As we sat having lunch the other day I am struck by the contrasts that exist side by side in every part of Mactan Island. Fabulous resorts and filth and poverty are bed fellows here.
We recently arrived at a rather empty Japanese restaurant in a new, small mall just off the famous Quezon Highway. Travelling there by way of a nine peso (US$0.20) tricycle trip we set off on our short walk along the dusty, dirty, muddy edge of the road. No pavements here.
The path was uneven and bumpy and we had to pick our way around garbage, the odd dog, a motor bike or tricycle parked half on and half off the road. People milling around and offering a variety of products from grubby, barred windows. Jeepneys and tricycles belching their way around the road diversion.
Just a few meters off this road the small mall is an absolute contrast. Spotless new buildings, an efficient security guard controlling the traffic and neat clean shops.
After sitting in the restaurant for about half an hour I became aware of a man moving along the passage sweeping. I remembered seeing him not 15 minutes ago sweeping in the opposite direction. As we sat there for lunch he moved along slowly from one side of the mall to the other.
As I looked out not 20 metres away there was garbage lying along the dusty, litter ridden roadside.
Two countries in one. Living side by side. Poverty and wealth are close neighbours but living in harmony. In a country I've heard called, by a young man born and bred Africa, "the most Third World country I've ever been to".
But it all seems to work despite the uncontrolled population of humans and dogs and cats!!!
Showing posts with label philippines. Show all posts
Showing posts with label philippines. Show all posts
Monday, 28 April 2014
Tuesday, 15 October 2013
Meeting a Long Time Filipino Scottish Expat
Last Friday night at Dionnes we met an interesting Scottish expat, Alan, who was managing the restaurant before it is taken over by a South African woman. Her name is Adele, who he told us is married to a Filipino.
Carol was very happy to hear that news, as around here there is a serious lack of non Filipino women. There are a number of older white guys ... many with a much younger Filipino woman in tow. Also a lot of granddad looking guys with very young children.
Dionnes is about a kilometre or so from here and we had walked there.
He has been here about 16 years and had a number of stories about where to go and what to do. He told us that to walk back home after 10 was not a good idea as it wasn't very safe. Funny how as we made our way back at just after 09h30 we managed to then see a few shady looking characters!! Imagination or what?
However there is traffic along there day and night and the risk is probably pretty low. We don't carry phones or wallets... one PHP1 000 (a thousand Philippine Pesos, or R250) note is more than enough for a good night out.
He also warned us that all foreigners are fair game to be ripped off by everyone from the motor cycle drivers to the policeman, which actually made me feel quite at home. Apparently if you have an accident you are to blame ... whatever the circumstances!! "Spot fines" are also apparently a common solution to minor traffic violations (so its advisable to keep a few PHP100 notes handy).
He seemed to spend his days having a pretty jelled time, swimming, having breakfast at one of the resorts and drifting around for the rest of the day.
Not the life for me but everyone to their own.
Carol was very happy to hear that news, as around here there is a serious lack of non Filipino women. There are a number of older white guys ... many with a much younger Filipino woman in tow. Also a lot of granddad looking guys with very young children.
Dionnes is about a kilometre or so from here and we had walked there.
He has been here about 16 years and had a number of stories about where to go and what to do. He told us that to walk back home after 10 was not a good idea as it wasn't very safe. Funny how as we made our way back at just after 09h30 we managed to then see a few shady looking characters!! Imagination or what?
However there is traffic along there day and night and the risk is probably pretty low. We don't carry phones or wallets... one PHP1 000 (a thousand Philippine Pesos, or R250) note is more than enough for a good night out.
He also warned us that all foreigners are fair game to be ripped off by everyone from the motor cycle drivers to the policeman, which actually made me feel quite at home. Apparently if you have an accident you are to blame ... whatever the circumstances!! "Spot fines" are also apparently a common solution to minor traffic violations (so its advisable to keep a few PHP100 notes handy).
He seemed to spend his days having a pretty jelled time, swimming, having breakfast at one of the resorts and drifting around for the rest of the day.
Not the life for me but everyone to their own.
Sunday, 13 October 2013
Our day in the life of a local Cebuano
Apologies if you have no idea of the relevance of the Facebook pictures and what' they're all about!! I'm still battling with the technology of getting pictures from my phone to Facebook with relevant captions.
In the meantime my blog will hopefully fill in the missing gaps and if all goes well it won't be too long before I manage to find a solution.
So on to our next experience.
Yesterday was at the same time most enjoyable and very humbling. Emily (Carol's maid and companion) had invited us to her house and then to go to a festival at her brother's house. It turned out very differently from what I'd imagine it to be. For those of you who don't know the predominant religion in the Philippines is Roman Catholic ... and they are very devout.
It day was supposed to begin with my first experience of the Filipino public transport system. Starting with a tricycle ride to the first Jeepney terminal and then 2 Jeepney rides to Emily's house which is located on Cebu island in Mandaue City. Mandaue City borders on Cebu City and apart from sign boards separating the two there is really no difference.
As Emily arrived to collect us it started to rain ... the options were take a chance of getting wet or taking a taxi. And I'm sure you can guess which one I chose!
It was about an hours drive (probably about 7 or 8 k's!!) over the Old Bridge up towards the mountain behind the cities. We arrived in a very narrow street and walked up to what she calls her "poor house". Small it might be, and sure it has very few western amenities or even basic facilities but it was impeccable. Some of her family were there to meet us and they varied from very shy to very outgoing - the outgoing one Grazie is a call centre operator who works in a company which employs 8 000 people serving a part of the US cellphone industry.
What hits you as you walk around is the massive differences there can be from one house to the next. One a very smart brick building with a couple of SUV's parked outside next to a wooden shack that is also a roadside eating house.
After a short break and the mandatory glass of water we headed off to see the new house that she and her husband are building. It's brick so should handle the heavy rain and winds that occasionally hit this part of the world. They are building a small 2 story home very slowly brick by brick as they earn the money.
Last year Emily was employed as a contract worker by NatureSquared when they were doing the Azzam yacht project but now that's over she would was out of work. She is now working for us for three days a week. There is no state subsidised unemployment insurance ... its simple you get money if you work.
On our walk we passed a group of very vocal and animated men. On enquiring we were told that it was "spider" fighting. As this was quite intriguing we made our way over and saw exactly what it was about. A piece of string is suspended between 2 sticks about 30 centimetres above a table and the two spiders are encouraged on to the string by their handlers, if all goes well the spiders rush along the string towards each other and after a frenetic few seconds one or both head towards the table. The one that touches the table first is the loser.
This is a seasonal "sport" as these spiders are gathered from the surrounding bush at a certain time of the year. It's not only a past-time but a means of gambling as was evidenced by the money lying on the table.
So up the mountain we walked part of the road was cement strips and part similar to some of the rutted roads that we experience on some of our mountain bike rides. As we walked up motorcycles were passing us going up and down.
At the top we were greeted by the sight of the open air dance area which apparently had 76 speakers. Earlier we had heard music from this system which was very loud and varied from reasonably harmonic and pleasant to real head bashing stuff ... I suppose everyone to their own.
There were a number of pigs on spits being patiently turned by hand, a small chapel and a large statue surrounded by flowers dedicated to St Antonio, young people handing out candles and in complete contrast a raucous group watching cock fighting. We decided to give the cock fighting a miss and after a snack of deep fried pork and a Pepsi wandered down to the edge of this steep cliff. There were chairs and tables laid out and a lovely soft lawn and it had a wonderful view across Cebu City.
Again the paradox. As you looked left you saw these opulent homes on a new subdivision, a crystal clear swimming pool, a building which was obviously a clubhouse and expensive cars and SUV's parked along the roads. On the right was a tiny wooden shack. All that separated them was a 50 metre high cliff.
A short while after we got there a group of about 20 young men arrived and tucked into a meal which had been prepared for them. They were the band who would later lead the procession through the town. At the arranged time the beating of drums started and the trumpeters blasted out and the procession started down the hill.
Old and very young slowly moved along. Some had candles and some were singing. Firecrackers were lit and the acrid pungent smell drifted through the crowd of worshippers. It was quite serene and it was easy to sense the feeling of piety and devotion. The group slowly made their way along a narrow street lined with people who had come out to watch and who, in some cases, also had burning candles.
The procession then made their way onto a main street and it was fascinating for me to see the patience and consideration of the motorists. Only one lane was open so they stopped and waited as the traffic slowly cleared itself from either direction. At the river the procession stopped and the statue was kissed by an old lady who is 101 years old.
Forgive me if some of my terminology is not quite right and I didn't quite get what was going on but through the noise of the band, the traffic and my lack of knowledge of these religious matters I think I got the gist.
Night fell as we wound our way back up to the top of the mountain. On arrival we were again fed.
This time pieces of the spit roasted pork, chicken (presented with its feet attached), some spring rolls and the customary rice. This time washed down with a glass of Red Horse beer (which incidentally I'm getting quite attached to).
During our meal everything went quiet and very dark. The power had failed and there was a "brown out". The lights flickered for a brief moment and then went out again. We were done and down the mountain again we went. This time guided by the cell phone torches of Emily and her lovely young niece Junhalyn who had spent the last few hours graciously looking after us.
Onto a taxi we made our way through the busy Saturday night traffic back to our house.
My final thoughts were about all the useless junk we collect and hoard in our lives. How meaningless most of it is. Our lives just accumulate too much waste.
In the meantime my blog will hopefully fill in the missing gaps and if all goes well it won't be too long before I manage to find a solution.
So on to our next experience.
Yesterday was at the same time most enjoyable and very humbling. Emily (Carol's maid and companion) had invited us to her house and then to go to a festival at her brother's house. It turned out very differently from what I'd imagine it to be. For those of you who don't know the predominant religion in the Philippines is Roman Catholic ... and they are very devout.
 |
| Emily and Carol Ann |
It day was supposed to begin with my first experience of the Filipino public transport system. Starting with a tricycle ride to the first Jeepney terminal and then 2 Jeepney rides to Emily's house which is located on Cebu island in Mandaue City. Mandaue City borders on Cebu City and apart from sign boards separating the two there is really no difference.
As Emily arrived to collect us it started to rain ... the options were take a chance of getting wet or taking a taxi. And I'm sure you can guess which one I chose!
It was about an hours drive (probably about 7 or 8 k's!!) over the Old Bridge up towards the mountain behind the cities. We arrived in a very narrow street and walked up to what she calls her "poor house". Small it might be, and sure it has very few western amenities or even basic facilities but it was impeccable. Some of her family were there to meet us and they varied from very shy to very outgoing - the outgoing one Grazie is a call centre operator who works in a company which employs 8 000 people serving a part of the US cellphone industry.
What hits you as you walk around is the massive differences there can be from one house to the next. One a very smart brick building with a couple of SUV's parked outside next to a wooden shack that is also a roadside eating house.
After a short break and the mandatory glass of water we headed off to see the new house that she and her husband are building. It's brick so should handle the heavy rain and winds that occasionally hit this part of the world. They are building a small 2 story home very slowly brick by brick as they earn the money.
Last year Emily was employed as a contract worker by NatureSquared when they were doing the Azzam yacht project but now that's over she would was out of work. She is now working for us for three days a week. There is no state subsidised unemployment insurance ... its simple you get money if you work.
 |
| Spider fighting |
This is a seasonal "sport" as these spiders are gathered from the surrounding bush at a certain time of the year. It's not only a past-time but a means of gambling as was evidenced by the money lying on the table.
So up the mountain we walked part of the road was cement strips and part similar to some of the rutted roads that we experience on some of our mountain bike rides. As we walked up motorcycles were passing us going up and down.
At the top we were greeted by the sight of the open air dance area which apparently had 76 speakers. Earlier we had heard music from this system which was very loud and varied from reasonably harmonic and pleasant to real head bashing stuff ... I suppose everyone to their own.
There were a number of pigs on spits being patiently turned by hand, a small chapel and a large statue surrounded by flowers dedicated to St Antonio, young people handing out candles and in complete contrast a raucous group watching cock fighting. We decided to give the cock fighting a miss and after a snack of deep fried pork and a Pepsi wandered down to the edge of this steep cliff. There were chairs and tables laid out and a lovely soft lawn and it had a wonderful view across Cebu City.
Again the paradox. As you looked left you saw these opulent homes on a new subdivision, a crystal clear swimming pool, a building which was obviously a clubhouse and expensive cars and SUV's parked along the roads. On the right was a tiny wooden shack. All that separated them was a 50 metre high cliff.
A short while after we got there a group of about 20 young men arrived and tucked into a meal which had been prepared for them. They were the band who would later lead the procession through the town. At the arranged time the beating of drums started and the trumpeters blasted out and the procession started down the hill.
 |
| The start of the procession |
Old and very young slowly moved along. Some had candles and some were singing. Firecrackers were lit and the acrid pungent smell drifted through the crowd of worshippers. It was quite serene and it was easy to sense the feeling of piety and devotion. The group slowly made their way along a narrow street lined with people who had come out to watch and who, in some cases, also had burning candles.
The procession then made their way onto a main street and it was fascinating for me to see the patience and consideration of the motorists. Only one lane was open so they stopped and waited as the traffic slowly cleared itself from either direction. At the river the procession stopped and the statue was kissed by an old lady who is 101 years old.
Forgive me if some of my terminology is not quite right and I didn't quite get what was going on but through the noise of the band, the traffic and my lack of knowledge of these religious matters I think I got the gist.
 |
| Making our way back through the town |
This time pieces of the spit roasted pork, chicken (presented with its feet attached), some spring rolls and the customary rice. This time washed down with a glass of Red Horse beer (which incidentally I'm getting quite attached to).
During our meal everything went quiet and very dark. The power had failed and there was a "brown out". The lights flickered for a brief moment and then went out again. We were done and down the mountain again we went. This time guided by the cell phone torches of Emily and her lovely young niece Junhalyn who had spent the last few hours graciously looking after us.
Onto a taxi we made our way through the busy Saturday night traffic back to our house.
My final thoughts were about all the useless junk we collect and hoard in our lives. How meaningless most of it is. Our lives just accumulate too much waste.
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