Part 1

At the time of the Old Testament, the Philippines really were a lot of agitators. From Genesis 10:14 to Zechariah 9:7 these arch-enemies of the Israelites were always ready for a quick game of war, but talk is cheap and they seldom had money to buy the whiskey. Think of the Philippine giant Goliath who, despite his arrogant bravery, was brought down by a guy with a slingshot. Or the fearless Samson who once struck down 6 000 Filipinos with a dead donkey’s jawbone.

However, in the course of the centuries the Philippines realised that bellicosity will never be their biggest export product and they decided to spend their newfound pacifism elsewhere.

Today about 103 million Philippines occupy their country in Southeast Asia that comprises a combination of no less than 7 107 islands. And because this patchwork country is just around the corner from my temporary homeland, my two favourite fellow-travellers and I decided to investigate the welfare of this group of former stirrers.

What follows is a number of unattached feelings, events and ideas that emerged from our visit of two weeks…

Although the Philippines nowadays do not war against external forces anymore, a civil war in the small is indeed raging in this country. With their unpretentious president, Rodrigo Duterte, at the helm, they fiercely fight drugs, drug dealers, drug users and whatever else the word “drug” is combined with. This struggle is not only fierce but also barbaric. And bloodthirsty. And it goes against the UN Declaration of Human Rights. Since Duterte took over eight months ago, more than 8 000 suspected (ALLEGED!) drug users were killed in cold blood. It’s an average of more than 30 murders a day.

I was therefore deeply relieved that I decided to leave my usual bag of cocaine at home this time. A bullet in the head is not the preferred souvenir I would like to take home after my travels.

Also Read: Fanie who?

Our first destination was El Nido (Spanish for “The Nest”), a village on the northern skyline of the fifth largest Philippine island – Palawan. To get to the nest, we had to take a connecting flight out of Manila, the capital, and when we arrived at the airport a unique experience awaited us…

The rotor aircraft that we took from Manila arrived and came to a halt and we, along with the 20 other passengers, were picked up and transported to “arrivals” by an open hooded truck. This was a wall-less, double-storey wooden structure topped by a thatched roof, resembling a lodge somewhere in the Bushveld rather than the airport terminal of an international tourist destination.

While we were still puzzled by the minimalist design, six (older) ladies in long, bright yellow dresses suddenly appeared. They were accompanied by a male mandolin player, and before you could say “what the hell is going on here?” his fingers began sliding over the strings while his female companions carried out a series of well-synchronised hula-dances. And after the death throes of this impromptu delivery of “Strictly Come Dancing: The Tropical Island Edition”, the dancers entertained us with cookies and lemonade while we waited for our luggage.

Over the years I arrived at quite a number of airports, but this was undoubtedly one of the most exceptional/memorable/bizarre experiences I have ever experienced in that rather monotonous life category.

Next week you can read more about our adventure in the Philippines.

Please visit Fanie’s website, Fanie Os Oppie Jas, and his Facebook page, Fanie Os Oppie Jas: howzit my China.

Photos: Fanie van der Merwe