There is just something special about living in the tropics. It’s different here. Pleasantly different.
I live in the heart of the City. A residential area not far from downtown. I can walk for 5 to 10 minutes and be at a mall. However, from my desk, in the office, which is in my house, when I look out the window, I see banana trees, coconut trees, even mango trees! All of this, just a 10 minute walk from a shopping mall in a very large city! The best of both worlds.
I’ve been living in the tropics for going on a decade now, and I have come to love it. Nice warm weather. Beautiful views. Just a few minutes to tropical beaches. Fewer worries too, it would seem. All around, it’s a good life, and I am glad that it is my life.
Living in the tropics impacts nearly every part of your life. How about your diet? Well, there is something great about eating the wonderful tropical fruits. Oh, sure, you can get fruits like pineapple and mango in grocery stores in the west, even during the cold of winter. But, you know what? It doesn’t taste the same. I’m talking about tree ripened fruit that is sweet like sugar. Pineapples you buy in the States are usually tart, even sour. The pineapple here is pure sweetness. The fruit we eat here is not picked from the tree while it is still green, and then ripened in a box during shipment. That’s not fruit the way that it is intended to be eaten.
Lifestyle is a little slower in the tropics too, and I savor that. Coming from the hustle and bustle world of the west, it actually takes time to learn how to slow down and savor life. Not having to run to work or to the mall is outside the box for most westerners like me, and learning how to relax requires training, it’s a learning process. I know that hearing such a thing is hard to believe, but it’s true.
Tropical living is the way to go for me. Moving to the Philippines is one of the best things I ever did.
Oh Bob! I am just full of envy after reading this article! 🙂
And I am salivating at the sight of those Davao pomelos.
Its 10 degress out…windchill of -5 my business is driving me nuts…and i come home and read your post…….if it wasn't so cold in my garage right now i just might have hung myself !! lol
Maayong gabii, Bob. I thought I'd browse through your site before going to bed…
Now, now, now, you have made me really jealous! Your description of the
tropics—the fresh sweet fruits, the slow pace—-the things all our loved ones
do in the Philippines, makes me clamour for the day when I could go home.But, when? Long-haul ticket is just toooooo expensive……all i want for Christmas is
a super lotto win. Ay, ambot na lang, giyud, Bob. Goodnight, my cyberspace new friend…Leave some pineapple, too!
Hi Bob – Coming from Florida and having a home on the water with a boat I can jump on at any moment is pretty fantastic I have to admit is really hard to beat even here in the Philippines. Call me nuts, but the truth is I enjoy the Philippines more than my great situation back in FL. for many other things with the weather being only one element.
Hi Bob!
Wow the descriptions of your life are so brutal to those of us still stuck in the frigid US!
Marie and I totally agree about the fruit being better at home. The only tropical fruit that we can tolerate here in the US are the bananas and they pale in comparison. When Marie first experienced shopping here we purchased a mango so she would understand how awful they are. I am looking forward to the days after the hectic time of moving to our home halfway around the world. Every time Marie comes home from work she does the countdown until the time we return home. She says it inspires her. When a person can sit back and realize that life is good they have truly started living. Have a great day in paradise.
Hi Bob,
Well, you're making me miss Davao more than ever. Here in Chicago it's 21 degrees and a major snowstorm underway. I'm sure you can imagine where I'd like to be right now, eh? 🙂
Happy Holidays Bob, I enjoy the tropics here in Davao also, Samal Island, anyways you speak of the wonderful fruits and veggies, and of course the warm weather. Hey ya know the fresh fish ain't so bad either, ummm, I think I'm turning into a greenie, I love the rain since my corn was telling me that it was thirsty. Yes, I learned how to peel a pomelow too, such cool fruit.
Hi Bob; I agree the tropics are enticing. Waking early for market day, pulling on shorts and tee at 5 am. Midnight motorbike rides; never feeling cold.
I had a woollen jumper for 7 years and only wore it twice a year on unusually cold nights. When one first moves to the tropics it's not so easy; but once adjusted it's impossible to forget. Winter becomes a concept one can do without.
The hardest time of year is what we call 'build up' in Northern Australia; the 6 to 10 weeks before the rain. Intensely hot and humid. Once the rain comes it's a huge relief.
Having grown up part of my life in Florida I can say there are many similarities between here and there. But the pace of life in Florida is ultimately western while here it is so laid back…Manana style. I got 2 notes of good news today that affect my life here… One is that I am going to be rehired in Alaska next season, there was some doubt because of the economy and Peter Pan Inc was bought out by another company. The other good news? I have reserved 2 lots on Samal island so I can build my retirement house there someday.
I do sometimes miss winter a little. Especially fall harvest, the leaves changing colour and those crisp cool evenings. Christmas seems a little weird when it's not cold outside.
Here they call it "Summer" even though it's actually late spring. April/ May.
Opposite to Northern Australia where it's October/ November. Marked by storms 'building up' but very little if any rain. In Australia that's when people go 'troppo', violence soars, people lose it.
One mistake a lot make in the tropics is not drinking enough water and treating beer as a water substitute. I have seen a lot of big tough men come undone this way.
Once I had a job as a treelopper in the tropics of Australia. It worked out we were needing to drink 1 litre of water per 10kg of bodyweight per day. This is without going to the toilet at all; for me that was 7 liters of ice water a day.
I too am finaly counting the days of being back there i am able to go in my back yard and get fresh oranges or grapfruit and starfruit but the variety and flavor or the differant fruits is just astouinding to the sences but it is the atmosphere and the people i am missing there see ya soon Bob 😉
Bob, I said this before, but grapefruit ripened on the vine in South Texas is as good or (don't stone me) better than pomelo – and I am not from Texas, in fact I am from So Cal which happens to be the number one fruit producing state in the US.
The difference really is "vine rippened". Believe me when I say that Mindanao (at least the areas I am familiar with from Sarangani thru Davao) is the bomb when it comes to fresh fruit – but anytime you get tree / vine ripened fruit you are in heaven. For the US readers. those in CA, you don't know how good your produce is unless you've lived elsewhere…
Now regarding the South TX ruby red grapefruit – most of y'all may never travel here, but if you venture south from San Antonio or Corpus Christi into the Rio Grande Valley and happen upon a fruit stand, this grapefruit will blow you away 🙂
Actually CA is where the fruit is from – not So Cal in particular – not since Orange County gave up its namesake 🙂
Hi Gary,
Like Bob, I'm very biased on the Davao pomelo. Sweet or not (and most of the time they're very sweet!), it just doesn't give that bitter taste like the grapefruit does, but of course, if I get a chance to taste a vine-ripened South TX ruby red grapefruit, I'll give it a try.
Exactly!
Now I must find the next best thing to a Davao pomelo to satisfy my craving. 😆 I'll probably go to the Asian store tomorrow to get me some pomelos. I'll be lucky if I find one that is from Davao. 🙂
funny Bob, when we lived in the insular village we had a 40foot coconut tree in the backyard. One day one of the fronds fell knocking off about 10 bukos at the same time all while I was standing underneath. Is that what you mean about "fall"? 😆
no land or stock 🙂
When I grew up we had a peach tree and a plum tree – I can't enjoy either fruit from the store to this day!! Truly, the key is fresh off the vine.
But I know what you're saying – I agree wholeheartedly – the fruit is heavenly!!
Hey Bob, We had 64 degree F below zzzzero wind chill factors a couple nights ago, but now its warmed up to a ttttoasty 13 degree F. Thats kinda savory too for a POLAR BEAR!!!! Thanks for rubbing it in BOB!!! he he he he he
We had 1/4" of ice last night here in DFW- bout half our office worked from home today – nothin' like John's place, but I'm still dreaming of that scrumptious Mindanao fruit…
Hi Bob
Speaking of fruit I have a story. It seems one of the local elementry schools decided to give their students a taste of other cultures by serving them fruit from these cultures including mangos and papayas recently about 10 of the students came up with a rash that was traced to the fresh mangos they ate. Wonder if they will ever try that again.
Hi Bob and Feyma: Macrine and I been here in PI since last week of November, but this is my first time to visit your site since our arrival. Indeed, since we arrived. I have been eating mngoes, papayas and pineapple everyday. We are now in Iloilo attending my niece wedding. The mangoes here in Iloilo are the best, since they are locally grown. The mangoes, i eat in MRQ are imported from Manila and are second class. Indeed life in the tropics is paradise compared to life in temperate US. Luckily, we will still be in MRQ till April. By the time we fly back to US it will be spring time there. If you do not hear from me, have a happy Holiday to the family. David
Bob and Feyma: I am writing this note in the internet cafe, I am not sure, if my first note on mangoes and life in the tropics went through. Anyway, Have a Happy Holiday, from Iloilo, land of my birth. Province of mangoes, La Paz Batchoy and pancit MOlo. David,
hello Bob,
life is good and i surely missed the tropics and simple life. here in Seattle it's 20 deg freezing cold and there's more to come. 😉
Bob, I'm new to your web site and find it to be a great source of useful info on the PI. My wife (a naturalized U.S. citizen born and raised in the PI) and I are planning to make the move this summer and are looking to Dumaguete as a place to settle. I would appreciate any comments you or friends would like to give us about our choice.
I have been to the PI twice in the past (Manila, Malolos, Baguio, Cebu & Boracay) but never to Negros Oriental Province.
Best regards to you and your family..
Yea Bob ..Fresh fruit is so good when u pick it from the tree or plant ..At my farm in PA I grow raspberries Red n Black….. Blackberries,blueberries,currents ,strawberries,gooseberries.apples,elderberries peaches and pears wild grapes and when they are ripe they are so good just like in the Philippines …When I was at my home in talasay ….. the neighbor boy came over and asked if I wanted to eat a coconut .?? hummmmmm I was thinking of coconuts in the states -the ones you have to drill holes in it and beat on it with a hammer just to crack it open ..and then my brother -in -law explained to me it was fresh and good ..so I said OK he climbed up a coconut tree and knock one down cut the top off and handed it to me with a spoon ..???…then he showed me how soft it was and very good too I enjoyed all of it ummm fresh coconuts mangoes n papayas and Duran-Duran ..did i spell it right Bob ??? Happy eating .. Phil n Jess
Oh, I miss the buko, freshly picked from the tree!
Hi Phil, I think you're talking about Durian. Duran-Duran is the rock band from the 80's. 🙂 (or you alreay know that and was just making a joke) 🙂
I've always thought that coconut juice is very good for the kidneys, just like cranberries..just thought I'd add that. 🙂
bob, u should try pomelo from china. so crunchy and sweet. pomelo from davao no way.
emmanuel, go to dumaguete. u will love it there. clean, little crime, lot of sea foods.
hey bob. do u know paul mckibben frm australia. his my neighbor and mentioned he met u in davao.
wat is ur email. need to send u article. a pyramid scam from a couple base in cebu spreading in mindanao. tell ur friends about it.
we lost millons from these two crooks. just like the one in usa. maddoff
these two are well connected politically in cebu. just read article.
just to let u know, enjoy reading ur blog. keep good work bob. see u smeday