Bang, Bang

This week I've uncovered some unique characteristics of Filipino culture.

The first one is that has to do with personal safety. Over the last week or so, I've had a loaded 9mm, a hand-size gun and a large rifle in my hands. Like most people, I'm deathly afraid of guns, but can't help being fascinated by them. I don't like them around me, but if a gun is in my hands it doesn't feel that bad. Almost everyone here carries a gun for protection they say. The police can be slow, and easily persauded to overlook the most petty crimes. With kidnappings common in the presence of Islamic extremists from Abu Sayaf, and poverty a definite problem, it doesn't seem like a bad idea, especially if one has to look after their own family. If you come to the Phillipines, I think its best back down from any serious arguements with the locals, unless you want to be brought home wounded, or worse in a body bag. I'm convinced they all have guns!

Secondly, Filipinos love to feed their guests. Yeah, I'm a first gen Filipino-Canadian, so I should know this right? Wrong-0. I've never seen experienced the constant barrage of food here in the Philippines. My uncle says it is part of the culture. Filipinos can't, and will not let their guests go hungry. I'm constantly fed at all hours of the day with fish, chicken, pork and rice. I'm going to need to go on a diet when I get back to Vancouver!

Lastly, with economy in the crapper, the Philippines sports the best malls I have ever seen in my life. Being a "mall-rat" seems to be a definite part of the culture, and mentality here. The malls are absolutely massive. One city in Manila, for instance, has super malls that contain 5 malls under one street block. I really don't know how some Filipinos afford shopping at the malls but they are always packed. Perhaps, everyone is just browsing.

Since I last wrote, I fired a .22 caliber rifle at a gasoline can, and have watched to two local basketball games. My nephew plays in a league, and we go out to watch him almost every night. Filipinos also love basketball. So much so, there is professional basketball league in the Philippines called the PBA. All the players in the league are Filipino and I'm told a small % of them can actually dunk. I know Filipinos can jump, but dunk I don't think so!

Today I visited a coconut plantation, and resort called Villa Escardero. Villa Escardero is the residence of one of the richest families in the Philippines. Descendants of the Spanish, the Escarderos' gathered a massive collection of artificats ranging from pottery to guns to religous (mostly Catholic) relics with their wealth in the 1930s. The current generation of Escardero have put their collection on display for everyone to admire. The villa also features a resort with a swimming pool, a pavilion that hosts traditional Filipino shows, and a restuarant at the foot of a man-made waterfall. Lunch is served at under the waterfall while the restuarant patrons wade through and sit on benches placed on water.

I leave the relatives for Legaspi next week. I'm going to search for the biggest fish in the world, the whale shark. Completely harmless to man, the whale shark grows to 18m and 34 tons. My goal is to jump into ocean, and swim with them. I can't wait!!! This is going to be unbelivable!

Meeting the relatives

After a quiet Sunday in Manila, I headed south to Tiaong on Monday. Tiaong is a small municipality located approximately 100km south of Manila. My mother grew up in Tiaong. I was dropped off in front of city hall, and I went inside to ask for my uncle, an uncle I have never met before. The first person I asked gave me a blank look, then I met someone that was my mother’s cousin. She helped me locate my uncle, and he picked me up. The rest of the day felt like a family reunion. I met uncles, aunts, nieces and nephews I have never met before and I was fed nearly all day. By the end of day, everyone knew me, and I was having problems remembering everyone’s name. Fortunately, language wasn’t an issue at all. Most of them speak English fluently, but they were all surprised I could not speak Filipino. Whenever possible, I try to respond back in broken Filipino to them. They seem to be humored by my Canadian accent.

On Tuesday, my aunt from Tiaong took me to the Municipality of Candelaria. Candelaria is larger than Tiaong and is 15km east of Tiaong. Candelaria is where my father grew up. I have more relatives here. I met my father’s family at my grandma’s house. My relatives told me what they remember about my parents when they were living in town. They even had an album of my family. Many of the pictures from my childhood. After getting aquatinted, my uncle and cousins took me around the town. First, I visited my uncle’s cockfighting stadium. Cockfighting is a Filipino tradition. Birds strap up with razors, and dual to their death while hundreds of people watch and bet on which bird will win. It’s pretty gruesome to watch the participants fight, then see one of the birds die. After cockfighting, I visited my grandfather’s grave. I never met my grandfather. I couldn’t help to think how nice it was to visit him finally. Next, we visited the newly renovated town church. When we returned, I had fried chicken for lunch. Later, I learned they killed a chicken for me straight from their backyard.

This morning, I visited the rest of my mother’s family on the outskirts of Tiaong. I visited my mother’s aunts and uncles. They were very surprised to see me, and some of them were moved to tears. Each of them had a slight resemblance to my mother. I could also see some of their physical features were passed to me. It was so nice to meet them after all these years.

Finished Mt Kinabalu, now in Manila

Mt. Kinabalu is approximately 12,000ft or 4100m high. In comparison, Whistler Mountain is only 2200m, and Grouse Mountain is 1200m high.

The climb up Mt. Kinabalu was both hard, and challenging. I assumed I was in good shape from running all those marathons. I was so wrong. Weh and I climbed in two days. The first day started with a steep, soggy 6km hike to camp at 3300m. I took three quick hours to climb up to 5km. At 5km, we were at 2900m above sea level. The air was considerable thinner at this attitude. Hiking the next kilometer was difficult for me. I had to crouch over, and breathe deeply with my hands on my knees several times. It took 2 more hours complete the last kilometer. When I finally arrived at camp, I was cold from the rain and wind, and had mild attitude sickness. I feel asleep wondering if I would be able to climb up to the summit the next day. Working on 3 hours sleep, the second day started at 2am in the morning. We ascended to the summit in the moonlight, and arrived at the summit five minutes before sunrise. The sunrise was beautiful. Huddled in with at least 100 fellow climbers, we saw the sky change from black to blue to orange. It was an unforgettable experience. We took 3 knee shattering hours to climb down the mountain in the afternoon.

That same day, we got back to the city, Kota Kinabalu (KK), around 5pm in the evening. Weh and I had a quick dinner where we were joined by some fellow travelers from Norway, Scotland, and Denmark. From there, we befriended some Malaysians who kindly drove us around KK into the wee hours of the night while we all listened and sang to live covers of popular music.

I arrived in Manila a few hours ago. It took another 2 hours to get to the city from the airport. From there, I decided to a take a jeepney from the bus station that I was dropped off at. Jeepneys are low roofed trucks with benches inside to haul around passengers. Jeepneys provide cheap local transportation, and usually decorated with bright lights, chrome, and large signage. The jeepney took me to an area called Malate. I settled into a nice hotel room, and I walked around for an hour before finding a street BBQ where I ordered up some traditional Filipino food, BBQ pork and Pancit. Yum.

In Malaysia

I realized I was somewhere extra special when the stewardess welcomed us to Malaysia, and reminded all the passengers that trafficking drugs carries the mandatory death sentence.

I arrived in Malaysia at the beginning of April. First stop was the capital, Kuala Lumpur, otherwise known to the locals, and those that travel there simply as KL. KL is a gem of Malaysia, the center of commerce and Malaysian culture. The city is state of art, and perhaps the most modern city in the world. KL boasts having the one of the largest towers in the world, Petronas Towers, as well as a sophisticated network of modern monorails, 6 lane streets, futuristic skyscrapers, mega shopping centers, and gigantic mosques. The mosques are a subtle reminder that Malaysia is primarily a Muslim country. Pork is impossible to find, and alcohol is more expensive as compared to the rest of Asia.

Aside from excellent food, and shopping, there is not much to do in KL. I left a few days later for the pristine sands of the Perhentian Islands, 450km northeast of KL. The Perhentian Islands are a group of beautiful, coral-fringed islands not far from the Thai border. According to the Lonely Planet, the beaches of the Perhentian Islands are among the most beautiful in the SE Asia. I would have to agree with them. The sand is bright white. The water is clear blue, the kind of water that makes you want you to jump in, and never leave. I planned to meet up with some friends that I met in Cambodia, and Vietnam on the islands. Along with some people I befriended in KL, we all had a great time here.

After the Perhentian Islands, I headed to back to KL by plane, then flew onward to Miri/Mulu on Malaysian Borneo. Near Brunei, Malaysian Borneo is world famous for its scenery, wildlife, and adventurous lifestyle. I travelled straight to Gunung Mulu National Park for my first adventure on Borneo.

The Pinnacles is a collection of pinetree shaped rock formations at the top of Mt. Api in Gunung Mulu National Park. The 3-day journey to the Pinnacles is the first time on this trip I have exerted any serious physical effort. Accompanied by five fellow hikers, and a guide, the journey to the Pinnacles started with a 1hr boat ride to the start of the trail to Camp 5. The 8km trail to Camp 5 was garnished with tree roots, jungle, rock and plenty of mud. Within the first hour, we were treated to a relentless downpour that made the hike to Camp 5 unbearable. When we finally reached camp, we were soaked in water, and covered in mud. Early the next morning we started the 2.4km hike up Mt. Api. The hike to the Pinnacles is hard, and very techincal. Before we left Mulu, we were told 70% of the people who attempt to climb the Pinnacles never make it. After of three hours of climbing, and heavy breathing, three of us emeraged at the top of Mt Api, above 1100m sea level, with our guide. We admired the Pinnacles for a next half hour, and started our journey down the mountain after lunch. The journey down the mountain was far worse than the hike up. In total, the descent took over four hours. I was stressed, and overly cautious; making sure I didn’t fall. The rocks lining the steep trail were slippery, and razor sharp. The guide warned us that majority of serious accidents have occurred while descending from the top of Mt Api. The next day we hiked back to the start of the trail, then caught a plane back to Miri.

I initially planned to stay a night in Miri, but flew the same day to Kota Kinabulu (KK) in the next state, Sabah. Weh from Sydney, who I met on the Pinnacles, was also on his way to KK to meet some friends, and he kindly invited me to come along. When we both arrived, we met Weh’s friends, and had ourselves a night out in KK ending in the wee hours of the morning.

KK is Sabah’s largest city due to its promixity to Mt. Kinabulu, the highest peak in SE Asia. Mt Kinabulu is the mountain I’ve been aspiring to climb since I left home in January. I was mentally and physically ready for the climb when I arrived. There was only one problem. Accomodation on Mt Kinabulu is booked solid for the next week and half. After spending a day begging for accomodation on the mountain, I secured a dorm on the mountain on Thursday the 20th.

Since we were both waiting to climb, Weh and I decided to fly down to Sandakan last weekend Sandakan is located southeast of KK. In Sandakan, we visited a Uncle Tan’s wilderness camp for next 3 days and 2 nights before coming back to KK. Uncle Tan’s is known for its jungle safaris. There were five safaris included in the package I purchased. Unfortunately, I made it to 4 of the safaris. I was sick from dehydration, and flu when I was there.

This brings me to today. Today is the 18th. I’m in KK, and I’m still waiting to climb.