There really is one reason why the island of Mindanao is the best place to live in The Philippines: It never gets hit by a typhoon. I think that the mile-high cordillera of huge volcanic mountains along the east cost of this island is big enough to redirect a hurricane... push it north.
Regardless, we have had a week of principally grey skies and rain. But I welcome this little foray into foul weather... or, sorry, welcome only insofar as a cool temperature and basalt sky make for a nice break from hot and sunny; not the death and destruction stuff up north. I checked the satellite and there is an entire string of big hurricanes lined up like bowling balls aimed at these ten-pin islands.
I was told by my friend Ron that Jasaan Central (elementary) School across the street from me is one of the better public schools in the country. I walked through there, and it certainly is a lovely place. (Actually, for some odd reason, I have yet to see an elementary school in The Philippines that didn't have some fantastic tropical visual appeal to it; I might do a photo essay on that someday.) I think Jasaan Central School has a good idea: At 7:30 every morning, they crank up the stereo, play loud dance music, and the entire school gets out and jumps and runs and shouts and dances.
Here at the house, we have this giant leylandii-style tree — exceptionally tall and pencil-thin — that the house was built around. It grows up from the flower bed in the garage, through an opening in the second floor balcony, and continues on upward for another 50 feet after that. Unfortunately, with the recent high winds (we miss the typhoons but still get 10%) the trunk has developed a significant arc to it, and the tree seems totally unwilling to revert to its former erect state. It hasn't snapped; it's just all droopy now. At its worst, it was bowed to 90 degrees out over the street. Tatay and I managed to flop the thing, like a giant unconscious drunk passed out in the wrong direction, from its precarious streetward lean to an inward direction that uses the various interior walls as a bit of a crutch, and then we tied it off with lots of thick rope. Still: At the end of it all, we're going to have to chop the tree off at the midruff and let it try again.
I've been watching the BBC's documentary on the Ganges river on Blu Ray over the last couple of nights. Great stuff. There is actually HDTV broadcasts here in The Philippines now. See? Right now they only have 2 high-definition channels (for $9 per month... History Channel and a travel and food channel called Voom) but they promise more. I'm seriously debating getting HDTV, even at this early stage with only the 2 channels: After all, about 75% of the TV that I watch consists of either History and Discovery Channels, or travel and food programs. I'm going to make some inquiries. (Update: I see they have already added high-def HBO as well. Cool.)(Update II: Based on the channel lineup of nearby Singapore cable company, Star Hub, I would say that the next high-def channels to be added here in The Philippines would be HD Discovery, HD National Geographic, and two HD sports channels.)
Many years ago when I was a young backpacker I spent a year in Asia, including 6 months in the India subcontinent, an experience I will never forget. Thailand and PI are OK, but if you really want to be experienced, then you need to go to India. Don't take the wifey, this is a hardcore, hypersensural kind of place.
ReplyDeleteI've always been ignorant of India and the various parts and outlying countries. I've got this misconception that it is an extremely hot, extremely crowded, extremely dirty place, interspersed with a few incredible places that are overrun with so many tourists as to make Giza look empty.
ReplyDeleteBut, I would take Epril with me. After all, she put in her 6 month tour of Pattaya... and (although I cannot speak to India) I think Pattaya is pretty high up on the "hardcore, hypersensual" scale.