First (re)impressions // Waiting for Typhoon Ompong
Hello there world! This is coming to you live from Muntinlupa City, Metro Manila, Philippines.
It is currently hovering around 30 degrees at 90% humidity with a 90% chance of rain.
Indeed, my arrival here in South East Asia was just in time to witness Typhoon Ompong, a ‘super typhoon’, which is looming imminently.
Schools and government buildings have closed down and residents are advised to stay indoors due to risk of flying roofs, falling trees and landslides. It will rain for several days, and my first few days volunteering at Kaibigan Foundation have been postponed as a result, making it the perfect time to report back some initial impressions.
I last visited the Philippines in April 2000, and much has developed since then, while the people are just as friendly as I remember. Here I will record my observations over the last few days in categories as I wrote in my diary:
While Heathrow gave me a pretty, fluffy, candy floss pink sunset on departure, I have to say (arguably) nothing quite compares to South East Asian sunsets. The hues vary from red to purple to orange, lighting up the heavens and a camera lens cannot begin to do it justice.
On the plane from London to Dubai - a brand new and half empty Airbus A380 - there was an overpowering smell of Oud from my Arabian neighbours, mixed together with a distinct smell of body odour, making for a rather pungent few hours rest. Changing planes in Dubai, already in the departure lounge, I noticed a familiar and rather comforting smell; the whiff of fresh laundry and something I had associated with the Philippines during my last visit 18 years prior. These clean companions made for very amenable company on the flight to Manila, which was jam-packed with Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs - the Middle East is a particularly attractive place of work to send money home to relatives).
As we descended into Manila, the sprawling night lights of the metropolis laid out below, ominous clouds cluttered the horizon, lit up by silent flashes of pink and white light, illuminating the heavens like a muted, filmic, dream sequence. It was quite a spectacular welcome to the sweltering tropical temperatures on touchdown. Indeed storms here are loud and not for the faint-hearted, the rains are almost deafening, and not like anything we are accustomed to in Europe. It’s an experience. Wait until I tell you about Typhoon Ompong.
Mall culture here is big. Manila seems to be a vast expanse of malls and makeshift housing. Every area of the city has a mall, juxtaposing western materialism and stark commercialism with the impoverished communities of the slums just next door. It’s extraordinary to see, but apparently normal to life here, and a way to escape the heat and pollution outside. Uniformed and armed guards man the entrances which have airport tight security - firearms are legal and commonly owned, as in the US. Indeed the mall culture stems largely from the Philippines’ ties with America, and visitors will be greeted by uniformed staff uttering ‘Good morning Ma’am’ with an American twang wherever they go. Much to my dismay, Christmas music was playing already and some stores are already decorated for the festive season. These dizzying blocks of shops are intended to serve all needs, from the freshest fruit and local produce to Johnson’s baby cologne or ice cream sandwiches, you can find it all at the mall. Meanwhile the slums are a buzz of activity, toothless elderly men with wide smiles sitting and spectating outside their dwellings, greeting passers by; corrugated iron roofs achieving incredible balancing acts, punctuated by blasts of colour from towering advertising billboards.
Manila is well known to be a city with traffic. Public transport is infrequent and unreliable, and its infrastructure cannot cope with the city’s ever expanding population. Therefore people rely on four wheels, and this is regulated with government issued number plates that only allow cars to drive into the city on certain days. Rich people get around this by owning multiple cars, so it’s not necessarily the answer. There are chunky silver jeepneys - originally made from leftover US military jeeps in WWII - which serve as hop-on/hop-off buses in all colours of the rainbow, and there are also bright pink tricycles (bicycles with a sidecar). These hoot and swerve their way through the heavy traffic, their raucous drivers shouting at the top of their voices, peso notes weaved between their fingers like frilly gloves. Moments later animal transport dissects the traffic with pigs being taken to slaughter, and a van emblazoned with ‘Perishable goods, do not delay’ whizzes past.
Visiting Ayala museum in Makati, I learnt about the importance of gold in Filipino history. As the original resource for trade, it made the country very appealing to its colonisers (the Spanish settled here in the 16th century). Gold was often traded with Islamic merchants in the south, and there are clear Balinese influences in the designs. The 10th - 13th century jewellery and ornaments recovered and exhibited are truly beautiful and intricate - ear and neck ornaments, diadems, ceremonial masks, cord weights, cuffs, belts, studs and sword hilts.
Images: Blue Jeepney - Rubi St - Vegas style Mall - Ayala Museum, Greenbelt - Manila sunset - Typhoon weather map
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