Philippines 20 November - 13 December 2006
Facts :
Population ... 76.5 million (as at May, 2000)
Luzon, where the Capital is, holds more than half the population
Capital... Manila
Geography ... 7,107 Islands cover an area of 299,764sq km
Language ... Filipino and English
Filipino is made up of Tagalog, English and Spanish
Currency ... The Philippino piso, made up of 100 centavos
The AUD was worth about 38 Piso while we were there
Current Climate ... cool, apparently. 21-32C degrees, and humid
Also, it is Typhoon season, so we met Typhoon Reming and Typhoon Seniang
Official Tourism website ... wowphilippines.com.ph
More information ... The World Factbook
Opinion :
Local Interests / Hobbies
Sabong (cockfighting)
Videoke (karaoke)
Texting on their cell-phones
Driving ... walking is an odd habbit here
Tong-its ~ local card game similar to maj-jong
Boxing ~ maybe more so at the moment because of Pacquiao
Basketball
Billards ~ with both round balls on a standard table, and flat tiles played on a rotating table-top
Watching television
Eating
Sleeping (generally follows eating)
Current events
The President has changed the election date
~ not a popular decision
Manila is experiencing an extreme water shortage
~ apparently people are using paper plates to eat off so they can throw them out instead of washing up, and wearing disposable underwear, as they can't wash clothes either
Super-Typhoon heading for Manila
and Preparing for Typhoon Durian
~ we have delayed our trip to Baracay while we wait to see what will happen with this. Hank's uncle is a fisherman and has his ear to the ground
Local boxing hero Manny Pacquiao
~ super featherweight champion (of the world) ... I think. He's popular, anyway : )
Useful words to know
(Maraming) Salamat = thank you (very much)
Maganda = beautiful
Magaling = great
Masarap = I really like the taste / this is delicious
Busog na ako = I'm full
Lindol = earthquake
Magandang ... = good ...
Umaga = morning
Hapon = afternoon
Gabi = evening
Magkano = how much is it?
Sigurado /Siempre = sure/certainly
Sige = alright then
Bukas = tomorrow
Buko = coconut
Walang problema = no problem
Mai problema = there's a problem
Mahal kita = I love you
Sakit = pain
Butas = puncture
Lola/Lolo = Grandmother/Grandfather
Tita/Tito = Aunty/Uncle
Bulaklak = flower
Laklak = drink more
Lasing = drunk
Babae = woman
Lalaki = man
Bulogbog babay = pig's back
Buri Buri = cute (i think)
Be aware
~ You can cross at the pedestrian crossing, but don't expect the cars to stop for you ...
~ They (cars, buses, tricycles and jeepneys, etc) drive on the right-hand side of the road
~ Every toilet (Comfort Room) is different ... be prepared
~ Philippinos seem to love having their photo taken, the children especially. If you can show them their image on a digital screen, they'll be delighted
~ If you have fair skin, like us, you will be treated like a celebrity - especially in the provinces where they don't see much tourism. It can take a bit to get use to the attention.
~ I think it is the custom to feed the guest first, so the hosts may not eat with you but they wait for you to finish eating before they come to the table, and eat what is left of the buffet. We have learnt not to take too long eating, and not to eat too much, either.
Soundtrack
1950's rock 'n' roll
love ballods of any era
tooting horns
roosters crowing all day and night
videoke with trumpeting scores "you are a perfect artist"
wowowee ~ very popular television 'gameshow'
boom-terap-terap ~ very popular song from wowowee
Local superstitions (according to Tito Tikboy)
~ Don't cut bamboo on a day that has an 'r' in the name, or the bamboo bugs will eat at it
We discussed that this left Sun, Mon, Tues and Weds, but then remembered that Martes and Miyerkoles are the Filipino names for Tues and Wed, so this one is a bit confusing
~ Plant vegetables at low tide, as they will grow stronger
~ You should get married between the new moon and the full moon to bring good blessings and avoid debt
~ When cooking, if you place the saucepan lid the right way up on the table, dogs will use your garden as a toilet (this one is courtesy of Lola to Hank when he was younger)
What we ate
Sisig ~ pig's ear and tongue
Longsilog ~ breakfast of local sausage, fried rice and egg
Tanola ~ chicken soup with lots of garlic and chilli leaves
Sinagang ~ soup, often with milk fish or chicken and citris, tangy fruits
SuSo ~ snails
Where we visited
20-23 Nov ... Manila, Mundaluyong City, Quezon City, Star City, Intramuros, Bay Walk, Mega Mall
24 Nov ... Tagaytay, People's Park in the Sky, Batangas, Lipa City
25-30 Nov ... Ferry to Mindoro, Cataclun, Bongabong, Balogbog Baboy (trek and waterfall)
3-7 Dec ... 2am ferry from Roxas to Calapan then commute via Island hopper to Baracay for 4 nights ~ snorkling, parasailing, sailing, chillin'
8-12 Dec ... Bongabong again where we stayed an extra three nights because of the second Typhoon, despidida on the 8th (expecting to leave the next day), then the ferry and drive to Manila for our re-scheduled flight
13 Dec ... Fly from Manila to Hong Kong, a few hours in the HKIA and then onto Bangkok
Population ... 76.5 million (as at May, 2000)
Luzon, where the Capital is, holds more than half the population
Capital... Manila
Geography ... 7,107 Islands cover an area of 299,764sq km
Language ... Filipino and English
Filipino is made up of Tagalog, English and Spanish
Currency ... The Philippino piso, made up of 100 centavos
The AUD was worth about 38 Piso while we were there
Current Climate ... cool, apparently. 21-32C degrees, and humid
Also, it is Typhoon season, so we met Typhoon Reming and Typhoon Seniang
Official Tourism website ... wowphilippines.com.ph
More information ... The World Factbook
Opinion :
Local Interests / Hobbies
Sabong (cockfighting)
Videoke (karaoke)
Texting on their cell-phones
Driving ... walking is an odd habbit here
Tong-its ~ local card game similar to maj-jong
Boxing ~ maybe more so at the moment because of Pacquiao
Basketball
Billards ~ with both round balls on a standard table, and flat tiles played on a rotating table-top
Watching television
Eating
Sleeping (generally follows eating)
Current events
The President has changed the election date
~ not a popular decision
Manila is experiencing an extreme water shortage
~ apparently people are using paper plates to eat off so they can throw them out instead of washing up, and wearing disposable underwear, as they can't wash clothes either
Super-Typhoon heading for Manila
and Preparing for Typhoon Durian
~ we have delayed our trip to Baracay while we wait to see what will happen with this. Hank's uncle is a fisherman and has his ear to the ground
Local boxing hero Manny Pacquiao
~ super featherweight champion (of the world) ... I think. He's popular, anyway : )
Useful words to know
(Maraming) Salamat = thank you (very much)
Maganda = beautiful
Magaling = great
Masarap = I really like the taste / this is delicious
Busog na ako = I'm full
Lindol = earthquake
Magandang ... = good ...
Umaga = morning
Hapon = afternoon
Gabi = evening
Magkano = how much is it?
Sigurado /Siempre = sure/certainly
Sige = alright then
Bukas = tomorrow
Buko = coconut
Walang problema = no problem
Mai problema = there's a problem
Mahal kita = I love you
Sakit = pain
Butas = puncture
Lola/Lolo = Grandmother/Grandfather
Tita/Tito = Aunty/Uncle
Bulaklak = flower
Laklak = drink more
Lasing = drunk
Babae = woman
Lalaki = man
Bulogbog babay = pig's back
Buri Buri = cute (i think)
Be aware
~ You can cross at the pedestrian crossing, but don't expect the cars to stop for you ...
~ They (cars, buses, tricycles and jeepneys, etc) drive on the right-hand side of the road
~ Every toilet (Comfort Room) is different ... be prepared
~ Philippinos seem to love having their photo taken, the children especially. If you can show them their image on a digital screen, they'll be delighted
~ If you have fair skin, like us, you will be treated like a celebrity - especially in the provinces where they don't see much tourism. It can take a bit to get use to the attention.
~ I think it is the custom to feed the guest first, so the hosts may not eat with you but they wait for you to finish eating before they come to the table, and eat what is left of the buffet. We have learnt not to take too long eating, and not to eat too much, either.
Soundtrack
1950's rock 'n' roll
love ballods of any era
tooting horns
roosters crowing all day and night
videoke with trumpeting scores "you are a perfect artist"
wowowee ~ very popular television 'gameshow'
boom-terap-terap ~ very popular song from wowowee
Local superstitions (according to Tito Tikboy)
~ Don't cut bamboo on a day that has an 'r' in the name, or the bamboo bugs will eat at it
We discussed that this left Sun, Mon, Tues and Weds, but then remembered that Martes and Miyerkoles are the Filipino names for Tues and Wed, so this one is a bit confusing
~ Plant vegetables at low tide, as they will grow stronger
~ You should get married between the new moon and the full moon to bring good blessings and avoid debt
~ When cooking, if you place the saucepan lid the right way up on the table, dogs will use your garden as a toilet (this one is courtesy of Lola to Hank when he was younger)
What we ate
Sisig ~ pig's ear and tongue
Longsilog ~ breakfast of local sausage, fried rice and egg
Tanola ~ chicken soup with lots of garlic and chilli leaves
Sinagang ~ soup, often with milk fish or chicken and citris, tangy fruits
SuSo ~ snails
Where we visited
20-23 Nov ... Manila, Mundaluyong City, Quezon City, Star City, Intramuros, Bay Walk, Mega Mall
24 Nov ... Tagaytay, People's Park in the Sky, Batangas, Lipa City
25-30 Nov ... Ferry to Mindoro, Cataclun, Bongabong, Balogbog Baboy (trek and waterfall)
3-7 Dec ... 2am ferry from Roxas to Calapan then commute via Island hopper to Baracay for 4 nights ~ snorkling, parasailing, sailing, chillin'
8-12 Dec ... Bongabong again where we stayed an extra three nights because of the second Typhoon, despidida on the 8th (expecting to leave the next day), then the ferry and drive to Manila for our re-scheduled flight
13 Dec ... Fly from Manila to Hong Kong, a few hours in the HKIA and then onto Bangkok
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