I was told by a Singaporean friend to avoid spending too much
time in Manila. In Manila, I was met by my aunt. Marilou was a devout woman who was striving to leave a pious and
simple life. She was the assistant of a director at the Commission of Higher
Education. My first day, I assisted to a mass. Here, like with the sarong in
Bali, you have to wear appropriate clothing. This means no tank top, no short
and no slippers (their terms for flip-flops).
Manila was just as chaotic as Bali, with perhaps a more
condensed population. The metro was a nightmare, with a wagon system based on
gender which nobody really follows. Out of 8 wagons, 2 or 3 might be dedicated
to women while the others are dedicated to men. When I inquired about this
disproportionate ratio, I was explained this was because women were not as
often bread-winners for their family and it was generally deemed their
transportation were not as important.
Another thing the Philippines has in common with Bali is
garbage burning. A lady would later explain to me that there is a garbage
collection system, people just don’t always use it. Sometimes it’s more
convenient to just burn certain things. She also genuinely believed that by
burning the garbage under a tree, emissions were entirely absorbed by the tree.
As we know CO2 is good for trees, garbage burning is also made all better when
done under trees.
I did not dare tell her that’s not how it works. I didn't want to shame such a kind woman.
In Manila and in other regions, particularly around Cebu
and Oslob, I could also feel desperation. I was told this was due to a decrease
in tourism resulting from hurricane Yolanda and the earthquake. I felt like
taxi drivers and motorbike drivers were really aggressively pursuing tourists
business. They would make false promise about fares, distances, etc.
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