Manila – Getting out of the office cafeteria (if only a little)
2007 – Manila, Philippines
Manila is another city which it’s reputation proceeds it, as a place with high levels of violent crime and a seedy nightlife. I was travelling alone again, and didn’t want to chance it, so spent my evenings and nights in the impressive shopping centres of Makati, the upper class district of Manila. Like in KL, my work was located 1 ½ hours drive outside of the city, so my mornings and evenings were spent sprawled in the back seat of a Toyota, driven by my cheerful and endlessly polite driver. He was so nice, but like many in his country, very poor. He was so happy to be taking his only daughter for her birthday to Jollibee’s (a Pinoy burger chain), but on the day after her birthday, was distraught when a security guard accused him of damaging a security badge – for which he’d have to pay 200 peso (around 6 dollars) to repair. From what I could tell, the security guard was being a jerk.
The city of Manila is huge, containing many very visible slums, but some parts also retain a Spanish feel in the pinks and yellow paints used. Once out of Manila, is where the Philippines gets interesting. It is lush, and you feel like your on a tropical island.. hey, guess what, you are! Palm trees, green fields, rolling hills is what you’re in for, while still sucking in the horrid traffic in and out of Manila.
Island in a lake in a volcano, or something like that at Tagatay.
My eating experiences was only ok at the Philippines, with food being very similar to that of Thailand without the chilli. So still good. However my food was limited – at breakfast it was at Starbucks, at lunch at the office canteen and dinner was in shopping centres.
The office canteen was good – rice normally sided with some form of fish, and some form of vegetables. But hardly anything to blog about. What was the most fun though was the canteen. It was dominated by the wall mounted television, with a number speakers set around the room, and turned up to 11. On it was the daily television program Wowowee – a gameshow where the audience must dance to daggy music first be shortlisted, and then dance again while singing the programs theme song – those deemed to dance and sing good enough then made it to being a contestant. I didn’t watch the show much past here, but watching the mothers and grandmothers of the Philippines gush and groove in the way they do on this show was enough. It was a little embarrassing, but their enthusiasm made it really entertaining at the same time. I was later told by another foreigner that the Pinoy’s have a love of dancing embedded in their DNA.
It’s a bit sad that all I have to report about the Philippines is shopping centres, rolling hills, my drive to and from work, and daytime gameshow TV, but that’s all my working schedule really allowed for. Again, the people were lovely, and everything a bit easier as English is widely spoken. Also, as the Philippines is off the mainland of Asia, it means you don’t get the same backpackers crossing in to get a new stamp in their passport – only those who really want to go here make the flight. In that lies the beauty, fewer tourists, a more undiscovered feel, while the widespread use of English makes it easier to get around.
