Here is my first impression of the Philippines, a 43 picture panorama stitch of the view from my window here in Manila, as the sun was about to rise. Jetlag provided me the time necessary to complete this composite. I'm getting funky tornadoes in the sky though, from all the stitching. Maybe Chris Alvanas can help me fix that...And other than this view, that is pretty much all I have to report from the Philippines for now. In a few minutes I am leaving for the airport to board my last plane, toward my ultimate destination, Dumaguete City. This is my third day of travel and I am still not there. It's a far far faraway place!
From the little I've experienced at the moment, I find the Philippino people hard to pin down. They speak a language that is definitely South-East Asian, with all the m's, b's, p's and ang's of Indonesian and Malaysian, but their speech is peppered with a constant flow of English and Spanish words too. Most of the time, I can understand the conversation, because half or nearly all the words are in English. And when they speak their local language, I hear Spanish words at every turn of sentence. In addition, while most people smile with South-East Asian faces, some look more Chinese, others have definite European features, and a few look like they could be Australian Aborigines.
Just from my first few hours here, it is clear that the Philippines is a unique place - a crossroads where people and cultures have been meeting for centuries.
I look forward to reporting from the Philippines on this blog as often as possible during my 2-week adventure here. Stay tuned!
Gaston
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