Philippines - unique

I have been to a dozen developing nations, and must say, there are a great many things about them all that are similar. I guess that is not too surprising. While the cultures and food vary, as does language and geography, what remains the same is how people in poverty live. The shacks in Ghana look just like the shacks in Honduras. The cooking pots in Nepal, look just like the cooking pots in Kenya. People all over wear flip flops and wash their clothes in a large metal bowl with a wash board - just like our great grandparents used. And they all hang their laundry to dry (it takes days in the humidity) on bushes and fences. Garbage piles in India smell just as bad as garbage piles in Nicaragua. OK, no they don't. They smell worse in India.

But here is where things are a little different in Palawan Province in the Philippines. It is clean. Huts are made of bamboo and thatch, but they all have tidy little fences, and planted flowers. I see pride in these small hovels, unlike anything I have seen anywhere in the developing world. They recycle, and put garbage in bins or burn it. It help that the government has made very strict littering laws...third offence is jail time! Huge fines. Along the highway - which is paved and in pretty good shape, we passed lots of little villages...all tidy, with plants and lights lining the highway you pas through the collection of one room huts. I was so impressed.

Filipinos eat with a spoon and fork - no knife. Spoon in the right hand for putting food in your mouth, and the fork in the left hand to scoop and push food onto the spoon. Foos is rather bland here - nothing like the great food in India, Thailand and Vietnam. Here in El Nido, I found a restaurant that is excellent. It is clearly run by a westerner, and is overpriced, but I have eaten several meals there as it is the only place on the island to get a decent cup of coffee and actually very good food. Tonight I had the best ceviche I have ever eaten, and a great bowl of Thai soup. Nick had pizza.

Another odd thing here is how many dogs there are. Now I have seen mutts all over the globe, and they all look alike in these countries, but here, there are SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO many. Millions of them. ll skinny nd starving, and the freaking things bark ALL NIGHT LONG. Between the dogs barking, the feral cats fighting and the roosters crowing (ALL NIGHT), I have not gotten a wink of sleep. I am so miserable. Every three days I have to take a sleeping pill just to catch up and keep from collapsing. I am running on 2-3 hours a night, and my health is suffering for lack of sleep. Today, after kayaking all morning, I laid down for a nap to try to get a wink after being up ,most of the night, and just as a drifted into a deep sleep, workers started banging on the ceiling in the room below us...woke me up and I burst into tears. I am so tired. I have NEVER been anywhere so noisy - not even india. Everywhere there is building going on (a good thing) but that means saws and jackhammers and drills. And it all together and the sleepy peaceful remote village I thought I was coming to has given me a big headache. I cannot wait to leave so i can get some sleep.

It WAS peaceful kayaking today. The water is a beautiful colour, warm and clear. We enjoyed the scenery, and several good swimming spots in lovely lagoons.


Nick, however, is severely sunburned, and his arm muscles are spasming so bad he was almost in tears tonight. I gave him a muscle relaxant and rubbed him down with aloe vera, and put him to bed. He ha no trouble sleeping through the chorus of sounds. Oh, and did I mention the bugs? They are loudest of all.

I am starting to nod off....better grab a few winks before the dogs and roosters start. More pics later.