Filipinos...not so shy!

Happiness in The Philippines

Unlike all other Asian populations, Filipinos are not shy, AT ALL. It must have something to do with the fact that they are Catholics, instead of Buddhists, and the fact that they had more western influence (especially Latinos) than any other neighbor countries. Filipinos, to me, were the most "macho" oriented population of Asia. Generally speaking, Asians are quite shy, often worried, quite openly, about their "sizes", maybe not in line with western standards. They rarely approach western girls, also because of cultural and language gaps, they are quite pudic, in the way they behave and even dress, they get red even if you simply smile at them. When it comes to Filipinos, forget about that!  They approach you, touch you, try to kiss you, surround you in bars, they even dance with you! After 5 months in SEA, this was kind of funny to me, and indeed it struck me as it was so different from what I had been seeing so far. Also, they speak perfect English, which was a relief.

The Philippines were the last destination of my trip, I flew there from Thailand and I was supposed to meet 3 friends of mine coming on holidays from Italy, in order to end up my trip together with them. I arrived one day before them, from Manila I took a straight flight to Puerto Princesa and slept there for one night. The first thing I saw when I arrived in my hostel room, was a Holy Bible on my night table. In that moment, I really felt and realized that I was going back home. And I was not ready for it, not at all. The day after, I spent my day together with an American guy teaching English in Hong Kong, on holidays in the Philippines. He told me that he was gay and that he had a Chinese boyfriend. The problem was that the Chinese boyfriend had a "fake" Chinese girlfriend that, in the eyes of his parents, was his soon bride to be. How difficult must be not to be able to be your real self, especially with your own parents and loved ones. This guy had a parallel world, made of lies and untold truths, false situations and non existent future, otherwise a very painful one. The American guy seemed quite okay with the situation as it was, as he was confident that they would move together to the States, sooner or later. In Puerto Princesa there was really nothing beautiful nor interesting to see. In the night, I felt quite unsafe as the roads were completely dark and the few shops that would stay open were surrounded by iron grates, leaving only a small hole to pass money over and take the stuff you'd buy. Also, it was not that easy to find something to eat at night, where were all my beloved street food stalls? Was I still in SEA? In addition, the beaches in Puerto Princesa are not worth it, therefore, if you can, leave straight away to your next destination. The day after my friends arrived, we took off to El Nido, the only destination we'd cover, as we only had 10 days to spend in the Philippines. We took a minivan, that took 7 hours to cover 230 km. They stopped along the way soooo many times, it was unbelievable. Finally, we arrived in El Nido and we started looking for an accommodation. There, I realized that traveling alone was the best thing that I could do, and that I was not willing anymore to find compromises and do what others wanted me to do. From now on, I would always travel alone and listen only to myself and my needs. It was difficult to give up a bit of my freedom and my travel style, and find myself in a very nice guesthouse with private room and bathroom, instead of less nice but much more interesting hostel dorms. In any cases, the trip went very well. I did 3 amazing dives (part of my "me time"), I saw turtles, and all the beauty that underwater place had to offer. In El Nido itself, you can't really swim, the water of the village is disgusting and you are obliged to take a boat, or a kayak - as we did once - and go to the beaches near by. But these beaches are, my God, AMAZING. We saw the following beaches: Secret Beach, Big and Small Lagoon, 7 Commando Beach, Papaya Beach and Las Cabanas Beach (the only one reachable by tuk tuk from El Nido).

Papaya Beach - The Philippines

Papaya Beach - The Philippines

Big Lagoon - The Philippines

Las Cabanas Beach - The Philippines

Big Lagoon - The Philippines

Las Cabanas Beach - The Philippines

Stunning View - The Philippines

El Nido is a super cute village to stay, there are few bars on the beach where to party during the night, the best being the Reggae Bar, and also just walking thru the village is so so nice. Generally speaking, people are very friendly and the food is amazing too. No need to book for accommodation in advance, there is plenty there, for all tastes and pockets. Speaking of which, I advise you to bring cash to El Nido as no ATMs are available and the commissions to exchange/withdraw money are quite high.

Too soon it was time for me to go back home to my "normal" life. 5 months had passed by so incredibly fast, and I knew the hitch of packing my bag and leave again would never go away from me, and that I would reach a point where I would just pack my stuff, book one way ticket and be happy again. This is how I am feeling right now...stay tuned!