Colombia and the Philippines...No Reservations

I'm just now watching Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations as I get ready to leave later for some little neighborhood shopping (it's soooo sunny hot outside...).  The episode is set in Colombia.  Amazing how many things are similar between Colombia and the Philippines.  It's crazy!

Even the streetside restaurant where Anthony is having his lunch with a local coulde be a streetside restaurant in Manila, in a semi-residential street in Manila's Malate district.  It looked like that part of Manila except the people look different.  Lol!

Then they have these colorful little buses for public transport that's pretty much like Manila's jeepneys except they're buses!  Complete with the barker or guy that shouts the routes out for commuters looking to get on the right bus, the markings of the routes on the buses' windshields, etc.

And then of course, the food.  They went to a local market where there were many different sorts of tropical fruits.  One of which was a caimito that Anthony tried.  Caimitos are also available in the Philippines.  One wonders if the Philippines got those from South America originally or vice versa during the heydays of the Manila-Acapulco galleon trade... a version of globalization for that time.  Amazing!

Another food they have which the Philippines has too is the chicharron, and the chunchullo (Colombian term).  The Philippines also has chicharron, and chunchullo would be the Philippines' chicharon bulaklak.  The latter are fritterlings of pork intestines.  They are yummy but more of a guilty pleasure sort of food, mainly consumed as a snack.   I wonder if Anthony knew just how much bad cholesterol he was chowing on when he had those.  Lol!  I remember some of my older family/relatives trying to shy away from consuming chicharon bulaklak because it's really unhealthy... a pig's internal organs deep fried to lip smacking crackling goodness! Lol!  :D  And dipped in vinegar in the Philippines as you eat them like chips.  

Colombia has empanada as well.  I love empanada!  Gah!  It's kinda obvious we probably got these pork recipes from the Spanish or perhaps once again, because of the galleon trade and the exchange of cultures and goods between Latin America and the Philippines that surely transpired along with it.

The people might look somewhat different but it's amazing how many things are similar between the Philippines and another place thousands of miles away.

Fave Philippines Video

The Philippines. So beautiful. This Survivor intro did the Philippines justice. The shot of the Banawe Rice Terraces.. gosh! And those animals. And the moving aerial view. I suppose it kinda beats any video the Philippines's Department of Tourism has ever put out.




I haven't watched Survivor in a very very long time. 'Til they shot this 25th season in the Philippines and the opening or intro is truly the best I've come across with Survivor. Makes me wanna go back home (but skip Metro Manila and the rat race and crabs there). Lol!

Then it's got shots of the Survivor participants in slow motion... with true emotion, candidly smiling, or really emotional or just challenged. Pretty cool.

And it's in HD too.  And when seen on a really big screen HDTV... oh wow!

Whomever edited it, chose the right scenes at the right time to the right music. It's just stunning. The best. Well done. =)

Our Perspective on Freedom

 something I shot several years ago, a parade on Ayala Avenue, at the 

Philippines's Central Business District (CBD) where I used to work

Two weeks ago, I learned something interesting that made me think of life in another perspective. 

We all know the current goings on with regards to Iran/Israel/US, etc.  But it hadn't really hit closer to home until I got into a longer conversation with one of my co-workers.

This co-worker is an older gentleman from Iran. And the reason he is now here was because of political/ethnic persecution in Iran around the time the Shah was assassinated and Iran began to be ruled by the ayatollah.  He can't go back to Iran at all 'cause he says he'll be killed if he went back, because he's not Muslim.  He belongs to a small ethnic/religious group from Iran and turns out that in Iran if you're not Muslim, it's not good.  His dad was executed at that time, so his family had to leave Iran and he hasn't been back since.  If he goes back Iran won't let him leave the country again and kill him.  I am sure Iran is a beautiful country, with history and culture more established than yours and mine, but with people who are just like us and proud of their identity and country.  However, based on this life experience of my co-worker and most likely countless other Iranians, of course one would think a nuclear Iran is indeed not a good prospect whether or not you're an Israeli.  Lol. 

Anyway, I was quite surprised to learn of this.  I hadn't realized that being of another ethnic/cultural group that isn't Muslim would mean death in Iran.  So yes, that made me put things in some more perspective about my life and the freedoms I enjoy whether back in the Philippines or here where I now reside.  I left the Philippines not out of necessity (in fact I procastinated 'cause I had a pretty good life back there too) but just to have a better quality of urban or sub-urban life in pretty and natural surroundings (view of snowy mountains in the distance from your window can't be beat in this area) and better or more opportunities to indulge in my travel interests as often as I can.

shot from the rooftop of the condo I used to live in at the CBD

Yes, we have buildings that might be taller than yours, lots.  Lol.

Knowing what I learned it made me put things in perspective with regards to the Philippines.  The Philippines might have its own set of problems but no one there gets systematically killed with government or church sanction because they're Muslim, Christian, etc.  The Philippines is a functioning democracy despite the fact that oligarchy still reigns.  People still get to vote, and the press functions quite well with little or no censorship compared with its other Asian neighbors and they value these freedoms very much, while civil groups and NGOs thrive there, too. 

I still love the Philippines and I am proud of how far along it has come for a developing country.  It's more than 90% literate.  And I am glad the locals there are also proud of themselves and their achievements.  Whereas before the Philippines was mostly a source of low-skill resources, it has been for some years a source of highly skilled resources, too, such as engineers, teachers, doctors, nurses, and software engineers.  Take out the locals with gossip and crab mentality and indeed there's much to be proud of.  Soon maybe not as many would need to leave the country any longer to earn their living and provide for their families.  And that leaving the country would be more of a choice rather than a necessity.  With such a big population with large youth demographics indeed the Philippines can go a long way some more.  You harness that population well with good gov't, there's no way else to go but up.  Hehe!