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Jim Durham's personal
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From: Jim Durham <jrd1942@juno.com>
Subject: PHOTO REPORT OF PHILIPPINES 2009
To: jimd1965@yahoo.com
Date: Monday, May 25, 2009, 6:49 PM
2009 PHILIPPINES TRIP
HIGHLIGHTS
Visiting
the Philippines was one part of my trip to the Far East . I had three main stops
there in three of the four main regions.
The country is made up of about 7,000 islands; so, seeing
all of it is impossible.
Metro
Manila has more than 19 million residents, making it one of the world’s
large cities. It
consists of a lot of beautiful high rise buildings and a lot of slums. Much of the Philippine
population lives in “shanties”. Many
of these families are “squatters”, having built shacks on land that
does not belong to them. I
talked with some of these people.
They never know when the real owner might show up and
demand his property.
The country’s total population is around 92 million, making it the 12th
most populous country in the world. Most
of the population speaks English, but sometimes the accent is so strong
that you have trouble understanding.
The primary native language is Tagalong, but there are
other dialects as well.
Most
of the people are very courteous and helpful. But nearly all of the
taxi drivers will try to rip you off.
I
spent some time with the family of a friend of mine so as
to know the culture better.
They could not do enough for me, and treated me like a very special guest.
I
became sick of the swine flu scare
and checked myself into a local hospital.
They did not accept my insurance, so I told them that I
did not know if I could pay the hospital bill and asked how much it
would cost. I was
paying $125 for my hotel. They
said the hospital was $40 per night for a private room and bath. I nearly decided to spend
the rest of my vacation at the hospital.
They gave me an IV, did tests, kept me overnight, and I
checked out the next afternoon.
The weather is always hot and humid.
It never freezes. There
is lush vegetation in most places and lots
of mountains and beaches.
Most
people use some form of public transportation.
The “Jeepneys” are very popular and there
are thousands of them. Also there
are lots of “tricycles”...some
motorized and some just man-powered.
Also there are buses and taxis.
Most
of the Philippine people want to come to the USA, or some other
country, because of their desperate financial situation.
Every
meal has rice, often with fish three times a day. Normally squid is
on the menu as well, but
I could not make myself order the sweet and sour squid heads; sometimes I went to go to an
American-chain restaurant to eat.
“Pesos”
is the normal currency and the exchange rate was 48 pesos per
dollar. A
registered nurse told me she makes $8 per day.
A recently retired electrician told me he also made $8 per
day when he was working (398 pesos).
A restaurant worker told me she makes 100 pesos
per day; she is single with
two children and that is
about $2 per day for her. She
lives with an aunt because she cannot afford a place to live; family members are very accommodating
of each other. It
is hard to imagine how many people live in some of the little shanties. All Americans need to see
the situation that exists in so many parts of the world so that we
can appreciate what we have and stop demanding "more". Our people on
welfare are rich in comparison.
With their pay scale, you can understand why a lot of
companies are outsourcing their customer service, etc., to the
English-speaking Philippines.
One
of my favorite stories of this trip is seeing two little girls, ages 10
and 11, in front of McDonalds in Cebu City .
They were selling flower bracelets they had made for 5
pesos each. I asked
them what they were going to do with the money, and they said “Buy food
for our family.” I
sat down and talked to them about Jesus.
They go somewhat to a Catholic church.
Then I told them that Jesus wanted me to give them each
100 pesos for the bracelets because they were working so hard. Their eyes really lit up. Then I asked them if they
had ever had ice cream from McDonalds.
They said, “No, we can’t afford it.”
So I took them inside and we all had ice cream sundaes. I wanted to take their
photo, but they were afraid to let me (which
reveals something of the fear that girls have to deal with on
the streets).
Another
favorite story was when I was at the beach and a guy came up to me with
a bag of really nice sea shells and asked if I would give him
500 pesos for them. Before
I had a chance to answer, someone said, “No, that is too much. He will give you 300
pesos.” “Okay, I will take it”, he said.
I was not even in the conversation, but paid him the $6 and walked away happy.
I would discourage visiting the Philippines for
the first time without using a tour guide, as I did; yet, they
do speak English and with some preparation and a spirit of
adventure, you can have a good time.
Jim
Flying over the north pole (the
pole is under ice)
Siberia below on a warm spring day
Manila, Philippines
"Manila By the
Sea" (lots of shanties)
Jeepneys, a favorite form of transportation
Motorized tricycles, another form of
transportation
I went to church in the Passig City area near Manila.
Riding in a jeepney (6 pesos)
Luxury condos
Shanty Town
Fort San Pedro, built by Spain in 1565
My personal body
guard - haha
The Philippine Islands...7,000 islands
At the
beach where I bought some shells
38 nice sea shells
They
still use propellers here
Magellan's Shrine...where he was killed in his trip around the
world.
A human weaving machine and
some products.
Just like the one I used as a kid. The fabric is banana leaves.
Local sculptor...this piece less
than $100.
Typical lush vegetation
Boy and his steer. In the
distance, houses in the sea.
How was the food? You tell me.
Filipino
Hamburger. Where's the beef?
Oh well, you can always eat coconuts...
or
drink it.
Late evening...large Catholic Shrine
Omogos Family. Great hosts.
No, it is not the whole family.
Driving this time...on the way to Subic Bay.
Lots of
coconut trees
Typical lane in a typical small village
Fishing vessel, with outriggers..
"The Islands have lots of beaches", says Brad...er, Jim
Philippine Sunset
Philippine Traveler's Palm tree...overlooking the bay.
A Florida traveler's palm...at
journey's end.
You have reached THE END.
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