Davao!

I’ve just arrived in Davao City, the premiere city of southern Philippines, for the National Debate Championship. The debates will begin Tuesday so we have the whole of today and tomorrow to see around the city.

We got here through the controversial Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3, which, although a little bit overrated, is way better than the the other two NAIA terminals. It’s my first time to see the said airport. It’s my first time too to be in any Philippine city outside Luzon (the farthest south I’ve been to was Bicol, where friends from Japan who studied there toured me; while the farthest north I’ve been to was Baguio where Mariko and I were toured by Glady). But what makes this trip more exciting is the fact that this brings me for the first time to the beatiful Philippine island of Mindanao.

Can’t wait to explore the place. 

Fireworks display at the Mall of Asia.

Watched these with Mariko last Friday at Manila’s Mall of Asia.

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Boxer Codex and the "Luzon Empire."

Mariko’s coming to Manila last Thursday gave me the perfect reason to visit the renowned Ayala Museum in Makati for the first time. And I could not have enjoyed it more. 

Albeit the obvious anti-Marcos biases of the Philippine historical diorama, the museum was better than I had expected. The 19th century artworks by Filipino painters Damian Domingo, Juan Luna, Felix Resureccion Hidalgo and Fernando Zobel de Ayala, as well as the Spanish-era meztiso silk collection were breathtaking. But what really impressed me was the pre-Hispanic gold collection that showcased the richness of the Barangay Era.

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Manila’s China Town and Mayor Lim.

It’s damn stupid of me not to have brought my digital camera today.

Kagawad Gelo toured me around Manila’s Binondo, Santa Cruz and Quiapo districts this afternoon. It was my first time to see these districts up close. 

After having our usual spirited political and economic discussions at Starbucks’ Intramuros, we walked through Jones Bridge towards Binondo Church, where Filipino saint Lorenzo Ruiz served as sacristan. The church was a marvel, especially the interior.

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Pilgrimage to Manaoag.

My grandmom is an avid devotee of the Virgin Mary. The thing with that is, she would always go to a Marian shrine whenever she feels like going. She doesn’t plan about it, she’d just wake up one day having the idea of visiting the Lady.

That would be okay, of course, if the shrine is just next door. But yesterday, she felt like going to Manaoag Church, which is located five hours away by bus from Manila. And she asked me to accompany her.

Not that I have problems with it though. I love seeing churches. I admire their precious art collections. And I love their solemn atmosphere. It makes you want to pray intently. Which is what I did.

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Lyceum’s performance at the Worlds

        NOTE: THIS POST IS STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION

 The Lyceum contingent: Suzy, me and Cheenee during the pre-opening party

I know, I know. It’s been days since the 28th World Universities Debate Championship (WUDC/ Worlds) came to a close in Pattaya, Thailand. But I still have the hangover and I haven’t posted anything about it yet.

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So wat dee krub, Thailand!

It’s 5:13 in the morning in Thailand. I’m terribly tired. I encountered a couple of obnoxious shits wearing Immigration uniforms at that obsolete airport called NAIA. I left my copy of the latest issue of Time magazine and that new interesting book I bought yesterday for PhP 500 at the airport’s boarding area. Our flight was delayed for like almost an hour or so. There were no decent meals in the airplane. Here in Bangkok, an annoyingly long queue (even by Manila standards, mind you) greeted us at the passport control section and we had to wait for almost an hour before we can get to our hotel. What a day.

But really, it could be worse.

Like the plane could have crashed. Or somebody could have asked me to carry his luggage for a while, and the Thai police would approach me afterwards and discover cocaine in that stranger’s luggage, which would have me jailed in a stinking Thai prison.

I’m still lucky afterall.

Especially considering the fact that I get to access the Internet for free. Haha. Pictures downloading galore!

Visit the Philippines!

A friend of mine was surprised when I recently told him that Cebu is actually the Philippines` second city. In Japan, some people, including the said friend, do think that Cebu is a small, independent island-country located somewhere near Guam or Palau. Well, maybe this is because the image of Cebu among some Japanese as a tropical island-paradise at par with Honolulu is the exact opposite of their perception about Manila: dirty, crowded and poor.

Parts of Manila are indeed dirty, crowded and poor. I`ve never been to Cebu (or any other place in the Philippines other than Luzon Island for that matter), but I bet the same is true there. The Philippines, after all, is a developing country and should not be compared with First World nations like Japan or the United States. But to describe the country as a miserable and messy place would be a gross misrepresentation. In fact, I believe that the Philippines is among the most under-rated and under-discovered country in Southeast Asia. There is a lot of good things to see in there.

Some of the peekers in this blog are from such far away places as the Netherlands and India. I hope the video above would give them a more favorable impression of the Philippines. No, the Philippines is not just a politically unstable and terrorist-infested Third World archipelago. It`s a lot more than that.