Reverse Culture Shock

Bangkok, the Melbourne of South East Asia. At least that what is seemed like after my third visit there. The place is bursting with cultural and artistic expression. Hedges cut out in the shapes of animals on the median strips of major roads, strange looking buildings and people from all over the world sitting in cafes and shopping in markets are just a few of the things that reminded me of being back home in Melbourne. Oh yeah, they even have pretty pink taxis, not even Melbourne has that! But what surprised me most was the reverse culture shock of being in a different place to the Philippines. I stepped of the plane and into a taxi and Tagalog just slipped out as I started talking to the driver. My brain told me I was still in Asia and mouth interpreted that as the go ahead for speaking Tagalog. When I arrived at the hotel and settled in I went to market and the same thing happened. I wanted to barter in Tagalog. Thankfully I had managed to decipher the code which had caused the miscommunication and misinterpretation between my brain and mouth by this time so I just thought Tagalog instead of speaking it. But then I faced another problem, they drove on the right, sorry left hand side of the road (which happens to be the right or correct side anyway). I stepped out onto the road to cross and found myself looking in the wrong direction for oncoming traffic. Thankfully the traffic wasn’t so bad and the thought of being road kill quickly snapped my brain back into looking the right way. And this happened after only 6 months in the Philippines. Imagine the shock I’ll experience after 4 years!

Beautiful Basilan

It seems like a shocking thing to say, but I can honestly state that Basilan has to be the most beautiful place I have stayed in Philippines thus far. When I finally manage to convince myself that terrorists aren’t lurking behind the bushes or hiding in the cupboard I can enjoy the scenery and lovely people. The truth is that it’s an untouched paradise. Beautiful coconut trees line the shore line, children play in the streets, small wet and dry market stalls line the main road and majestic mountains provide a stunning backdrop for rice fields. Combine that with the cultural experience of falling asleep and waking to the sound of a call to prayer and the quiet solitude in between, I’d say it’s got to be one of my favourite places to visit. I’m not sure that I would recommend everyone plan their next holiday there, but I do know that I enjoy going there to check out the progress of our fish pond project.

Too busy to blog

It’s been a while since I last blogged. Sorry to all my faithful readers. I can honestly say that I’ve been too busy to blog. And although my hectic travel and work schedule has given me plenty to think and write about, for some strange reason my mind is drawing a blank at the moment. Maybe that’s a part of growing old. I am 30 after all. Hmmm… I don’t think I should dwell on that too long… I know what I can write! Check out these next two blogs about two very different places I visited in the past few weeks.