The Man and his Calesa

We were in Manila, close to a park dedicated to Jose Rizal, the national hero of the Philippines, when we were approached by a man driving a horse led carriage. I never take these sort of things, as I rather walk at my own pace. Here, everybody seems to find it outrageous when I say I wish to walk. It’s like I should wish to be driven everywhere. I hold my ground though, as I find walking helps me to see things I would overlook otherwise. Yet, my cousin who was accompanying me didn’t want to walk, I was talked into hiring this driver. As I feared, this turned out to be a mistake. Tourist traps are not called traps without reasons.

 

First, he couldn’t speak English apart from his selling pitch - normally I wouldn't mind, except if the service offered is geared at tourists. Pinky explained that this was why it was less expensive than the other carriage (mind you not that much less expensive). I would later find out that Pinky wasn’t fluent enough in English to feel comfortable translating for me. So any explanation he gave (not that he gave that many) were for her ears only.

Second he lied about his fees. He pointed to a circuit and said 250 php for 30 minutes. Well the circuit didn’t last only 30 minutes and he forgot to mention it was 250 php per person. Even worst, we were in his cart for two hours and he argued that we had been there for three. That brought the bill to 3 000 php… Almost the price for a return ticket to Palawan! It’s not just about the money though. I understand, they own less than we do and they think all foreigners are rich. In their situation, I would probably also lack the perspective to see the reality of the travelers. I wonder if they think we are all like Picsou, taking baths in pools of golden coins… 

Despite understanding their situation, I am still bothered by the whole underlying principle. As if their situations justified lying to tourists and cheating them. So I stood my ground on principle and asked that he stick with his first quoted price. I gave him a 1 000 php and refused to give him more, because I hope this will make him realize that he should be honest with other tourists and that being dishonest will not gain him anything. This time he couldn’t pretend the mistake was due to lack of understanding of English, as I had a girl with me who spoke Tagalo. I would rather they state a higher price, with no hidden trap. I would then be able to make an informed decision about hiring him or not. 

Finally, if you come to Manila and want to hire such a carriage to travel around historical landmarks, I would suggest you pay the little extra money to hire the higher end service. This should provide you with a guide who can speak English, who will fill you in with relevant facts and who will offer overall a better service. 

Also, now when you hire a driver, you know to ask if the price is inclusive of everybody or on a per person basis. You also know to ask how much time or distance the trip should take, and how much the final bill should be. You should also track time or distance to ensure the right data is used to calculate the final bill. Finally, you should ask if there are any other extras to pay for before hiring the transportation (this one I learned on another occasion).

Jose Rizal - National Hero of the Philippines

Everyone here acted as if I should know who Rizal was. The hero of the Philippines they said. Very famous.

When asked what deed he accomplished to get such a fame, nobody seemed to be able to tell me. You didn't need to know who he was or what he did. All you needed to know what that Rizal was their national hero.

It goes without saying that I wanted to know why he was considered a hero and I read up on the subject.

Avilon Zoo and Manila Ocean Park

 Avilon Zoo 
Avilon Zoo is the largest zoological institution in the Philippines and the installations spread over 7.5-hectare. An highlight for this zoo is that many animals are not caged and are rather trained to mingle with humans, like Trixie below.

My visit to Cottolengo Filipino

I accompanied Marilou for a short visit at Cottolengo Filipino. It is a non-profit religious NGO licensed and accredited by the Department of Social Welfare and Development. It is led by the Little Works of Divine Providence Congregation, which was founded by Saint Luigi Orione.

The vision of the NGO is to offer an home to persons with disabilities where they are loved and cared for. An environment that is happy, therapeutic and non-judgemental, where they feel like a family, which in turn is conducive to treatment and development. The end goal is integration, empowerment and a sense of productivity all to give these kids a chance at becoming self-reliant.

These kids are poor, abandoned, orphaned, unwanted, neglected and surrendered. They are physically and mentally impaired.

I have seen first hand the work they do and was both touched and impressed. The new priest in charge of the establishment had such love for these kids. I have seen kids with multiple illnesses, from autism to Down syndrome.

First impression of the Philippines

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.

Shopping Singapore

While Singapore has many cultural attractions, parks and museum, I think I would consider it primarily a shopping destination. With its trendy hotels and big name boutiques, Singapore appears as the perfect destination for a short getaway aiming at shopping, eating and going out to the theater.

I had heard of shops in New York that don’t display price, for the sole reason that if you have to ask, you can’t afford it. While I had heard of them, I had never encountered them before. I did here in Singapore. For a glance at all this high-end merchandise, you want to head toward Orchard Road where you will find boutiques such as Prada and Cartier as well as impressively sized malls.

I saw so many riches here, which made the city live up to its reputation. As I was trying to access the National Museum (which I couldn’t because of my timing), I saw a McLaren parked out front. Walking back from the said museum I did a double take when I walked past a Rolls Royce at a light.

I've never been in such a high-end car and, yes, I was salivating. What would I have not given to sit beside the owner of the McLaren. I would have made myself very small and that person could have easily forgotten I was even there until it was time to dump me on the sidewalk again. Ahhh, one can dream can’t she?

Rarely have I seen a place with so much glamour that it had the power to make you feel poor, insignificant and ugly with one glimpse of everything you can’t ever dream of possessing. Makes you wonder how the people who hold so much riches and power in the palm of their hands manage to keep their feet firmly planted on the ground. Or maybe they just perpetually live up there in the clouds.

Modern Art at Ritz-Carlton

One attraction not enough people seem to know about is the Modern Art Collection of the Ritz-Carlton in Singapore. You can just present yourself at the concierge desk where they will hand you an iPod with a special podcast that will walk you through the hotel to highlighted art pieces.

A good indicator that you have stepped in a completely other world in terms of hotels is the height of the ceilings. Forget mere 8 foot ceilings, the ceilings here seem to go on forever (there might be a tiny bit of exaggeration here, but don't mind me). Next would be the multitude of windows which lets quite a bit of light in. Now imagine these windows being covered in translucent mother of pearl panels... Yeah, that's what I'm talking about.