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"The pain of the little finger is felt by the whole body.”
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JEEPNEY RIDE
One of the most interesting ways in which to
get to know a country, is taking local transportation. Although it can sometimes turn into near nightmares, it always gives
you a close look at daily life, ordinary people, their thoughts and joys, their concerns and their extreme adaptation to unforeseen
circumstances. Last but not least, their at times incredible suffering to travel.
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In the Philippines, the local transporation system consists of so-called jeepneys, which are actually small minivans in the back of which
a lot of people can be transported. Jeepneys can take you almost anywhere a boat cannot take you, and the normally run quite
frequently between towns.
The nice thing about jeepneys is that
they are almost always decorated in bright colours, with fantasy illustrations, depicting anything that came to the mind of
the artist to whom the jeepney was given in trust. This can be trucks, suns, strip figures, the sea, planes, trees, or anything
else that can be thought of.
The exotic Jeepney is a post-war creation
inspired by the GI jeeps that the American soldiers brought to the country in the 1940s. Enterprising Filipinos salvaged the
surplus engines and created these unique vehicles of art.
The "jeepney" is the Filipino version of the
"jitney," a minibus found in many countries, but the Philippines and the Jeepney are synonymous
After World War II, leftover American
G.I. jeep bodies were extended and converted into public transportation and became Jeepneys.
The Jeepney is now a shiny fully decorated,
multicolored minibus that fits dozens of passengers (inside, outside, and even on top).
A writer once said: "The Jeepney is a mobile
assemblage of signs, and symbols, decorative motifs and fetishes, rattling along the streets of Metro Manila and other towns
throughout the archipelago with a 'Whoopie' that would astonish the designers of the Original Willys' Jeep."
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Traffic
in Zamboanga City
Motorized tricycles
and ‘Jeepneys’ used as taxis. Most motorcycles in the Philippines are used for serving as a kind
of taxi. Most known names for these means for transportation: Tricycles and motor-taxi's. Short distance and feeder trips
could not be more exciting than via quick modest transports that ply even the toughest and roughest roads in the Philippines. The tricycle is a motorcycle
with a sidecar, and the pedicab is a bicycle with a sidecar. These vehicles, familiar sights traversing residential routes
and arterial roads, have offered much relief to commuters..
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The National Animal of the Philippines is the carabao, the Asian Water Buffalo!
If you travel through the countryside, you sure will discover the carabao. The
carabao (water buffalo) is still a very important draught-animal on the rice-fields. The carabao is also used for pulling
activities in the forest. If not working, the water buffalo can be seen while
it is resting, many times in a place of water and mud.
The carabao (kalabaw in Filipino) is a domdesticated type of of water buffalo. Carabaos are highly
associated with farmers , being the farm animal of choice for pulling the plow and the cart used to haul farm products to
the market.
Carabao are indigenous to Southeast Asia, as waves of migration into the Philippines occurred, the carabao were captured and domesticated.
The carabao is considered as a national symbol of the Philippines.
The Philippine carabao, a swamp type of water
buffalo, has long been an important draft animal in local agriculture. About 99% of the more than 3 million water buffaloes
in the country are raised and bred by small hold farmers. Despite the serious threats of extinction due to the rinderpest
disease problem brought about by the early livestock importation from India,
the Philippine carabao has survived.
If you visit villages
in the countryside, you will see the animals which are common in the normal life of all Filipinos and in the lives of most Asian people: Dogs, chickens, cocks
and the water buffalo (Carabao). Though ordinary animals, they are in some respects interesting for foreigners. For instance the Carabao. Tourists are always interested
in the carabao. Taking a picture of this animal, while it is working on the rice-field
or while it is resting in a place of water and mud, is a standard activity of tourists.
TAMARAW
The largest Philippine wild animal, the tamaraw, is a species of the buffalo that is similar to the carabao. It is
found only in the island of Mindoro.
The biggest game preserve and wildlife sanctuary in the Philippines is located on
Calauit Island in Palawan, which has the largest land area among the Philippine provinces
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MT. APO
Mt. Apo, the Philippines highest mountain is considered as the
Grandfather of all the Philippine mountains.
Situated
in the island
of Mindanao, Mt. Apo,
the highest mountain in the Philippines and Southeast
Asia's second highest. Known to the natives as kingdom
of the mountain god, Apo Sandawa. A vast area of 72,796 hectares of mossy tropical forest, flowing rivers & streams, waterfalls,
exotic flora & fauna and is home to the endagered Philippine eagle.
THE PHILIPPINE
EAGLE
In the Philippines, every creature surely fears the airborne predator at the top of the food chain,
the Philippine eagle. The Philippine Eagle, serves as a national symbol and is
a spectacular tropical forest-dwelling eagle. It is the rarest of all large forest eagles and the potential for the survival
of a viable wild population remains uncertain. Like most other large forest eagles, under the best of circumstances a breeding
pair will only produce a single young every other year.
TARSIER
The
Philippine Tarsier, is a unique animal found only in the central Philippines. The center of it's range is the island of Bohol but
they are reportedly found on the islands of Leyte and Mindanao as well. Several sister species live on other southeast Asian
islands
Sometimes
called the world's smallest monkey, it is neither a monkey or even the smallest primate.
Tarsiers are small -- an adult can easily fit in the palm of a person’s hand. Tarsiers
feed on insects and lizards and also small fish and crabs. When seizing its prey, the tarsier closes its eyes tightly to prevent
injury from the victim’s struggles.
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The Rice fields in Mindanao are temporary man-made aquatic habitats. In most parts of
South Cotabato they
are planted and harvested two or three times a year and cover a range of irrigated, rainfed lowland, flood-prone, and up-land
ecosystems. As many edible aquatic and semi-aquatic organisms have always been part of these ecosystems, the capture of wild
fish, frogs, shrimps, clams, and snails in rice fields and irrigation channels has been an ancient practice in most Asian
countries.
Frogs are usually noisy on rainy days and after sundown. The noisy frogs
are males calling for females of the same species for courtship or mating purposes. They start mating during rainy days and
they do the mating call or advertisement call around ponds where they later lay eggs.
In the Philippines, butiki (gecko)
are traditionally revered for their watch-gecko status as insect eaters. They are respected members of the household and commonly
seen in every home's walls. A legend goes that at 3:00 every afternoon all butiki in the country
descend to kiss the ground.
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Cockfighting, or "sabong" in the Philippine vernacular, has been referred
to by many as a sport, a profession, a lifestyle even. Or, to others, simply a pastime. Cockfighting, which dates back to
the pre-Spanish era, knows no class distinction, where rich and poor alike meet and enjoy the game. Cockfighting, long been
banned or driven underground in most other countries, remains largely popular in the Philippines and is virtually the national sport. Almost every town has a
cockpit, where the action takes place. It is usually a rougly built structure -- sometimes called a coliseum -- with a roof
and a square dirt arena, with tiers and rows of wooden planks that serve as seats.
Philippine cockfight
Especially foreigners with other value-attitudes to animals consider the traditional cockfight (Sabong) in the Philippines as a cruel, bloody ritual and they turn away with displeasure and horror.
Nevertheless this sport belongs, just like the Fiestas, to the national institutions.
More Information
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Mindanao is also famous for its flora, particularly the orchids. Over 1,000 species of
this flower grow in the Philippines, and the vanda sanderiana is native only to Mindanao. Some of the
more famous orchid gardens are the Puentaspina Orchid Gardens, GAP Farming Orchid Resort, and the Derling Orchid Resort.
With some 800 to 1,000 species of orchids, the Philippines has one of the
richest orchid floras in the world. One of the most spectacular orchids, found
only on Mindanao, is the waling-waling (Euanthe sanderiana). Dubbed the "queen of Philippine orchids," the waling-waling is so very
distinct that botanists recently placed it in a separate genus, Euanthe. The waling-waling is widely used in corsages and
wedding bouquets, and is also popular among orchid breeders, who have produced many hybrids.
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Philippine Orchids Show
In an industry that depends on new finds for mass production and global distribution, the Philippines has a wealth to offer. The
best, the rarest and the newest of Philippine flora hybrids and species can be
seen in this video.
Many Philippine orchids grow in the mountains, which reach an altitude of almost 3000 m on the northern island of Luzon. Different species are found as one ascends these mountains.
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Filipinos love music, singing and dancing Tinikling
is the most common and best-known dance of the Philippines. It is honored as the Philippine national dance. Different
stories of Tinikling have been passed down through legends and folktales over the years. When Tinikling is danced, music is
played to keep the rhythm. Tinikling is the most popular dance in the Philippines.
Once taught simply as a folk dance from the Philippines, it has recently
become popular in the sports curricula of elementary schools as it involves skills similar to jumping rope. It's now a new,
fun form of aerobic exercise that also improves spatial awareness, rhythm, foot and leg speed, agility, and coordination
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Shopping
More and more people are discovering that the Philippines is Asia’s most inexpensive shopping destination where you can get the most value for your
money. Here you can find imported name brands from the West, as well as products handcrafted in the Philippines, from weaves,
baskets, and brassware to hand-embroidered piņa cloth, wood figurines, and all sorts of custom-made furniture, clothes, wedding
gowns, shoes, embroidery items, and many other accessories.
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Mindanao offers plenty of nice souvenirs to bring
back home. Most famous are the native crafts from the T’boli, but you will also be offered colorful painted fish, and
the well known lamp-shades made of hundreds of small cowry shells from Cebu.
Vendors will offer you various types of seashells. Caution, is in place,
as several species are protected species, and, when caught at the customs, either when leaving the Philippines, or when entering your home country, can
bring you in serious trouble. The large triton horns, and all types of coral
are definitely protected species.
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BASKETRY
Once taken for granted by the Pinoys, Philippine baskets are now exported and
found in many fashion capitals of the world. The uniqueness of the Philippine baskets is represented through their varying
regional designs and recent streamlining. These baskets are made from a range of natural fibers like bamboo, rattan, nipa
and various palms. They are a hit with many people. Apart from the unique designs, these baskets also come in a whole range
of sizes and purposes, both decorative as well as functional. Philippine baskets can be found in tourist shops and sometimes,
in bazaar-like display under the Quiapo Bridge, in the heart of Metro Manila. A visit to the Baguio market up in the mountain province is also worthwhile as this is the
place where the antique designs of the mountain province converge with baskets from all over the Philippines.
Of late, another line of novelty baskets have caused a quite a stir among the
more knowledgeable Philippine watchers. The smoked fish traps, locust baskets and lunch containers are among the line of novelty
baskets. The lunch containers from the huts of Northern Luzon are considered family heirlooms.
MATS
Philippine mats, first cousin to the baskets are a colorful combination of pandan
leaves weave together and is used to line the walls of hotels. The mats found in Luzon are mostly natural-colored pandan mats while those from Leyte and Samar in the Visayas have playful designs. The mats from Basilan and Sulu have dramatic geometries. Cebu, Davao and Zamboanga offer a wide selection of these inexpensive bits of folk art.
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ANTIQUES
Since the Philippines was on the Chinese trade route, it is hardly surprising that a number of porcelains
can be found in shops of Manila. However, if you're planning to purchase any antiques, do be careful with what
you're buying. Interesting santos (statues of saints) are also available in the antique shops at Ermita and Makati as well as other smaller shops in the older towns such as Vigan in Ilocos.
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