Another World

I am discovering that we are spoiled in North America.

Getting to the Philippines took 23 hours in the air, and another 5 in airports waiting for the next flight.  I was lucky. My travel agent, hubby, planned it so that there were no long lay-overs. But with every new leg, there were noticeable changes. Line-ups became a little more chaotic, people less polite. Personal space became non-existent. Security personnel were more evident, and obviously well-armed. Public washrooms did not always have all the amenities. Toilet paper was getting rarer, and one place didn't even have toilet seats.

It was like we had stepped back 50 years.  The van we rode in had no seat belts, nor any car seat for the 2 year old that traveled out of Manila with us. At curbside the noise and emissions from the solid mass of vehicles was thick. Proper exhaust systems seem rare. Vehicles ran the gamut from buses and trucks to motorcycles with side carts and bicycles, all fighting for the same space and in the same lane. Traffic police did their best to control the chaos, but despite the gun strapped to their side, very few paid any attention to them.

It is less than 150km from Manila to our first stop, but it took more than 4 hours to get there.  It was the middle of the night so even though traffic was light once we were outside of the city, there were still trucks and small motorcycles and the odd goat to go around. And if we moan about the summer construction on the roadways in Canada, consider the countries where summer is all year round.

Even after midnight, it was very warm.  After the long hours of travelling, we were glad to get to the house we were staying in. The larger houses here are made of cement with large windows. The windows have decorative grating and shutters, but no screens. The idea is to keep the heavy rains out, not insects or geckos. There is running water, but not everyone has hot water. Water can be heated for bathing, but I preferred the refreshing coolness. The water certainly isn't cold, and if it is left in a bucket for the afternoon, it can actually be tepid.

We stayed in a small town that has a market just around the corner from us. The market is in a large building which is subdivided inside into many stalls. The vendors sell absolutely anything. There is a section with fruit and vegetables, right beside the meat vendors. Meat is sold either alive or not. The meat that wasn't still walking or swimming was also not covered. Other stalls sold footwear, clothing, almost anything you could imagine. Around the outside of the market building were small stores and businesses. Altogether, a very busy place.

In fact, from what I've seen so far, the whole country is a busy and crowded place. There is little space left for homes that I can see, and traffic is constant and overwhelming. The lush growth and beautiful flowers of the countryside are covered in the dust and noise from the roads. I'm hoping we can find roads less traveled on our journey around these islands.

Despite how it sounds, I’m not homesick yet. There’s too much to see.

 W