The Philippines

Visited: June 1999

Duration of visit: 45 days

Capital city: Manila

Population: 78 million (1999)

Estimated reading time: 19 minutes

• Relaxing on the balcony of a bungalow only meters away from the crystal-clear sea or resting in a hammock under coconut palm trees.
• Rice terraces, beautiful views, friendly Ifugaji locals and peace in Batad.
• Travelling on jeepneys – American jeeps converted into lively colorful buses.
• Thrilling adventure of walking through the muddy mix of stones and ashes on the river bank bellow Pinatubo.
• Uncomfortable and unsecure feeling in the capital Manila.

The Philippines is somewhat distanced from other Southeast Asian destinations, resulting in its status as a relatively less popular tourist choice when compared to regional competitors like Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia. Yet, the Philippines can offer a perfect combination of breathtaking natural scenery, friendly people, quiet places to relax and the convenience of travel facilitated by the widespread use of English.

The Philippines were part of the Asian Big Tour from Australia, through Southeast Asia and China to India. During this 15-months long trip I visited most of the countries in the region and spent 45 days travelling around several of more than 7,000 diverse islands of the Philippines.

I reached the Philippines by boat from northern Sulawesi in Indonesia. Two days aboard a cargo-passenger boat from Manado to Davao in the company of pilgrims and a few other travelers passed quickly. The food was basic, comfort limited, but the sea remained tranquil for the majority of the time. I arrived to the Philippine island Mindanao safely.

Despite the fact that the Philippines was a Spanish colony for over three centuries, the recent influence of forty years of American governance had a far more significant impact.

Apart from names of some cities, streets, surnames, predominant Catholic religion and many other Spanish words incorporated in the Tagalog national language, there is little left of the Spaniards. The Americans successfully demolished everything the Spaniards had built. Spanish were not much better, they had previously destroyed all the remnants of the original inhabitants, the Malays.

The Philippines doesn’t really have an identity of its own and is turning like a wind blowing; once to one side, once to the other. A great example of this is language and diet.

The official language of the Philippines is Tagalog, but in schools from an early age practically all subjects are taught in English. This also applies to debates in parliament, advertisements, newspapers and television programs. For foreigners, travelling is much easier because there are no problems with communication even in the most remote villages.

If I was asked about typical Filipino food, I would answer without hesitation: western fast food. Beside rare local specialties such as lechon (roast pork), arroz caldo (cooked rice with chicken, garlic and onion) and mum (soup with noodles of different flavors) the most popular dishes on the menus are hamburgers, hot dogs and pizzas.

The majority of the 78 million Filipinos recorded in 2000 are of Malay descent, with the largest minority groups being Chinese, mestizos of Filipino-Spanish origins, and various other ethnic minorities.

The Negroes, who have still preserved their primitive way of life as the oldest of all Filipino people, live in the most remote parts of Luzon island. With bows, arrows and blowers they hunt little game and gather forest fruits. They are small, dark-skinned, with curly brown hair, and, today, only about 30,000 of them live in a small community near Angeles, relatively close to the real Filipinos, but without any connections to other communities.

The most recognized internationally are the Ifugaji, who built beautiful rice terraces in Banaue more than 2,000 years ago.

During my visits to these two regions, I engaged with both minority groups. It is hard to find any similarities between them.

Most of the remaining ethnic minority groups live on the southern island of Mindanao, where Islam is firmly entrenched. All subsequent attempts by Spanish missionaries to convert the locals to Catholicism, as they had done with 90% of the population of the Philippines, failed.

Thus, at the end of the 20^th century, Mindanao remains a scene of religious conflicts, clashes of extremists and a haven of terrorism in a mild form.

Most of the remaining ethnic minority groups live on the southern island of Mindanao, where Islam is firmly entrenched. All subsequent attempts by Spanish missionaries to convert the locals to Catholicism, as they had done with 90% of the population of the Philippines, failed.

Thus, at the end of the 20^th century, Mindanao remains the scene of religious conflicts, clashes of extremists and a haven of terrorism in a mild form.

For an authentic understanding of the Philippines, it is essential to ride in one of the iconic jeepneys, the local transportation that functions similarly to a bus.

Jeepneys are basically old American jeeps converted into lively colorful buses, used predominantly for transport around the important cities, but they also drive on shorter intercity routes and in the mountainous area where the roads are in poor condition.

The history of jeepneys dates back to the period after the end of World War II, when the United States military withdrew from these territories. In addition to large military bases, airports and trucks, they also left behind military jeeps. The ingenious Filipinos lengthened them a bit, strengthened the chassis, installed benches in the rear, painted them with all sorts of colors, added glittering chrome ornaments, stickers, lights, headlights, brass, mirrors and all other things you can imagine.

The way they operate was and still remains the same: squeezing 20 passengers on benches suitable for 12 people, three or four on the front seat next to the driver; increase the volume of music to the maximum capacity of the powerful speakers and speed up as if in a Formula One race.

Drivers, also called jeepney jockeys, compete with each other to be faster and to have more beautifully decorated vehicle. I always chose the one that had been more imaginatively decorated on the outside. From the inside they are all very uncomfortable and, due to their small size windows, unsuitable for observing the surroundings.

The worst feature of jeepneys is their exhaust system, which will certainly endanger their existence, if not adapted to modern ecological requirements. Exhaust gases combined with black smoke suffocate drivers and especially passengers in vehicles driving behind.

At some point, more comfortable Asian-made vans or buses would jeopardize the future of jeepneys, even though Philippine companies have begun producing an updated version of popular jeeps. Modern jeeps are even longer, many of them equipped with glass side windows (which the original jeepneys do not have, as they are closed on the side only with a plastic cover), decorated from the inside with additional lights and a dashboard above the driver’s head.

The cost of a jeepney ride is remarkably low. For a typical journey, the fare is 2.5 pesos (0.05 US$), yet for an extensive route that traverses the whole city, a few extra pesos must be added.

Money travels from one passenger’s hand to another until reaching the driver’s metal container. The banknotes are folded together for safety, tucked into the ceiling, above the jockey’s head.

An indispensable accessory in larger, polluted cities or during rush hour traffic is a small towel or scarf to cover your mouth with. This way you protect yourself at least a little bit from the contaminated air that enters directly through the window openings.

There are no bus stops in the Philippines. Passengers enter or exit where they want and drivers stop at their call “para” or a punch with a coin/hand on the roof.

If I had to choose the most beautiful and most imaginatively decorated jeepneys in the country, I would opt for those in the city of Davao on the extreme southern island of Mindanao.

The most patient jeepney jockeys drive in Manila. They are exposed to unbearably polluted air and heavy traffic throughout the day (from 6:00am to 9:00pm). During this time, the average travel speed is only around 12 kms/h. A much better option during rush hours is offered by fast Manilla Metro system with 1 line and 13 stations.

On longer routes, standard buses are used, operated by wild drivers with the help of assistants who take care of the passengers. The main task of drivers is to overtake all vehicles in front of them and to attract the attention of all cyclists, motorcyclists, people and animals that appear at a given moment. The assistant gives signals with a whistle when it is necessary to stop or move on and issues tickets to the passengers punching entry and exit location.

You never know how much time the ride will take, since they all use worn tires that flatten all the time.

I don’t remember any other country where we would need to change tires so often. On several occasions, we found ourselves without spare tires due to multiple flat tires occurring within minutes.

Drivers and assistants were forced to stop the passing buses to lend us their tires until we would make it to the first tire repair mechanics.

The phenomenon of the island Bohol is also an attempt by moto-taxi drivers to get as many people as possible into the extended motorcycle seat.

During the record-breaking ride of seven passengers on one motorcycle, the driver positioned himself atop the petrol tank, while others clung to him like monkeys fearful of losing their grip and falling off.

To travel between the islands, I used all kind of vessels; from fast speedboats to small wooden canoes, which often sink along with passengers and luggage during monsoons. Shipwrecks in the Philippines are a very common occurrence and always appear in the forefront of the world media. The main reasons for accidents are the excessive number of passengers or the dilapidation of the ships.

I have not faced any unpleasant experiences associated with insecurity in open waters. On the contrary, the first boat ride in the Philippines between Mindanao and Bohol islands was a real luxury compared to Indonesia’s inhumane exposures. Everyone had their own bed, people were sitting quietly, watching TV; instead of rice, I chose to have instant soup for dinner. Garbage ended up in garbage bins instead in the sea. Even rats playing around mighty barrels looked less disgusting than those in Indonesia.

Manila, the capital of the Philippines, is a metropolis of over 10 million people at the end of the second millennium, fourth on the list of the most polluted cities in the world. It is a mix of slums, a modern business district, Chinatown, middle class residential areas, nightclubs and casinos.

Like most other metropolises in third world countries, misery and wealth walk hand in hand: simple slums, luxurious business districts with modern buildings, beautifully landscaped parks, old buses and high-end Mercedes cars.

In Manila, the distance between the extremes is even smaller, as it is all mixed up in a significantly compact area, because the city was expanding without proper planning.

To have a look at both extremes of today’s Philippines or its capital city I took a short drive through Forbes Park in the prestigious financial hub Makati and the ghetto in the Tondo area which are only 9 kilometers apart. In Forbes Park, security guards didn’t let me walk at all, since I was the only one without a vehicle. In contrast, around 200,000 poor Filipinos live in 17,000 barracks in the area of Tondo, which measures only 1.5 km² in size. Walking around with a camera or tempting dollars in my pocket could easily attract attention of pickpockets.

Manila was actually one of the very few places in the whole Asia where I felt insecure in some areas even during the daylight. I was always trying to stay close to other pedestrians and didn’t separate from the crowds while walking in parks.

The remnants of Spanish rule in the walled city of Intramuros, travelling in a jeepney through the chaotic streets, watching the latest American movie at the cinema, window shopping in one of the big shopping malls and walking around Rizal Park were my main activities in addition to exploring the colorful nightlife.

Due to orientation problems, constant traffic jams and extremely bad air, it is quite normal that visitors prefer quieter locations around the country. I stayed in Manila only for 3 days, which is very little for an Asian metropolis.

A visit to the Philippines is not complete without visiting the Chocolate Hills, sunbathing on one of the many white sandy beaches, walking along the miraculous rice terraces in northern Luzon and observing (or even climbing) one of the volcanoes.

The rice terraces in Banaue and its surroundings are occasionally called the eighth wonder of the world.

Banaue rice terraces were made 2,000 to 3,000 years ago and rise up to 1,700 meters high. If terraces could be connected in one line, they would reach a length of 20,000 kilometers.

Each terrace is 60 to 250 cm high and connected among levels by stone stairs – or rather with large stones stuck to the terrace wall. The terraces were built with minimal equipment, largely by hand.

Locals up to this day still plant rice and vegetables on the terraces, but probably hospitality industry and tourism will eventually become more lucrative and less demanding. Walking on the terraces interspersed with water canals and finding the right path can be very challenging, so sometimes it is worth accepting the offer of the locals to show you the right way for a few pesos.

After half an hour drive by jeepney and a two hour walk from Ananei, I arrived to the small village of Batad. Rice terraces, beautiful views, friendly Ifugaji locals and peace are the same as 2,000 years ago. The nearest road is a two-hour walk up steeply carved stairs, electricity is still years away, candles offer the only light at night.

Two thousand years have passed since the ancestors constructed terraces in this region and initiated the cultivation of rice. The system of water flow from the top remains the same. Walking up the stairs between the terraces is always complicated, if not dangerous, especially when the rain makes them slippery.

The Ifugai people were famous as hunters of human heads in the past, but today they are hosting foreign visitors, bringing much-needed money to the valley.

Their houses are adorned only with pig skulls or bull horns, previously sacrificed to the gods in traditional ceremonies. Human skulls have been replaced by bull horns and pig heads.

In some wooden houses covered with dried rice grass, bones of important ancestors, especially males, are still stored. Simple huts are slowly being replaced by modern houses made of concrete and covered with metal roofs.

Considering the fact that everything, except rice, needs to be brought to Batad by porters or donkeys, the village looks extremely well maintained and clean. Unlike many Philippine towns or villages, the buildings here are logically organized.

The rice terraces ascend in the shape of a semicircle reminiscent of a Greek theater, reaching several hundred meters in height.  Their enchanting appearance inspires me and provokes a multitude of intriguing questions:

“Why and how did they originate right here?”

“How many years, energy and stones did it take to build them?”

In addition to the view of the terraces, I was also impressed by the extraordinary kindness of my hosts and locals in general.

In the evening, rather than sitting in front of the television, we gathered around a table filled with delightful dishes. Famous pop stars were replaced by local artists, who entertained us late at night with a guitar and singing.

I started to climb terraces early next morning, as the heat during the day is an additional challenge that can take a lot of energy. First, I climbed over the suspension bridge to one of the surrounding hills. The kids on the way to school guided me to not get lost from the main path.

Somewhere at the top, while observing the terraces, I was disturbed by a simply dressed elderly gentleman, who asked me for a cigarette and sat down next to me.

He showed me a modest house that serves as a refuge when he works in the fields, as the descent and especially the ascent from the valley is too difficult for everyday exercise. I donated him a lighter and he unveiled a secret set of stairs that led me back to Batad. I followed a shortcut between wooden and newly built houses, then returned to the guesthouse, where the housewife prepared a delicious lunch for me.

Part of the meal was also rice that grew at the magnificent terraces that explored during the day.

The Mayon Volcano is considered to be a volcano with the most perfect crater shape of all. Even his name – Mayon in the local dialect means wonderful – heralds his beauty.

Constant lava eruptions every 10 years bring the entire area of ​​southern Luzon to its feet, and many residents need to be evacuated over and over again. In the last mayor outbreak in 1993, 70 people lost their lives and 50,000 residents of the surrounding villages had to be relocated. During the dormant period, it is possible to climb to the top of the crater itself, which requires two days of demanding ascent. I decided to observe the perfect cone from a distance.

Another interesting volcano is located just two hours’ drive north of Manila, near the sex capital, Angeles. The eruption of lava and ash, which rose from the volcano Mount Pinatubo on the 15^th June 1991 and covered a wider area, is considered to be the second-largest terrestrial eruption of the 20^th century after the 1912 eruption of Novarupta in Alaska.

The gray mix of stones, ashes and soil reached a thickness of 20 meters in some places and today offers an interesting opportunity for trekking.

During the rainy season, the area around the volcano Mt. Pinatubo becomes extremely dangerous. I hired an experienced guide to walk up the river bed, avoid quicksand and watch out for slippery rocks.

It was a thrilling adventure. I didn’t realize how dangerous it was until the guide screamed:

“Rok, stop! Don’t walk any further!”

He was always using a stick to verify the hardness of surface, which seemed pretty solid most of the time. He picked up a heavy stone and threw it just 2 meters from our feet. It sunk immediately in quicksand and disappeared deep into the mud.

We kept walking cautiously for two hours before finally reaching the point where it was too risky to continue. Walking in the area surrounded with meters of soil, covered with ashes from the last volcano eruption, is an incredible experience.

Chocolate Hills are a formation of more than 10,000 symmetrical hills, up to 50 meters high on the island of Bohol, that turn brown during the dry season.

According to a legend, the hills are said to be the tears of sad giant creatures, while the scientific explanation leans towards the fossil remains of the parched sea. The low grass that grow on the hills look so perfect as if someone would mow it continuously. The job is actually done by hot sun, which dries the grass and thus turns it brown.

To make a visit to Bohol complete, I had a chance to trace the smallest primates in the world, tarsius monkeys – Tarsiers. They measure up to 13 centimeters in length, excluding a tail that can be about twice as long.

Tarsiers are especially active at night, when their big saucer eyes, which are disproportionally large compared to their tiny bodies, become even more expressive. With the assistance of their elongated tails, their speed allows them to accumulate enough insects for a tasty dinner. Tarsiers are the only entirely carnivorous primates, preying on insects, lizards, and small snakes.

With its numerous sandy beaches, transparent seas, and tropical palm trees, the Philippines presents an irresistible opportunity to relax for several days, savoring fresh seafood, tasting inexpensive local beer, and enjoying swimming, snorkeling or diving.

While Boracay is frequently highlighted as a paradise island, its status as the most promoted does not equate to it being the most beautiful.

The Philippine version of Bali is 9 kilometers long, 1 km wide and entirely dedicated to tourism.

Dozens of hotels, restaurants, bungalows, bars and diving schools attract thousands of tourists during the main season. The combination of beautiful white sandy beaches and lively nightlife predominantly appeals to a younger population, eager for fun, diving, surfing or fishing.

I spent a couple of days in a beachside bungalow, but the weather was not good enough to really enjoy the sun. Due to constant rain, strong wind and general unstable weather conditions, water activities were suspended.

My desire was to discover a much less crowded and more remote location, where I would relax in a bungalow with direct access to white sandy beach, a few meters from the crystal-clear sea, lounging under coconut palms.

I found peace and sincere conversation with friendly locals, delicious seafood prepared in a simple eatery by grandma on Malapascua Island, located north of Cebu. There was just a dozen of cottages located right on the beach, when I visited it in 1999. No restaurants and no other infrastructure were available to the visitors.

I conversed with a local fisherman, who offered me the use of his personal canoe to discover the island from the sea. It took me about half a day to paddle around it.

The next morning, I walked through the village asking for a cook that could prepare me lunch or dinner. It didn’t take long until I ran into a strong lady, who was willing to set aside a table, cook the catch of the day for dinner and host me. When we agreed on price, cooking method and species, we were all set for a delicious dinner.

In the evening, she set up a modest table adorned with plastic chairs outside her home, generously serving fish in coconut sauce, rice and salad. The large portions were delicious, inexpensive and memorable.

Unlike Boracay, Malapascua Island offers perfect weather even during the rainy season and tourists have practically not discovered it yet. I am convinced the island will change completely in the next years, when the arrival of foreign visitors will strongly impact the pristine environment.

During a month and a half, I thoroughly explored the Philippines, visiting multiple islands, using various forms of transport, participating in a wide range of activities, and encountering welcoming people from rural and urban areas.

From beautiful beaches with clear blue water and palm trees, to thousands of years old mystic rice terraces and underground caves to perfectly shaped volcanos, huge shopping malls and diversified night life … the Philippines have it all.

A significant drawback of the country is the elevated crime rate, numerous pickpockets and general pollution feeling in Manila. Such situations are not common in other countries Southeastern Asia.

Probably the Philippines will grow in popularity as a tourist destination in the future. The infrastructure will improve, more hotels will grossly encroach on the natural environment and spoil the pristine beauty; especially of the seaside.

I am happy to have visited the Philippines before natural disasters, overpopulation and tourist boom will significantly transform the country.