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| craigie b |
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craigie b
Citizen Smith
Joined: 26 Jul 2004
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 Posted: 20:01 - 12 Nov 2007  Post subject: Manilla-How Bizarre |
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I've took this from my blog that I do but though you may want to read it as it was a fairly hectic journey with some terrible sights (and some very humorous ones too). If you don't like it then don't read it, and if Mister James is about, please correct my history 
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'Kill and burn" was the infamous order given by US general during the American Philippine war at the turn of the 20th century. He famously retorted “The more you kill and burn the better it will please me. I want all persons killed who are capable of bearing arms in actual hostilities against the United States". Person capable of bearing arms was decided as any child over the age of ten and so began a war of attrition as the US army slaughtered women, children and men. Bear in mind, it’s highly unlikely any soldier stopped to question a child’s age so it is more than likely that anyone aged from 6 upwards was considered a viable target.
That’s a little history from the Philippines past. Prior to the US invading, the Spaniards had controlled the country (named after King Phillip no less) and then after the US led war the people had to endure an invasion by the Japanese, another culture who has been notoriously cruel in waging war. The Philippines’ have a long history of suffering and it shows.
Anyway, wind forward to present day and I step of a plane and immediately announce that Manila ‘Smells like Fish’. I mean the place stinks, so much so that the vile smell would even permeate the food you were eating. I ate a fishy dairy milk!
The Philippines is a third world country and it shows. The place reeks of tragedy and it was visible at nearly every corner, every street that I visited. Whereas Vietnam was poor, the people seemed to take pride in there every day life and it showed. The streets were clean and the people friendly. Not so here.
Given America’s strong presence in shaping the countries past, the people have a bizarre taint which I’ve not seen elsewhere in Asia. The place nearly feels like an alien version of America, with the place often feeling like an Asian version of ‘Training Day’ or ‘Boys in the Hood’. Like how you imagine Columbia only with Asians doing the shooting and drug runs.
The men had hardened faces and security officers armed with guns could be seen every 200 or so metres, whilst the women would actively try and sell not only themselves but their children to you on the street.
Lord help you if you decided to venture down one of the poorly lit side streets at night. The chances of your return would be quite slim.
To visualise how poor the region is, imagine staying in a hotel with all the regular amenities whilst immediately next door people are staying in shacks. Right at my door step lay several ‘shanty towns’, with people living in shacks made from reclaimed wood, trash, tarpaulin and what looked like asbestos sheeting.
The amount of security around was equally disturbing. Given the poor wages of the area I had to question how well trained any of the security would be with their firearms. To make matters worse you only had to read the daily news to see stories of drive by shootings, high speed gun battles etc. I did chuckle though when one of the guys working with us came running back to the hotel, in terror, that the street next to us had been cordoned off by men with M16 machine guns. Obviously I grabbed my camera and left immediately to get some snaps with one of the braver members of staff but by the time we got there the situation had disappeared!
The hotel we were staying at was disturbing. The corridor to my room looked like something from a horror film and the second floor was still under construction (typically, it was the staffs offices so no luxuries were spent there). The second floor looked like a scene from the horror ‘Hostel’ and I half lay in bed at night jokingly thinking some psychotic, deranged lunatic would drag me kicking and screaming to the second floor to perform horrible torture on ‘the rich westerner’. Ironically enough, on my last night there, Hostel showed on the tv!
Some of the more positive things there was the local buses. I have no idea where they get them from, but the buses looked like US jeeps which had been hacked onto a bus rear. The locals then paint them psychedelic colours before daubing catholic slogans and pictures of Christ all over them! The children, whilst poorer than we could imagine in the west would spend ages playing badminton using worn out rackets and knotted crisp packets, which is testament to the children’s ingenuity.
Then there was Mark, our friendly Manila based Casino technician. I foolishly opted at the opportunity to go for a car run with him to get a SIM card for my phone (it’s cheaper to get a new pay as you go SIM in every country out here than it is to ‘roam’ on a foreign card).
As we reached speeds of 150 miles per hour, Mark gleefully explained to me that his modified car wasn’t as fast as his bike. I should have paid more attention to the bean can sized exhaust on the back of the car prior to entering. I frantically looked for a seatbelt, until I realised that A: seat belts are probably considered an extra in a third world country and B: even then a seat belt would only pin my decapitated body into the vehicle if we crashed. I decided with any luck I’d be flung from the vehicle on impact and only suffer brain damage and a few minor amputations.
Driving in Manila is novel to say the least. Whilst the car angrily shot past 100mph I couldn’t help but notice Marks tendency to push for more speed when pedestrians step out in front. I have never gripped the Jesus handle of a car so tightly in all my life as we veered, at speed, from lane to lane, overtaking buses, undertaking cars and swerving out of the way of pedestrians.
A saner person may say the moral of the story is, on visiting a third world country, do not enter a strangers vehicles. However, I’d opt for a much more positive morale and say ‘if you want drive fast go to Manila’
A bizarre fact about Manila’s roads is this. The population of the Philippines is in the region of 81 million, in an land mass smaller than the UK’s. The roads are so busy that when you purchase a car you are only allowed to legally drive it on set days and this is dictated by your registration plate. The rich get around this buy simply owning several cars and the number of brand new 4x4’s, Toyotas and Honda’s on the road suggest, like most of the world’s poor regions, that the country is not suffering from a shortage of wealth but a terrible inequality of the spread of wealth.
One of the bizarre things I noted was this. The above describes a place which sounds like hell on earth. Crap, we even had a potential bomb scare on the Sunday as the Ex President had just been released from jail. However, at the time you just absorb what is going on around you and try and keep alert. It’s only in reflection that you begin to say ‘Fuck me, that place is a shit hole’. Another thing, given how poor the people are, was you couldn’t help but notice how well turned out members of staff, be it the hotels or the security would turn up. I mean immaculately washed and pressed clothes. I can’t even manage that on a good day, yet here are these people living in shanty towns arriving at work better presented than I am with my hotel laundrette service!
To conclude, it was an interesting trip. Not a place I would recommend unless you want a story to tell and definitely not a place to venture on your own. I’d quite happily never return but fate seems to laugh at me and I’ve pencilled in a return trip next week. The joys |
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| bazza |
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bazza
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scorps
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craigie b
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| The Tot |
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The Tot
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Posted: 10:54 - 14 Nov 2007  Post subject: |
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Bloody hell, that makes Jakarta look Modern!   . Not been to the Philippines but those images are reminiscent of certain areas of Jakarta. The level of corruption in the 3rd world unbearable and the class divide between the rich and the poor is amazing. You can have 1 million dollar mansions in one estate, hop over the river/fence/perimeter, it's slums! . The good thing that the Philippines has got going for it is that unlike indonesia, the majority of the population are Catholic, instead of towel wearers who cry every 5AM and 5PM and intermittent hours.
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| MoshizZ |
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MoshizZ
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| Posted: 12:46 - 14 Nov 2007 Post subject: |
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Carlsberg dont do holidays...but if they did 
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| craigie b |
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craigie b
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| Posted: 16:04 - 14 Nov 2007 Post subject: |
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| Titz wrote: | Bloody hell, that makes Jakarta look Modern! . Not been to the Philippines but those images are reminiscent of certain areas of Jakarta. The level of corruption in the 3rd world unbearable and the class divide between the rich and the poor is amazing. You can have 1 million dollar mansions in one estate, hop over the river/fence/perimeter, it's slums! . The good thing that the Philippines has got going for it is that unlike indonesia, the majority of the population are Catholic, instead of towel wearers who cry every 5AM and 5PM and intermittent hours. |
To be honest, Malaysia is a towel head state and its possibly the finest example of multcultarism I have ever witnessed. Jus don't get caught smuggling a pound of heroin over the borders
There was one thing I left out of my blog, which was especially disturbing.
When I'm travelling I try to take good photos and its something I'm working on. Anyway, I took one shot of a kid and it wasn't until after I took it that I realised he was 'posing'. I deleted the image immediately.
If you need that spelt out, it meant he was touting for business. It fucking sickened me to the core and I immediately deleted the picture as the connotations were awful. Beyond just selling himself, it meant it was something that had happened before to him or why else would he react as he did.
I swear it made me feel sick.
Last edited by craigie b on 16:06 - 14 Nov 2007; edited 1 time in total |
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| craigie b |
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craigie b
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| Posted: 16:05 - 14 Nov 2007 Post subject: |
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I should also point out that I seen the fucking tourist area. I've been told the non tourist area is a hundred times worse |
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scorps
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| Posted: 21:27 - 14 Nov 2007 Post subject: |
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at the southeren end of manilla Island is a place called Batangas, actually the best part of our trip out there, a small holiday resort on the shores of lake taal which boasts the worlds smallest active volcano, a volcano in a lake in a volcano in a lake very wierd phenomenon and a bugger to get to, for 50 us dollars a night, the same amount for a decent hotel in Manilla you get to stay in a wooden shack, i did ask why it cost the same, I was told its fresh air which is not something you get a lot of in Manilla, the volcano erupted while we stayed there too which was amazing but id still never go back, I have however learned how to make the famous dish crispy patta and i regularly knock up a steak tagalog so possibly some benefits of being there, i actually felt like kissing the ground when we arrived back in saudi that should tell you how bad the place is, oh and both my daughters were leaping with headlice after the trip
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flat spot
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Old Thread Alert!
The last post was made 18 years, 342 days ago. Instead of replying here, would creating a new thread be more useful? |
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