My trip to the Philippines,  July 11 - 20, 2006

JFK – HONG KONG  = 16 Hours
HONG KONG - MANILA = 1.5 HOURS
The flight was surprisingly short. I don’t know what happened but time flew by so fast. I think it’s because I psyched myself down so much for the flight. I slept a lot. There were individual screens for all the passengers with hours and hours of on-demand programming. I read my book, my movie magazines, wrote on my journal and used my laptop. I didn’t get a chance to work on my screenplay though.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS
My cousin picked me up from the airport. Unlike the other Filipinos who came home, I just had my backpack on me. Filipinos are known to bring multiple boxes of presents with them when coming home. Balikbayan boxes are usually filled with presents to be given out to relatives. My parents were upset I didn’t bring boxes with me because they had some stuff they wanted to give to our relatives. I compromised. I said I’ll give them money instead. I’ll give them money and my parents don’t have to pay me back. It worked! One of my major peeves when it comes to traveling is waiting at the freaking baggage carousel upon arrival. It can easily add 30 minutes to your trip when all you want to do is leave. 
 
I brought mostly T-shirts and shorts to wear. I did wear jeans, and brought shoes and a couple of formal shirts just in case.

GATED COMMUNITIES
My cousins lived in gated communities. 
 
Breakfast consisted of fried fish, fried rice, fried eggs, and coffee. That’s pretty much the Filipino menu. No toasted everything bagel with cream cheese around these parts. 

My breakfast was prepared by their maid. They had  3. Labor is so cheap in the Philippines that you can have a live in maid/butler, for $100 a month! They’ll do everything for you: cook, clean, drive, babysit, etc. 24 hours. You just provide them with room and food. 

TRAFFIC IN MANILA
Major highways there don’t always have lanes. And the ones with lanes, drivers don’t bother signaling. The pollution was horrible. We drove with the AC on all the time with the windows up and even then you start smelling the grunge after driving around for 20 minutes. 

Actually traffic in Manila reminded me of traffic in Europe. 
1) People drove small cars and trucks
2) Scooters are very popular 
3) Drivers have developed their own rhythms, meaning, near misses and bad driving are generally shrugged off, like they’re so used to it. 

SHANTY TOWNS/SLUMS
Yes, there were shanty towns and slums there. I’m not going to sugar-coat it for any Westerner who want to visit. The rich and poor are intertwined in the city. When driving along one road you can see slums, slums, garbage, stray dogs, slums, Porsche dealership, slums, slums, garbage, stray cats, Land Rover dealership. 

ZONING LAWS BE DAMNED!
There were alot of makeshift diners in the poor areas.  Everywhere you looked you would see food stalls. I only tried road side food once.  In Tarlac Province my Aunt bought some boiled corn from a street vendor.  It was actually good.  Also there were alot of Sari-Sari or variety stores too.  If you want to sell corn chips and Pepsi out of your window then by all means.  

GLOBALIZATION - ENGLISH
There are a lot malls in Manila. Each one looks the same. They’re nothing special, it’s like being in Willowbrook Mall, they have the same chains and products. It’s hard to believe for such a poor country, there are enough Filipinos and enough Pesos to go around and keep these malls afloat. 

My cousins have cable too so CNN, NBC and all the rest of the channels we get here they get also. It’s all part of globalization I guess, the cultural imperialism. It’s good and bad. I have mixed feelings about the whole thing. So any American who wants to visit the Philippines will feel right at home. 

Everyone knows how to speak English. My relatives speak English. Their maids speak English. Everyone from waiters to souvenir vendors in the Provinces know the language. 

Everyone has cell phones too but they hardly ever use them to talk. They text. It’s much cheaper than talking. When I say everyone, I mean, everyone. I saw even street vendors in slummy areas texting. 

JOLLIBEES
Jollibees is a local fast food chain that’s beating McDonald’s in the Philippines. Their burgers are OK. They’re dry, spicy and spicy smelling for my taste. 

SHELTERED TOUR
I was disappointed I didn’t get to do local things while I was there. I really wanted to be on my own, walking around, taking public transportation. But my family were against it for my own safety. I wanted to sneak out a couple of times but in these gated communities, it’s about half a mile just to get to the gate. Plus I’m always surrounded by family. It’s great though, because I’m seeing family members I haven’t seen in 27 years. Some have visited us in the US, but almost all I haven’t seen in that long. 

MY OLD HOUSE, MY OLD SCHOOL
Overall, I thought Manila had improved a lot in the last 27 years. The streets are cleaner and not as crowded. I think most of it, it’s sad to say, is due to the heavy commercialization (lots of malls, fast food restaurants etc.). 

My old house was still there. The house and the block were small. I remember them being bigger. It’s improved too. Though it’s still near the slums and shanty towns, the block itself looked clean and safe (though my cousins wouldn’t leave the car when I went out to take pictures). I remember when I was little the other side of the block we lived in was so bad, my parents wouldn’t let me walk to the other side. That day I was walking back and forth taking pictures. 

It was beautiful in a way. You’re walking around this block and you see people doing their own thing, minding their own business, just being themselves. You see people, at your peripherals staring at you. This is what I wanted to experience more, being at the place, being in the moment. 

My school was still there. Like my old block, that place “got” small. I walked around the area, even went inside the building. The weird part was, I STILL REMEMBER THE FLOOR PATTERNS. They brought me back so much. 

WEATHER
The weather there was the same as here: hot and humid.  I was there 7 whole days, I think I saw the sun just once.  

MAKATI
My cousins and I spent some time hanging out in Makati, the trendiest part of Manila.  There were a lot of high end clubs and bars there.  It's also where alot of Westerners hang out.  

PROVINCES
To get a real feel of the Philippines, you'd have to go to the Provinces.  I had a chance to go to Batangas (where my mother is from) and Tarlac (where my dad is from).  Batangas, though it still has malls, is less commercialized.  The same with Tarlac.  In Tarlac we ate at this really cool restaurant called "Isdaan" (Fishery)

I had a great time there, I'm so glad I went.  My relatives were great (they like me, they really like me!) and re-visiting my childhood was awesome. I'd go back there again. Maybe in February?

Two main reasons I went to the Philippines: 1) To revisit my childhood and to see relatives I haven't seen in 27 years.

Check out Sarah on my left on these two old pictures.

On July 2006, the Llanas finally meet the little Mohican boy they adopted as a child.

Lourdes School is where I spent First to Fourth Grade

(right) The house where I grew up

Fort Santiago - A fort in Intramuros, a walled city built by the Spanish in the 1500s.

"Then the the guy in the middle says 'I had a dream I went skiing.'"  This guy still doesn't get it.

This guy is thinking "They never use the right filter to get my good side."

I knew my Aunt was doing that the whole time, really

How much to lease?

Wildlife in the Philippines

One way to sneak into the country

The Czar parties at "Capone" a nightclub in Makati, Manila's trendiest district.  It was a late night.  Rounds of San Miguel and Sisig where on me. I really paid the next afternoon when after a day of driving around Manila, I yucked last night's dinner at a parking lot in Luneta Park.

A statue in Batangas Province, where my family and I used to go during Christmas

There are no calories when you're on vacation

This is a great seafood restaurant in Tarlac Province

The Jeepney - A typical symbol of the Philippines

I took alot more pictures. You can see them here: snapfish

Hanging with relatives

That's no bullshit - Actually it's a Carabao's

Tarlac Province - Where my parents want to retire. When my dad asked me how quiet it was there I said "No comment."