When to challenge and when not to

I have become very aware that as a guest in this fine  country, that  it can be daunting when to say something in a situation, or just to leave it , as you will only cause more problems for yourself or look a fool when your blood boils over.

I am often told that Filipinos do not like to complain and in the main I believe that to be true, except I think the more money you have the more you see more Filipinos complaining, especially in Manila,  but not so much where I live in Mindanao.

This week I was shopping, and as always I ensure my iPod is strapped to my ear and playing ,as  the checkout procedures can be a little challenging, even with the excellent packers at each till working very hard. The problem is mostly with coupons, method of payments and recording of items on the till and on paper. So I accept it and listen to a few tracks until , eventually its my turn.

This week I went to the “Basket only” checkouts, but as I walked forward a very determined lady pushed her trolley in front of me full to the brim, followed behind by two employees carrying cases of drinks. Remember this is “basket only.”

I just gritted my teeth and ignored it, mainly as no one else said anything and I did not want to be the silly foreigner complaining.

Then my landlady walked up with her basket and immediately said to the cashier, why is this happening, this is a basket only checkout and this lady was holding up many other customers, to which a groan of agreement from the queue supported her words. The cashier just put her head down, but the determined customer said she was in a hurry.  As she said this ,another employee came to the checkout carrying tubs of ice cream to be added to this ladies shopping.

I let out a laug , this led to other customers making “tut tut “noises, not sure if it was at me or the determined shopper, and then my landlady said something in Tagalog and moved to another checkout.

The lady behind me, who was well dressed asked me if my landlady was a nice lady. I of course replied yes and she said she loved her attitude, and wish she could be as strong as her and complain. I was surprised as although everyone supported the complaint, nobody else would initiate the complaint.

I explained that my landlady had spent several years abroad, to which my fellow  shopper said “Oh, that explains it.”

Now, why does no one complain? Is it because the assumption is that the person is powerful,aggressive or is t that complaining in the Filipino culture has never moved things forward, the absolute opposite to the west point of view.

What do you think?

Crossing madness

Having had the “controlled” traffic rules in the UK all my life, it thus was a shock and half when I first cam to Asia and experienced the NO RULES system. My first stop in Bangkok made me realize London was a controlled traffic flow, and even though had its traffic lights and horns blowing all the time it just does not even match the rules of engagement here in the Philippines.

Now there have been many articles on traffic here, but this time I thought I would write it from the pedestrian of non Pinoy decent, that have to learn to do the Olympic games from pole vaulting over cars that come straight at you, to theb  800m hurdles, where you get chased and have to jump over other pedestrians who are slower than you, no tiome to pass the Baton here. Back in the UK we have a Zebra crossing system that if automated stops the  traffic so you can pass over without thinking you are in the FINAL DESTINATION, and here too in the last few weeks a brand new crossing has appeared, but the rules are a mystery to me.

First of all during it being made the traffic just went up on the sidewalk and scattered the pedestrians in all directions, but it was OK as it was overseen by traffic cops, so we were all in safe hands there.

The first morning of the new crossing, a crossing which is always busy with lane hopping cars,bikes and Jeepney all trying to swerve in front of another vehicle, or stop dead in front of another as to enjoy hundreds of brake lights coming on with the noise of horns to follow. Which incidentally everyone ignores the horns as they are going all the time, so are not classed as anything else but normal traffic noise.Anyway back to the first morning, and several traffic cops were ensuring that us pedestrians did NOT cross the road unless we used the new crossing, and that was great I thought, even when I saw some people who disobeyed getting tickets from the police,pedestrians not drivers.

Then I noticed that the cars shot past you even if you were half way through the crossing, and you still had to keep an eye out for a kamikaze driver who was not going to slow down for a crossing. Funny thing is that these drivers were so quick the police were not able to see them but could see the pedestrians dancing on the crossing trying to avoid the metal. The police just kept calling the pedestrians over.

Well day one teething problems I’m sure. Day two  and the Police have gone so its up to the public to deal with this new format without help. Now the pedestrians try hard to put one foot on the crossing followed by second, but by this time the cras are rocking past them and they have to step back waiting for the never going to happen gap in the traffic.Now I was a little angry over this but being a foreigner I had to try and obey the rules so after a long wait, a long long wait I managed to get on the crossing  with the inevitable horns going from the super powered jeepneys hurtling towards me, and through guts and determination I made it to the halfway point. Some astonished locals were looking at me in amazement, why is he using the crossing? Just play chicken like the rest of us.

Nope, I wanted this to work (Not really sure why), but I was in trouble stuck in no mans land,with cars and jeepneys full of wide eyes looking at this stupid man stuck in the middle of the road.

After a few false tries, I just waited and to my utter astonishment the Jeepneys one by one parked ON the crossing to let people get on and off, and others queued behind. People were getting off on the crossing!!
Now I have metal machines and human beings preventing me from crossing, it makes no sense to me at all.

Over the next few days the road is back to normal, and no one uses the crossing and I play the game of Chicken. I just hope my old legs don’t let me down in the future, or I will be up close and personal with a Jeepney.

Antique Philippines

As mentioned before I have met so many people from around the world, who live or pass through the Islands of the Philippines, which makes me a better person as travel in itself does too.

Recently I have had the pleasure of meeting a new friend here in Davao city , called Tim Walker who has come from a family that was already was in the business, so it really is in Tim’s blood, and his knowledge and experience is outstanding.

His father from a farming family and my mother from a family of working influence but together they started an antiques business in the same years of his birth, which appears to be a secret. He was very fortunate from an early age by the path in which his parents took and he gladly followed blindly.

He started my business at the age of 15 years old, and was known on the antiques show circuit as selling on a card table his parent’s booth from the age of about 9.

Now he is in the Philippines and it is amazing to have someone stand up at an expat meeting and share his total knowledge of Antique furniture and toys. Toys being my favorite subject of his so far.

It made me wonder what the antique market was like here in the Philippines, and I actually visited some places in Manila recently and was surprised by the amount of stock, but had no idea at all if the prices charged were reasonable, I then realized how important it would be to have Tim with his years of knowledge in assessing items for sale and valuations. Can you imagine if you get that wrong!!! What a skill that is to have here in the Philippines.

I wonder if toys from the last forty years here in the Philippines, the baby boom times would be valuable like they are in some of our home countries? He sold vintage farm toys,in the Dyersville Iowa Farm Toy National shows that his father use to drive me there to.So without doubt he knows his stuff.

The reason for writing about this is that Tim asked me is there a possibility of doing business here in the Philippines, domestic and selling and importing from abroad. Honest I have no idea, and would be very interested to hear from the LIP readers if this is something that is “hot” here, and where the hot spots are. This will allow Tim to set up a business here and enjoy the life of living in the Philippines.

Its not just toys, as when he was in the 20’s he ventured into designer furniture and vintage glassware.. By his mid 30s he had collected a large array of antiques for my home from Period Furniture, Paint Decorated Furniture, Fine Paintings and high grade Adirondack antiques as well.

So does Baguio or Manila have the role of antique center of the country? Id love to be able to tell Tim more, anyone have any ideas?

Where’s the coverage?

I have just returned from the UK, after only a few weeks away from my beloved Philippines and I chose an amazing time to be away, as the wrath of the gods had hit the Islands.

In fact ten days before I left I was in Manila with Migs and the rain was constant, and the Umbrella sales man annoyed Migs by overcharging for his products because of the deluge of water and the fact that I was standing next to Migs. This always seems to put he price up.

As I left the Philippines the first typhoon was making its way to Luzon, and within a few hours the wrath of the hell storm hit Manila and we all saw the horrific pictures that was broadcast around the world. Dams busting, houses and bridges collapsing and people dead.

Within the Philippines the site of dead bodies being broadcast is accepted, however to the west dead bodies are mostly not shown as not to upset or offend audiences. I think the networks here show too many bodies all year round and the reaction of love ones screaming in anguish into the camera, followed by the basketball results.

I was watching the BBC and CNN coverage whilst I was in the UK, and after less than 48 hours the story and the suffering of the Philippines was knocked off the lead by the earthquakes, and all the TV reporters left Manila accordingly. By the third day the suffering and pains of the Pinoy and the 100,000s of displaced people without enough food and medicine was not even worthy of being mentioned in the international news programs.

I was in constant contact with Migs , who lives in Quezon City where the floods were harsh and many people died, and houses were destroyed or badly damaged, and he like thousands of others were involved in trying to help the fellow Pinoys and even his next door neighbor whose house was very badly damaged by water.

Now back in the UK, you would think everything was now ok in the Philippines, as the main news about the earthquakes and a follow up of a landslide in Italy where some houses and few lives were lost, when in Luzon the terror was still continuing.

Three weeks later I return to Manila an am watching ABS-CBN showing more flash floods and deaths in places like La Union and Bagiuo, shortage of foods, destroyed infrastructure and Mayors on live TV asking for help .400,000 people now displaced. The networks here provided great help and coverage, whilst the BBC gave it a 30 second slot, obviously political speeches and more deaths in Iraq are more important than a huge number of people suffering in Asia.

It does make you question what is news? and who decides?

Brief return to the UK

I have been staying in the Philippines on and off for about five years now and really love the people and the place. I have just returned to the UK for three weeks to help a friend move and to catch up on some legal stuff , and of course to catch up with old friends and the family too.

I kept my return to the UK very secret in order to surprise certain people, like my Mum who is 80 and was shocked to see me walk into her house announced a few days ago. The picture on her face was amazing, and i detected a real tear. Bless her. I will be catching up with her several times over the next few weeks, as we have three years to catch up on.

I also set up a surprise with two of my friends who turned up at another friends house for dinner , and then suddenly I pounced out and surprised them so much, and spent the next few hours in a boozy remembrance of our times together.

Both of my friends have been to the Philippines and are also coming back next year for another visit. Actually I am proud of the fact that they are coming over again because of me, and that they too have fallen in love with the country. I hope that one day both will join me in the country and marry a beautiful Filipino lady and settle down.

I also took a trip to my oldest friends and their kids, who are now adults, and spent a very emotional weekend with these people I have not see for three years. Yet on arrival to the house it felt I had only been away a few hours. A true test of friendship.

I should get commission from the Philippines Tourist Department as two of the family are going to come over next year too.

My time here is great and rewarding and its great to see some of the old friends. But I do not really belong here now, my heart is truly in the Philippines, as no matter how bad things are in the Philippines you will see a street full of smiles and big hearts. In the UK now its gloom and doom and the faces of the people in the malls are fall of sadness.

I cannot wait to get back to my new home country.

Ten differences between Manila and Davao

This is just a light hearted fun list of things I have noticed as I travel now between Davao City and Manila, and this is based on the last four years. Yes, of course its a generalization but it really is something that I have noticed.

1. As I walk around Manila I am offered USA dollars and Viagra,not so in Davao.
   Honest what do I want American dollars for, and as for Viagra,,well not yet!!!
2. In Davao the idea of customer service is not often available to people, where as in Manila customer service is very apparant and sometime too intrusive.
   Manila you will be approached every few seconds by shop staff and in Davao will be more likely to see many staff but who seem to have little training.
3. The smiles in Davao seem to always be there, however in Manila , because of the pace of life the smiles are not always as persistent.
4. Food prices are about the same, but the quantity and quality of food is much better in Manila ,not just in the supermarkets but also in the restaurants where the menus provided actually relate to what is available.
5. Accommodation in Manila surprisingly, seems cheaper to rent or buy than in Davao.
6. It is much easier to get around Davao by using the Jeepneys and taxis, and although Davao is huge, it is the main easy to navigate.
   Manila is the place to have the worse taxi rip offs and it can takes hours to travel anywhere.
   The trains are great value in Manila, but be prepared to be a sardine inside the train.
7. As touched on before the range of places to go and the food places are great in Manila, be it in the Malls or on the street.
   You get what you order, but lots of the places are franchised and sometimes lack a good atmosphere.
   Davao has the atmosphere, but a poorer range and the menus are less available.
8. Begging on the streets is much more prevalent in Manila, and it seems to be “controlled”, whilst in Davao there are a few, but not as “controlled”, or as aggressive.
   Often people come into Manila to look for a job and end up on the street, often the whole family live on the street.
9. Manila is full of so many white faces in the malls and in the bars, and apart from the street peddlers are ignored by the rest of the population, however in Davao. no matter where you go a white guy walking will attract hundreds of “hi Joe” shouts from smiling faces.
   Manila is obviously more cosmopolitan, where the provinces still are a little rare of too many white faces.
10. Pollution problems are so bad, the streets are packed solid everyday with gridlocked vehicles, and there is no doubt that the older type vehicles leave so much smoke. In Davao its got worse over the last few years, but it is NO WAY as bad Manila. YET.

Bust and Bang

Like the rest of the world I have been feeling the effects of the recession this year and now its gone from hurting to bleeding from a gaping wound.

House prices in the UK falling to 30 percent below last year, and that’s assuming you can sell anyway. Shares dropping through the Earth’s crust and the exchange rate for me this year ran at a 40 percent shortfall.  OUCH. That alone was a death nail.

I have been cutting costs this year but the cuts are not helping, and as the income I had from various sources is depleting the situation like many others in the world is not BAD. Dont get me wrong I am in no way comparing myself to some of the people I see daily here in the Philippines, who exist on a fraction of what I have and they manage to get through a day at a time, and I have the cheek to moan about it.

So I even considered going back to the UK to find a job and go into survival mode, only to find that I would be in more trouble as UK unemployment is much more than being officially said. As my friend said after losing his high powered job, you cannot even work as a sweeper in a supermarket now as 200 people will do the work for less than you can survive on. He assured me that living costs would destroy me quicker in the UK, and checking with other friends they all concur.

I have now come to the end of my rental period in my lovely house and although it destroys me to say so, I have to leave it for something like a bedsit. Back now to my student days!

So now I have decided to split my time between Manila and Davao City so if any of those fantastic LIP readers have cheap accommodation in any of those locations, or need a house sitter. (I am well trained lol), then get in touch.

This recession has bitten harder then I expected and although for monies I wanted to return to UK, I can assure you my heart only belongs in the Philippines.

Besides I have a love here too, and friends and all I need now is the luck to get on my feet again. Being 50 in UK means you are dodging the grave, in the Philippines it means you are still young and alive and when I see the smiles of the people who have nothing I know that I am with the best people.

I can assure you I am VERY happy with the way the Filipino looks after and respects the older ones and I am still youngish lol.

What fun a brown out is!!

As mention a few times in Live in the Philippines, one of the things you have to get used to living here is constant brown outs, or power failures as it is called in most of Europe. Apart from the fact that the food spoils quickly and the ability to get on with your daily chores and stay cool without fans and air conditioning.

But this week I had my longest brown out, nearly 14 long hot hours. The power went off just after midnight, and it was a very hot night so the fact there were no fans made it a very slippery night, and any trips to and from the kitchen were made with the help of the always on hand standby candles, or the trusty mobile phone.

Normally a few hours will have the problem rectified, be it overload, cost reasons or a bomb somewhere, its usually up and running in a few hours. I also live near a sub station that comes online when the power outs with a noise like a helicopter hovering over your house for its duration. This time even that did not kick in!!

After a long sweaty night we awoke still without power, which meant lack of water as some of our water supply is pumped through. So as the heat was getting terrible I spent an hour in the swimming pool trying to coll myself down , except for my bald head. That suffered a little.

Having guest too was making me a little annoyed but they were fine and it was part of normal life for them.  They decided to make the most of it.

So for about an hour Migs played his guitar and sang with my friend Keo ,and the worry of having no power was drifting away. We had ice from the Sari Sari store that we put into a jug of coke , and had sandwiches and another song.

Now 12 hours with no power, and if I was in the UK  I would be on the phone moaning and complaining. Here there is no point, it will be on when its on. And after 14 hours it flicked back on and the sing song stopped and the TV went on. A part of me hoped it would stay off a little longer.

Maid in the Philippines

As I mentioned last time I have a big house, and the main reason for this was that the original plan was that my friend from UK, Steve, was going to be moving here too so it make sense to have a bigger place. The collapse of the economy and some of the domino factors involved from that make this a longtime off. Also at the same time I had inherited two Pinoy guys who were staying here and keeping the place clean and looking after me in my naivety, in return for staying.

They were great  as they did the marketing,cooking,cleaning and errands and made me feel like a king. They took so much pride in making sure that I was happy, that it was a pleasure to have them in the house, and they became more like family than workers.

Of course back in the UK, I would be doing it all myself and this help would be frowned on. Now as time goes by the two guys took jobs out of Davao and were replaced by a number of others who worked hard and became friends too. I cannot understand people who have maids on helpers in the house and cannot communicate with them, or be nice to them as its not slavery. This went on for a longtime  until I suddenly found that my natural pool of helpers  ran out , because  they all moved on to better things. So I asked around for other helpers and had a huge list contact me, of which only half, never turned up and some were just  more interested in the contents of the house than getting jobs done.

Others would turn up one day and not for the next few, some would text a minute before starting saying they were unavailable. So in the end I thought what the hell, I have always done it myself in the UK , so why don’t I do it myself now? So For last few months you will see me on my knees scrubbing, going to the laundry and marketing and doing the amazing queuing thing when trying pay a bill or arrange anything simple. Now this was k ok for me, but some of my neighbors  would inquire am I ok? Why am I doing my own cleaning, I even got told it doesn’t look good.

Wow, even as a visitor to the country I had to see that being seen doing these domestic duties was looking bad on me. The assumption I guess is that if you can afford cleaners you should have one, or maybe its the fact that it looks like I am too tight to spend my monies on domestic help. Anyway I still continue to do it, but I do have a friend who comes in about once a week for those extra difficult cleaning jobs. CR!!

And on top of his monies he sits watches a film with me and a beer. Or is that wrong too?

What a blessing

I am lucky to rent my home in Bajada, here in Davao City. The house is inside a secure compound with beautiful grounds and a swimming pool. I rent four bedrooms of a very large house which means I rent the bottom floor which I believe used to be a place for the dogs and the cars. Servants quarters I assume.

Now the house is very old and built about 5o years ago by the person who lives upstairs called Maurice, who is now a sprightly 85 year old and swims daily and has his own hair. Just like me.

The house and grounds now belongs to my landlady and she this  year has built two very modern homes in the compound, so I now have a Dutch neighbor and the other house is my landlady and her partner.

Few days ago after I returned from Manila a knock on my door from my landlady who said do not forget the blessing tonight. I had no knowledge of it but I agreed to make myself available.

As the tables and chairs arrived I realized this was going to be more than I expected, and along came the priest accompanied by a guitarist and another singer.

We all lit our candles as the sun went down and outside the first house prayers were made and that was followed by a song as we all waked in behind the priest who blessed each room.

Still singing, we made our way to the second house and did  the same there followed by more in depth praying, and by this time maybe 20 to 30 people were now involved.

This was followed by a fabulous meal and plenty of free flowing drink right through to late night, and it acted as a great way to meet everybody and enjoy the company and even talk to my really nice neighbors.

I am not a religious person but I was so  impressed by the singing and the way everybody behaved. What a great idea.

I hope we can have a blessing everyday, well perhaps at least once a week.

Enjoy the video.