I LOVE the Philippines. It's my favorite country in the world (at least of the 50 countries I've been to). Having only discovered how great it was in 2006, my stop there last year was already my 7th visit, and I've already been back again this March!
The Philippines is a perfect balance - exotic, but full of English signs and speakers, delicious food, cheap prices, and possibly the most friendly people on the planet! I've spent time in the small towns, just hanging out with locals, who immediately took me in as family, and I visit them every time I'm back. I've traveled around the country scuba diving, where the combination of being in the most bio-diverse part of the ocean (two-thirds of all marine life originated in and around the South China Sea!), having the best conservation policies and programs in all of Asia, plus some massive sunken ships from World War II, make for some of the best diving in the world! And I've traveled to the gorgeous beaches, from cheap basic accommodations on the beach, to luxurious resorts on private islands!
That was actually my plan on this trip - a quick visit to friends in the village and a hop to a tiny tiny island for some beaches and scuba diving. But nature had other plans. This time the word to describe the Philippines was: WET!
I landed just at the start of a flood and my drive out of Manila was slowed by one side of the main road flooding, so both directions of traffic had to share the other side of the road. Once in the small town I was staying in, things seemed normal but rainy, until I strolled the neighborhood. The low river that runs through the village, with houses all along it, was now at the top of the waterway, and slowly rising over, flowing out into the streets. Neighbors were out to observe, and shore up their houses as best they could, but everyone was fairly casual.
What always strikes me about extreme weather in other countries is the concept of "life goes on." No one sits around waiting for FEMA to step in. They just go about life as close to normal as possible and start rebuilding the moment the disaster ends. I took local Jeepney buses from town to town, with water sometimes lapping at the base of the bus, above the wheels, and businesses and people operated as best they could around the flooded out roads. When the waters subside, everyone gets out their buckets and starts clearing the muddy sludge out of their roads and homes, cleaning everything up, and starting over again.
When it was time to leave, the 2 roads to the airport were both under EIGHT FEET of water! We decided to skip out flights to our gorgeous tiny island paradise, for fear of getting swept away, and laid low in the village and extra day or two. When the rains stopped, we took the break to make a beeline for the airport, even though our flight out of the Philippines wasn't until 2 mornings later. We holed up at a comfortable hotel (the manager told us his house had been hit by lightning during the storm!) for two mellow days and a few cocktails and dance clubs, then hopped on our flights for a night in Malaysia, my favorite hub to stopover in Asia, before traveling on to a new adventure in Sri Lanka!
That was actually my plan on this trip - a quick visit to friends in the village and a hop to a tiny tiny island for some beaches and scuba diving. But nature had other plans. This time the word to describe the Philippines was: WET!
I landed just at the start of a flood and my drive out of Manila was slowed by one side of the main road flooding, so both directions of traffic had to share the other side of the road. Once in the small town I was staying in, things seemed normal but rainy, until I strolled the neighborhood. The low river that runs through the village, with houses all along it, was now at the top of the waterway, and slowly rising over, flowing out into the streets. Neighbors were out to observe, and shore up their houses as best they could, but everyone was fairly casual.
When it was time to leave, the 2 roads to the airport were both under EIGHT FEET of water! We decided to skip out flights to our gorgeous tiny island paradise, for fear of getting swept away, and laid low in the village and extra day or two. When the rains stopped, we took the break to make a beeline for the airport, even though our flight out of the Philippines wasn't until 2 mornings later. We holed up at a comfortable hotel (the manager told us his house had been hit by lightning during the storm!) for two mellow days and a few cocktails and dance clubs, then hopped on our flights for a night in Malaysia, my favorite hub to stopover in Asia, before traveling on to a new adventure in Sri Lanka!
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