Thoughts on The Philippines

I posted a couple of days ago about driving from Baguio to Manila[^]. Philip Laureano [^] asked me what I think of The Philippines.

Possibly a difficult question but not really. I'm glad I've had the chance to visit The Philippines. To be honest, it was never a country on my 'must visit' list. Partly through ignorance; partly through reading reports of Westerners being beheaded there in 1999 - 2000.

Letting a thing like that stop you visiting is much like noticing the crime stats in the US and saying 'I'll never visit the US'. Indeed, ten years ago I used to say 'the US is a great place to visit but I never want to live there!'. Guess where I now live and of which country I shall soon become a citizen?

I've been to The Philippines seven times now I really hope that it's showing in the way that I write about it that I do enjoy being there. Manila itself is still a bit daunting; I don't think you could pay me enough money to live there but once I'm on the North Luzon Expressway I'm having an experience I don't want to miss. When I get to Baguio I almost feel as though I'm home.

I've never met a Filipino that I didn't like. Some are annoying in one sense; they pick that I'm an Australian and want all the details of how to become an immigrant. How should I know? If there's one thing I'm guaranteed it is that I'm an Australian Citizen and I'll never need to go through the Australian Immigration experience.

When they discover that I'm an immigrant to the US there's surprise and then a need for details of that process. How can I tell them that neither country is particularly welcoming of Filipinos? How do I reconcile a 3 month process for myself with a 20 year process for a Filipino? I have no words to explain it.

So what do I think of The Philippines? Wonderful country full of warm people. I'm impressed that I've never met a Filipino who couldn't speak some English. Perhaps not as well as I speak English but how much Tagalog can I speak? One word. Salamat, and even of that word I'm not sure of the correct pronunciation. Contrast that with my driver who is paid US$1 per hour to drive me to Manila. He can speak some English, some Mandarin, a little Russian, and Tagalog.

Awesome scenery and the worst airport I've ever been in. Australian Eucalyptus trees lining the MacArthur highway. The friendliest hotel staff in the world. They don't just simulate interest; it's real. The head waiter at the Baguio Country Club and I talked at some length last week about Australian Rules Football. I think it was a greater strain on me than on him given that I have less interest in Aussie Rules than I do in the local politics of the seventh district of Ulan Bator! He even knew that the Western Bulldogs were once known as the Footscray Football club.

I'm hoping for an eighth visit. I don't think I can give a more positive response to The Philippines than that!