What can I say...I was sad to leave Romblon province - particularly Tony and Violet's idyllic island hideaway on Lugbung. I had met and spent time with some canaos (white men) with whom I felt a kindred spirit...more importantly, I had met and spent some time with 'real' Filipinos. I don't mean this in any other sense than that they were people (so it seemed to me) who lived and worked like the vast majority of their compatriots. Boracay was an unreal environment in much the same way as Magaluf, Ayia Napa and Ibiza are in their own respective ways. People go there with the sole purpose of enjoying themselves and they expect to find entertainment...in Romblon province, I found my entertainment as a smaller, integral part of my day - not its main focus. With so much natural beauty and the peace and solitude that I've really grown to love, this small group of islands will always be calling me back. As a kid, I could never understand why my parents frequently replied to my inquiries about what they would like for Christmas or birthdays with, 'Peace and quiet!'...I get it now. It's the hardest thing to find back home and when you do, it's difficult not to appreciate.
My journey back to Manila was a lot less arduous than I had been led to believe...punctuated by one of those strange, but pleasing, coincidences that often seem to surprise me. I took one, reasonably-sized rustbucket back to the port of Odiongan on Tablas Island. As ever, the sky was clear and the sun was shining - so I limited myself to a shady spot on the starboard rail and listened to DJBillyGonzalez's 'Ethereal Trance' to pass the time. I deliberately didn't feed myself, as the Lonely Planet had suggested an air-conditioned (extremely important for me as the clubbing fraternity will attest!) diner in Odiongan. As there were three hours to kill between my ship arriving and the ferry to Manila departing, I had already made up my mind not to sit around at the ferry terminal. A quick and pleasant lunch, drowned with a couple of 'last-chance' bottles of San Mig, left me with a little time to kill...just as I was about to head to the market to try and find some books to read, a familiar face walked through the door. On my departure from Lo-oc, the previous week, I had talked briefly with a guy in the town plaza, whilst loading my bag onto the Jeepney. We'd not had chance to get into a decent conversation before the Jeepney had fired up to go to San Agustin...I'd left with some small regret that we hadn't been able to chat. Anyway, it was the self same guy walking through the door in front of my eyes - and we both gave a start of surprised recognition. It turned out he was giving a friend a lift to the ferry port (a 50km round trip in his palatial Mitsubishi people carrier) and they had just stopped in at the diner for a farewell meal with some friends. Champ (yes, his name!) kindly offered to take me back up to the port after they'd eaten...and we ended up being able to have that chat after all. Nothing of any great consequence...just nice to shoot the breeze with a contemporary...and we did swap e-mails as I boarded the boat.
I found my berth in what was formerly a car deck of the ferry. Instead of a hundred cars, there were 400 bunk beds - each with its own thin, vinyl mattress. I found myself lucky to be on a top bunk - a space about 5ft by 12ft, which was designed to sleep four. As the boat got underway, it became apparent that I wouldn't have to share with anyone, so I had the luxury of spreading out and relaxing. I was just tucking into a collection of short stories by W. Somerset Maugham (20 pesos - bargain!), when a Filipino in his 50s asked if I would mind him talking to me. Never one to deny someone a good jaw, I nodded. His first question gave me some warning, 'What do you think of this election between Bush and Kerry?' and we spent the next hour debating the 'War on Terror', Bush's motives and the relative evils of Christianity and Islam. The Philippines (for the most part) is strongly pro-American and pro-Bush...there seemed to be little real thought in most of his arguments - mostly a depressing parroting of Bush propaganda. I think he was slightly taken aback that I didn't support Bush's policies and couldn't really understand my point when I told him that I have little faith in most politicians to do the right things for the right reasons. I was trying to show him that there are two sides to every story, but he really didn't seem to go for that one. Politics is a subject I tend to avoid, only because it gets frustrating discussing it with people who have firmly entrenched views that they refuse to reconsider. In the end, I made an excuse to go to the toilet and disappeared into the cinema to watch a crappy horror flick, 'Darkness Falls'. The guy had asked me if I was playing safe with my views because I was away from home - a logical and wise choice if I'd had to think about what I was going to say. At the end of the day, there is no right or wrong way to look at a situation...as long as you look at the whole situation. If you're not in possession of too many facts, it's difficult to make an informed decision. I'm not a fence sitter, but I won't judge people or a situation when I only know one side of the story. I think I left him a little disappointed...
The rest of my trip was peaceful...I even slept for about 5 hours, before the ship pulled into Manila around 3.30am. A jeepney and a taxi ride to my hotel, left me7hrs to sleep, spruce up and feed before my flight to Hanoi. I left the Philippines with regret - but in the certain knowledge that I'll be back in the not-too-distant future. The islands are beautiful, their inhabitants too in every sense of the word. Filipinos are so open and friendly that its hard not to love being around them and I met some kind and interesting people, with whom I shall endeavour to stay in touch. I just hope that political corruption doesn't allow the natural resources and the immense work ethic of the people to be permanently squandered. It would be heart-breaking to return and find that things were not as they are now.
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