Philippines. A Travel Log.

It had been about 15 years since I last stepped foot in the land of adobo and tinikling (and Moros). When I booked our family tickets, Yulia and I had very different ideas of what this vacation was going to be about. Yulia wanted a week long R&R on a beach, tanning and paddleboarding. I wanted something more, I wanted to reconnect and reinvigorate the Filipino inside me. I wanted to reconcile my Filipino identity with my Canadian identity. Instead of continually trying to suppress my genetic and cultural roots, I wanted to give it a voice this time. Give it power.

Day One.

We landed at Terminal 1 at NAIA (Manila International Airport). After a quick and smooth deplaning and baggage pickup, we exited the area only to find dad missing. Frantically, we activated our SIM cards and called dad over and over again until we finally got a hold of him. He was at the wrong terminal, but he quickly made his way to us and we drove to our new generational house in Las Pinas accessing the new sky access highway. We were all pretty beat up and hungry from air travel, so we freshened up with a quick shower and dad took us to SM South Mall for some grub. Yulia tried her first actual authentic Filipino food, properly made this time. She enjoyed it. Sofia passed out from jetlag during dinner.

Day Two.

Meet the relatives. We got up pretty early in the morning to head out on our roadtrip to Tiaong. A mandatory stopover anytime we were in the Philippines. Tia Neth's house, Tia Teddy's house, and the generational Umali house. Places I grew up in in our brief stint living here. Tia Neth lost a bit of her eyesight and hearing so communication was channeled through dad, but it was nice seeing her walking and quick witted as ever. Tia Teddy was wheelchair bound but still sharp as a tack. Ate Ella held us a short but lovely birthday party for Sofia. Kuya Amador showed me a postcard I wrote when I was about 7 years old while staying in a hotel in Kenya. We couldn't drop by the generational Umali house, it was unoccupied and Ninong Boyet was quarantined at the hospital with Tita Liz. We stopped by some resort that looked like it was strapped together by illegal gambling money. Kitschy but comfy. The food was amazing though.

Day Three.

The Russian In-Laws arrive. We woke up early to pick up some fresh pandesal. The taho (soft tofu) guy arrived shortly after so we picked up two cups. I wanted to share one of my favorite childhood memories in the Philippines with Sofia, so she could experience the simple delights of Filipino snacks. She loved taho and finished her cup to the last drop. Dad took us to Evia mall which was basically a Tuscany village inspired mall with a Filipino twist. We ate at Tigerleaf Pan Asian cuisine. It was basically the realization of a restaurant idea I had a few months ago putting all Southeast Asian dishes under one roof. Food was, as always, fantastic. I met up with my childhood best friend, Karlo, a few hours before we picked up the in-laws. It was a good catchup with a good friend, our conversation turned political pretty quick as well as cultural, admitting to my friends, growing up in Canada, I hated being Filipino due to Eurocentric miseducation. They walked me to the airport and met the in-laws which as awkward as it was comical, but genuine, and a true testament of Filipino hospitality.

Day Four to Six.

Boracay. We spent the majority of our time here. Yulia's family is a beach family. She admitted this pretty early on in our trip planning. Their idea of a vacation is less cultural or museum oriented, and more laying on the beach all day and all week long. So we did that. It was my second visit to the island. Last I was here in 2009, it wasn't as busy. Now it was crazy busy. 15 years, and although some improvements are there, I feel like proper infrastructure is still lacking. Many of the beach access alleys / roads remain unpaved. Shanty houses are still aplenty. Unfinished or decomposing resort projects everywhere. There is lack of urban planning here. Lack of accountability and enforcement. A lot of obvious political corruption for an otherwise paradisical island. The Boracay government should do a better job by studying internationally acclaimed resort destinations and mimicking their success. Better yet, stop siphoning funding for infrastructure improvement and beautification and use that money to better the lives of the people there, both residents and tourists alike. We celebrated Sofia's birthday at the hotel, at a cute boutique bakery, and a photo session at the beach.

Day Seven.

Road Trip to Panay. Dad and I went on a road trip to Panay Island. It was my idea because after much research into pre colonial (and Spanish colonial) history I discovered the four UNESCO heritage church sites of the Philippines. One of them, the Miagao Church of Panay, was distinct from the others because it clearly displayed a syncretic nature of native Filipino culture and Catholicism. For example, the saint on its basrelief mural fronting the church was depicted in native Filipino fasion. Barechested wearing only shorts. The famous Tree of Life was depicted as a banana tree and not an "apple" tree not how like other depictions would have it. Dad and I talked a lot about Filipino culture and politics. I learned more about his American biases and his longing for a better future for the Philippines. For me, our trip to Panay was a kind of rite of passage in my efforts to decolonize my Filipino roots.

Day Eight.

This was a pretty easy going day we spent beaching at Ilig-Iligan only this time we routed through a resort type area. We found the "BGC" of Boracay. Wide well maintained roads, neatly trimmed hedges, modern residences, public washrooms. Everything looked great. We couldn't decide wear to eat for our last night celebration dinner, so we all just hung out in our rooms until the end of the night.

Day Nine.

Back to Manila. A hectic huff and puff back to Caticlan airport (blessed by heavy rain) and a short flight later we were back in Manila, to be picked up by dad in a faulty 8 seater Hilux van. I complained my way through to convince the driver to replace the van with a newer issue. Dad insisted on a dinner right after the flight so that's where we went. We sat down for Hibachi style cooking and everyone was entertained. We got back home and just crashed.

Day Ten.

Intramuros. A late breakfast later we set off for Old Manila, the old Spanish fortress they called the Intramuros. Our first stop was the National Museum of the Philippines. My holy grail of all artifacts Laguna Copperplate Inscription was there and I had to see it. There it was in all its glory. I spent a good hour reveling in its sight taking in the sacredness of this document. The upturn of the century in my opinion. This thing overturned centuries worth of history in the Philippines. It was a symbol of defiance and the ultimate decolonization tool for Filipinos to take back their native power. We were never brute savages the Europeans made us out to be. We were an advanced civilization long before European contact. Met up with Karlo and Franco at the end of the night. I met a Datu. That was one of the coolest hangouts I've had in a long while.

Day Eleven.

Dad planned a day in Tagaytay and after half a days commute there it was all for naught. He had to cancel the booking because he didn't want to pay the 4000 php per person entrance fee. Tagaytay was dope with the views, but we had to head back to Manila, specifically BGC. After about four hours worth of traffic we finally arrived at the edge of BGC. The Venice canals were nice but I wanted to see the actual city. The family was tired so they quickly dropped me off at High Street and headed home. I absolutely loved BGC. This is the city the Philippines aspires to be. It is the future of the nation manifested.

Day Twelve. 

Day of rest. Everyone was super tired so they decided to eat a late breakfast then lunch. Made a short stop at SM South Mall and bought some gifts for people. The rest of the day was spent at home. Dad and I decided to checkout MOA Seaside Dock. Had some more political and cultural talks with dad over sisig and beer. I commended dad for his belief in the Philippines. The Philippines was in a better state than when I last saw it and I admire the Filipinos for that.

Day Thirteen.

Yulia's family's flight was delayed by a day. Our flight was scheduled and departed on time. A five hour stoppover in Japan and Yulia and I decided we wanted to see Japan someday. A nine hour flight later we were back in Vancouver.

After thoughts.

Highlights. Panay Island. The Laguna Copperplate Inscription. Conversations with Dad and Karlo. I didn't get to try Mindanao food or see the exhibit on the Filipino's Hindu-Buddhist roots but these three core memories of my trip stood out the most. I can't say that I am fully transformed or ready to be patriotic Filipino because frankly, I think that would be impossible. Canada is home. Philippines is more like a summer home, so barely a second home, but enough for me to appreciate its value. So the mashup of my Filipino and Canadian identity still swerves strongly toward the Canadian side. I acknowledge I live hyphenated identity Filipino-Canadian. Never just Filipino or never just Canadian but a mashup of both. This trip gave my Filipino side a stronger voice. More like an acknowledgement instead of an embarrassment or shame of being Filipino and an acceptance of the duality of my identity. Being both a Filipino and a Canadian is a strength. Never a weakness.