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.

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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

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.