensibility is so insulted, and I'm dismayed by the masses who have very short memory and deny these plunderers’ ignoble past for unrealistic expectations. I asked a calesa driver why he’d vote for Erap, and in his simple understanding he recalled that in Erap’s time he had an easier time feeding his family. He has no awareness that there is global recession and high unemployment, and graft and corruption by his leaders did not figure in his decision. Erap’s promise is rice in every pot.The papers also report that a senator fled the country to avoid murder charges, and karaoke bars have stopped playing Sinatra's My Way because the song apparently had stimulated assaults and 6 killings so far. There is so much concern expressed about implementation of the first electronic voting in this election. There is fear of communications being jammed to prevent electronic transmission of votes for counting, whether the masses can operate the machines correctly, never having any experience with computers, and GMA is threatening to extend her reign if the elections cannot be declared properly counted, etc., and of course she is running for councilor in her district, says there's nothing from the constitution barring her, so that she can be elected as Speaker of the house and continue to wield influence. Of course she'll win, she has showered the district with pork barrel projects and her picture is attached to all these.
I've started in Cebu and Bohol, where the Spaniards first landed. It is rich with historical landmarks of the colonization, but the tour commentary only address the arrival of the Spaniard and the colonization. It missed the opportunity to educate about our rich pre-Hispanic heritage, that the people the Spaniards encountered were not savages as described but had their own civilization, art, government, religious beliefs,government,politics,etc.
However in Manila, I had a week to steep in its art and cultural/heritage scene and am very blown away by the creativity, pride, and patriotism expressed by our artists intent on re"righting" and retelling our history. Though this scene does not yet reach or interest the masses, who continue to swarm in shopping malls and movie houses, and watch wowowee on TV, the movement is there and we can hope that some financier with a vision will underwrite a popular movie or TV show or something someday and spread the message incubating in this small and elite group. Grudgingly I credit the Marcos regime and Imelda for setting herself as patroness of the arts, with the laying of the infrastructure for showcasing our art, history and culture. The Philippine National Museum is rich with the display of our patrimony, its current movable exhibit is about the review of Philippine-American relations during the Philippine-American War years, 1898-1915. It’s only recently that the designation was changed in the Library of Congress catalogue from the American-given label of the Philippine Insurrection. It is a revelation, and every Filipino and America should be educated so we can see each other more clearly and deal with each other with mutual respect and equality. It has made me curious to inquire how the history of the American occupation of the Philippines is taught in US schools.The rich here are also starting to give back and sharing their largesse, not unlike the robber barons of the US, through their museums that have opened to the public. The Ayala Museum is world class, and so is the Lopez and the Yuchenco Museum. The latter has a wonderful exhibit of Santiago Bose, a multimedia artist from Kalinga, and the historian and journalist Carlos Quirino. The Metropolitan Museum of Manila likewise has a large collection of modernists. THe Cultural Center puts up superb productions. I saw Rody Vera's adaptation of Chekhov's 3 sisters, Tatlong Mariya, directed by Loy Arcenas, it's 2 1/2 hours long but you forget the time, it's that good and absorbing. The ballet is presenting avant garde works, like Neo-Filipino, productions using Western medium but imbued with Filipino spirit . I was engulfed with nationalistic fervor in the Aguinaldo Museum and wept. The heroic battle at Tirad Pass and the sacrifice of Gregorio del Pilar is the stuff of epic novels and compares with any great stand for independence in the history of the world. These heritage tours are made available to schoolchildren but I don't think in a systematic fashion. Unfortunately, there are very few visitors to the museums and the cultural center.
In Ifugao, the rice terraces are all over the mountains, wherever there is a water source there are rice terraces, big and small to spectacular, the most amazing are found in Batad, which are panoramic and amphitheater-like but the access requires a 2-hour hike over difficult uneven and steep terrain, and in Banaue which has a comfortable easy access view point. They are over 2000 years old but the saddest images are the once magnificent mountains, which are now 90% denuded of virgin forest and covered entirely by cogon grass, one could weep. The birds no longer sing in these mountains, and the Kamagong is endangered, the deer is gone and few wild boars roam. All the grand mountains and forests of the Philippines have been raped and looted for centuries and the abuse continues with unchecked logging, commercial development, settlement, mining, corporate plantations, irresponsible leaders and politicians, you name it, and the indigenous peoples driven from their habitat and forced into begging, and to give up their life style, identity and traditions to work for survival in low paying jobs in the general community or succumbing to the enticement of profit from cultivating marijuana on behalf of lowland crimelords.The rice terraces and the life style that created it must be preserved to remind us all that mother earth must be taken care of for if we destroy her, we destroy ourselves.
Perhaps it’s not all lost.In Puerto Princesa in Palawan they have a strong and effective mayor feared and respected by everyone.This mayor, Edward Hagedorn had been mayor since 1992, and supposedly ineligible to run for office in the 2010 elections having reached term limit, however one term was disqualified for counting because his election then was a recall election and does not qualify as a term, whatever, it's all legal reasoning, anyway he's running this year, but before his election in 1992 he was a gambling lord, running jueteng and his family had been big loggers denuding the Palawan forests. As Mayor however, he cleaned up the city literally, it has won awards as the cleanest city, banned gambling, stopped illegal fishing, got rid of crime, relocated squatters into permanent housing, started a reforestation program, etc, but most of all he was the vision behind tourism and conservation happening now. And he's not even native, he's from Paranaque and his grandfather was German. He runs the city like a benevolent despot, with Christian platitudes in his speeches, he's GMA's darling because he's popular and investors and banks like him. He does have style, like he started a Festival for the Forest, for the reforestation efforts, and every Feb 14 he officiates in the Mangrove Love Festival, a mass wedding that is held free for the couples, including reception, in exchange for the couples planting mangrove trees in the swamp and maintaining them to sustain the environment balance. I didn’t know it but poor people in the rural areas have very little money to get married properly. Many couples who have lived together for years got married in this way. So a man with a vision and with a past can be a savior. Perhaps one will come along to save the Philippines? And restore its allure, "Perlas Ng Silangan"?
There is no question that the allure of Batanes lies in its remoteness, isolation, purity, simplicity, unsophistication, authenticity, and unspoiled landscape and people. A bucolic scene is displayed as you drive in the countryside. A man knee-deep in the receding tide casting his net, a young boy tethering his goat, the farmer in the field, the basket weaver at her craft, a family group laden with produce in baskets on their backs, leading their carabao to their destination, a 103 year old man weaving a fish net, children playing in the school yard, a man taking down coconuts, undulating pastures, cows and carabaos on hills and ridges grazing, surf breaking on the shore, or exploding against volcanic cliffs, a calm blue lagoon, bright orange pandanus fruit, azure sky, warm sun, gentle breeze, dollars in your pocket. Is this paradise?
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Thursday, March 04, 2010
Batanes
Batanes
There is no question that the allure of Batanes lies in its remoteness, isolation, purity, simplicity, unsophistication, authenticity, and unspoiled landscape and people. There are the plunging cliffs and rugged, rocky coastlines broken by sandy coves and breaking surf. There are the infinite verdant pastures and rolling hills, framing grazing cattle and carabaos, and goats effortlessly climbing steep slopes that seem to meet the clouds and blue sky. The morning mist casts a mystical spell on the cracks of canyons and blankets the valleys, and the evening comes after the sun sets in the southern China Sea in spectacular splendor. On Tukon hill, where there is a vernacular house inspired chapel built by a local politician son for his daughter’s wedding, one can see the Pacific ocean in the east and the south China sea in the west. On a clear day you might just see Taiwan from the northernmost island of the 10-island Batanes group, a mere 100 kilometers away, nearer than its distance from mainland Luzon.
There are no big hotel chains, and hopefully, they will stay away forever. There are no Jollibees or Starbucks. Basco, the capital, only recently had 24-hour electric service. The other 2 inhabited islands, Sabtang, gets 16 hours, and Itbayat, 12 hours. There are only hole in the wall eating establishments but the food is good, the only pizza place Napoli, delivers gourmet pizzas out of the owner’s home, the inns accept walk-ins for meals and serve a set daily changing menu, depending on the daily catch and what was brought to the market, and what was slaughtered. You can ask the inns to get certain foods from the market and cook it for you and they will oblige if available. We like the pako salad and the marinated dried dibang (flying fish) and the exotic and hard to catch coconut crab, and lobster, and got them when requested. There is internet in the town center, and cell phone reception, and TV, but no movie house. The inns are pared down basic. The Honesty Cafe is an unattended convenience store and coffee shop, where you get what you like, list it, then drop your payment in a slot, breathtaking! The local garlic is reputed to have the most fragrant and sweet flavor, and the sweet potato and taro are plump and firm. Everything else is imported from the mainland and has Manila prices. The traditionally woven baskets are exquisite.
Sabtang, a 40-minute boat trip from Basco, is served by a 15 and 30-passenger round-hulled boats, different from the outrigger bancas of the rest of the Philippines, more like the early Viking boats, more suited to ride the oftentimes choppy and strong currents of the channel, where the currents of the Pacific and China sea collide and the strong winds from Siberia blow. We didn’t have time to visit Itbaya, where the ancient funeral caves of the Ivatans, the indigenous ancestors , were excavated. It is 4 hours away by these native boats or a 15-minute flight with a 9-seater plane, Skypasada, that also serves Tuguegarao. We met the ragtag crew of this airline at breakfast one morning.
Sabtang holds the most number of occupied vernacular houses in the province, and is nominated to be included in the UNESCO Heritage Sites, a must see for its uniqueness.
These are houses made of limestone and coral with thatched cogon roof, with a distinct architecture, a fusion of the early ethnic houses and European technology introduced by the Spaniards. The houses have withstood the typhoons that regularly visit the islands and the test of time.
We embarked from the port of San Vicente, rising very early, and didn’t realize we will be using the public boat, not a chartered tourist boat. We were with locals, and sacks of produce,motorcycles, livestock and other cargo, such as a shipment of Ginebra San Miguel, which we were told, hasn’t arrived at the port yet so we will all have to wait because the boatman does not want to lose his revenue. Norma, the ultimate problem-solver negotiated to have our group reimburse the boatman for the cargo’s passage, so we can leave ASAP, without a second thought to what consequences will result to the island’s inhabitants from the failure of delivery of this vital shipment. Thankfully, the boatman piloted his vessel back to Batan later with us safely on board. The sea was choppy on the return trip, the boat cresting and slamming on bigger waves, and hurling buckets of the ocean at us and soaking us to the bone. There were other suspenseful moments here, such as when something cut my ankle from stepping on canvas and other stuff on the floor with bleeding that was out of proportion to the size of the cut (from low dose ASA intake prolonging coagulation?) and Mars almost getting decapitated by the bamboo steering pole that slipped from its mooring. However, the whole experience was authentic, and an adventure. Anchors, away!
I visited new friends staying at the Batanes Resort, 1 1/2 miles away, to check out the accommodations (recommended, but get the ocean view Itbayat or Sabtang cottages) and to watch the sunset from their beach, and it was dark when I walked back to where I was staying at Seaside Lodge. There are no taxis, very few cars, a couple of jeepneys for inter-town travel, some tricycles, and a number of scooters and some motorcycles. A couple of lone scooter riders stopped to offer me a ride, and our tour guide certifies that the offer is sincere and without malice and no remuneration but a smile and thank you is expected. The authenticity and sincerity of the people beguiles and disarms, and is a breath of fresh air. And what are we city slickers doing about going with the flow and being laid back and not sweating the small things? Going into zazen? The masseuse was 2 hours late, and she smiles and says she overslept. We rescheduled after dinner, and we were late, and relieved that she wasn’t there waiting. She knocks as we’re about to go to bed, says, she was called to Fundacion Pacita, and did 3 massages, do we still want one? Our lunch caterer in Uyugan did not have lunch ready when we arrived, uh oh. She forgot to put it in her schedule but she’ll have one ready for us in 30 minutes. She called her husband back from the farm and put him to work, then had lunch on the table as she promised. She was a barangay chief for 3 terms and now she’s running for the council, and maybe town mayor someday. She is a multi-tasker and we empathize perfectly. We couldn’t get a manicure appointment from the 3 manicurist in town, because they’re all at a wedding, which by custom is attended by everyone. The party was on the street, so we asked if we could come, and we were warmly welcomed. They’ re playing carinyosa and dancing the traditional folk dance. We got in the mood and I danced with the groom, then another guest who had already too much palek, the local sugar cane brew. He wasn’t going to let me go, and I didn’t want to offend, so I was about to dance again, but Lida rescued me and took me away. It was the custom to give a gift of money to the bride and groom, and we were delighted to do the same.
People smile and greet you warmly on the street. I was poking around the vernacular houses, curious about an occupied interior and the man of the house introduced his family and invited me for coffee. The mayor stopped to say hello,and chatted. A bucolic scene is displayed as you drive in the countryside. A man knee-deep in the receding tide casting his net, a young boy tethering his goat, the farmer in the field, the basket weaver at her craft, a family group laden with produce in baskets on their backs, leading their carabao to their destination, a 103 year old man weaving a fish net, children playing in the school yard, a man taking down coconuts, undulating pastures, cows and carabaos on hills and ridges grazing, surf breaking on the shore, or exploding against volcanic cliffs, a calm blue lagoon, bright orange pandanus fruit, azure sky, warm sun, gentle breeze, dollars in your pocket. Is this paradise?
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=53723&id=1425897414&l=d21311fb73
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=53715&id=1425897414&l=147a1e0e77
There is no question that the allure of Batanes lies in its remoteness, isolation, purity, simplicity, unsophistication, authenticity, and unspoiled landscape and people. There are the plunging cliffs and rugged, rocky coastlines broken by sandy coves and breaking surf. There are the infinite verdant pastures and rolling hills, framing grazing cattle and carabaos, and goats effortlessly climbing steep slopes that seem to meet the clouds and blue sky. The morning mist casts a mystical spell on the cracks of canyons and blankets the valleys, and the evening comes after the sun sets in the southern China Sea in spectacular splendor. On Tukon hill, where there is a vernacular house inspired chapel built by a local politician son for his daughter’s wedding, one can see the Pacific ocean in the east and the south China sea in the west. On a clear day you might just see Taiwan from the northernmost island of the 10-island Batanes group, a mere 100 kilometers away, nearer than its distance from mainland Luzon.
There are no big hotel chains, and hopefully, they will stay away forever. There are no Jollibees or Starbucks. Basco, the capital, only recently had 24-hour electric service. The other 2 inhabited islands, Sabtang, gets 16 hours, and Itbayat, 12 hours. There are only hole in the wall eating establishments but the food is good, the only pizza place Napoli, delivers gourmet pizzas out of the owner’s home, the inns accept walk-ins for meals and serve a set daily changing menu, depending on the daily catch and what was brought to the market, and what was slaughtered. You can ask the inns to get certain foods from the market and cook it for you and they will oblige if available. We like the pako salad and the marinated dried dibang (flying fish) and the exotic and hard to catch coconut crab, and lobster, and got them when requested. There is internet in the town center, and cell phone reception, and TV, but no movie house. The inns are pared down basic. The Honesty Cafe is an unattended convenience store and coffee shop, where you get what you like, list it, then drop your payment in a slot, breathtaking! The local garlic is reputed to have the most fragrant and sweet flavor, and the sweet potato and taro are plump and firm. Everything else is imported from the mainland and has Manila prices. The traditionally woven baskets are exquisite.
Sabtang, a 40-minute boat trip from Basco, is served by a 15 and 30-passenger round-hulled boats, different from the outrigger bancas of the rest of the Philippines, more like the early Viking boats, more suited to ride the oftentimes choppy and strong currents of the channel, where the currents of the Pacific and China sea collide and the strong winds from Siberia blow. We didn’t have time to visit Itbaya, where the ancient funeral caves of the Ivatans, the indigenous ancestors , were excavated. It is 4 hours away by these native boats or a 15-minute flight with a 9-seater plane, Skypasada, that also serves Tuguegarao. We met the ragtag crew of this airline at breakfast one morning.
Sabtang holds the most number of occupied vernacular houses in the province, and is nominated to be included in the UNESCO Heritage Sites, a must see for its uniqueness.
These are houses made of limestone and coral with thatched cogon roof, with a distinct architecture, a fusion of the early ethnic houses and European technology introduced by the Spaniards. The houses have withstood the typhoons that regularly visit the islands and the test of time.
We embarked from the port of San Vicente, rising very early, and didn’t realize we will be using the public boat, not a chartered tourist boat. We were with locals, and sacks of produce,motorcycles, livestock and other cargo, such as a shipment of Ginebra San Miguel, which we were told, hasn’t arrived at the port yet so we will all have to wait because the boatman does not want to lose his revenue. Norma, the ultimate problem-solver negotiated to have our group reimburse the boatman for the cargo’s passage, so we can leave ASAP, without a second thought to what consequences will result to the island’s inhabitants from the failure of delivery of this vital shipment. Thankfully, the boatman piloted his vessel back to Batan later with us safely on board. The sea was choppy on the return trip, the boat cresting and slamming on bigger waves, and hurling buckets of the ocean at us and soaking us to the bone. There were other suspenseful moments here, such as when something cut my ankle from stepping on canvas and other stuff on the floor with bleeding that was out of proportion to the size of the cut (from low dose ASA intake prolonging coagulation?) and Mars almost getting decapitated by the bamboo steering pole that slipped from its mooring. However, the whole experience was authentic, and an adventure. Anchors, away!
I visited new friends staying at the Batanes Resort, 1 1/2 miles away, to check out the accommodations (recommended, but get the ocean view Itbayat or Sabtang cottages) and to watch the sunset from their beach, and it was dark when I walked back to where I was staying at Seaside Lodge. There are no taxis, very few cars, a couple of jeepneys for inter-town travel, some tricycles, and a number of scooters and some motorcycles. A couple of lone scooter riders stopped to offer me a ride, and our tour guide certifies that the offer is sincere and without malice and no remuneration but a smile and thank you is expected. The authenticity and sincerity of the people beguiles and disarms, and is a breath of fresh air. And what are we city slickers doing about going with the flow and being laid back and not sweating the small things? Going into zazen? The masseuse was 2 hours late, and she smiles and says she overslept. We rescheduled after dinner, and we were late, and relieved that she wasn’t there waiting. She knocks as we’re about to go to bed, says, she was called to Fundacion Pacita, and did 3 massages, do we still want one? Our lunch caterer in Uyugan did not have lunch ready when we arrived, uh oh. She forgot to put it in her schedule but she’ll have one ready for us in 30 minutes. She called her husband back from the farm and put him to work, then had lunch on the table as she promised. She was a barangay chief for 3 terms and now she’s running for the council, and maybe town mayor someday. She is a multi-tasker and we empathize perfectly. We couldn’t get a manicure appointment from the 3 manicurist in town, because they’re all at a wedding, which by custom is attended by everyone. The party was on the street, so we asked if we could come, and we were warmly welcomed. They’ re playing carinyosa and dancing the traditional folk dance. We got in the mood and I danced with the groom, then another guest who had already too much palek, the local sugar cane brew. He wasn’t going to let me go, and I didn’t want to offend, so I was about to dance again, but Lida rescued me and took me away. It was the custom to give a gift of money to the bride and groom, and we were delighted to do the same.
People smile and greet you warmly on the street. I was poking around the vernacular houses, curious about an occupied interior and the man of the house introduced his family and invited me for coffee. The mayor stopped to say hello,and chatted. A bucolic scene is displayed as you drive in the countryside. A man knee-deep in the receding tide casting his net, a young boy tethering his goat, the farmer in the field, the basket weaver at her craft, a family group laden with produce in baskets on their backs, leading their carabao to their destination, a 103 year old man weaving a fish net, children playing in the school yard, a man taking down coconuts, undulating pastures, cows and carabaos on hills and ridges grazing, surf breaking on the shore, or exploding against volcanic cliffs, a calm blue lagoon, bright orange pandanus fruit, azure sky, warm sun, gentle breeze, dollars in your pocket. Is this paradise?
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=53723&id=1425897414&l=d21311fb73
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=53715&id=1425897414&l=147a1e0e77
Grand Tour of the Philippines
Philippine Tour Notes
I've been reading the paper and the presidential candidates have criminal or ethical charges, a senator fled the country to avoid murder charges, the military arrested 43 health care workers without the correct legal warrant with sweeping allegations that they are NPA members and their conference is designed to train them into making explosives, an ex=president who was found guilty of corruption charges is able to run again for the office because it's surreal, he received presidential pardon and his slate is deemed squeaky clean, and more unbelievable, he is pulling 3rd in the polls, karaoke bars have stopped playing Sinatra's My way because the song apparently had stimulated assaults and 6 killings so far, and I'm only into the 2nd week of my tour and I'm getting weary and irritated by the diffident and subservient manner of the staff who serve the tourist directly, the bellhops, drivers, waiters, reception staff, and it's hard to keep track and be constantly clarifying the real message behind the vague and indirect ways people communicate, however the country is beautiful, it deserves the moniker Pearl of the Orient. I also have a bone to pick with how the tour guides are trained about their commentary on heritage sites, of course I've started in Cebu and Bohol, where the Spaniards first landed, it is rich with historical landmarks of the colonization, but the guides only address the arrival of the Spaniard and the colonization, I wish this would be an opportunity to educate about our rich pre-Hispanic heritage, and I wish tour operators emphasize the indigenous culture, beliefs, daily life, government, etc. Also the tour promotional materials are so over the top, typical Filipino bombast and exaggeration, and you arrive and somehow a little disappointed because the reality does not match the promise, I'd rather be surprised in the other direction. I think tourism here needs regulations about truth in advertising. anyway, I'm a hard critic because I want tourism to be seamless and really a fantastic experience here without apologies , since it is advertised as meeting international standards, to match the beauty of the land, however, I'm still having a great time , the beaches and sea breeze are relaxing, the food fantastic, Manila has new centers of entertainment and restaurant complexes, Greenbelt just added another mall to their complex, full of designer boutiques, Prada, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, and the like, the Skyway from the airport to Makati just opened 2 months ago, and it's 20 minutes to my hotel, unbelievable, and the spas are cropping up everywhere. I need to go to Thailand,and Bali, and compare, as the resorts advertised from these places seem to have the same look as the new expensive resorts opening here, I wonder if their tourist services are more sophisticated. I went out of the resort compound to visit the nearby barangay, and they sent a security guard with me, oh well.
Barangay Adecor
I was battling some intestinal virus since leaving Bohol, which was really making me feel cranky (and crappy) but now my bowels are back in control, was it my change in attitude? I went into Zen mode and swayed wherever the breeze blew, like the palm trees dancing on the pearly shores of Pearl Farm. On my walk to the Barangay escorted by the local security guard, and joined by a Pearl Farm employee getting off from her work in the kitchen, they are very friendly and simple people, grateful they are working at the resort, there was a town hall meeting in the basketball plaza, well-attended, they are planning the upcoming fiesta of their patron saint, St Vincent from somewhere, they have a little chapel, and there's a priest who comes to say mass every other Sunday, apparently he makes the rounds of all the barangays among the remote islands. Karaoke singing is blaring in one section of the barangay and there were men drinking san miguel and having a ball, who were not at the town hall meeting BTW, I didn't witness any karaoke violence though, then there was a half dozen men on the beach singing a capella while fashioning the skeleton of a boat, locally made from indigenous materials, then fitted with outboard motors, it can be built very cheaply and very sea worthy. Butuan in Cotabato is where they found the remains of pre-Hispanic boats that sailed around the Southeast and reached as far as Madagascar, this seafaring culture of pre-HIspanic philippines is being celebrated by the Balangay voyage project, spearheaded by those dreamers who scaled Mt Everest 4 years ago? I was so enamored by this venture that I continue to follow the voyage and sent monetary support. google balangay voyage further, it is so inspiring.. Anyway, this small barangay here continue the tradition of hand-crafted boats. Abject Poverty is in the urban areas, here in the province, food is plenty, people build boats bayanihan style, they weave fish nets, they tend fish corrals, plant vegetables and flowers, everyone has shelter fashioned from nipa and coconut , in those little nipa huts I can see the flicker of TV screens, and they plan weekend events like disco at the plaza and basketball and karaokefests, then there's the annual fiesta of course , not to mention holidays celebrated throughout. Children look healthy and happily chasing dogs and each other. They look at you shyly but 2 pretty litltle girls allowed a picture hugging each other, best friends forever. The lady has lived there over 2o years, she knows the history of the place, the barangay name Adecor is from the Aguinaldo company that operated a real pearl farm there years ago, when the pearl business closed shop the people elected to stay, then the place was transformed into the current resort, which is the main employer of the area. There are 1800 registered voters in the barangay, I wonder how many will be counted in the elections, there is so much concern expressed about the communications being jammed to prevent electronic transmission of votes for counting, this is the first time they are also implementing electronic voting, so a lot of worries there too, whether the masses can operate the machines correctly, never having any experience with computers, and GMA is threatening to extend her reign if the elections cannot be declared properly counted, etc., and of course she is running for councilor in her district, says there's nothing barring her from the constitution, of course she'll win, she has showered the district with pork barrel projects and her picture is attached to all these in fact her pictue is attached to all that's happening all over the Philippines in the remote barrios, her picture is the only politiicians billboard, identifying the project as project of GMA for the benefit of the people, from roads, new airports, ports, scholarships, agricultuture,everythign that a government should be doing is identified with her alone, oh well. Can anybody guess who'll win this election here/
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Paddling the Puerto Princesa Subterrenean River
It's already an adventure to get to the mouth of the cave where the underground river comes out to empty into the sea, and where tourists board paddle bancas to take them into the belly of Hades. I asked the cave guide if we can turn off the spotlight so I can see how dark it is (oxymoron?). Nope, can't do it, but if I close my eyes, that would answer my question, tusong Pinoy! The chambers are huge, the limestone formations eerie, the river water crystal green, drip,drip of water from the ceiling, in one chamber, named the Cathedral, was very high, bats hanging on jutting formations, the ceiling and walls, in slumber, cave swallows twittering as they fly to find their way by reflected sound, then suddenly a spotlight disturbing the ambience, from the opposite direction of returning tourists. The guide posed a question, what name do you call the bat youngling?Bata, heh heh. The cave is stunning. It took 2 hours by bus to get to the other side of Palawan as Puerto Princesa is on the Sulu Sea side in the east and the river empties into the South China Sea in the west, then in Sabang, a 20-minute motorboat ride in the open sea to reach the entrance to the cave. Along the way we saw the lush Palawan countryside, farms and farmers, rain forests, limestone cliffs, mahogany and cashew trees, had a pit stop in a viewing area, for toilets, coffee and pearls. Fresh water pearls are practically being given away, and the real McCoy South Sea pearl is for a pittance. Then after we got out of the cave we had lunch in Sabang where the beach is golden and the water at 30 degrees C, we swam until it was time to return. Our guide was having a Tamilok ceviche, but I dare not try it, my good defense is I'm still recovering from intestinal virus.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=959359&l=721a197a00&id=1425897414
http://blog.legendpalawan.com.ph/2008/06/tamilok-longest-oyster.html
Island Hopping on Honda Bay
There are more than a dozen islets and sandbars that are scattered in Honda Bay, most tour operators take you to 3 islands for beaching and snorkeling, or diving. There's Starfish Island, Bat Island, Cowrie Island, Pandan Island, Snake Island, a long and narrow curvaceous sandbar, Meara Marina, Luli Island (from lulubog-lilitaw, depending on the tide), Senorita Island, where lapu-lapu breeds, Arriceffi where Dos Palmas Resort is, and private islands and unnamed ones. We Went to 2, Pandan and Snake Island and the third site is not an island but a floating platform to dive from to view the magnificent Pambato Reef. It was worth it giving up an island, but too bad that we didn't have underwater camera. Except for the sheer depth and dimension of the Australian Great Barrier Reef, where the coral columns tower like the skyscrapers of NYC and the spaces between them seem like plunging canyons , this was just as spectacular in color and diversity. Anyway, you have to see it, it's indescribable. I think you can spend 9 days in Palawan easily and not be bored, from weekend to weekend, and combine moderate accommodations in strategic locations for touring, and stay a night in the expensive resorts for spa treatments and pampering. Definitely stay in Puerto Princesa, to get the vibe of the city and the island, staying in the top resorts isolates you from the local ambience, it's cheaper to book tours locally, the prices are standard and the operators are well regulated, and they follow the rules! They're afraid of penalties, because their Mayor enforces them. This mayor Edward Hagedorn had been mayor since 1992, and supposedly ineligible to run for office in 2010 elections having reached term limit, however one term was disqualified for counting because his election then was a recall election and does not qualify as a term, whatever, it's all legal reasoning, anyway he's running this year, but before his election in 1992 he was a gambling lord, running jueteng and his family had been big loggers denuding the Palawan forests. As Mayor however, he cleaned up the city literally, it has won awards as the cleanest city, banned gambling, stopped illegal fishing, got rid of crime, relocated squatters into permanent housing, started a reforestation program, etc, but most of all was the vision behind tourism and conservation happening now. And he's not even native, he's from Paranaque and his father is German. He runs the city like a benevolent despot, with Christian platitudes in his speeches, he's GMA's darling because he's popular and investors and banks like him. He does have style, like he started a Festival for the Forest, for the reforestation efforts, and every Feb 14 he officiates in the Mangrove Love Festival, a mass wedding that is held free for the couples, including reception, in exchange for the couples planting mangrove trees in the swamp and maintaining them to sustain the environment balance. How about that, too bad I'm leaving before this event and would miss a most unique experience.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=961877&l=3755f6d5b3&id=1425897414
Manila
My Tagaytay tour was cancelled because my travel agent couldn't fill up the minimum , but my friend quickly offered to personally accompany me on a private tour on my return from Batanes, how lovely is that? It gained me a free day in Manila to go to places not in the formal tour itinerary. To do a Manila city tour will cost up to over P2000 to include the Chinese cemetery, to hire a driver and AC car from the agency for 10 hours will cost P9000, the taxi will do up to 6 hours for $3000, I negotiated P500 with a taxi to take me to the Chinese cemetery, wait a few minutes, then to stop by Malacanang for a few minutes then drop me off in Ongpin to do Chinatown and Quiapo. It was a perfect day. Ongpin had cleaned up its act since a few years ago when I tried to visit and the place was literally buried in garbage. Now it smells of sizzling barbecue from the sidewalk vendors, and of other creatures cooking on the fryer or grill, that look so inviting it makes you hungry, it has all the colors of the rainbow with vegetable and fruit stands crowding the sidewalks and infiltrating the street, people and tricycles and jeepneys jockey with one another to get through, it's the Chinese New Year, the year of the Tiger, Gung Hay Fat Choy!, so people are milling about in the trinket stalls and shops buying lucky charms and amulets, and the traditional sticky rice cake, Tikoy is selling like hotcakes! Firecrackers and loud drums and noisemakers jolt you periodically, they're supposed to drive away evil spirits, then I don't know how they do it but the lion and dragon dance troupes manage to clear the streets briefly so they can go through and stop by many of the businesses to bring them good luck. I forgot how big Chinatown is, and I 'm happy to see that it is vibrant, crowded, exciting, noisy,colorful, and you can't go wrong with the food whether purchased from the street or from a white table-clothed air conditioned restaurant. I stopped by for lunch in a seafood restaurant, You can choose your entree from almost 2 dozen tanks of live catch, from different fish species, to clams and other shellfish, lobster, stone crab, eel, sharks, prawns, etc. Then I segued to Quiapo and passed the Basilica of the Black Nazarene, its courtyard a marketplace selling the black nazarene and religious icons, candles, food and drinks, fortune tellers, then on the way to the souvenir shops sa ilalim ng tulay, you pass vendors of all persuasion, selling everything from auto parts to fake Italian jewelry. I was able to purchase an outlet adaptor for my electric converter for P85, the currency exchange is P46.29 to $1 today, bad. for the dollar, good for the Peso. The TV is peppered with maudlin ads by candidates, appealing to the emotions of the masses.
Off to Laoag today to do Ilocandia for 3 days, then back to Manila.
I hear y'all buried in the white stuff, heh heh
Metty
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=967586&l=afef3a69fb&id=1425897414
Ilokandia
This has got to be the turning point in this grand tour, opening my eyes and heart to the Ilokano people, I mean their history is the stuff of epic novels. There are so many revolutionary heroes among them (and so many infamous ones too,) and the heroic stand at Tirad Pass should compare with any great stands for independence in the history of the world. And they know what battles to fight early on in the colonial period. I take my hat off to the Basi revolt of 1807, when they defied the Spaniards after imposing prohibition of the distillation of the regions favorite sugar cane liquor. Like, hey you may oppress us but you cannot take our basi away. They were subdued of course, and the ring leaders decapitated , but they made their point.
Fort Ilokandia Resort remains a Marcos monument in spite of confiscation by the government and privatization with Chinese management. The buildings are well-designed, patterned after colonial residential architecture and the grounds and beach are beautiful, but the decor is tacky and the service and food lousy. The art work on the walls are blow ups of pictures of Imelda with various world dignitaries and of winners of various beauty contests and such. I played golf, it’s 20 minutes away in Paoay, near the Malacanang North, another Marcos monument, on the edge of Paoay lake, the view is beautiful, but just as the farmland is parched due to El Nino, the fairway had lost its turf, and on the holes along the edge of the lake you are hitting on sand fairways. The greens are kept intact but slow. I was the only one on the course and my caddy, and my game was pitiful, the 2 lessons I’ve had before Christmas had been forgotten.
I caught the end of Pamulinawen festival and the start of the Guling Guling Festival, very nice and colorful. Vigan heritage block will be great once it’s developed, those colonial houses would be very lovely once restored, there’s one restaurant already with al fresco dining, very old world, and at night the block is lighted with lanterns, pretty. Pagudpud which is the northermost edge of Luzon has a long stretch of white beach and several small resorts with restaurants, sunbathing on the beach and soaking in the sea is fine but the surf in these parts is voluminous with strong undertow and can be dangerous.
The local cuisine is great, I tried the Ilokano delicacies bagnet, poque-poque, tinubon, their empanada, insarabasab, and their roll with anise called biscocho is wonderful.
Back in Manila and will leave for Banaue tomorrow. Imelda had been sighted here to attend the Guling Guling fiesta, she's running for congresswoman. I took a private tour with a guide and driver and the driver says he used to be in the army and served in the Marcos Malacanang for 10 years, I got a lot stories and politics, whether he's lying or not, they're pretty fantastic,
Metty
The Banaue Rice Terraces
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> The rice terraces are all over the mountains, wherever there is a water source there are rice terraces, big and small to spectacular, the most amazing are found in Batad, which are panoramic and amphitheater-like but the access requires a 2-hour hike over difficult uneven and steep terrain, and in Banaue which has a comfortable easy access view point. They are over 2000 years old, built by people who crossed the land bridges from China and Taiwan and settled in these mountains. The people do have Chinese features, which makes the theory credible, but there are critics to this theory, who negate the land bridge approach and who claim that the Philippines arose from the bottom of the sea, pushed out by volcanic eruptions and earthquakes from the thin Pacific crust, whatever. The fact is the rice terraces are there. They are a high maintenance endeavor requiring everyone in the family including children to work the fields. The risers need to be weeded regularly, the soil manually tilled because carabaos cannot be brought to the high elevation, the terrace dams need constant repair and maintenance, and the water canals and irrigation system guarded vigilantly to prevent abuse of use by others sharing the community resource, and because of the single growing season due to the high elevation, harvesting is a delicate practice so as not to waste any grain, the rice stalks are cut in single stems with a special tool, not swept cut by a scythe, then each strand tied together and stored with the husk until ready to use, only 2-3 days worth is processed at a time, etc. It's back breaking work.Because rice is the primary subsistence crop, the rice god is the supreme idol together with hundreds more for various needs and rituals.
> The saddest image are the once magnificent mountains which are now 90% denuded of virgin forest and covered entirely by cogon grass, one could weep. The birds no longer sing in these mountains, and the Kamagong is endangered, the deer is gone and few wild boars roam. All the grand mountains and forests of the Philippines have been raped and looted for centuries and the abuse continues with unchecked logging, commercial development, settlement, mining, corporate plantations, irresponsible leaders and politicians, you name it, and the indigenous peoples driven from their habitat and forced into begging, and to give up their life style, identity and traditions to work for survival in low paying jobs in the general community. The rice terraces and the life style that created it must be preserved to remind us all that mother earth must be taken care of for if we destroy her, we destroy ourselves.
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http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=548839&publicationSubCategoryId=451
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=553754&publicationSubCategoryId=79
I am spending my last week in Manila and getting steeped in its art and cultural/heritage scene and am very blown away by the creativity, pride, and patriotism expressed by our artists intent on re"righting" and retelling our history. Though this scene does not yet reach or interest the masses, who continue to swarm in shopping malls and movie houses, and watch wowowee on TV, the movement is there and we can hope that some financier with a vision will underwrite a popular movie or TV show or something someday and spread the message incubating in this small and elite group. We didn't have museums or cultural centers then, and grudgingly I credit the Marcos regime and Imelda for setting herself as patroness of the arts, with the laying of the infrastructure for showcasing our art and culture. The Philippine National Museum is rich with the display of our patrimony, its current movable exhibit is about the review of Philippine-American relations during the Philippine-American War years, 1898-1915. BTW, its only recently that the designation was changed in the Library of Congress catalogue from the American-given label of the Philippine Insurrection. It is a revelation, and every Filipino and America should be educated so we can see each other more clearly and deal with each other with mutual respect and equality. The rich here are also starting to give back and sharing their largesse, through their museums that have opened to the public. The Ayala Museum is world class, and so is the Lopez and the Yuchenco Museum. The latter has a wonderful exhibit of Santiago Bose and the historian and journalist Carlos Quirino. The Metropolitan Museum of Manila likewise has a large collection of modernists. THe Cultural Center puts up superb productions. I saw Rody Vera's adaptation of Chekhov's 3 sisters, Tatlong Mariya, directed by Loy Arcenas, it's 2 1/2 hours long but you forget the time, it's that good and absorbing. I'm going to see the neo-ballet on Friday. The tourism dept is doing a great job of restoring heritage sites and creating heritage tours, I was engulfed with nationalistic fervor in the Aguinaldo Museum and wept. These heritage tours are made available to schoolchildren but I don't think in a systematic fashion. Unfortunately, there are very few visitors to the museums and the cultural center.
I've been reading the paper and the presidential candidates have criminal or ethical charges, a senator fled the country to avoid murder charges, the military arrested 43 health care workers without the correct legal warrant with sweeping allegations that they are NPA members and their conference is designed to train them into making explosives, an ex=president who was found guilty of corruption charges is able to run again for the office because it's surreal, he received presidential pardon and his slate is deemed squeaky clean, and more unbelievable, he is pulling 3rd in the polls, karaoke bars have stopped playing Sinatra's My way because the song apparently had stimulated assaults and 6 killings so far, and I'm only into the 2nd week of my tour and I'm getting weary and irritated by the diffident and subservient manner of the staff who serve the tourist directly, the bellhops, drivers, waiters, reception staff, and it's hard to keep track and be constantly clarifying the real message behind the vague and indirect ways people communicate, however the country is beautiful, it deserves the moniker Pearl of the Orient. I also have a bone to pick with how the tour guides are trained about their commentary on heritage sites, of course I've started in Cebu and Bohol, where the Spaniards first landed, it is rich with historical landmarks of the colonization, but the guides only address the arrival of the Spaniard and the colonization, I wish this would be an opportunity to educate about our rich pre-Hispanic heritage, and I wish tour operators emphasize the indigenous culture, beliefs, daily life, government, etc. Also the tour promotional materials are so over the top, typical Filipino bombast and exaggeration, and you arrive and somehow a little disappointed because the reality does not match the promise, I'd rather be surprised in the other direction. I think tourism here needs regulations about truth in advertising. anyway, I'm a hard critic because I want tourism to be seamless and really a fantastic experience here without apologies , since it is advertised as meeting international standards, to match the beauty of the land, however, I'm still having a great time , the beaches and sea breeze are relaxing, the food fantastic, Manila has new centers of entertainment and restaurant complexes, Greenbelt just added another mall to their complex, full of designer boutiques, Prada, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, and the like, the Skyway from the airport to Makati just opened 2 months ago, and it's 20 minutes to my hotel, unbelievable, and the spas are cropping up everywhere. I need to go to Thailand,and Bali, and compare, as the resorts advertised from these places seem to have the same look as the new expensive resorts opening here, I wonder if their tourist services are more sophisticated. I went out of the resort compound to visit the nearby barangay, and they sent a security guard with me, oh well.
Barangay Adecor
I was battling some intestinal virus since leaving Bohol, which was really making me feel cranky (and crappy) but now my bowels are back in control, was it my change in attitude? I went into Zen mode and swayed wherever the breeze blew, like the palm trees dancing on the pearly shores of Pearl Farm. On my walk to the Barangay escorted by the local security guard, and joined by a Pearl Farm employee getting off from her work in the kitchen, they are very friendly and simple people, grateful they are working at the resort, there was a town hall meeting in the basketball plaza, well-attended, they are planning the upcoming fiesta of their patron saint, St Vincent from somewhere, they have a little chapel, and there's a priest who comes to say mass every other Sunday, apparently he makes the rounds of all the barangays among the remote islands. Karaoke singing is blaring in one section of the barangay and there were men drinking san miguel and having a ball, who were not at the town hall meeting BTW, I didn't witness any karaoke violence though, then there was a half dozen men on the beach singing a capella while fashioning the skeleton of a boat, locally made from indigenous materials, then fitted with outboard motors, it can be built very cheaply and very sea worthy. Butuan in Cotabato is where they found the remains of pre-Hispanic boats that sailed around the Southeast and reached as far as Madagascar, this seafaring culture of pre-HIspanic philippines is being celebrated by the Balangay voyage project, spearheaded by those dreamers who scaled Mt Everest 4 years ago? I was so enamored by this venture that I continue to follow the voyage and sent monetary support. google balangay voyage further, it is so inspiring.. Anyway, this small barangay here continue the tradition of hand-crafted boats. Abject Poverty is in the urban areas, here in the province, food is plenty, people build boats bayanihan style, they weave fish nets, they tend fish corrals, plant vegetables and flowers, everyone has shelter fashioned from nipa and coconut , in those little nipa huts I can see the flicker of TV screens, and they plan weekend events like disco at the plaza and basketball and karaokefests, then there's the annual fiesta of course , not to mention holidays celebrated throughout. Children look healthy and happily chasing dogs and each other. They look at you shyly but 2 pretty litltle girls allowed a picture hugging each other, best friends forever. The lady has lived there over 2o years, she knows the history of the place, the barangay name Adecor is from the Aguinaldo company that operated a real pearl farm there years ago, when the pearl business closed shop the people elected to stay, then the place was transformed into the current resort, which is the main employer of the area. There are 1800 registered voters in the barangay, I wonder how many will be counted in the elections, there is so much concern expressed about the communications being jammed to prevent electronic transmission of votes for counting, this is the first time they are also implementing electronic voting, so a lot of worries there too, whether the masses can operate the machines correctly, never having any experience with computers, and GMA is threatening to extend her reign if the elections cannot be declared properly counted, etc., and of course she is running for councilor in her district, says there's nothing barring her from the constitution, of course she'll win, she has showered the district with pork barrel projects and her picture is attached to all these in fact her pictue is attached to all that's happening all over the Philippines in the remote barrios, her picture is the only politiicians billboard, identifying the project as project of GMA for the benefit of the people, from roads, new airports, ports, scholarships, agricultuture,everythign that a government should be doing is identified with her alone, oh well. Can anybody guess who'll win this election here/
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=953414&l=2f2eb4e430&id=1425897414
Paddling the Puerto Princesa Subterrenean River
It's already an adventure to get to the mouth of the cave where the underground river comes out to empty into the sea, and where tourists board paddle bancas to take them into the belly of Hades. I asked the cave guide if we can turn off the spotlight so I can see how dark it is (oxymoron?). Nope, can't do it, but if I close my eyes, that would answer my question, tusong Pinoy! The chambers are huge, the limestone formations eerie, the river water crystal green, drip,drip of water from the ceiling, in one chamber, named the Cathedral, was very high, bats hanging on jutting formations, the ceiling and walls, in slumber, cave swallows twittering as they fly to find their way by reflected sound, then suddenly a spotlight disturbing the ambience, from the opposite direction of returning tourists. The guide posed a question, what name do you call the bat youngling?Bata, heh heh. The cave is stunning. It took 2 hours by bus to get to the other side of Palawan as Puerto Princesa is on the Sulu Sea side in the east and the river empties into the South China Sea in the west, then in Sabang, a 20-minute motorboat ride in the open sea to reach the entrance to the cave. Along the way we saw the lush Palawan countryside, farms and farmers, rain forests, limestone cliffs, mahogany and cashew trees, had a pit stop in a viewing area, for toilets, coffee and pearls. Fresh water pearls are practically being given away, and the real McCoy South Sea pearl is for a pittance. Then after we got out of the cave we had lunch in Sabang where the beach is golden and the water at 30 degrees C, we swam until it was time to return. Our guide was having a Tamilok ceviche, but I dare not try it, my good defense is I'm still recovering from intestinal virus.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=959359&l=721a197a00&id=1425897414
http://blog.legendpalawan.com.ph/2008/06/tamilok-longest-oyster.html
Island Hopping on Honda Bay
There are more than a dozen islets and sandbars that are scattered in Honda Bay, most tour operators take you to 3 islands for beaching and snorkeling, or diving. There's Starfish Island, Bat Island, Cowrie Island, Pandan Island, Snake Island, a long and narrow curvaceous sandbar, Meara Marina, Luli Island (from lulubog-lilitaw, depending on the tide), Senorita Island, where lapu-lapu breeds, Arriceffi where Dos Palmas Resort is, and private islands and unnamed ones. We Went to 2, Pandan and Snake Island and the third site is not an island but a floating platform to dive from to view the magnificent Pambato Reef. It was worth it giving up an island, but too bad that we didn't have underwater camera. Except for the sheer depth and dimension of the Australian Great Barrier Reef, where the coral columns tower like the skyscrapers of NYC and the spaces between them seem like plunging canyons , this was just as spectacular in color and diversity. Anyway, you have to see it, it's indescribable. I think you can spend 9 days in Palawan easily and not be bored, from weekend to weekend, and combine moderate accommodations in strategic locations for touring, and stay a night in the expensive resorts for spa treatments and pampering. Definitely stay in Puerto Princesa, to get the vibe of the city and the island, staying in the top resorts isolates you from the local ambience, it's cheaper to book tours locally, the prices are standard and the operators are well regulated, and they follow the rules! They're afraid of penalties, because their Mayor enforces them. This mayor Edward Hagedorn had been mayor since 1992, and supposedly ineligible to run for office in 2010 elections having reached term limit, however one term was disqualified for counting because his election then was a recall election and does not qualify as a term, whatever, it's all legal reasoning, anyway he's running this year, but before his election in 1992 he was a gambling lord, running jueteng and his family had been big loggers denuding the Palawan forests. As Mayor however, he cleaned up the city literally, it has won awards as the cleanest city, banned gambling, stopped illegal fishing, got rid of crime, relocated squatters into permanent housing, started a reforestation program, etc, but most of all was the vision behind tourism and conservation happening now. And he's not even native, he's from Paranaque and his father is German. He runs the city like a benevolent despot, with Christian platitudes in his speeches, he's GMA's darling because he's popular and investors and banks like him. He does have style, like he started a Festival for the Forest, for the reforestation efforts, and every Feb 14 he officiates in the Mangrove Love Festival, a mass wedding that is held free for the couples, including reception, in exchange for the couples planting mangrove trees in the swamp and maintaining them to sustain the environment balance. How about that, too bad I'm leaving before this event and would miss a most unique experience.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=961877&l=3755f6d5b3&id=1425897414
Manila
My Tagaytay tour was cancelled because my travel agent couldn't fill up the minimum , but my friend quickly offered to personally accompany me on a private tour on my return from Batanes, how lovely is that? It gained me a free day in Manila to go to places not in the formal tour itinerary. To do a Manila city tour will cost up to over P2000 to include the Chinese cemetery, to hire a driver and AC car from the agency for 10 hours will cost P9000, the taxi will do up to 6 hours for $3000, I negotiated P500 with a taxi to take me to the Chinese cemetery, wait a few minutes, then to stop by Malacanang for a few minutes then drop me off in Ongpin to do Chinatown and Quiapo. It was a perfect day. Ongpin had cleaned up its act since a few years ago when I tried to visit and the place was literally buried in garbage. Now it smells of sizzling barbecue from the sidewalk vendors, and of other creatures cooking on the fryer or grill, that look so inviting it makes you hungry, it has all the colors of the rainbow with vegetable and fruit stands crowding the sidewalks and infiltrating the street, people and tricycles and jeepneys jockey with one another to get through, it's the Chinese New Year, the year of the Tiger, Gung Hay Fat Choy!, so people are milling about in the trinket stalls and shops buying lucky charms and amulets, and the traditional sticky rice cake, Tikoy is selling like hotcakes! Firecrackers and loud drums and noisemakers jolt you periodically, they're supposed to drive away evil spirits, then I don't know how they do it but the lion and dragon dance troupes manage to clear the streets briefly so they can go through and stop by many of the businesses to bring them good luck. I forgot how big Chinatown is, and I 'm happy to see that it is vibrant, crowded, exciting, noisy,colorful, and you can't go wrong with the food whether purchased from the street or from a white table-clothed air conditioned restaurant. I stopped by for lunch in a seafood restaurant, You can choose your entree from almost 2 dozen tanks of live catch, from different fish species, to clams and other shellfish, lobster, stone crab, eel, sharks, prawns, etc. Then I segued to Quiapo and passed the Basilica of the Black Nazarene, its courtyard a marketplace selling the black nazarene and religious icons, candles, food and drinks, fortune tellers, then on the way to the souvenir shops sa ilalim ng tulay, you pass vendors of all persuasion, selling everything from auto parts to fake Italian jewelry. I was able to purchase an outlet adaptor for my electric converter for P85, the currency exchange is P46.29 to $1 today, bad. for the dollar, good for the Peso. The TV is peppered with maudlin ads by candidates, appealing to the emotions of the masses.
Off to Laoag today to do Ilocandia for 3 days, then back to Manila.
I hear y'all buried in the white stuff, heh heh
Metty
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Ilokandia
This has got to be the turning point in this grand tour, opening my eyes and heart to the Ilokano people, I mean their history is the stuff of epic novels. There are so many revolutionary heroes among them (and so many infamous ones too,) and the heroic stand at Tirad Pass should compare with any great stands for independence in the history of the world. And they know what battles to fight early on in the colonial period. I take my hat off to the Basi revolt of 1807, when they defied the Spaniards after imposing prohibition of the distillation of the regions favorite sugar cane liquor. Like, hey you may oppress us but you cannot take our basi away. They were subdued of course, and the ring leaders decapitated , but they made their point.
Fort Ilokandia Resort remains a Marcos monument in spite of confiscation by the government and privatization with Chinese management. The buildings are well-designed, patterned after colonial residential architecture and the grounds and beach are beautiful, but the decor is tacky and the service and food lousy. The art work on the walls are blow ups of pictures of Imelda with various world dignitaries and of winners of various beauty contests and such. I played golf, it’s 20 minutes away in Paoay, near the Malacanang North, another Marcos monument, on the edge of Paoay lake, the view is beautiful, but just as the farmland is parched due to El Nino, the fairway had lost its turf, and on the holes along the edge of the lake you are hitting on sand fairways. The greens are kept intact but slow. I was the only one on the course and my caddy, and my game was pitiful, the 2 lessons I’ve had before Christmas had been forgotten.
I caught the end of Pamulinawen festival and the start of the Guling Guling Festival, very nice and colorful. Vigan heritage block will be great once it’s developed, those colonial houses would be very lovely once restored, there’s one restaurant already with al fresco dining, very old world, and at night the block is lighted with lanterns, pretty. Pagudpud which is the northermost edge of Luzon has a long stretch of white beach and several small resorts with restaurants, sunbathing on the beach and soaking in the sea is fine but the surf in these parts is voluminous with strong undertow and can be dangerous.
The local cuisine is great, I tried the Ilokano delicacies bagnet, poque-poque, tinubon, their empanada, insarabasab, and their roll with anise called biscocho is wonderful.
Back in Manila and will leave for Banaue tomorrow. Imelda had been sighted here to attend the Guling Guling fiesta, she's running for congresswoman. I took a private tour with a guide and driver and the driver says he used to be in the army and served in the Marcos Malacanang for 10 years, I got a lot stories and politics, whether he's lying or not, they're pretty fantastic,
Metty
The Banaue Rice Terraces
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> The rice terraces are all over the mountains, wherever there is a water source there are rice terraces, big and small to spectacular, the most amazing are found in Batad, which are panoramic and amphitheater-like but the access requires a 2-hour hike over difficult uneven and steep terrain, and in Banaue which has a comfortable easy access view point. They are over 2000 years old, built by people who crossed the land bridges from China and Taiwan and settled in these mountains. The people do have Chinese features, which makes the theory credible, but there are critics to this theory, who negate the land bridge approach and who claim that the Philippines arose from the bottom of the sea, pushed out by volcanic eruptions and earthquakes from the thin Pacific crust, whatever. The fact is the rice terraces are there. They are a high maintenance endeavor requiring everyone in the family including children to work the fields. The risers need to be weeded regularly, the soil manually tilled because carabaos cannot be brought to the high elevation, the terrace dams need constant repair and maintenance, and the water canals and irrigation system guarded vigilantly to prevent abuse of use by others sharing the community resource, and because of the single growing season due to the high elevation, harvesting is a delicate practice so as not to waste any grain, the rice stalks are cut in single stems with a special tool, not swept cut by a scythe, then each strand tied together and stored with the husk until ready to use, only 2-3 days worth is processed at a time, etc. It's back breaking work.Because rice is the primary subsistence crop, the rice god is the supreme idol together with hundreds more for various needs and rituals.
> The saddest image are the once magnificent mountains which are now 90% denuded of virgin forest and covered entirely by cogon grass, one could weep. The birds no longer sing in these mountains, and the Kamagong is endangered, the deer is gone and few wild boars roam. All the grand mountains and forests of the Philippines have been raped and looted for centuries and the abuse continues with unchecked logging, commercial development, settlement, mining, corporate plantations, irresponsible leaders and politicians, you name it, and the indigenous peoples driven from their habitat and forced into begging, and to give up their life style, identity and traditions to work for survival in low paying jobs in the general community. The rice terraces and the life style that created it must be preserved to remind us all that mother earth must be taken care of for if we destroy her, we destroy ourselves.
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http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=548839&publicationSubCategoryId=451
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I am spending my last week in Manila and getting steeped in its art and cultural/heritage scene and am very blown away by the creativity, pride, and patriotism expressed by our artists intent on re"righting" and retelling our history. Though this scene does not yet reach or interest the masses, who continue to swarm in shopping malls and movie houses, and watch wowowee on TV, the movement is there and we can hope that some financier with a vision will underwrite a popular movie or TV show or something someday and spread the message incubating in this small and elite group. We didn't have museums or cultural centers then, and grudgingly I credit the Marcos regime and Imelda for setting herself as patroness of the arts, with the laying of the infrastructure for showcasing our art and culture. The Philippine National Museum is rich with the display of our patrimony, its current movable exhibit is about the review of Philippine-American relations during the Philippine-American War years, 1898-1915. BTW, its only recently that the designation was changed in the Library of Congress catalogue from the American-given label of the Philippine Insurrection. It is a revelation, and every Filipino and America should be educated so we can see each other more clearly and deal with each other with mutual respect and equality. The rich here are also starting to give back and sharing their largesse, through their museums that have opened to the public. The Ayala Museum is world class, and so is the Lopez and the Yuchenco Museum. The latter has a wonderful exhibit of Santiago Bose and the historian and journalist Carlos Quirino. The Metropolitan Museum of Manila likewise has a large collection of modernists. THe Cultural Center puts up superb productions. I saw Rody Vera's adaptation of Chekhov's 3 sisters, Tatlong Mariya, directed by Loy Arcenas, it's 2 1/2 hours long but you forget the time, it's that good and absorbing. I'm going to see the neo-ballet on Friday. The tourism dept is doing a great job of restoring heritage sites and creating heritage tours, I was engulfed with nationalistic fervor in the Aguinaldo Museum and wept. These heritage tours are made available to schoolchildren but I don't think in a systematic fashion. Unfortunately, there are very few visitors to the museums and the cultural center.
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