This
installment of Life in the Philippines should be less depressing than the last,
where I lamented over a tedious travel schedule and housing confusion. I want
to now highlight some differences (cultural or otherwise) between living in the
US and living over here. Some of these are funnier from a distance, but should
nevertheless prove insightful (or entertaining) to my readers.
Modes of
Transportation
Back in
the states, I got around only by car. We drove everywhere, including the epic
0.5-mile journey to Publix for groceries. Here in Boracay, the mode of
transportation is located at the end of your lower legs. Walking is how we get
around. We walk several miles a day just to get groceries or buy household
items like toilet paper or toothpaste. We have to be careful how much we buy at
any given time because we’ll be carrying our bags all the way back home. This
is especially arduous when buying big jugs of water, which happens every 3 days
or so.
There is
one other mode of transportation here, which we use mainly when the weather
turns sour: the motorized trike. This is basically a motorcycle (dirt bike,
more properly) with a metal sidecar attached. The sidecar seats up to four
people and is enclosed, which is useful during a sudden rain shower, and often
they mount subwoofers underneath the carriage to supply thumping renditions of
“Call Me Maybe” and other top-40 tracks during the wet commute to Budget Mart.
Doing so
much walking has proved beneficial (and healthful, if one avoids the congested
and polluted main thoroughfare) as I’ve lost buckets of weight without doing
any scheduled exercise. Although I haven’t stepped on a scale, I’d estimate a
good 15 pounds have been shed in the first 3 weeks. I attribute this to the
volume of walking, as well as the next topic.
The Food
One
reason we chose Boracay Island is the heavy influx of foreign visitors. Being a
popular travel destination for Europeans and Asians means more variety in the
type of food offered on the island. There’s Italian food, Filipino, Korean,
American, etc. And while I don’t wish to offend anyone, my opinion of the food
here is that it’s the worst of all worlds. Most of the population here consists
of foreigners but all of the cooks in these restaurants are local Filipinos who
have never traveled to those other regions to discern what these foods and
dishes should actually taste like. This means everything you order will taste more
than a little “off.” That’s not to say I haven’t enjoyed some meals here, it’s
just a surprising event when it happens. There’s a place called The Pancake
House that serves up good grub, and you get what you expect there. It should be
noted that in Boracay, nearly all restaurants are outdoor types and run along
the beach. Most have concrete floors covered in sand and have mounted fans on
the walls in lieu of air conditioning. The cheapest is Andok’s, where you can
get chicken and rice for about $1.50 US. Pretty tasty too.
So that
covers the restaurant scene, but what about just buying your own groceries and
cooking at home? Well, that’s mainly what we do. There are three small
groceries on the island, (Budget Mart, Crafts of Boracay & Price Lite) which
are each about the size of a gas station back home. The selection of products
in these establishments is quite limited, and even by US standards, severely
overpriced. We’ve learned (the hard way) that Boracay is very expensive for a
Filipino province. They mark up just about everything due to all the foreigners
vacationing here. Once you’re on the island, you’re kind of stuck and are
forced to pay whatever is required to get by.
There are
two main wet markets (both confusingly called The Talipapa) but by western
standards, these are huge letdowns. The meat and fish lay in the open sun
without ice and everything is covered with flies. Now I have eaten that meat
(once, because we were desperate) and haven’t fallen ill so perhaps God has
fortified my intestinal tract against such unsanitary practices. Even still, I
wouldn’t wish to press my luck. So what do I eat here? Just about everything so
far, but lately I’m sticking to peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and rice
with chicken. Melanie and her brother Brian do the cooking, and they do a great
job with the limited supplies we have. The food situation should improve
greatly in the coming weeks, but that’s going to be another blog post.
Weather
This is a
fun topic. I’ve been very surprised by the mild temperatures here in Boracay.
It’s generally not very hot most of the time and stays between 75-80 every day.
So while that was a nice surprise, the humidity is what some might call
“ridiculous.” Even early in the morning, when temperatures are very cool, you
can’t walk outside without sweating profusely within minutes. There’s really
nothing like it. Back in the US, and especially in Tennessee, we have a specie
of humidity, but what I’ve experienced in Boracay is much more difficult to
describe to westerners because it simply doesn’t exist back home. I don’t leave
home without my “face towel,” which is what locals call a washrag. And by the
time I return home (even in cool weather) the towel is completely soaked. At
this stage, I think I’d prefer the heat over the humidity, which at times is so
thick that it’s hard to breathe (I mean that literally).
Chores
For those
who are wondering how Melanie does laundry over here, we use a plastic washing
machine and a clothesline out on the balcony. The washing machine is a tiny
thing and attaches to the outdoor faucet with a tube running out the other side
(you drain it manually, using gravity). It only has one function really and
that’s to gently tumble the clothes around after Melanie fills it with water.
She then wrings them by hand after rinsing and hangs them up to dry. Pretty
old-school setup but it works. Our kitchen is also outdoors, although the sink
and fridge are inside. The air conditioner return unit is mounted on the
balcony wall so when it’s running, the entire kitchen area is bathed in
stifling heat. So the general rule is avoid running the AC when someone is
cooking to avoid giving them a heat stroke. Mosquitoes have not been a problem
yet, although I’ve killed two giant cockroaches and ants were loitering a bit
before we put down some chalk. The main pest is the lizard, because they’re
hard to catch and just pop up without warning. I was showering the other day
and reached for the soap to find two black eyes staring back at me. The lizard
then opened his pink mouth and stuck his tongue out. I think he was mocking me.
At least they have a sense of humor over here. The cockroaches are harder to
get along with. Everyday chores are a little more difficult (and physical) over
here. I have to brush my teeth with bottled water because the tap water is not
safe. You have to carry everything as well, but I already covered that one
under transportation.
Housing
Apartments
are crazy expensive in Boracay, around 3X higher than the other big cities in
the Philippines. We stay in a 50 square meter one-bedroom apartment (newly
built) that’s $750 US per month, or 30,000 pesos. Our place is a two-minute
walk from the beach, which accounts for the higher price. But it’s the only
place we could find with a vacancy (we took the last unit they had too). Our
unit is called a “basement” apartment because from the street, it’s just a
gate. You open the gate and walk down a spiraling staircase to the landing,
which opens into the unit. I was worried about the place flooding but after
several heavy rains, it hasn’t been a problem.
Some
other surprises (to me) about Boracay:
-
The population here is about 90% Korean. Not
sure why.
-
If you order a chicken sandwich and ask for
fries instead of mashed potatoes, they will tell you “no.” You can’t make
substitutions. You can only have the side dish that’s prescribed on the menu.
-
Late night talk shows like Leno, Letterman and
Conan are broadcast in the middle of the day.
-
The UFC is really big over here and events are
broadcast on regular TV, opposed to expensive pay-per-views back home. The main
sports network, on which they are shown, is called “Balls.” So yeah.
-
The main road floods every time it rains and no
one cares. They just walk through it. Back home these roads would be considered
impassable, but no one bats an eyelash over here and they might even look at
you funny for hesitating.
-
Security guards carry firearms. Even the ones
walking around grocery stores. We have two security guards for our apartment
building and they both carry guns (nice fellas too). Back in the US guards
carry walkie-talkies. Over here they’re like secret service agents.
So that’s
it for this installment. Hope you enjoyed it.
