What You Need to Know Before You Travel to the Philippines:
This is not a travel guide, I won’t give you luxurious photos and ideas about where to stay! There are enough of those. I’ll just give you the bare bones of what to expect!
Introduction
The Philippines is a multi-island democracy set in South East Asia. It has approximately 7,100 islands, some large consisting of the main island, others smaller and populated and others just dots in the ocean. The Philippines are considered to be a UNESCO natural heritage based on the myriad beautiful sites…and rightly so.
The Islands are starting to grow in awareness due to a number of reasons, the first being that it’s cheaper than Thailand, Indonesia, Bali etc…and awareness also grew due to the massive emigration of beautiful Filipina house workers around the world.
The beaches in the Islands are truly magnificent, some are well known such as Boracay and others less such as Anda in Bohol. Most of the country is not truly tourist aware, and this can be seen all along the country. Sometimes this is a plus, because you get the raw effect of local hospitality, on the other hand if you want a truly pampered 5 star holiday, you might find it elusive and only in one or two parts of the country, such as Manila or Boracay.
A brief history for your knowledge:
The Philippines were first found by the Spanish back in the 1500’s. It remained under Spanish rule for around 300 years, and Tagalog (the national language) remains littered with Spanish words. Many towns have Spanish names such as Toledo, Valencia or Garcia and all of them have Spanish type Churches.
In 1898 the Philippines was taken over by the United States of America 1898 and remained under US influence till 1946. You can feel this influence all over the country since now English is also part of Tagalog and Cebuana (Visaya language) as well as in their culture which can be seen in their fast food joints, their malls and their cars.
The destruction wrought by Typhoon Haiyan in 2013 has largely been repaired now, but be aware that typhoon season (roughly June-November) can make travel between islands tricky. Should you find yourself here in March, the Malisimbo Arts and Music festival (malisimbofestival.com) attracts world-class acts to Mindoro. Masskara (October in Bacolod City) and Sinulog (January in Cebu) attract thousands of revellers for the Filipino versions of Mardi Gras.
Fallacies and Fake Facts
Abu Saif and Robbers, two of the current common enemies to Tourists, well first of all, yes, if you are Manila at night by yourself you are opening yourself up to a mugging in some of the less tourist poplated areas, BUT, since you will have no inclination to actually walk those streets at 1am, the same reason you won’t walk through parts of Detroit at 1am… you will not get mugged! Now will you be kidnapped by Muslim Extremists unless you happen to visit Mindanao, specifically Zamboanga area…just like you would not visit the Gaza strip. So, whilst you’re being fed wild stories of kidnappings and muggings, you can revert to common sense and just enjoy your trip here as you would if you were visiting Thailand or Germany.
Weather is an issue here, it rains a lot in the rainy season and this varies from area to area. Manila’s is around July to September, whilst in Cebu it could start in June.
Take into account the Typhoons, you don’t want to be caught in one, especially if you’re in a flooding prone area, and yes, there are a few of these all around the islands.
So check the weather reports before you travel, just remember, it’s warm when it rains, but it rains hard, so you will need suitable cover.Time schedules: Welcome to the Philippines, where time is relative and so are opening and closing hours. Also, when invited to a social affair, never come on time! Always come between fifteen minutes to half an hour late or you might insult your hosts.
Transportation. OK, you’re at the airport, in Manila, you don’t have a hotel car picking you up, that’s fine, just walk out of the terminal and look for the metered taxi stand. DON’T take the so called airport transport vans…they will charge you 1,000 pesos for a 150 pesos trip. Sure, it’s only $20, but the real cost is only $3!!!
You will find different type so transport, each one serves a purpose. There are taxi’s in the main cities but not in the provinces, provinces are the towns around the cities. Taxi’s rates can vary at different times, but so long as it’s metered you won’t get taken for a ride! (Excuse the pun) If you’re planning a trip to a specific tourist attraction you should prepare for long travel times. The roads are under-developed, single lane in most cases.
Busses are a good option for travelling between cities and towns, there are two types air conditioned and non air-conditioned, the difference is also in price. There are van services too, remember this, Vans will cramp people in, so if you’re tall (long legged) vans are not the best option.
(Note: they play music or videos on buses and vans…usually full volume…so if you care for your ears be ready for a blasting).
There are Jeepney’s (elongated jeep type public transport) they are good for getting around short distances. There are tricycles, more personal that Jeepeny transport, they can carry 2 people, but if you’re overweight you’ll have to travel alone on one. Then there are hable hable or bikes, very quick and cheap to zip about from one spot to another in town.
Travelling between islands is either by bus, car or plane. The bus car alternative requires using ferries, and can take many many hours. Using the plane is best, its quick and usually efficient. In some airports you will have to pay an airport tax, so make sure you have 100 pesos in change on you, per person of course.Noise is a major issue here, there is a lot of it and all the time. If it’s not Karaoke it will be a generator due to brown outs or TV’s put on loud…so if you are seeking a quiet life you will have to find a quiet location or a 4-5 star hotel or resort.
Karaoke is the national pastime in the Philippines but don’t make fun of the singers, they don’t do it to sound good, they just like doing it.Try not to get angry, no matter how frustrated you are, most of the Filipino’s are really nice people; and a lot of misunderstanding is due to misunderstanding…they are very helpful and will always come to your aid if you ask for it or if they see you need it.
On the other hand, be ready for the local kids to drive you crazy, every child is genetically engineered to call out to foreigners “Hey Joe” or “whats your name”, “what are you doing here” and the iconinc “Give me money”. This will repeat itself and go on in repetition…don’t give money ever and just smile. On some occasions answer them, they will burst out laughing!Accommodation. Depending on where you plan to stay, the variety is limited. Manila, Cebu and Boracay all boast international hotels, the rest are all national and local. Airbnb is also known here. However you must be sure you know how and where to buy food.
In general if you are on an unlimited budget than you have no problems, if however you are on a limited budget and plan on visiting various land and sea sights you will have to consider centralizing yourself near each point in order to cut down on transport (a time waster) and to also truly have time to enjoy the area you are visiting. Basically, local hotels and resorts are usually clean, offer good food and access to services. All beach resorts offer diving shops access, these diving shops are managed by foreigners (usually). The difference in prices vary from place to place but an average of $20 to $90 a night will give you top class accommodation anywhere other than the 5 star, these will cost you above $150 a night.Toilets/Rest rooms are called here CR or comfort rooms. The more modern ones have proper seats and sinks and toilet paper…the rest have it all but no toilet paper! You heard it Gus and Gals, you want to wipe your arse??? Use water and fingers baby!!!
SO: Always have tissues or toilet paper on your person.Dairy Products! Apart from the hotels and major cities (all 3 of them) most of the towns have no milk products whatsoever! So if you like your cheese and wine or just milk and butter…go-to Holland!!!
More Culture
Its shower time: if you are winging it, or just on a low budget trip, get ready for cold showers! In some instances get ready for a bucket of water and a large cup.
Many households cook with fire, yup, no gas no over, fire!
Hospitals, if you really want to visit one than drink tap water from a Barangay source, Barangay is a neighborhood in a city…they sometimes have their own source of water so rather than connecting to a private source some houses and eateries use local water sources... get ready for dysentery and a visit to a public hospital where privacy is another word for public access. If you don’t have any connections or local friends you don’t want to end up in a hospital alone.
About Democracy
President Duterte was voted in by popular vote. This crass but full of action ex Mayor of Davao rose to fame by his vigilante antics killing drug lords and pushers. He got into power on this ticket and his government has given the Police and Army a boost to fight both drugs and terrorism. It’s shoot first and don’t bother to ask questions later. I would say that he resembles Putin more than Trump, whilst he is more crass than Trump, Duterte is more active like Putin, and this is due to the lack of balance in how power is managed here. On the other hand it is safer now, much safer!
A bit about Food:
Rice is a national pastime food…eaten every day all day!
Adobo is a meat and vegetables dish marinated in garlic, vinegar and soy sauce before being cooked in oil and then simmered in the remaining marinade. It is served with rice and is the national Filipino dish.
Lechon means roasted or barbequed, usually pork or chicken. You will find many Lechon Manok (Chicken) or baboy (pig) for sale, a whole lechon manok is about 180-250 pesos depending where you are.
Pancit is one of the most popular plates for Filipinos is stir fired rice noodles. Usually mixed with meats and vegetables covered in soy and oyster sauce.
Sisig is a pork dish traditionally served on a sizzling hot plate and is made by boiling a pig’s head, then grilling or barbecuing it, chopping the meat into tiny pieces, and frying it with onion, garlic and spices.
Balut is a traditional exotic national snack in the Philippines, but be warned, Balut might look like a regular boiled egg, but when you crack one open, you’ll find an 18-day-old duck embryo. So unless you’re a foodie into exotic or on Survivor episode 100…think before you eat this.
Chicharon is deep-fried pork skin, and is flavored with salt and garlic. It’s sold in nearly every food stall or small shop and in markets and bus terminals.
Calamansi is a small citrus fruit about the size of a hazelnut. The freshly squeezed kind is the best the very sour juice is sweetened with sugar. It’s available in cans, juice boxes and bottles at every corner store in the Philippines.