March 2, 2010 (3rd day)

Initially, my plan was to go to Culion, Palawan that day but I was given a message to contact Mrs. Lim ASAP. Going to see her, Mrs. Lim advised me to put off yet my Culion trip as there was a van going to Calauit Island (were animals supposedly roam freely) the next day with a group of tourists which I could join so as to save on the rental for the van and boat. As I didn’t have any idea how to spend my day, she advised me instead to go island hopping. Again, using her connections, she contact Al Linsangan (of Corong Lokal Galeri) who was also a promoter of the Ultimate Island Tour.

For a fee of P650.00 only, you get to visit Linsangan Lake, Twin Peaks, Atwayan Beach, CYC Beach and the Twin Lagoons. The rate is actually very cheap, as compared to other touring packages, because it already includes lunch, water, fruits and beverages, entrance fees, and the boat itself as well as the boatmen. When I asked Al why the rate was very cheap, he explained that most rates offered by other tours and hotels are high mainly because of commissions, with the traveling agencies taking a huge piece of the pie. In comparison, the Ultimate Island Tour promotes the concept of eco-tourism, which means that what you’re paying goes directly to those who make the tour itself, like the boatman and the boat owner. What Al earns from the tour itself is only for the service fee by providing tourists. Calculating the cost, I discovered that we were actually just paying the boatman and the boat rental a measly P200.00 only since the food alone would cost P100.00 and that the entrance fees to Linsangan Lake was P200.00, Atwayan Beach for P100.00 and Twin Lagoons for P50.00 respectively. I find the concept of eco-tourism a very innovative way of helping local communities create income for themselves and ward of competition from the big but mostly foreign businessmen (like what is happening now in Boracay). I do hope other local communities would follow suit in such a concept otherwise they would definitely be eaten and wiped out by the big guys. It would also promote tourism especially to local tourists.

Hopping in the banca, I was grouped with a Dutch couple, an English, and three Koreans. There were only seven of us, with me as the lone Filipino. It was awkward at first because I had never met them before and vice versa. However, as the day went further, I eventually got to know them better. The Dutch couple, Michael – works in Rizal, Manila as a volunteer for a Dutch NGO while his girlfriend, Anna, works in the Netherlands for the government in the area of international funding (like UNICEF). The English girl, Michelle, worked before as a veterinarian nurse, but resigned and has been diving around Southeast Asian countries for the past six months (I’d love to do just THAT!). She’s planning to have her final stopover in Australia and work there eventually. On the other hand, the three Koreans: Che – is a volunteer for the Korean government based somewhere near Butuan City teaching the Korean language to Filipinos; Moon – just resigned from her job in broadcasting, finished her master’s and is contemplating in pursuing her doctorate while her boyfriend – Park - is an actor well-known in Korea (I googled him later that night. Too bad I forgot to ask for his autograph. Hahaha…). It was a pleasant and enjoyable tour with the group that even later that night we decided to have dinner altogether.

One of the topics we discussed that day was the kind of treatment they received from Filipinos, especially those who earn their living from tourism. Hearing them voicing their opinions, I could not help but be ashamed of my fellow countrymen. Of course I can understand that we have to do our living to survive but what I cannot understand is the manner of cheating foreigners, giving them unreasonable and high rates, thinking that these people can afford to spend the kind of money they are charged for. It is a dog-eat-dog world out there, and sadly, the foreigners are aware of it and they give feedback to their families and friends. It is a reflection of our character as Filipinos, a shameful one, I might add. I couldn’t defend what they were saying because I knew in my heart that what they were saying were true. For example, even if foreigners ask how to ride the public transportation like jeepneys, they are discouraged from learning so because they are told it is dangerous and that it would be better instead to hire vans (for a huge price, of course), or that they are charged more especially if they do not know how to speak in Tagalog or any local dialect, or that they are cheated out of changes for payments, and many such other modus operandi. Michael even calls it the Tourism Mafia. How sad, sad indeed it is for us who earn an honest living and who try to promote the Philippines as a safe and decent place to live in.

Lesson learned for that day: Treat others equally, irregardless of race, age, sex, color or origin.