In order to resolve my visa issues, I had to escape the South Korea for a bit to regain my visa-free status as a US citizen. Getting out of the country was a little bit of a nuisance but not too much trouble since I became friends with a floor mate, Vincent, in my 고시원 who was from Parañaque, a town neighboring Manila’s main airport, NAIA. His family was generous enough to let me stay over at their place with my little somewhat-compulsory sabbatical.

I spent a little under two days in town with about four-hour flights both ways (no worries, I had Memoirs of a Geisha to keep me busy). Despite the little time spent in town, I think I learned quite a bit in the short amount of time.

First, as always, FOOD. Before going over, I came upon a little internet feud over whether Filipino food was considered good or not. The core of the spat centered around the idea that the food apparently was overdone with seasonings or often going to flavor extremes rather than being subtly delicious compared to other food cultures. After having made my visit, I would agree with that statement in its pretty accurate observation that Filipino food does tend to be overdone in terms of seasoning, but would argue that nearly anywhere you go, there is a good likelihood that if you tried a homemade dish in said place, you would probably like it despite your preconceptions. The only problem is that finding good food takes effort, something I discussed at length with my Light Fellow friend, Miriam, when we went traveling around Southeast Asia. Fortunately for me, I actually got to stay with a Filipino family and had some good homemade treats. Since I always make food a priority when traveling, I shared my shortlist with Vincent, who shared it with his mother, who ended up taking me to “the Philippine restaurants”. I put those words in quotes because the three happened to be in franchises and going to them felt much like the big three “essential Taiwanese restaurants” I went to during my sojourn there. Here are a few highlights:

• Sinigang na bangus (milkfish sour stew) ranked pretty high in terms of savoriness. The milkfish actually is the national fish of the Philippines but is eaten quite regularly (reminds me of the time that my mom said that fish are her friends but she loves to eat them). In addition to the silly logic, milkfish also happens to be the last living species in the family Chanidae. Does that mean we are committing family-cide by eating it so much? I’m hoping natural selection takes care of that situation so I feel less guilty because this critter is pretty juicy, especially with a little douse of lime.
• Kare kare is the Philippine stew, depending on who you ask. Normally the soup base is made from stewed oxtail (something I will probably try in my future cooking adventures) which gives it a noticeable richness in terms of peanut flavor and when I say that, I mean it is like cooked peanut butter. Now, that may be a turn-off for some of you, but add in the much beloved shrimp paste and you may have a change of heart.
• Turón is probably best when you have it just made. It is essentially a fried spring roll filled with banana and a little jackfruit with a coat of brown sugar, with variations depending on who you get it from. I was not in love with the version I had but I rarely expect much from franchises when it comes to street food.
• Sisig na manok (sizzling chicken sisig) comes sizzling. After having this, I pretty much made the assumption that the Philippines has a slight tendency for the sour, which I am quite alright with since all flavors are awesome when done well. Plus when a food is fun and crispy like this it is pretty hard to get upset. Apparently there is an ox brain version of this that I must try in the future. Counting down to when that happens.
• Bistek caldereta is to me the Phillippine version of Bengali beef curry. They both normally consist of cubed beef and vegetables bathing in an oily curry sauce with hints of bay leaves. Since it reminded me of good ol’ Rahman family cooking, it was a winner.
• Halo halo (literally “mix mix”) is probably the stand out Philippine desert that catches everyone’s eyes with its rainbow of ingredients that can range from beans to candy to jelly to the ice that brings it all together. The name is how you eat it. You should probably work on your grip before trying to mix one because since it’s heavy with contents it takes karate kid-levels of patience to get it mixed to the right level.

Now crime is a tough topic to tackle when you are not an expert or data miner, but I try to let common sense drive me. If it appears sketchy, you should probably avoid it since humans are inherently poor at calculating risk despite the proverbial economist’s strong faith in homo economicus. That being said, I was rather surprised to see that cops in most locations could be seen carrying small firearms, if not rifles. The Philippines has been the first country I have visited in Asia where open carry was not just present but exceedingly common. According to the user-generated data site, Numbeo, crime in Manila is on the higher end, with corruption apparently being quite wide-spread. Looking just at the numbers and comparing it with my experience, it is a little hard to readily accept but considering the fact that I was with a family that new how to get around and lived in a gated neighborhood, I would not be astonished if crime really was that common in the country. It kind of just took me by surprise because guns, at least in my experience, are quite uncommon in East and Southeast Asia.

If you go to Manila and somehow manage to leave the city, let alone the country, without hearing the name José Rizal once, I won’t believe you went to the Philippines. The monument at Luneta is just one of many found throughout the city. Today, he has nearly God-like status in a majorly Catholic country, which makes me wonder if they are breaking the first commandment regularly if they demonstrate such pride for him. However when you learn about him, you either become a lover or a hater because this guy was a jack-of-all-trades. A Chinese Filipino born with a silver spoon in his mouth, that would go on to become a novelist, artist, philosopher, politician, polyglot, opthamologist, and revolutionary hero among many other roles as a polymath and a symbol for the Filipinos. His full name was actually José Protasio Mercado Rizal y Alonzo Realonda, but it became shortened because of his brother’s (Paciano) advice, a future general who had rumored associations with the Gomburza, three Filipino priests who were executed by the pro-colonial Catholic Church for alleged accomplices in the Cavite Mutiny of 1872. Rizal wrote his second Spanish novel, El Filibusterismo, in response to this tragedy. The novel became a cornerstone of the Propaganda Movement, putting him on the bad side of the Spanish colonizers who went on to exile him, try him, and force Filipino soldiers to execute him. Maximum martyrdom. Looking at how it supposedly went down, I am not sure if the Spanish even bothered to try contemplating on the domino effect they were creating.

Outside of all that, the man was rumored to also be quite the ladies man. After seeing his poetry, talk about being swooned. Additionally, the guy sculpted some interesting scenes, particularly the one below (aptly titled “Mother’s Revenge”) that I feel reflects him better than any of his other work just based on his apparent history.

OK! Last thing is going to be a little gruesome so fair warning…

The above image is a ghastly reflection on the Bataan Death March. Thinking about five times the size of the Trail of Trees in terms of victims and forced participants combined with fascist concentration camp levels of torture and internment. Rather chilling. It may not be all too surprising for those who have already read up on the atrocities of the Imperial Japanese Army before and during WWII. Let it be known that Filipinos were not the only ones that suffered brutally during this march. The statistics are still funky but American troops were also subjected to such cruelty.

War can really make many bring out their dark side and the US is also not inculpable, as history has shown, even at our nation’s highest court (read: Korematsu vs United States). I did not want to end on such a dark note but history is not about feeling comfortable it’s about the truth and we made some cruel choices and questionable decisions as a society time and time again. Art among other forms can act as a powerful medium to remind us of our nature. I really do enjoy growing with pain, so to speak.

The trip was nice and convinced that I should come back with more leisure time to explore. Since the post is not the warmest, I will leave you with the most hauntingly wonderful shot I took while in town.