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The Philippines: An Amazing Dichotomy

The most interesting thing about the Philippines is the dichotomy of this place. On the one hand, you have the jungle, still full of prehistoric tribes, each island with its own separate tribe, living in loincloths in the vast tracts of an untouched jungle that still abounds in the Philippines. You can look at maps of islands like Mindoro, one of the larger islands in the Philippines archipelago, and see absolutely nothing in the center of the map. All the population, all the roads, everything hugs the coastline.

The island center is unexplored but definitely not uninhabited. Conversely, in the areas that are populated, you have absolutely all the modern conveniences you could ever want to be nestled side-by-side with the jungle.

There is, of course, electricity, hot water, air-conditioning, Cable TV, Wi-Fi, you get people sitting with Mac books, cell phones, and Porches within kilometers of places that make Jurassic Park looked like a playground! Then, go to the city of Makati, the business center of the Philippines and you will feel as if you are in the center of any Western city you’ve ever been in with tall buildings, industrious looking people going about serious business, everybody speaking English. At times like this, you will get the mistaken impression that the whole country is like this.

Now, remember that not too many years ago, the Philippines was a group of islands playfully hiding in the South Pacific until the Second World War drag them kicking and screaming into the 21st century! The farther you get away from the urban centers the more the pace of life slows down, the work ethic changes and life becomes very, very simple. Literally, not an hour’s drive from the business center of Makati, people are living hand to mouth. The fish comes out of the ocean goes on the grill and into the belly. No refrigerators, no cupboards where food is stored, just enough food for that day.

All of this really, really makes the Philippines an interesting place for anyone coming to visit, live, stay. There is so much to explore and see and do here. I was doing some treasure hunting on the East Coast of the main island of Luzon, looking for old Japanese wrecks, came up from a deep dive, went ashore, found the most brilliant waterfalls, hiked up into the mountains, still wearing my wetsuit, and chanced upon a forest of naturally occurring bonsai trees! Trees 20,40,60 years old only a couple of feet tall! And then back to town for some ice-cold San Miguel Light beers, and planning our adventures for the next day!

On another day, years later, a boat trip between El Niño Palawan and Coron Busuanga found us in a bay full of limestone islands rising straight up out of the ocean floor, sheer limestone walls with medieval Gothic spires rising majestically into the blue sky. Absolutely spectacular and something I’ve never seen anywhere else in the Philippines. Then arriving in Coron, beer, bed, breakfast and a few days diving a Japanese fleet that the Americans sank there on 24 September 1942. http://coronwrecks.com

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