Where's Scott?

I’ll press on past our further scuba experience; even though it was all excellent, the merits of each island paradise are really in the fine details, and as such might prove a bit tedious in the telling (although I will mention that the beach on the island of Mantubul must rank among the most picture perfect golden sand beaches in creation). So after 6 beautiful days and 15 stunning dives, we bid farewell to the Scuba Junkie gang with a few beers on the boat, and jump a taxi for the airport – we’re off to the Philippines!

We know something’s fundamentally different as soon as we jump off the plane. The pulse and character of the Philippines is a breath of fresh air compared to Malaysia (literally!). The differences are much greater than faith (Philippines is Catholic, Malaysia is Muslim), however religion clearly is a core factor in the attitudes of the people.

Tawau (the Malaysian city we hung out in before flying out) was very similar to Semporna: trash was everywhere, most people were milling about with no particular place to go; the dress was very uniform, colorful and clean, but with no individual style; the houses all appeared to be clones of the same plan, with almost no personal flair; traffic was lazy and slow; rules were followed to the letter, even if the spirit wasn’t (example being the 2 airport security guards placing “checked” stickers on all the bags as they exited the xray scanner without ever considering that perhaps they should look at the scanner’s video monitor to actually “check” the bags – don’t I feel safe! 😉

By comparison, Manila is a swirling chaos of originality! Every house has a distinct character (we spent 30 mins on the backstreets, and never saw two alike); the streets, although not freshly paved or “clean” per se, are almost completely free of trash; the Jeepneys, “stetched Jeep” minibuses that are everywhere and used as almost as moving walkway of local transport, are splashed with color and crowded with people going places and getting things done. The people have a purpose here, and the American influence is clear: make your own way, be creative, and don’t let anyone dictate what you should do (which goes as far as green means go, and so does red).

Mabel also comes to life almost as soon as we collect our bags. Up until now she’s been shy, reserved and difficult to rouse to conversation. She’s in her element now, speaks the native tongue, and knows how the system works. Suddenly, Mabel’s the boss!

We’re in Manila mainly to start Mabel’s visa application process, and so after the usual scramble for lodging, we rush off to UK Visa Inc (no kidding, there’s a company to do this for you, because it’s too difficult to do it alone! The UK is such a welcoming place…). As always, there’s a hitch – we expected at least one – and Mabel needs a “manager’s check,” rather like a cashier’s check, to pay for the visa. We immediately find that none of the banks will issue one without an existing account, which Mabel doesn’t have; hmmm, problem. Looks like we’ll be here a few days…