With the end of the project rapidly looming there is the inevitable feeling of not having done enough and seen enough of the Philippines during my time here. This is a common feeling with all locations I've worked in and is largely true to a varying degree, depending on the relative ease of getting around and what there is to see in any one place. I suppose at one end of the spectrum there is Iraq or the Falkland Island, with so much to see and explore that I left hoping to go back some day. At the other end there's Singapore and the Turks & Caicos Island, which whilst very nice and pleasant don't offer the same level of interest or possibilities.
During the dying days of this project I've taken to looking around for places to visit and I spotted an organised tour on the internet being arranged by a group calling themselves Pinoy Mountaineers (Pinoy being an informal term for Filipino people). The tour was to visit four waterfalls in one day and after the failure to see the waterfall I'd set out to visit near Iloilo (see Water, Water Not Everywhere) I thought this was an ideal opportunity.
So I filled in my on-line application and duly paid the deposit and set about booking a flight to Manila and a hotel for the weekend. All in all, whilst the tour wasn't expensive, once you added in all the incidental costs it ended up being rather more costly than I'd imagined. But what are the alternative? Sit around the house in Iloilo that frequently has no power, sweating profusely and not being able to take a shower because there still isn't any water and listening to the barking dogs? Hmmmm, not a difficult choice really.
I flew to Manila on the Friday night as the tour was going to start early on Saturday morning (3:30am meet up). On arrival in Manila the airport was chaos and I had to queue for 45 minutes for an overpriced taxi. The bidding started at Php800, went to Php550 and ended up as Php350. The taxi companies all like to attribute this rip off in rates to the traffic (on a meter it's usually around Php150 but that queue was massive) but in the event the drive into Manila was a breeze so I'm glad I didn't pay Php800. Although what was evident was that those who were prepared to pay the top rate were surreptitiously taken away from the queue and taxis diverted to cater for their needs. Once again I found myself drawing comparisons with Singapore and the blinding efficiency of the taxi queues at the airport there, which usually means there is no queue at all or it's a moving line of people and not a static queue as such.
I've always stayed at the same hotel in Manila, which is one I lived in for 2 months back in 2008 whilst on a short term work assignment. However, whilst it is very pleasant and in a good location, over time it has become increasingly more expensive so I wanted to look for an alternative. Choosing hotels is a task I hate doing and reading through the TripAdvisor web site was no help. It seems to me that rather than give an honest appraisal the website is predominantly used to air personal grievances. In the end I opted for the New World Hotel and I have to say it was very, very good. In the morning it was like waking up in a magical kingdom: no barking dogs, not even any traffic noise; water in all the taps with gushing hot and cold water; electricity the whole time I was there and a bed with the most comfortable mattress (not the thin strip of foam I have to make do with in Iloilo). It seemed a shame to have to wake up so early rather than spend a leisurely morning in bed.
But up early I was. Whenever I need to be up early I don't sleep well and wake up every hour, on the hour. Not only this but I woke up at 2:00am with chronic cramp in my left foot and then my right foot. It was curious watching the involuntary movement of my toes as they spread and curled in odd directions. Usually I find standing on a cold, hard floor cures this but no sooner had I gone back to bed it was back again. It hardly seemed worthwhile going back to bed as it was nearly 2:45am, the time I'd set my (unnecessary) alarm for.
Another rip-off taxi drive to the McDonald's where we were meeting: the excuse this time was the early hour. On arrival I couldn't see anyone who looked like a trekker so I bought myself a cup of rancid McD's coffee and sat in the corner. By around 3:45am a couple of likely candidates turned up, then a lad who seemed to be in charge of it all was going around smiling and taking names and giving directions. Despite my hiking boots and knapsack attire he didn't seem to pick me out as a likely fellow trekker despite being the only foreigner in the whole place. I can only think that being of such an advanced age was the reason I was overlooked.
When filling in my application form I had to give my contact number and a number to contact in an emergency (I used the buyer in our office) and apparently they had sent him an SMS, waking him up in the process, to see where the missing member of the group was. Why they didn't call my number (surely the obvious thing to do?), I don't know. So when the buyer sent me an SMS (under the impression I was at a children's party at McDonald's. What, at 4:00am in the morning? Where do these people come from?) I knew I'd either have to identify myself or be left behind so I made my own introductions and so the group, including the old foreigner, piled into a mini-mini bus and headed off.
The driver of the bus drove like he didn't have any passengers in the vehicle. No, that's not correct: he drove like he had utter contempt for the passengers in the vehicle, especially those who were in the very back on opposing bench seats. The vehicle jerked away from every standstill and braking was done a late as possible so we were constantly thrown backwards and forwards, either crashing into the rear door or into the passengers to my left. Personally, I wanted to drag him out of the driver's seat of the bus and imprint his face with the shape of the front bumper there and then, but as all of my fellow travellers seem totally unconcerned about his driving I thought it best not to make a fuss. I tried to take solace in the amazing reds of the sunrise until I realised that the windows of the mini bus were tinted red to the point of being totally opaque and so it was akin to being transported around in a police van (how would I know? I can only imagine). This was disappointing because there was to be some fantastic scenery along the way and a clear view would have been good. It would have been even better to have stopped occasionally to take some snaps.
Once off the highway the maniacal driving continued but now, as an added measure, not only were we being thrown backwards and forwards but on the winding country roads it was from side to side as well. In rural Philippines, for some reason the houses are built right up the road's edge, which leaves no footpath for people to walk on or for children to play. People step out of their front door into the road. As if this isn't bad enough they all do it with and air of recklessness the defies belief. Sounding your horn elicits no response or flicker of acknowledgement that you are there and about to run them over. Not a blink. And with people walking on both sides of the road, this only leaves enough room for a single vehicle to pass when it's crowded. Chaos.
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| The Waterfall Trekking Crew |
By 7:00am and feeling considerably shaken and not a little stirred we arrived at the first waterfall, with myself thinking that if the driver stands next to a cliff . . . .
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| Relaxing in the Pool |
The falls were pleasant enough and we were the first people to arrive. Some of the group went for a swim in the pool but I declined the offer upon seeing all the rubbish floating in it and all the discarded bottles strewn about the place. Thunderboxes placed over the river just downstream did nothing to ally my fears that there were similar arrangements up-stream and thought of swimming in and around the contents of someone's bottom gave me no incentive to take the plunge, so I settled for some exploring around the area and photograph taking.
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| Waterfall #1 - 2 for the Price of 1 The sign says: 'Standing here is prohibited'. It's a good job I can read Tagalog. Perhaps it should say: 'Littering is Prohibited' |
In a short while we are back in the bus heading off to waterfall #2. This one had gentle path to it that had crystal clear water running in a channelled beside it. However, the falls themselves were mobbed with people. There were quite a few picnickers and campers. At the waterfall the pool was full of people . . . and rubbish. Dog-ends everywhere, discarded bottles, crisp packets, polystyrene. I take absolutely no joy in pointing this out but in a place of such natural beauty it is an absolute crime to let it be defaced like this. I watched a middle aged guy picnicking with his family, wade into a beautiful, crystal clear pool to retrieve a bottle of coke he'd placed there to chill. The bottle of coke was in a white plastic bag and as he picked up the bottle the bag slipped off in the water. For brief a moment he paused and looked at the bag and I wondered, no, I was willing him to pick it up. But he didn't, he just turned away and left it suspended in the water.
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| Waterfall #2 |
I see this all the time. To get to my house in Iloilo I have to cross a bridge over a river and every day I see the river filling with rubbish, which is mostly plastic packaging of some sort. I find this ironic, in a country so poor and where people can ill afford the basics and yet so much food stuffs and goods have expensive and unnecessary packaging. The river is essentially used as a waste disposal facility and it makes my stomach turn to see fishermen with nets wading through the waters. Heaven knows where the fish end up for sale? Fine I think, if people want to live in filth then that's up to them. But think about it: the river is just a giant flushing toilet with all the rubbish being carried out to sea by the tides or rains and I find it depressing to think of all that trash being circulated around the world by the ocean's currents.
At the waterfall the pool was also full of shrieking women. I don't want to put the mockers on people having a good time but this just went on and on and on. Ear splittingly loud. So much for peace and tranquillity. Sad to say it was a relief when we decided to leave, even if it was back into the bumper car bus ride. By now I was starting to feel like a Japanese tourist. On the bus. Off the bus. Take a photo. Back on the bus. Off the bus. Take a photo.
Next stop was an "exotik" food restaurant so lunch consisted of stingray, crocodile, snake and vegetables. Although I have to say there was nothing very exotic about the veggies.
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| A Place to Eat |
When I was asked by the waiter what I wanted I said the crocodile but make it snappy. Asked if I wanted snake I said no because it looks like a load of cobras.
Ok, ok, enough of bad the jokes.
The crocodile was sold as being low in calories and healthy. Based on what I ate it has to be as it was mostly bones. The snake was actually quite tasty and yes, it did taste like chicken.
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| Mmmm - Lunch Snake at the top, crocodile to the left, stingray bottom left, veggies bottom right |
After lunch it was back on the mini-mini bus and onto the next waterfall. This was probably the most scenic of them all but again let down by the amount of rubbish. And we had to pay to visit go in. No big deal but you'd think the money would be used to keep the place clean. We didn't hang around here for too long before heading off to the last and remaining waterfall of the tour.
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| Waterfall #3 The sign top right says: 'Climbing the rocks is prohibited'! |
Fortunately no bus ride was necessary and it was a short hike away. When we arrived there we were told to surrender our cameras. How come? "Professional" cameras were not permitted. Whilst I was flattered that my Lumix FZ18 might be considered as professional I was still somewhat peeved that I had to give it up. Not to worry, as I had concealed in my knapsack my Bronica ETRSi, which is definitely more of a professional camera. This place must be something special I thought. But no, it was probably the least impressive of them all (although equally covered in litter) so I'm absolutely clueless as to why there was a camera ban. Asking around the locals no one else seemed to have an idea either. Probably one of those arbitrary rules that are so common here. When I pulled out the Bronica, much to the panic of the organiser, I couldn't find anything worthwhile or inspiring to photograph.
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| Waterfall #4 No 'professional' photos allowed. No danger of that. |
By now I was somewhat bored with waterfalls so I wandered off on my own to explore. Heading back towards the mini bus I found a shop so bought some water and a couple of beers and got chatting to some of the locals. I wanted to ask them about all the rubbish but I felt sure it was going to be met with the same response as when I asked about all the barking dogs in Iloilo: what barking dogs?
At nightfall we were all back on the bus for the return dash to Manila. Back at the hotel by around 9:00pm I was in no mood to go out but just to have a relaxing night in in relative luxury. Which was just as well as the hotel laundry had lost the only trousers I had with me.
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