Philippines Del Trotter

If you don't know what I mean, it's the 3-wheeler.

Check out this link Del Boy's van

Flying Blind II

If you read my earlier posting, Flying Blind, about the alarming frequency that birds seem to fly into the windows of the house where I'm living, you'll know I wasn't able to post some photos that I couldn't find of a flock of birds that crashed into the window.

Well, I eventually found them. They were still on the memory card inside a little used camera - a Canon 350d, and here they are (some may find them distressing!)

Initially survived but died soon after

Lost in Translation (Taiwan)

I've no idea what this is supposed to mean......

Wet and Windy

It's rainy season again in the Philippines. And typhoon season. We've just had a particularly powerful  cat.5 typhoon (Odette or Usagi to use its international name) pass over the north end of Luzon. Thankfully it didn't pass directly over the Philippines because the fallout from it missing the place was bad enough.  Olongapo was completely flooded, as were most of the surrounding towns and villages. Sadly too many people died as a result of the flooding and a large landslide killed 23.

Subic Bay was largely unscathed but then that's probably a legacy of good infrastructure left courtesy of the Americans.  It says volumes that the drainage systems still work as effectively today as it did when they it was installed.  The drainage system doesn't seem to work anywhere else in the Philippines.

Manila floods every year but it gets reported like it wasn't expected.  The only thing that's unexpected is the fact that it wasn't expected.

Our wages clerk went to the bank the other day to pay in some cheques.  Some of the banks wouldn't accept them.  When I asked why, I was told because it was raining.  To clarify I asked if the banks were closed because it was raining but no, they were open but just wouldn't accept any cheques because it was raining.  Work that one out if you can because I can't see any logic to it.

Philippine or Crested?

This handsome dude seems to be a regular visitor to my garden.

At first I thought it was a Crested Serpent Eagle but further research suggests it might be a close relative, the Philippine Serpent Eagle, if only because it's in the Philippines.

This raises two questions: is my garden overrun with 'serpents' and has it been responsible for the cats going missing?

Photos were captured on my Panasonic Lumix FZ18, which is a super-zoom camera bought for me by my sister around 5 or probably 6 years ago.  It's a hugely versatile camera and one that produces photos of amazing quality for what it is.

Flying Blind

I'm not sure why but birds seem to have a problem with seeing the windows on the house I live in.  On several occasions I've been startled by a loud bang on the window when a bird has crashed into it.  My guess is it's because the windows have a solar coating on them that makes them mirror like on the outside. I think this confuses birds because the house is surrounded by forest and so the windows reflects the forest and the birds fly towards it.

Below is a kingfisher that smacked into the window and stunned itself so I was able to take a photo.  It sat there for a minute blinking, looking like it was trying to remember where it was and where it was going. One of the cats approaching soon focussed its attention and it flew off at high speed so it would appear it was unharmed.

A while back it wasn't such a happy ending.  A flock of bright green parakeets flying in formation weren't so lucky and were killed as a result of smacking into the window.  I have a photo of around six of them all lined up on the ground dead as a door nail, and if I can find the photo I'll post it here.

Brilliant Sunset

Captured on my phone one evening, on my way home from work.

Desecration of Paradise

Take a look at these photos, taken in Mindanao.

Looking one way . . . 

. . . . looking the other

The Philippines is absolutely full of idyllic beaches like this with crystal clear seas and endless sands.

However, this one is different in that it's going to be the site of a huge coal fired power station. 

I don't feel bad about being part of the construction of these power stations (not in the same way I felt bad about building a huge casino) as electricity brings massive benefits but I do sometimes wonder if other, less salubrious places could be found to build them?

The Intolerant Flier

These days I seem to spend an inordinate amount of time flying to different locations as part of my job.  I'm frequently going to Taiwan. Occasionally to Singapore.  I have new projects in Cebu and Davao and the only way to get there is by flying. Well that's not strictly true, I could go by jeepney and ferry but I'd spend all my time travelling and not actually doing any work. And the rate that ferries sink in the Philippines means there's a good possibility I wouldn't arrive at all.

Now I know to some this might sound somewhat glamorous being part of the jet-set but take it from me, for the most part it's an ordeal.

Here's my top ten list of things I dislike most and which drive me to distraction and leads me to dread flying.  Note that and it's mostly down to my fellow travellers and not the physical flying itself. Sorry if this sounds like a rant but that's because it is!

1.  Time Taken to Check-In.

Why does it only ever take me a few minutes to check-in but for most others it seems to take an age. What the hell can they do wrong or find to do that takes so long? What could be simpler?  Tickets and passport handed over in return for a boarding pass.  Just what is it that takes others so long?

2.  Baggage Blaggers.

Actually, I can partly answer (1) myself.  It's those that turn up with 20 kg of baggage for a budget airline flight when they either paid for nothing or think all baggage is included in the ticket like a regular airline.  They then argue/plead/sulk/abuse the check-in clerk and try to scam their bags onto the flight without having to pay, all the while the queue to check-in is stationary and getting forever longer.  Me?  I'd send them away and tell them to sort it out and then go to the back of the queue.  I've even seen baggage blaggers being told their check-in bags are too heavy and so in front of the check-in desk (thus stopping anyone else getting to check-in) they've pulled everything out and piled it into their hand carry (which was already bigger than my check-in bag) and the airline staff say nothing. Also see (4) below.

3.  Late Arrivals Jumping the Queues. 

Here's something that really irks me: those that turn up late at the airport get moved to the front of the security/immigration queue to avoid missing their flight. Whilst I would accept that there might be the occasional genuine case who has mitigating reasons for being late, and for them I suppose an allowance should be made, but it seems to me it's rapidly becoming a travel plan to turn up late simply to avoid the queues, whilst all those who are actually able to plan their life and get to the airport on time stand there like lemons like they have nothing better to do.

4.  Hand Baggage Blaggers

Because Budget airlines charge for check in baggage it results in certain individuals thinking that it's acceptable to have 3 carry on bags (plus laptop, plus camera, plus iPad, plus pillow, plus duty frees) weighing more than than the total allowance you can actually pay for and taking them on for free.  Sometimes the bags are so heavy they have trouble actually lifting them into the overhead lockers. Now, if the rules were applied equally I wouldn't mind but being British and having a reasonable understanding of fair play I check my bags in  (i.e. pay), whereas a large chunk of those flying seem to think they are exempt.  Occasionally the airline does take over-sized/over weight cases off travellers at the gate and place them in the hold but effectively the traveller is still getting a free baggage allowance.  How's that fair?

5.  Baggage Handlers.

'Nuff said.  Up there with traffic wardens, lawyers and estate agents.

6.  Security Queue Dawdlers.

These days there's the added ordeal of the security check queue. Okay, some might argue that it's a necessary evil. I might argue it's wholly a waste of time and effort but there it is. It reminds me of Jews being processed and sent off to a concentration camp. Now I know some will be offended by the analogy but I cannot think of anything that matches the process better.  The being made to stand in line; the threats not to question what or why it's happening; the meekness of not standing up against this processing; the threatening security; permitting the humiliation of being partially stripped; being bodily and intimately searched and having all your personal possessions rifled though by a stranger in front of other strangers.  There are real similarities.

However, if this isn't bad enough, what makes it worse is you know you're going to have to take your shoes off.  You know you're going to have to take your laptop out of your bag. You know you're going to have to remove your belt. You know you're going to have to remove all metallic objects and put them through the scanner, so why oh why do some people wait to do all this only once they've reached the scanner.  They just stand there and start to do all their preparations like they have alllllllllllllll the time in the world whilst everyone else has to wait for them whilst they try to decide whether to put their mobile phone in the same tray as their shoes or should they get another tray.  Or put their phone in their bag. Then fiddle about getting their loose change out of their pockets. Then ask security if they need to take out their laptop. At time like this I imagine I have a blow pipe with poisonous darts so I can shoot them in the neck. Morons.

 7.  Reclining Seat Etiquette.

Listen pal, I'm already sitting here with my legs at nearly quarter to three because I'm on a flight with seats designed to carry Douglas Bader and Oscar Pistorius and if you think it's acceptable for you to fully recline your seat on a 60 minute flight so you can sleep in the middle of the day then understand, that it's okay by me, but every couple of minutes I'm going to change position and stick my knobbly knee in your back just as you start to nod off, you selfish twat.

8.  Mobile Phones.

Are mobile phones a risk to flights or not?  Let's make our minds up about this, can we?  Here in Asia I hear phones going off long before the plane has even got near to the runway.  I've even heard people having a conversion as the plane comes in to land, oblivious to the supposed safety of everyone else.

9.  Seat Belts.

There's a cacophony of clipping and clunking of seat belts being released the second, no the millisecond the flight touches down.  Really, taking off your seat belt that soon is meant to achieve what?

10.  First off the Plane.

I can understand wanting to be off the plane first.  No, I really can.  I want to be at the front of the immigration queue so I don't have to stand around whilst you faff about wondering where your landing card is or deciding you haven't had enough time to fill it out when it has handed to you during the flight and then piss about filling it in at the passport control window rather than being sent to the back of the queue like you should be.

No, what REALLY irks me (and I'm struggling not to use expletives here) are those that fight to get off the plane first then once they're on the jet bridge (also called the jetway, loading bridge, aerobridge/airbridge, air jetty, portal, passenger walkway or passenger boarding bridge or call it what you will) make sure they take up the WHOLE damned width of the walkway whilst walking at the speed of a sailing stone and gawping into their mobile phone.  Treading on their heels seems to work a treat.

11.  Hogging the Travelator.

There are those who are so tired from sitting on a plane for several hours that they must stand on the travelator.  Fine, but GET OUT OF MY WAY and don't look at me like I've just murdered your first born if I ask you to move to let me pass, space wasters.

12.  The Baggage Carousel.

Why do people feel the need to stand, with baggage trolley at their side, right at the edge of the carousel, thus blocking anyone else's access to it?  Stand back you imbecile.  Your bag might be the last one out (especially if the baggage handlers are rifling through it - see item 4 above) and standing there blocking others getting to their bags isn't going to make yours come out faster, you pillock.

13.  Queues.

Why all the queues at check-in?  Immigration?  Security?  Most airports need to take a leaf out of airport set up in Singapore.  There's hardly ever a queue.  If they can do it, why can't other airports?

Honourable Mention

Not so long ago I passed through security at London's Heathrow Airport.  Not content with irradiating my bags and belongings in the scanner and carrying out a search that bordered on being more probing than my last prostate examination, the couldn't-care-less, insouciant, I'm-only-doing-my-job security staff (and I use the term staff very, very loosely) then decided to pull ALL my belongings out of my bag, which happened to be mostly camera kit.  Clearly not photographers they asked me what each item was.  I could have told them that my light meter was a light sabre and that the folding camera was a time machine and I swear they wouldn't  have known the difference, so what was the point?  If I were a terrorist carrying a gun modified to look like a camera was I about to say 'fair cop guv, you've got me bang to rights, that's a 9mm browning automatic modified to look like a Polaroid 110b converted to 4x5 format'.  Clueless. And oh so utterly pointless.

Having said that, I thought I was pretty much aware of what I could or could not hand carry but these people (and I also use the word 'people' very loosely) are on the ball.  Included in my camera kit was a little bubble spirit level made of plastic that sits in the flash hotshoe of the camera.  Here's and example what it looks like:

But that's not allowed because it contains FLUID.  It was promptly removed from my bag and the offending item placed into a clear plastic bag and given back to me, so if it had contained pure nitroglycerin I can only conclude that the plastic bag would have contained the blast and saved the plane.  Hooray.  I felt so much safer.

The more astute of you will have noticed that I call this my top ten list and there are actually 13+1 items. The problem is I just couldn't stop at 10.

How Many Filipinos Does It Take to Change a Lightbulb?

Only one apparently but you may have to change the guy almost as frequently as you do the bulb if these photos are anything to go by:

Above is a photo taken of the Metro Shopping Centre in Cebu.

And below is zoomed in:

There's a guy in an orange shirt who's just climbed up that flimsy ladder to the bottom right of the sign, shimmied his way across the sign at the bottom then climbed up the left side of the sign to change a bulb.

Then climbed back down again.  

I'm no Health & Safety Nazi but this just about breaks every safety rule there is and defies all common sense.

Who?

There was a knock at the door to our office, which happens to be a rented house on a quiet back street between Olongapo and Baretto so visitors are usually treated with suspicion.

I opened the door and there was a woman stood there holding what looked like a barn owl (it was white) by the wing tips pinched together in her hand. She started talking to me in the local lingo and so I called our accountant to come and translate.  

Apparently, the owl had been found with its legs broken.  How this happened is anyone's guess.  I've no idea why they decided to bring it to our office when there were plenty of other houses in and around the area, but she seemed to have no idea what to do with the sick bird.

I knew there was a wildlife rescue place in Subic Bay but I wasn't sure what its role was exactly and whether they took in wounded owls, but they seemed like the best choice under the circumstances.

So I told the finder of the owl to place it in a cardboard box and I'd take it over myself to see if it could be put on the road to recovery. When she duly returned she had packed the owl in a box so small that she would have had to break its legs to get it in there if they weren't already broken.

Actually, this was a better result than the owl I discovered living in an abandoned water tower we were about to renovate in Ghana back in '95.  The owl, again pure white in colour, was flying around between the old timber scaffolding when we went inside (it was a big, elevated tank).  If you've never been around an owl when it's flying the amazing thing that strikes you is it is completely silent in flight, no flapping sound of the wings at all.  I gave strict instructions to the workers to seal off the tank at night when I assumed the owl would be out hunting, thereby excluding it from the tank forcing it to find somewhere else to roost allowing us to on with the task of fixing up the tank.

The next morning when I went back to site and asked the foreman, Michael, if everything went smoothly last night. 'Yes boss, no problem' he told me.  As I walked across the site I noticed white feathers scattered about the place so I asked Michael what happened to the owl.  'Plenty good chop', he said (chop meaning food).  I was aghast and asked him what happened.  I learnt that a crew of the workers had gone into the tank and sealed the opening so the owl couldn't escape and then proceeded to chase it and batter it to death with lumps of wood and then promptly cooked it over a fire and ate it. Utterly barbaric.

Back to the Philippines, I guess it was the owl's lucky day because I'd been told at a conservation centre in Panay that Hornbills were endangered because the locals had a propensity to eating them and I don't see they would have been largely fussed if it was an owl instead.

I jumped in the car and went to the Wildlife in Need (WIN) Centre in Subic Bay.  I'd passed the place several time before and never really gave it much thought as to what they did.  I walked into the place with the boxed owl and handed it over explaining where I picked it up from.  At the entrance to the place there was a cage of rescued cats and kittens, which the WIN centre neuter so I'm hoping that's where all my cats at my previous house had disappeared to.  

Inside the centre and in the pens in the compound there were lizards and snakes confiscated from errant owners; rescued macaque monkeys that were part of a re-release in to the wild scheme (I see so many of these monkeys in the wild with missing limbs which I assume they lose in snares or traps); stray dogs; fruit bats, kites, Serpent and Fish Eagles, and a variety of other small forest mammals (civet cats primarily, which also seem to end up as neglected pets).

If you happen to find yourself in Subic Bay go and pay them a visit as they do some wonderful work and if you agree make a donation that will be gratefully received. 

Feeding the Fishes

My friend Luis is like Christmas in that he comes around once a year and so give or take a few weeks, he was back in April a year after his last visit when we did the Pinatubo trek.  Hence, I needed to arrange some form of entertainment for him (and his daughter on this occasion) for the weekend he was visiting.

Time was limited so it had to be something reasonably accessible. We'd done swimming with Whale Sharks the first year he was over, in Donsol (see Having a Whale of a Time), but there was a new phenomenon related to Whale Sharks in the Philippines. Whereas in Donsol you relied on a passing Whale Shark to swim along and you jumped in the sea to take a gander and swim after the beast, the process of Whale Shark spotting in Oslob was somewhat different.  Here, much to the disapproval of environmentalists, the Whale Sharks are fed from canoes by the local fishermen.  This is means rather than having to swim to keep up with them as they cruise pass, you can hang in the water whilst the sharks passively wait for their next mouthful of hand delivered shrimp.

It really is a marvel to see.  They remind me of Koi carp in a pond, gasping at the surface in anticipation of being fed and just as placid and relaxed. I'm not sure what the fishermen put in the shrimp that keeps them coming back for more, after all how can a meagre handful of shrimp keep a fish of that size happy, but there's absolutely plenty of them to see.

The process is under attack by environmentalists as they say it's unnatural and possibly harmful to the sharks but as Luis and I agreed, if they didn't like being gawped at by a load of humans splashing around in the sea, then surely they've move on; it's a big ocean out there.  And as I see it, the advantage is all the time the Whale Sharks are the livelihood of the fishermen and the villagers then they're less likely to fall victim to the Japanese whaling fleet, or worse, the Chinese who fin sharks and leave them to drown.  Although to honest, I'm not sure if Whale Shark fin is used for shark fin soup but better not the take the risk, eh?

The location is Oslob on the south-east coast of Cebu.  In fact, it's very, very close to Sumilon Island that I visited in August 2009 (see Island Life).  Back then this was not something that was happening and no one knew anything about it.  Speaking to the locals I was told that the fishermen of the area have known about the Whale Sharks for many years but it only started as a commercial venture when they come across the idea of attracting the sharks to show to the tourists going to Sumilon Island to make some extra money.  Now its ballooned into a major form of income for the locals in provision of not only the Whale Shark watching but also accommodation, cafes, restaurants, transportation, gift shops and tours to other local attractions.

Images were captured on a Gopro Hero 2.  The video quality is amazing and when I have time I'll edit it, removing all the frames of me looking into the camera looking gormless trying to work out if it's actually recording or not.

Bangkok Wedding

Business trips to Taiwan are becoming more frequent as we approach the start date of the project, so much so that I barely seem to be able to fit in the time for other events.

I had a week in Taiwan at the beginning of February and then another trip late February.  Flying back to the Philippines was only to go to my accommodation to pick up a case of clean clothes and then back to the airport the following day for a trip to Bangkok for a mates wedding.

I find it hard to look forward to going to Bangkok, principally due to the traffic and nothing seems to work out right for me.  It was on a trip to Bangkok back in the early nineties that I ended up with heat-exhaustion, bordering on heatstoke.  If you've never suffered from this (I have twice) you'll know how dreadful, not to mention downright dangerous it is.  As a consequence, I'm now very careful about exposure to the sun.  It's not that I don't go out in the sun but I do recognise the early symptoms and know when to get out of it.

On another occasion I was fined by a traffic cop for not having my seat belt on.  Okay, my fault but no ticket/receipt was issued and the money was nothing to do with enforcing the law, only about lining the pocket of the crooked copper. And it's not like it's anything to do with road safety when you can whizz around at high speed in the back of a tuk-tuk with no seat belt.

The last time I went to Bangkok my flight out was cancelled and I ended up having to pay for another flight but going to the other traffic hell-hole of Manila and I'm still waiting for a refund for the cancelled flight.

This time I was supposed to be travelling with a friend but they didn't get their passport back from the British Embassy in time (more about that in another post) so I ended up going by myself.  Don't get me wrong, I very much like my own company but I'd rather have been somewhere else other than Bangkok on my Jack Jones.  Oh, and to rub salt into my wounds, there was an election going on and the sale and consumption of alcohol was banned for the whole weekend so I couldn't even drown my sorrows.

The principle reason I was in Bangkok was for a wedding party of a mate of mine.  I did manage to have a few beers with him and his two mates (male militant trolly dollies for British Airways, believe it or not - it reminded me why I never travel with BA) before the prohibition order kicked in.

The wedding party was on a boat on a river. Great buffet food. Although no beer was supposed to be served, I did managed one Singha.

The Happy Couple

The rest of my time was spent doing more touristy stuff and walking around but once you've done the Grand Palace, the temples, the fleshpots and the canals there isn't that much else to see or do so I was struggling.  

I also went to the camera market on the top end of China Town but even this failed to inspire.

On a good point, the food was fabulous and I really like the small portions so that you could eat even more of everything.

However, I can't see me going back for quite some time now.

Tourist in Singapore

Another business trip to Singapore at the end of January. In order to break the routine, some tourist attractions were visited during my spare time.

The Botanic Gardens are really very pleasant and I could easily spend a whole day there. The gardens are free entry and exquisitely maintained - isn't that what taxes should be spent on? The Orchid Garden is the only place where you need to pay an entrance fee and this was the first time I went in and it was well worth it, especially as it was only S$5 entry.







Dead Cat - well at least I thought it was dead, until I poked it.
Apparently, I was just sunning itself.











Unfortunate name for a flower!







Jurong Bird Park is also another favourite tourist spot. This is a bit more pricey at S$20 (£10) but compared to the entrance fees for some London attractions (Tower of London £21,45 for example), it's positively value for money.










What the .....?









A curry lunch in the Banana Leaf in Little India is well recommended. As the name might suggests, you don't get your food on a plate but served up on a banana leaf. The markets and shops around Little India seem so authentic that you could easily think you were actually in India (although I imagine India isn't as clean or orderly).










Colourful Little India















A trip to the Merlion Fountain, a water vomiting tribute to the imagination of the Singaporean Tourist Board, is about as touristy as it gets. But it's popular and always mobbed by crowds of people. I don't understand what the attraction is but obviously many people do. I guess the real attraction is it's only a short walk to the bars, restaurants and cafés on Boat Quay, which is I suppose a bit of a tourist trap but a nice one at that.










State sponsored graffiti in an underpass near Boat Quay



Time goes quickly in Singapore which is just as well as your money seems to go even quicker!

Tyred? Then Sing a Song

Videoke & Vulcanizing?

This receipt passed over my desk and the name of the business caught my eye.  Only in the Philippines would your local tyre repair garage double as a karaoke shop.

I suppose that whilst your tyres are being repaired you could sing:

• The Long and Winding Road (Beatles)
• Four Wheels On My Wagon
• I'm so Tyred of Being Alone (Al Green)
• Watching the Wheels (John Lennon)

... to name but a few!

Olongapo Carnival

Jumping back in time a bit here, between Christmas and New Year, I was on an errand in Olongapo City and became trapped in traffic that wasn't going anywhere.  So I parked up and went to see what was going on.  A parade!  These things don't seem to be advertised so I only stumble upon them by accident.

I was in no particular rush to go anywhere so I pulled out my camera and enjoyed the marching bands and all the other various participating floats and displays.

Then came the laddies pretending to be ladies

Although with some, it's not hard to tell

 

Chinese Snacks

Another trip to Taiwan and as usual, tremendous hospitality from my hosts.  Somewhat different this time, I was taken to a night market that had a huge variety of foods (and crowds) to chose from and a few stalls with fun-fare type games to play.

I was stuffed by the end of the night but the Chinese seem to have an endless capacity to keep on eating.  Whilst some of the food was unidentifiable, what I did eat was absolutely delicious.

See photos below of the fare on offer:

A mixed variety of items to chose from - it's only the sausages I recognise

Chicken?

Strawberries and other fruit

Chicken kebabs - delicious

Other parts of a chicken

Dumplings - one of my favourites!

 Always plenty of neon lights

Pork barbecued over charcoal - absolutely mouth-wateringly good

No idea

Barbecued squid on a stick

Noodles that looked less than appetising but were very tasty

Camp JEST Is Not A Joke

As mentioned in my previous post, the bird park came with a free Camp JEST introduction.  Being as cynical as I am, I reckoned this was going to be some sort of naff, badly done gimmick designed to extract even more money from me so when we'd finished out tour of the bird park I tried to side-step the guy who was clearly assigned to do the free demo.  However, not wanting to be rude or to steal the guy's thunder I reluctantly allowed myself to be roped into the demonstration area.

My cynicism was misplaced. The start of the demonstration was an introduction to the history and background of the training camp, which was apparently established by the Americans to give jungle survival training for its troops during the Vietnam war.

This was then followed by an introduction to the country's smallest bats.  The demonstrator picked up a short length of bamboo and smacked it on the ground that left me thinking that if there were any bats in there, they're going to be stunned, if not dead. He then proceeded to remove a leaf stuck in the slot of the bamboo and out crawled a tiny bat.  And yes, it looked stunned.  Perhaps this was his method of ensuring they didn't fly away?

With those teeth, it looks like a vampire

After the bat the demonstration we were shown us how to find a source of water in the jungle.  This struck me as somewhat odd bearing in mind all around us was a rain (key word 'rain') forest and water should be reasonably plentiful.  He picked up a vine that looked as dry as an Arab's flip-flop and hacked a length off with his machete.  From the cut end came a steady trickle of fluid that he held over my mouth.  It had a slightly milky but not unpleasant taste to it.  It supposedly has medicinal properties that helps alleviate asthma. I asked how to recognise it in a jungle full of vines (just in case I get lost in the jungle or end up kidnapped by Abu Sayaff) and he pointed out it's the one that's a double vine that grows together.  I'll keep it in mind.

Drinking from a vine

Next up was utensils.  Using just his machete he hacked and chopped at a piece of bamboo until he had made a single item of cutlery that was a spoon at one end and a single pointy, stabbing fork at the other.  The remainder of the bamboo was converted into a rice/meat steamer.

Making utensils

Finally, and probably the most important was the how to make fire.  Again, a piece of dry bamboo was used and he lit a fire the old boy scout way, by rubbing two pieces together.  However, the real skill was in how the pieces were formed and used to generate the fire with such ease it would have put Bear Grylls to shame.

Fire in no time at all

I think what impressed me most was the almost casual ease and dexterity these items and demonstrations were carried out using just a machete and some bits of bamboo.  They do extended courses and I for one am sold on the idea and I'm going to sign up at the next opportunity.