I came across 2 books today on my book-shelve which was written by someone whom i really admire in the travel industry. And that's none other than Yeoh Siew Hoon, one of Asia's best respected travel writers. Most people who have been around in the trade will all know her. For me, i don't know her really well but i'm sure she would recognise me. She's closer to my ex-boss and we use to tell him that Siew Hoon is his god-ma. Ha Ha! She's a journalist who certainly knows the ins and outs of the travel business in Asia.
Since i just came back from the Philippines and came across this book entitled :"Around Asia in 1 hr - Tales of condoms, chillies & curries", let me share with you on what she wrote about The Philippines.
And my best memory of The Philippines, hmmm ... one of it is to come up close and personal with President Gloria Arroyo in Vientiane, Laos. She was invited as one of the speakers during an ASEAN Summit conference in 2004. I was managing the event then. She's petite but size doesn't matter. She's a power lady.
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The Filippinos are known for throwing great parties. Their favorite venue is on the streets. Every time they want to change their head of state, they throw street carnivals where people do the cha-cha to chase out the old guard.
The Western media often run headlines like 'Revolution in Manila; so they can sell more newpapers. Locals often scratch their heads and say, "Hey, we are just having good time."
Philippine politicians are known for having big parties while in power. Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos had the biggest, and longest party of them all until an even bigger street party was held to chase them out of Malacanang Palace.
In fact, down south in the islands of Mindanao, even the baddies are holding big parties with the millions and millions of dollarsb they have earned as a result of kidnapping people who came to the Philippines to have a party, and had their party rudely interrupted.
Despite their problems which would have driven most countries to the land of bedlam, the Filipinos are the most upbeat people in Asia.
They see a silver lining in every typhoon, a goldmine under every earthquake and a calm after every storm. They take comfort in the fact that if one island is affected, they have 6,999 more.
No natural calamity nor political upheaval has yet been able to quell the Filipino spirit. That happy, fighting spirit is probably a legacy of their Spanish-American heritage - that combination of 'manana' and 'sock it to me', mama attitude.
Women run the country and i am not just saying that because a woman is running the country. Yes, President Gloria Arroyo may be pint-sized but she is one strong woman warrior, standing up to the guerills in the south who keep giving her country problems, and bad press.
Women run the country because, well, they do the work. That is what all my Filipino friends, mainly women who run travel businesses, tell me after several San Miguels. We work, they play, they say.
Look too at one of the country's biggest exports - domestic workers. All women. Indeed, Asia owes a mega debt to the Philippines for these domestic workers because without them, its economies would suffer. It is these hundreds of thousands of women who, each year, leave their own homes and families to look after other people's homes and families that enable folks in other countries to go out and earn their living.
After each month, they send their money home, in turn helping the Philippine economy which has been in pretty bad shape since the Marcoses left town.
Another well-known Philippine export is music. Music flows in the blood of every Filipino. And because there are 79.4 million of them and just so many hotels in the country, most have to leave home to seek their fortunes.
That's why every hotel lobby worth its chandeliers in Asia has a Filipino band.
The hotel industry in Asia owes a big debt to these musicians for having created a whole new music culture in the region in which most foreigners wonder why all music in Asian hotel lobbies sounds roughly the same.
Truly though, the Filipinos are the best entertainers in Asia. There is no such thing as bad entertainment when you go to any bar in Manila. And Filipino singers don't just do cover versions, occassionaly they come up with original hits - like the song everyone knows, Anak. It is rumoured that Freddie Aguilar who is believed to be still playing in some bar in Manila refuses to sing the song again, after having had to sing it a million times for visitors and having it butchered in every karaoke bar from Darjeeling to Darwin.
Aguilar should consider himself luckier than Frank Sinatra. Anak, i suspect, has not been as abused as My Way in Karaoke bars.
Talking about bars, Manila is known for having more bars per square mile than ny city in Asia. A close second might be Bangkok. Here, women do all the work too.
Manila is not a city that's easy to get to know though. The traffic can drive you crazy because people drive like crazy, especially the jeepney drivers. Take a ride in one and you will see what i mean - those drivers do not like to drive in straight lines. Where there is a kerb, there is a way, is their motto.
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