Linabo Peak – 3,003 steps to a marvellous view

Let me say first of all I am not an adventurous person and neither am I fit. I thought it would be a good idea to take on the 3,003 steps to the highest point in this area.

During Holy Week here many make the pilgrimage, called” Katkat Sakripisyo”, if it is good enough for them it is good enough for me.

The two major towns here of Dipolog and Dapitan are dwarfed by a series of mountains. The advantage of this is some fantastic views of the cities and the Sulu Sea.

Access is slightly off the beaten track and not all that well sign posted but the locals can always guide you if you get lost.

It can take around two hours to walk the 3,003 steps and I would advise take plenty of water as it is very hot work.

Along the way there are 14 rest stations which are merely a few benches to sit on and also contained a cross with various depictions of Jesus bearing the cross on the way to his crucifixion.

The incline of the steps is mostly quite steep although there are a few brief flat parts. It very quickly gets your heart pumping and I worked up a sweat by the second station and was gasping for breath by the seventh.

Most of the way the sun doesn’t bear down on you directly as the pathway has a natural canopy of overhanging trees. Along the way there a few houses with accompanying, chickens, dogs, pigs and goats. As you ascend there are a few picture opportunities of the view, if you have the energy to take them!

When you reach the 14^th and final station, don’t think you are nearly there, it is a con.  After going up another series of stairs there is a small village with a school. It’s amazing that there are actually people who live there and have no access other than by these steps. I imagine some people there very rarely leave their village.

Once you have walked through the village, and I must say I felt like an alien there from all the stares, there are more steps to negotiate until finally you have reached the final one. However this is not the end of your journey.

There is a very steep rocky hill to climb up. I would suggest for anyone wanting to go all the way to the top to wear appropriate footwear, heals are not an option. I struggled in my shoes as I had little grip and I was crawling more of the way. Then I am a real chicken when it comes to heights.

At the top are a couple of mobile communication masts and some buildings, but the view is absolutely worth the effort. All in all it takes about two hours to get to the top.

There are sweeping views of Dapitan, Dipolog and across the sea and parts of the Zamboanga Del Norte Peninsula.  It is an absolutely beautiful site.

Of course there are not 3,003 steps to negotiate, but 6,006 because you need to go back down again!

Let me tell you going down is just as hard as going up, although somewhat quicker. For those of the unfit ilk, like me, it is not a pleasant thing to lose the feeling in your legs!

After just over an hour I finally made it to the bottom, legs extremely sore and extremely hungry and thirsty (my water ran out at the top). Fortunately there is a store near the entrance to get some snacks and some drink.

All in all, all the aches and pains were worth it just for the experience, but boy the next day was i sore, every muscle stiff and aching. I loved the experience but won’t do a repeat for a while. I would certainly recommend it.                             For those unable to manage the climb, there is a horse available for hire to take you up, but really that is cheating.

Filipino Women

The Philippines has something in excess of four million visitors a year. A large proportion of those are what they call sex tourists. I assume that means mostly male visitors coming here for the bar girls, lady boys and unfortunately child prostitution.

One of the more positive reasons for visitors here is for romance. Many Filipino women are choosing to find their partners overseas. Greater financial security is an obvious reason and having seen the poverty that many live here you can understand that. But I believe that most do marry for love.

The Filipino woman is remarkable. They are the backbone of this wonderful country.  10% of income of this country comes from OFW (Overseas Filipino Workers). Women make up the majority of OFW’s working as domestic helpers and care givers across the world.

Even the lowest paid OFW earn twice as much as the average wage earner in the Philippines, so the benefits are obvious and families back home are looked after. Generations of children unfortunately are taken care of by their father’s and other relatives while their mother’s are absent for two years at a time.

The women back home are very hard working and very resourceful. I would think the men here wouldn’t survive if the women went on strike.  It is the women who do all the cooking and cleaning and organise the households. Quite often it is only the women who work. For men here the main activities seem to be drinking, singing karaoke, cock fighting, playing pool and playing mah-jong.

I wouldn’t say it’s an unequal society, as both men and women seem to have their defined roles, and men are not completely lazy as I may be portraying, but I think they know when they get married so much is taken care of for them.

Pinay women are some of the most beautiful women in the world. The history of these islands gives the people an Asian-European mixture. Their culture of warmth, hospitality, generosity and loyalty is the perfect blend to make anyone feel welcome.

Unfortunately the seedy side of this nation brings down the reputation of the beautiful Pinay. Prostitution and pornography in all its forms leaves the foreigner with completely the wrong impression of the Philippines. Previously this used to take the form of street prostitution and girlie bars, but now also is in the form of 100’s of webcam sites on the internet. In these sites women are paid for performing sexual acts. It is estimated that 200,000 women in the Philippines earn money this way; Many of those underage.

The Philippine government is correct in making sure that pornography is illegal and imprisoning anybody who makes money in this way. It should be actively discouraged and in particular those tourists who chose to come here and solicit prostitution should in the least be deported. There are currently international agreements with many countries now that those who involve themselves in child prostitution and paedophilia can now be prosecuted in their own country for any activities in the Philippines and I would also completely support that.

The Filipino woman gives love and respect and her natural caring nature and should be given back the same amount of respect and love.

Drinking and eating in Dipolog

There are four things to do in this city. Shop, eat, drink and sing karaoke. There is not too much to say about the shopping here. I will leave that for another time. First let me say that eating and drinking is extremely cheap. It is very easy to be an addict!

I have my favourite restaurant here, Chicken-ati-atihan, which does the usual Filipino food. Plenty of rice which they do an unlimited offer with all meals. It is only plain rice but it is very good value for money. My favourite there though is the Shanghai Fried Rice which is around 79 pesos. Most meals are around 79 pesos my favourites are the sweet and sour pork or beef, they also do a very nice sisig dish. Other choices include a mixed seafood, shrimp rolls, chicken skins amongst others. Also try the Buko Pandan shake which is very refreshing and very sweet. You can get an unlimited ice tea there for about 50 pesos. Not always but often I like to eat the banana split. One thing that is not in short supply here is bananas.

You will rarely pay more than 500 pesos for a meal here and it is possible to eat for under 100 pesos. There are a number of fast food restaurants here. The best one is Chowking. This is Asian Food in a McDonalds style. They serve rice and noodles dishes from as low as 49 pesos. You should try the Buchi which is made from rice flour, mongo beans and sugar. There are also two Jolibee restaurants here, that is chicken a little like KFC. There are a number of places here to get Pizza but no Pizza Hut or Yellow Cab. The pizza is ok but pretty basic. There are also a number of places to get food quickly including a barbecue food area which is a little like a market with a number of vendors. A little smoky for me but the food is good. There are many street vendors selling barbecued banana, chicken claw, hot dogs, rice and adobo amongst others. If you can try the sour mango and shrimp.

One thing here is you will never go hungry even on a very small budget.

There me say about alcohol here. It is extremely cheap. A large bottle of rum will cost you around 65 pesos as will a 1 litre bottle of beer. I am not sure of any licensing laws here so it is easily available. Let me warn you though that the rum can be a little harsh. I rank half a bottle three days ago and still feel it on my belly!

The people here are very friendly and I have yet to encounter any problems here. I have on many occasions been offered a drink with the locals. On some occasions I have accepted the invitation without any problem. They always seem to treat you like an old friend. As I have mentioned before the people here are this city and this country's main asset.

There are a small number of foreigners here who seem to congregate at a local Chinese restaurant in the city, I am not aware of which one, on a Tuesday night. Life is good here for the foreigner who likes a peaceful simple life and I would recommend it to anyone.

Tha Dangers in the Philippines

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My Neighbourhood - Biasong

I am staying in a small Barangay called Biasong. A Barangay is, from what I can work out, a small suburb or village. From here it only a few mninutes walk into the main city centre.



I live in an apartment block of four. They are very simple units which compsrise of two bedrooms, a kitchen diner, a shower room which contains a toilet and a landry room. There is also a roof terrace which we use to hang our clothes on to dry.

My neighbours are very nice. My first neighbour has an English boyfriend, who only recently visited here, and gave me someone to talk to in English. She is also about to give birth. Living with her is her ladyboy cousin who helps out with the housework and her four year old daughter. They are very friendly to me and the little girl often comes in to entertain me.

Just a word about ladyboys. I think there is somethng very uniquly Asian about them. They do come in alll shapes and sizes, I saw one yesterday who was very tall and had a rather large belly hanging from under his/her shirt. I think I am more feminine. Many here tend to be very thin with with over accentuated feminine qualities. I wont even attempt to understand the culture of the ladyboy. My neighbour though is very nice and quite shy. He/she does like to sing karaoke quite alot, which is entertaining at the right time of the day.

My next neighbours are missionaries from the Church of the Latter Day Saints. Apparently the female missionaries are called sisters and the male are called elders. I questioned why the men are given names of a higher standing but my friend just laughed. I wonder why a country as religous as the Philippines needs missionaries.

I attend a Catholic Church here every Sunday morning. I am not religous but I am curious about the whole experience. The local priest who holds service certainly earns his money. There are six or seven services every Sunday and unlike in England, the turnout is quite huge. I would estimate around 500 people every service I have been to, including one at an open air church in near-by Gulayon, on New Years Eve.

My last neighbours are a large family, I think four children and a mother and father. While I exchange pleasantries with the mother, we don't really talk to each other, but again she seems pleasant. I believe she runs a salon in the city somewhere. They also employ a hosekeeper, a gay man, from what I can see, who often is seen at the front of the apartment washing clothes.

Most washing here is done by hand and using a washing machine can be rather problematic. Alhough there is no shortage of water here, it rains very often, there does seem to be problems with the water pressure at peak times. So it could take hours to fill a washing machine.

On either side of the apartment block, there are small shops. One shop seems to sell chicken and other small conveince type of items. I usally buy my beer,rum,coke or chips from there. These types of shops are set up from peoples houses and are small huts at the front. You will get them to come out with a simple "Ayoo!"

One litre of beer will cost 65 pesos, about £1.00. A 250ml bottle of rum will cost 30 pesos (less than 50p), and a litre of coke will cost 26 pesos.

At the front of many of these shops you can find a karaoke machine,which seemed to be limitless at the times they can be played, and you will usually find men drinking beer or rum at the front and quite often they will give you a drink. It seems imnpoloite to say no.

If you want to come here for peace and quiet this is definately the wrong  place. No matter what the time of day there is always noise. During the day the sound of motorcycle englines rattling up and down the street or building works. In the evening the sound of karaoke blaring away and at night time the many dogs barking, cats fighting and roosters crowing.

Having said that there is a certain peaceful easygoing feel about the place which makes it very pleasant.

Well that is all for now. See you next time for a further installment.

Welcome to my blog

Hello anyone, everybody or just me.

I thought I would share with you my experiences on my visits to the Philippine Islands.

I am currently enjoying my third visit here. My first was a year ago and lasted ten days, my second last September lasted two weeks and my current visit has so far last two months.

Now if you expect me to say I am staying in an island paradise, then you are very much mistaken. I am staying in the city of Dipolog which lies on the island of Mindanao in the south of the country. This is the poorest province in a very poor county. There is the threat not so far away and in particular in the city of Zamboanga of being abducted by terrorists or even worse. There were only recently a number of bombs detonated there.

But as far as it goes, this city for those who like to live a simple life is ideal. There is not much to do here except for swimming, eating, drinking and singing karaoke and not always in that order. There are very little leisure activities here as there would be no point in locals spending the money in establishing any as most people here wouldn't have the money to use them and this is not exactly a tourist hotpot.

The local airport here has two flights to Manila a day and one to Cebu, the second biggest city in the Philippines.

The real attraction here is first of all the cost of living which is extremely cheap. I rent a very nice two bedroom apartment here which costs around P10, 000 a month (£150.00, $220.00) and spend about P3, 000 a week on expenses.

The second attraction here is a beautiful coastline with some of the best sunsets you will ever see.

The third attraction here is probably the best feature of this city. The people. I have never met a friendlier, more hospitable people before in my travels. If you mention this to them, they will tell you it is their culture.

I have on countless of occasions had people, complete strangers ask about me; my life offered me a drink or a meal. Everywhere I walk I hear my friend. The children often say "Hey Joe!" or "Americano!” Now of course I am not American, but to them you are Filipino, Chinese or American and to correct them is kind of insulting.

For a place as impoverished as this is, there is surprisingly little crime. Kids tend to run pretty wild in the streets here without any real problems apparent.

The city itself has a population of about 140,000. But to drive here you wouldn't know it. Most people get about here on motorbike and quite often you will see four people on a bike. I myself have learnt to ride a motorcycle which I am pretty proud of. There are a few cars, mostly four wheel drives which I find rather annoying. The other form of transport is the tricycle and sikad-sikad. The latter is a pedal driven vehicle which I am sure keeps the driver very fit. Here there is only the odd jeepney and no taxis. There are also a few very small buses which run to the neighbouring towns.

I prefer to walk to most places around here which can be done from one end of the city to the other in about twenty minutes. If I go swimming I ride the bike as the beaches are a little further out. Driving can be quite hectic with no real rules, but it’s ok when you get used to it.

Well that is about all for now, however I would like to keep any reader informed of my experiences here and of course answer any questions anyone may have about life here.

Makita Ta Usob!