Bibingka from The Philippines

Bibingka cake - the rice flour version (click to enlarge)

Bibingka is simply a rice flour cake found everywhere in The Philippines. This particular one is street made and baked in a local oven on the side of the road.

I’ve seen it in bakery shops too, but its not the same there. The road side bakery uses traditional banana leaf to wrap the cakes in. There’s definitely a difference in the taste, but only mild.

Bibingka is soft and sweet, much like a sponge cake. The rice flour gives it a sticky but not overly sweet taste and texture.

There is also a harder to find Cassava flour version of Bibingka. It’s paler in complexion and the taste is a little stronger.

Both are very cheap to buy, and are nearly always fresh when bought along the road.

This is an additional post and one of a series highlighting Food in The Philippines

Taxi vs The Longest Way Home ...

I wasn’t going to write in my journal about such a trivial event like being hit by a taxi. Trivial because, because aside from some arm bruising, I am fine. What happened minutes afterwards is however, leaving a lasting impression on hospitality in The Philippines.

Why walking is a virtual crime in the Philippines

I walk to many places. A rarity in the Philippines as the majority, and by majority I mean 98% of the population seem to have an alergy to this human activity.

Heat & dust is the causal excuse. Sweaty clothes, skin and exertion are closer to the truth.

Taxi vs The Longest Way Home

It had been raining most of the night as I walked out onto the city streets. Giant puddles already evaporating away in the morning heat. I walked down a not so busy two lane road that lead to a mall.

Nothing was different to any other time I walked there. I side stepped a parked car.  Up ahead the odd on coming car passed. I side stepped a motorella being repaired. There is no sidewalk here. It’s the road, or the drainage ditch.  Ahead of me a taxi approached at speed.

I was sandwiched between a broken motorella and an empty two lane road; little to worry about.

And, the taxi stuck

Whack! He clipped me with his side mirror.

There was a slap of plastic, a thud of recoil and a shout from me.

A car behind him swerved and sounded their horn. I turned to see the taxi keep going. His mirror bent back at an angle. Then, a tricycle pulled out, and he got stuck behind him.

Anger

The taxi was stuck, and could not move. I stood there and thought about what to do. I thought at the very least he would take this opportunity and get out of the taxi to see if I was alright. But, no.

Then I saw a hand appear from the passenger side that tried to fix the sidemirror. With this, I lost the plot.

Storming over I roared some furious words through the passenger window.

The drivers eyes widened, he waved and bowed. I continued my tirade and he continued his bowing. What happened next was worse than  his incessant excuse for an apology.

Which is the sidewalk? It doesn't matter in The Philippines

No one did anything

I looked up in an effort to think about how far I should take this with the bowing taxi idiot. The whole road had come to a standstill. People had come out of their stores. Stopped their cars and were all staring in silence.

This all started the moment he had hit me. But I paid little attention to them at that time.

I walked back along my original path, holding my arm. Not a person said a thing. No one approached either me, nor the taxi.

East meets west

The whole scene was taken from a developed country. See a person on the road in trouble, and don’t get involved in case it affects you too. But here, in the ever so friendly hospitality endowed Philippines, surely someone would offer help?

Or even just ask if I was alright?

No, they did not. Not a soul. And, that hurt a lot more than my arm.

Is hospitality in Asia only skin deep?

I will be the first person to admit I don’t always get things right. But deep down I’ve always harbored a suspicion of Asian hospitality. Is it only skin deep?

My case in point. World War II. Look at old documentaries of nations surrendering. The Asian side always looks emotionless. In loss or victory. The other side whether in defeat or victory show emotion.

Here in The Philippines there are set times put on things like grief. Someone does something wrong, and after a set time everything goes back to normal.

Sure as a tourist you get the hospitality of a thousand smiles as you pay your hotel, pay the waiter, pay the laundry. Say hello, say goodbye and it’s all waves. But step out of line. And, the smiles drop faster than a bullet to the head.

And it continues …

After being invited to an event recently, I bought some people a small thank you present. Only one said thank you in return, no one else did.

Am I so detached from the rest of the world to think that people don’t say thank you here anymore? No, but it’s becoming rare. Take, take take is on the increase. Or maybe it was always there.

Taxi vs Culture

Taxi drivers are pretty awful the world over. But, I must say in The Philippines I’ve only been cheated by about 5% of the ones’s I’ve taken. That’s a very low number.

On this day who knows what was going through his mind. I imagine it was switched off. He made a stupid mistake. So what. What’s really wrong is he never stopped, he never got out, and he never apologised.

Worse than the taxi were the people standing around that did nothing in a nation that’s meant to be so good, and friendly. And, that is my point here.

Is The Philippines at “that” cross roads

Go to a poor area here. Away from the malls. If you slip, stumble or trip, people will ask of you.

Go where there is money, and chances are you’ll be left to fend for yourself.

What I was meant to write here today was a list of things I don’t like about the Philippines. That list is now getting longer. Which is a shame. The only good thing I can think about this, is, perhaps. If my suspicion is true. I may well have finally understood about social integration here.

Coming Soon:

Things not to like about The Philippines

Another nation obsessed with guns

I am not sure if the average tourist picks up on the fact that guns are everywhere in The Philippines. From the police, to the private security man on down to the general public. In the Philippines you have the right to bear arms.

Sadly on Monday August 23rd a bus filled with tourists in the capital Manila, got to experience this first hand. And, the results ended in a shooting bloodbath.

Manila kidnapping & shooting

The media has covered this story in its entirety (news source wiki source) so I won’t repeat it in detail. The outline of what happened as of today is that an ex policeman, dismissed over allegations of corruption boarded a tourist bus in Manila. He took over and posted signs on the front of the bus asking for a review of his case.

He released hostages throughout the day as his demands were met. Then, his brother, also an active policeman showed up. Somehow the brother managed to make his way to the bus. Police on duty arrested him. This seemed to have set the hostage taker off, and he opened fire, shooting at police and the tourists.

Manila bloodbath

What transpired over the next hour was shocking & horrifying on many levels. The elite police force took a sledge hammer to the bus and tried to gain entry. Gunshots sounded from inside.  The police hammered on the windows and at the door. Nothing gave in. The gun man continued shooting.

People all around me said the same thing. What on earth are they doing? Even if they did break the windows, they would need a six foot ladder to get in. They did not have one.

At 5-7 pesos a bullet, its not so expensive to take a life in The Philippines

One hour later, and much more shooting later. The kidnapper’s body fell from the door; a bullet in his head. A sniper I would presume.

8 tourists were killed.

The Filippino’s obsession with weapons

Many nations feel it is there right to bear arms. The U.S.A. is one of them. And, every month we hear of the consequences as someone goes berserk, or methodically goes on a killing spree.

In the Philippines it’s relatively expensive to legally own a gun. A handgun may set you back 35,000 pesos. A license another 14,000 per year. And, a license to transport firearms another 10,000.

How this is all enforced, is another matter.

Deadly weapons in the hands of unskilled professionals

I recently visited a shooting range here. A very popular place it would seem. Men, women, and teenagers were all involved in training courses for shooting handguns. Target practice, and defence being the objectives.

Sitting there and watching gung-ho men open up gun cases, then clicking away was off putting. Then, to see an overweight middle aged woman pull a .45 out of her handbag was very off putting. Worse still was her inability to control the weapon.

Perhaps the saddest sight was a young teenage boy being brought there by his parents with a shiny new, and deadly toy.

The army officer who never had arms training

Perhaps the worst thing of the day I heard was from an army officer who joined basic firearms training.

“This is the first time anyone ever showed me how to shoot properly”

That to me, is scary. An army officer who was never shown how to shoot a weapon properly.

Where the professionals come to learn

Louder gun shots, and blasts sounded further down the field. Both uniformed and non uniformed professionals were practicing with shotguns and assault rifles.

No training, and little skill other than watching TV: everyone can own one

Yes, this was indeed a place you could bring anything, and fire away. Possibly, for the first time.

Big smiles, bigger guns

In the Philippines the bigger your gun, the bigger your smile. This is lone ranger territory, and a tinder box waiting to go off.

As wealth increases within the nation, so too does the ability to buy these weapons.

Here is a place where giant plastic toy guns are seen pridefully in the hands of children. Some 15 years later the plastic changes to metal but the smiles remain the same.

Unskilled, and deadly ideas

I have no problem with someone wanting to own a gun. I do have a problem with the way it is administrated. Money talks here, and anyone can buy a license. And, for that matter a gun.

Just walk into a regular shopping mall and you will find at least one store openly displaying weapons like it were a toy shop or candy store.

Look at the security guard with his old rusty revolver. The person probably has never even fired it. Let alone had training in its usage. But still, he has one.

Untold deaths on the rise

I started this article writing about the events earlier in the week. A former police officer with an assault rifle killing tourists. What went under the news radar that day is earlier a Korean pastor had been shot and killed by an armed gang also in The Philippines.

Death by gunshot is increasing in The Philippines on a weekly level.

In a country known for the violent deaths of more journalists than anywhere else on earth, it is continuing to spiral down a dark tunnel.

Events this week seem to indicate, it’s only going to get worse.

Learn from others, don’t replicate the same thing

We as people learn from our mistakes. Or, at least we should. Why then can nations not do the same?

Why can a nation not look at the problems occurring in another country and try to prevent it from happening in their own?

The right to bear arms has its merits, but look at the mistakes other countries have made in implementing this. Look at this and make a difference. Is this such an impossibility?

Coming Soon

Death by Taxi, nearly …

The Tibetan Temple Inc in Davao City, The Philippines (click to enlarge)

Getting to the Tibetan Temple in the rising morning heat was quite easy. There was a small Sari Sari store outside and some shelter in the form of some palm tree coverings. Something I needed, as I am not a fan of humidity.

I looked at the large red gates that were firmly closed in front of the Tibetan tower. Behind them and inside the temple I could see a man busy sweeping away. There was life.

Patience is a virtue in Travel

Half a bottle of water later and I ran the bell beside the large red gates and waited. And, waited.  The heat continued to pound down as I wondered why the loud bell was being ignored.

I noticed the sign beside the gate. “Tibetan Temple of Davao Inc”. I had a feeling the Chinese were the ones who’d built the place. Hence the “Inc“.

Looking down the center of the Tibetan Temple in Davao

Okay, I am not very patient today:

Finally with the heat getting to me I stepped over and poked my hand through the railings and gave the bell one more long push and waved up at the man still sweeping …

Success, he waved back. Scuttled down the steps and opened the gate with a smile. Physical waving works well here. Maybe he was deaf.

No silly shoe removal here

We walked up the steps and into the tower. Here I looked at the man’s feet, and then pointed to my shoes.

The caretaker shook his head and brushed aside the notion of having to remove my shoes. I liked the place that bit more already!

A self tour of the temple

I ambled up the spiral staircase to the second floor, and then to the third. Statues of Buddha staring at me as I ascended to the top.

It was a pleasant place. Nothing mind blowing, aside from the fact that it was in Davao city. I stood up on one of the wine colored chairs under a window to see if I could get a glimpse of Davao’s skyline.

From one window I could. But as I tried to open another the metal frame groaned. I thought of the nice caretaker and didn’t push my luck. The Davao skyline could stay behind the frame.

Outside I visited the main prayer hall that had several scrolls on display and sat down in the shade. It was good to see the second temple in Davao. Nothing spectacular. But then again visiting them was worth it for the simple fact that not many people do.

Time to make my own way

I looked at my map and wondered where to next? The fruit market maybe. Downtown Davao? I’d seen it all.

“What do you do in a city when you have seen everything?”

Prayer area of the Tibetan temple in Davao City

I even thought about going to SM mall and taking photos of it just to annoy them and their idiotic policy of not taking photos of it.

It must irk them terribly to know that even in the Philippines they can’t do a thing about it if you take a photo of their building from a public road.

How to shock a tourist

On my way back to the guest house I ran into a young American and his local girlfriend who were waiting for the afternoon rain to stop.

We exchanged hello’s and I asked if they were going to see anything around Davao of interest.

The Eagle sanctuary, an island and a crocodile farm was their itinerary.  They then asked the same of me.

I thought briefly for a fleeting moment that this might be the first time outside of El Nido that a tourist might actually meet up with me to see some places. But alas, I was already too far gone in my exploration.

And, I made mention of my other destination within the city.

How to scare someone off in The Philippines

“I’m thinking of going to take some photos at the fishing village near here.”

“Where?”

“The fishing village. Near the dock area?”

The receptionist of our guest house chipped in, “You go the American Village?”

“No!” I dismissed her attempt at saying I wanted to visit an expat housing estate. ” I’m going to the dock area …  where locals fish… By Magsaysay?”

“No!” gasped the receptionist. “Is the squatter area. Dangerous.”

The guy’s girlfriend then added a conclusive statement to her partner. “He’s going to the slums I told you about.”

The young mans eyes widen as he looked at me in confusion. “You seriously want to go there?”

It was enough to make me want to never have set eyes on the man nor any tourist again.

When you know you’ve gone too far:

It was only later in bed listening to the heavy night rains beat down did the conversation, and hindsight, roll over me like a ominous cloud.

I’ve been here a long time. I’ve purposely gone out of my way to push the boundaries of social integration when trying to live in another country. And, failed. At least to the extent of not attaining my original goal.

However, now more shockingly, I find myself recoiling at socializing with foreigners!

Have I pushed my own boundaries in this unexplored territory of psyche too far …

Coming soon:

Things to hate about the Philippines