As I traveled across the Philippines, I noticed many things that were different from life back home in the USA.

This page is full of observations, musings and all the small details from three weeks in Manila, Romblon and northern Luzon.

Sunset in the Chinese Cemetery in Manila, Philippines
Sunset in the Chinese Cemetery in Manila, Philippines

Things I Noticed in the Philippines

It seems everywhere my wife, Carrie, and I go, people are excited to see us. If I had to guess, they don’t see too many American tourists our age.
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Me towering above the rest of the folks in a Manila LRT subway car
Me towering above the rest of the folks in a Manila LRT subway car

I’m almost a solid foot taller than everyone else. This is especially noticeable in the Manila LRT subway.

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It’s quite convenient that everyone in the Philippines seems to speak English: even in some of the more remote towns we visited.
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Much like in Thailand, there are 7-Elevens all over the place, which are a beacon of air conditioning in the sweltering heat.
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For some reason, the most popular music is country music from the USA. I guess I can’t even escape it by being on the other side of the world.
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Bathrooms are called comfort rooms.
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A comfort room at a bus rest stop in Bontoc Provence
A comfort room at a bus rest stop in Bontoc Provence

The Internet is painfully slow in most places.

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A guesthouse owner referred to a bed’s top sheet as a blanket. Maybe that’s because the town was too hot for a real blanket?
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Everywhere you go, little old ladies walk around bent over at the waist. This comes from a lifetime of manual labor in the fields and carrying heavy bags on their backs.
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After nearly a year in Thailand, I’m enjoying pointing my camera at churches instead of wats and chedis. Though, I’m not quite sure what do without Buddha!

 

St Joseph Cathedral is the most iconic church out of dozens in Romblon Town
St Joseph Cathedral is the most iconic church out of dozens in Romblon Town

Things I Learned About Filipino Culture

Momo is a red-colored chewing tobacco that locals love to chew and spit all over the streets and walls. Despite signs all over the Philippines that say “no momo here,” the country is still stained with red blotches. It’s very similar to paan in India.
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A common expression across the Philippines is “wait for a while,” which basically means the person has no idea how long it will take. Sometimes, the wait can be minutes; other times, it can be hours.
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Similar to the rest of Asia, Filipino culture is one of non-confrontation and trying to make everyone happy; even at the expense of doing something they don’t want to do. This information came from a hotel owner on Romblon Island who was kind enough to unlock several doors and lead us upstairs so I could take a photo of the town. While I was snapping away, she mentioned his fact to Carrie. I assume it was her passive-aggressive way of saying “you people are a pain in my ass.

 

Romblon Town, as seen from the rooftop the Floro & Alfreda Guest House
Romblon Town, as seen from the rooftop the Floro & Alfreda Guest House

Food in the Philippines

My first meal in the Philippines was a hot dog on a stick in the Angeles Dao bus station.
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The majority of the food that we found is either fried or fast food. There’s also a large amount of meat and few vegetarian options, which makes life difficult for Carrie.
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When I was at the hostel trying to find out things to do in the Philippines, I asked the two ladies who work there: possibly the owners. All they could come up with was “go to the mall.”

Ads for McDonalds are everywhere in Manila… as are McDonalds restaurants themselves.
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I bought a pizza in Batangas Pier that was basically a soggy round slice of bread, catsup, sprinkled Kraft cheese and one single slice of ham cut up into little triangles. It was one of the worst things I’ve ever eaten and I threw half of it away. What I find crazy is that locals were buying them by the dozen to bring back home. This really saddens the New Yorker in me; for these folks, that is their definition of good pizza!

 

Pizza is a very popular food in the Philippines. Sadly, this is a pizza
Pizza is a very popular food in the Philippines. Sadly, this is a pizza

 

This was perhaps my favorite meal in the Philippines – Porksilog, aka a pork chop with a bag of rice and a meaty-flavored soup for 45 pesos ($1.12)
This was perhaps my favorite meal in the Philippines – Porksilog, aka a pork chop with a bag of rice and a meaty-flavored soup for 45 pesos ($1.12)

 

The food court next to DeLa Salle University is full of fast food and nothing else.
The food court next to DeLa Salle University is full of fast food and nothing else.

Observations from Manila, Philippines

Bag security checks are everywhere in Manila: before entering a mall, post office, subway, tourist attraction, supermarket, etc. That said, it’s a completely half-assed bag check… but maybe that’s because we’re Western tourists?
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People are constantly worried for the safety of Carrie and my belongings. Whenever we put our bags on the ground, someone would come over and put them on a chair next to us. I wonder if they have constant robberies, live their life in fear, don’t want our bags to be dirty or if it’s a cultural thing that I just don’t know about.
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Sunset over the Manila Cathedral in Intramuros - Aka the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception
Sunset over the Manila Cathedral in Intramuros – Aka the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception

When I asked the ladies who worked at our hostel in Manila what there was to do in the city, all they could come up with was “go to the mall.”

I tried to explain that I wanted to see buildings, the old city, tourist sights, etc, and was greeted with blank stares. Finally, when I asked to see churches, they came up with just one for me to see: in a city full of famous churches.
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Good luck trying to get on a Manila subway with big backpacking bags. It’s crowded all day long and closes at 10pm.
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While leaving the Christian Cemetery, a local man started singing Gangnam Style to me and doing the dance. So naturally, I did the dance right back, much to the joy, laughter and smiles of all the locals.
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From the view from the roof of our hostel, we have a panoramic view of Manila. From that vantage point, the downtown high-rises seem to form a protective (or exclusive) ring around the slums below.

 

The Manila skyline on a full moon night, as seen from the Pink Manila Hostel on Pablo Ocampo Street
The Manila skyline on a full moon night, as seen from the Pink Manila Hostel on Pablo Ocampo Street

 

A devotee at the National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help. Aka, the Redemptorist Church or the Baclaran Church in Manila
A devotee at the National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help. Aka, the Redemptorist Church or the Baclaran Church in Manila

Transportation in the Philippines

During one especially curvy bus ride, Carrie said, “our bus driver is very ballsy ” We then laughed, as ballsy is not the trait you want while taking sharp turns on a foggy mountain with no walls between us and the canyon below.
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The LRT subway ticket booth that was the inspiration for the story to the left
The LRT subway ticket booth that was the inspiration for the story to the left

Before my first ride on Manila’s LRT subway, I took a photo of the ticket counter. Moments later, a security guard stopped me and asked why I took the photo and what I planned to do with it.

My response was the truth, “I love taking photos of everything I see to show my friends back home.” I didn’t mention the part about this Web site. Almost immediately  the guard’s face transformed into a huge grin and he asked me to take his photo. Sadly, shyness quickly overcame him and he changed his mind before I could snap the photo.
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It’s a bit unnerving to put my backpack in the rack on top of a jeepney without strapping it down first.
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The preferred method of paying for a Jeepney ride is to pass your money up to the driver before your stop and while the vehicle is still in motion. The result is similar to passing money down an aisle to a vendor at a sporting event. However, unlike at a sporting event, I found it immensely fun to be a part of the chain: especially when I was the one who actually handed the money to the driver.
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I’m a huge James Bond fan, so I was thrilled when a bus played Skyfall in English. Even better were the English subtitles, which rarely had anything to do with the actual words being spoken. Carrie and I actually got excited when there were two correctly captioned subtitles in a row.

My personal favorite error was after Q wished Bond luck on his mission. The subtitle said, “do well in your golf game.” No one else on the bus may have understood why we were laughing so hard, but it became a running joke for the next few days.
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Several different security guards forbade me from wandering around Batangas Pier while waiting for a ferry. I explained that I was bored and wanted to go for a walk to take a few photos, but the just said “sorry sir.” I suppose it was for my own safety, but I really can’t imagine from what.

 

The Port of Batangas, as seen from the deck of my overnight ferry
The Port of Batangas, as seen from the deck of my overnight ferry

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Carrie and I racked up quite the collection of transportation methods between leaving our pink house in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and arriving at the Pink Manila Hostel. In order, we took a:

  1. Private car driven by the owner of our house
  2. Plane ride to Bangkok
  3. Shuttle bus between Bangkok airports
  4. Plane ride to Angeles City
  5. Luxury jeep taxi at 2:30am
  6. Tricycle to the Dao bus station the next morning
  7. Taxi van instead of a bus to Manila
  8. Pedicab after the taxi van dropped us off in the middle of nowhere (this was especially funny, as the driver was a little old man trying to pedal around two tall Westerners and our heavy bags. We stopped him after a few blocks, said thank you and all had a good laugh)
  9. Meter taxi to our hostel.

While this seemed like a lot at the time, it was just a preview of our eventual epic 15 modes of transportation in 48 hours adventure.

 

A foggy and rainy street in Abatan, Buguias, Benguet, Philippines
A foggy and rainy street in Abatan, Buguias, Benguet, Philippines

A Parting Thought

The human mind is a fascinating entity. When experiencing something new, it immediately wants to relate it to something it has previously seen or experienced. But why? Is it to provide a sense of comfort? While walking through a Barclaran market in Manila, I found myself saying “oh, this is just like Dehli or Panama.” Then, I stopped myself from comparing it and said, “no, this is just like the Barclaran market in Manila. It doesn’t have to be like anywhere else.”

 

An overhead view of the Baclaran Market in Manila, Philippines
An overhead view of the Baclaran Market in Manila, Philippines

A Parting Sunset

Carrie and I saw so many incredible sunsets during our time in the Philippines, but I managed to keep most of them solely in my memory. Of the few I did photograph, this parting shot from the Odiongan pier is my favorite.

 

A sunset over the docks of Odiongan Pier in Romblon Province, Philippines
A sunset over the docks of Odiongan Pier in Romblon Province, Philippines

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So what do you think? Is the Philippines your next travel destination?