I’m supposed to be up in the crater lake of Mt. Pinatubo last weekend, but our trip was canceled at the last minute. Apparently, the RP-US military exercises known as Balikatan is being held in that particular mountain range, and no hikers are allowed up the mountains for safety reasons. With the odds against us, we didn’t insist on pushing through with the trip. We didn’t want to be caught up in US military operations against the NPA live-fire exercises anyway. Tourists: 0, US and RP Militaries: 1.
My wife and I have gone through many trips all over the Philippines for the past two years, and one of the many lessons that we’ve learned over those trips is that when you’re outside of Manila, Cebu, and Davao, never expect your food to be served promptly. Manilans are so spoiled with fastfood that even gourmet restaurants in the metro have a standard waiting time of 15 minutes. In the provinces however, customized orders take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. So if you’re going on a trip to the provinces, especially in places that aren’t the usual destinations (e.g., places other than Boracay, the Metros, provincial capitals, etc.), take my word for it — pack some biscuits in your carry on. Tourists: 0, Laid-back Provincial Restos: 1.
Those are peanuts though, compared to the ordeal a certain friend of ours (who doesn’t wish to be identified) went through. He and his friends went to a popular northern resort town and checked into a hotel which is the namesake of the Arab-sounding beachfront it sits on. He has had bad experiences with that resort before, but hoping that things had gone better, he was willing to give it another chance. They got terrible service for their four day stay anyway — the scuba diving services advertised in the resort’s website did not exist, the food was bad, their requests of beer in the evenings went unheeded although the resort had three days to restock, and on the last day of their stay, water was cut off just when they needed to bathe before heading back to the Imperial Capital.
Our friend, a person who wouldn’t let such things go without giving a piece of his mind, demanded to see the owner of the resort — the "honorable" vice mayor of the northern resort town, to tell her the kind of service he is entitled to. A shouting match ensued — owner/vice mayor told our friend that if he had found their service lousy before, he shouldn’t have returned, and that she didn’t need his money anyway. Friends hurriedly left the resort and were given their money back, only to be flagged down in a military checkpoint. They were held for two hours for no reason (well, no reason other than the incident, obviously), until one member of the group managed to contact certain celebrities associated with Big Bad Media Outfit, which made the officer in charge flinch. For the purposes of my own safety, considering the violent gun-totting feudal-lord nature of politicians from said northern provinces, this is all hearsay evidence which cannot be accepted in the proper forums. Also, if someone issues me another death threat, you are free to figure out who has motive — Google is your friend. Tourists: -10, Philippine Tourism: -100, Northern Resort Town: -500, Vice Mayor/Resort Owner: Dante’s 7th level of hell.
Don’t get me wrong though — the natural beauty of these destinations, as well as the graciousness of local guides and townsfolk you could find within them make all these troubles more than worth it. This is especially true in places where indigenous tribes strike a balance between promoting their home and culture and preserving their way of life, accommodating tourists who want to see things that are unique, new, and special. I felt this strongly when we were in Sagada — where the guides are Igorots proud of their heritage. In an 8-hour spelunking tour that was, to say the least, a momentous challenge to my portly frame, we were going up and down rocks as high as a hundred feet, and slipping through crevices as narrow as 3 feet wide. I could not for the life of me explain how I got my 220 lb self through that hole, but to say the least, being able to go through it was such an awesome experience.
The following day as we were doing a two hour trek down a thousand-foot slope of majestic rice terraces to see the Bomod-ok Waterfalls, I asked my guide why Sagada has not turned over management of the destinations to the Department of Tourism. He said that if they turn things over to the DOT, they wouldn’t be able to share their experiences as a people to the tourists . They wouldn’t want a clear, cemented path will be cut through the cave complete with stairs and lighting — it wouldn’t be challenging anymore, robbing tourists of the chance to appreciate nature’s beauty. They wouldn’t want a cable car going down the waterfalls; it would rob tourists of the experience of climbing the rice terraces and the communities nestled there, as they do everyday. Once we got to the falls its raw, awesome power and beauty made me understand why — it was much, much more worth it to be seeing those falls after the descent. That evening, in the light of a bonfire, these same guides demonstrated traditional Igorot music and dance. The whole ordeal, including the cave trip, made me 5 lbs lighter as well. Tourists: 1, Philippine Indigenous culture: 1.
It’s a great experience everyone, especially Filipinos, should be entitled to have.
Popularity: 1% [?]
VISAYAS AND MINDANAO has more tourists coming and going than Luzon!!!
IT’S A FACT!!!!
Minority Tagalog rules supreme … in corruption and in government …
Indeed, a fact. Cebu, Davao, and Aklan (due to Boracay) top the list of Pinoy destinations — and I don’t mind because those places are truly awesome.
‘Di tulad sa ilang probinsya sa Luzon. Dyaske. Kung magsiraan yung magkakatabing resort eh todo-todo, pare-pareho namang sub-par ang serbisyo.
… daaaang
… renpac naman namannnn
… luzon has ‘sang tambak to offer also… different regions, different sights/sceneries…
… down the south of ‘tang inang imaperial manila, in the country called viva republic of cebu, sexy gurlz are aya yay yay yay…
… and if you insinuate about tangalogs at the palasyo de malakanyang, think again… spokllong bisdak onli…
This is tourism, Philippine style. Government is rotten, tourism
services are rotten, food services are rotten,etc…anything more?
We are a rotten country…
Ironically, that’s not generally true.
In your travels, where have you been? What did you do?
I used to travel extensively around the Visayas and Mindanao as part of my job and I can attest to the beauty of those places and the great food (although you can tell that many parts were once lush woodland that have gone bald). The roads connecting some major cities in Mindanao are also excellent, many of them thanks to Dole and Del Monte (not by any measure to the forward thinking of Pinoys).
The Philippines is indeed beautiful despite its people. :D
The only public works project/engineering success that we can be truly proud of as a people would be the rice terraces. We need a new, modern successor to it.
Smokey mountain? :lol:
… daaaang
… as usual y’all make me sick…
… when i travel around flipland, i trave light, carry the bare neccesities…
… i rather see and be one with the locals… ain’t looking for a payb-star treatment/accomodation… a clearing on the forest floor, or a dip at a hot spring, a freshest of oxy in the heart of the jungle, etc., are exhilarating…
… i sometimes travel with the best, and we experienced the best… sexy gurlz included… (by the way, my gang ain’t flips… me? ain’t a flip… (me, kinilig))
… hoy mahiya naman kayo… puro kayo kayabangan…
…daaanng, ulong
ye be bright but ye be occasionally obnoxious
let us mortals of lesser intellect be as we be
as for the subject of the blog,
many hotels, shops and restaurants still follow the “authoritarian” mode of hospitality. We guests should be honored to be there. That is breaking down, and maybe the government will even, in our lifetime, catch on to the notion that they are there to serve the citizens, not the other way around.
Balancing the need for tourism dollars and jobs with protection of the gorgeous beauty of the Islands will be a challenge. But there is so much beauty here, I’m not so worried about the trampling hordes. (Do keep those caves hidden though.)
Joe
… daaaaang
… as a busboy at manila hotel, pekeng turistas aka flips/flipflams treat us like slaves… ay sus ginoo…
… they expect us to kiss their eskinol whitenned ass for a minute tips… then pekeng turistas will grab their laptops and blog about their horrendous/unroyalty treatment they received…
… the real tourists are more courteous and humane… that’s why they come back year after year…
… you know who you are…
can you blog about not-so-popular yet destinations?
thinking of flying to batanes. any good?
also, i’m definitely going to pinatubo this year :) that lake, framed by the crater… dang! looks good!
… daaang
… “good” is a relative term… i’m ez to please and not in a hurry to reach my destination… and time takes the back seat… you have to experience it yourself to make your observation/conclusion…
… batanes, a wind swept string of islands in the northernest tip of flipland… i love it… natural beauty inhabited by the most hospitable, literally hospitable, people…
… the experience i had with that far flung paradise is etched in my memory… it reminds me of the english/scottish isles, only set in tropical paradise…
Haven’t been to Batanes yet, might have to defer that to a year and a half later.
One unusual destination we’ve been to is Camiguin. It’s awesome — but only if you know what to ask for. Ask to be brought to Mantigue Island for an awesome snorkeling/scuba diving experience. It’s not well-publicized, but by far it’s the best reef I’ve been to, next to the reef in Balicasag Island in Bohol.
dang, check out:
Siargao – a surfer’s mecca
Lake Sebu – among the T’bolis
Guimaras Island
Samal Island – Talikud Island (Pearl Farm even)
Mount Apo
Dahican, Mati – go skimboarding – http://jojiealcantara.multiply.com/photos/album/59/Dahican_Beach_in_Mati_Davao_Oriental
Scuba at Talikud Island was great!
Wait till you get to:
* Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park (TRNP) near Puero Princesa
* Apo Reef Natural Park in Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro
Yep :) Pero saka na yun, kelangan pa pagipunan at magtrain para sa lisensya
great! how about vacation logs in the future :) pics please!
Do pics need to be edited? re-touched? or post as is?
I have a collage of vacation photos. Katrina video would not even pass as a prelude.
Its is a shame whenever we hear stories similar to what happend to your friend. Owners like that should never be allowed to be part of the travel industry.
Our country has so many natural beauty around us. And its all up to us to take care of it and to make sure that sustainable eco-tourist programs are being implemented always.
Kasi, in the Flipside, they quiver before anyone who speakenggese gut country club englischtzes …. HA!HA!HA!HA!HA!
That is why FlipPinos vote for president who speakengese gut englischtzes … HOW WEIRD …
Goodness, I escaped the urban Flipside. I now live in the mountain, close to the creek, under the mango tree, away from Flips.
I’ve never seen so many FlipPina women so pregnant all the time … WHO CARES ABOUT MORALITY!!!!
Pregnancy incidence is so high in the FlipLand despite morality teachings!!!!!
HA!HA!HA!HA!HA!
Baka may scandal videos yang mga yan :P
Where is ulong pare? His posts were like pacman’s upper-cut and pempengco’s high notes combined.
Where are you, flipass?
Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. I hope this is not what flips called “PRIDOM OP PRESS >>> english translation: FREEDOM OPPRESS. Ulong pare is banned for good.