Interesting things found in Philippines

The Philippines has been a great stop on our travels. With it not being connected to other popular South East Asia travel destinations there is a lot less tourism in the areas we have traveled and I think this applies to the whole country in general. Sometimes I find myself doing a double take when we pass other white people. We have received a warm welcome at all houses we have visited and helpful people have helped us when we are lost or need help. In contrast, we both have had blatant but failed pick pocket attempts. The efforts of some to reuse dish/bath/rain water as toilet water and turning all vegetable waste into compost at the farm contrasts the actions of others when we have seen plastic containers being thrown out the window of vehicles. In certain areas trash lines the streets and pathways. We were once in a grocery store and placed our cloth reusable bag on top of our groceries. On the way out of the store we were confused to see that we had received a plastic bag with our cloth bag packed neatly inside. Not really our intended result. We both think it's strange that it is acceptable here for men and children to pee on just about any wall or structure they can find. Just before writing this post we saw a man peeing on the rear wheel of a jeepney (local public transportation). The jeepneys are fun looking but they expel huge amounts of stinky exhaust as they pass and we learned this could be the fuel here contains lead. Christianity is huge in the Philippines. Religious slogans and icons fill the streets, homes, and public transportation vehicles. My favorite wacky slogan was in the jeepneys some had a sign that said "God knows Judas not pay". One of the buses we rode on had this picture of superhero Jesus.

I enjoyed seeing the way native culture was celebrated. During the election victory party of a local congressman there was traditional dress and dancing as well as other non traditional performances. There has also been an abundance of flowers blooming on almost every stop in our travels perhaps because it's the beginning of rainy season. Despite some unpleasant experiences there is beauty to be found both in the people and the nature of the Philippines.