Monday, April 23, 2007

Baloot! Baloot!

Manila is the craziest city in Asia. Open 24 hours a day, extremely polluted and populated. Skyscrapers of Makati are surrounded by huge areas of poor housing and slums built up on the swampy waters of lake and canals. The old town Intramuros is full of heritage buildings build by Spaniards. Malate and Ermita are old port quarters full of the cheap hotels and the most dodgy entertainment places I have ever seen. It is not a right place for Backpackers like Khaosan Road in Bangkok. You should know how to survive here to avoid serious troubles.



Jeepneys are the most usuall way of transport in Manila and all Philippines. Old American Jeeps were changed for small buses to transport the people. There are thousands of them on the streets. Every one is different painted and decorated. The best one have plenty glittering chrome parts, glowing lights and sound system inside. The most popular subject of the paintings is Holy Mary.

Retro fan in our hotel

Intramuros, the oldest part of Manila.

The pool master with his fanclub.

Street gang posing for a photo.

Everybody have it. Especially kids in the slums.


Balot is one of the strangest and most terrible snacks in the world. The warm, not cooked duck embyro in thick fluid! How people can eat it?
In Manila balot is so common that nobody can imagine our disgust. The balot sellers are walking all night around the places where people drinking beer calling baloooot, balooot!

Duck eggs are stored in special warm place till the egg turns into the embryo. Then they are put into the special plastic container or basket which can keep warm for a long time during they are being sold on the street. The proper way of eating ballot is very simple. Open the top of the egg. Put salt and vinegar into the egg. Dirink the liquid first. After that open it and eat the baby duck.
In the end take a big shot of cold beer and smile! You shouldn’t be disappointed about the taste. It is really good!
As you can see on the photos it doesn’t look so nice so ballots are sold only in the night as a snack for street beer drinkers.

Maciek with the first Balot in his life. After that one he did it every night.



Happy Balot sellers in Malate.

Ermita is known as an entertainment place for low budget old guys. Oral Cholera should be a comon illness in that place. Anyway I am not sure what it is exactly. Hopefully we have never suffered because of it.

The holy pictures in the entrance to the Black Hole Club.

Manila jak każde azjatyckie miasto jest zatłoczone, chaotyczne i brudne. Każda dzielnica tego miasta to oddzielny świat. Najbogatsze jest Makati. Wieżowce, luksusowe hotele i największe malle w całej Azji. Intramuros to stare miasto. Reszta to kilometrami ciągnące się ubogie dzielnice i slumsy. Ermita nie jest jeszcze najgorsza. Choć nie cieszy się dobrą sławą, oprócz naciągaczy , drobnych złodziei i niesamowitej ilości prostytutek nic gorszego nie może nas tu spotkać. Mieszkamy w najtańszym pensjonacie dla nisko budżetowych dżentelmenów z Anglii. Wychodząc pierwszego wieczoru dostaliśmy kilka dobrych rad od właścicielki. Uważać na naciągaczy, brudne dziewczyny uzależnione od narkotyków i bary karaoke. Pomocna starsza pani poleciła nam też lokal nieopodal o milo brzmiacej nazwie G-point. Na końcu pokazała palce kartkę na ścianie. 100 pesos za dodatkowego gościa w pokoju. Wszystko jasne. Tylko sciany z jak z tektury....Ermita nigdy nie zasypia. Wczoraj z Edsem poszliśmy do baru na rumkole. Edsa spotkalem przypadkiem na ulicy. Wsiadlem w zly autobus, wysiadlem gdzies na przedmiesciach Manili-SLUMS. Byl jedyna normalnie wygladajaca osoba. Odrazu mi pomogl. Zawiozl mnie do mojego hotelu samochodem. Po drodze powiedzial ze jest gejem. Ja nie jestem: powiedzialem. Usmiechnal sie. Po drodze juz blisko hotelu spotkalismy Macka. Decyzja zapadla bardzo szybko. Idziemy na drinka. Usiedliśmy miedzy dwoma stolikami pełnymi młodych dziewcząt. Eds od razu zapytał gdzie pracują. Tu niedaleko koło hotelu w barze: odpowiedziały. Dzisiaj w nocy mają wolne. Nie było zbyt dużo klientów. Przyjdźcie jutro dzisiaj nie pracujemy mamy wolne. Dziewczyny zamawiają następne piwa, robą sobie tatuaże z wodoodpornego atramentu i kupują kwiatki od żebrzących dzieci. Jest już po 5 nad ranem zamawiamy po ostatniej szklance. Robi się jasno ale ludzi i samochodów na ulicy wcale nie ubywa. 24 h tłok, impreza. Na chodnikach śpią pijani laydyboys w brudnych podartych mini, dzieciaki nadal sprzedają orzeszki i róże. Zmeczone prostytutki chwieja sie przed barami. Trąbią kolorowe Jeepney. Na horyzoncie ciemne chmury zwiastujace nadejscie monsunu.
Jest już naprawdę jasno. Biorę aparat i idę nad zatokę. Morze spowite jest szaro niebieską mgłą z której na horyzoncie wyłaniają się statki. Na bulwarze jest już tłoczno. Na ławkach śpią niedobitki z barów i bezdomni, zakochane pary całują się pod palmami na tle wschodzącego słońca a te damy calyczas czekaja na swoich kochankow.

It is six o’clock in the morning. The sun is rising. Humid air from the sea covers the city with the blue mist. I have just finished last rum coke in the bar in Malate and I am walking with my camera along the dirty streets of Malate and Ermita. The streets are still crowdie and noisy. Huge speakers from the bars are playing music. The fluffiest girls and lady boys are trying to grab my hands when I pass them on the narrow pavement. Young and drunk foreigner with camera and cash in the pocket is a perfect aim for that creatures. I have to jump over people sleeping on my road. Through the open doors of the old church from Spanish times I see people praying in the first morning mass. Just on the opposite side of the street I see the other open doors to the bar with dancing girls. The street is so narrow that they can see each other.
I am going to Bay Walk (the long walking street along the sea) to take a rest after long night in smoky bars and eat a breakfast. On the way I am taking some pics. Only one film. 36 shots.






The neverending poor housing areas along the canal.


Saturday, April 14, 2007

Cooking on Bantaian Island

Santa Fe is a small town on Bantaian Island. There are couple of nice resorts with bungalows on the beach, restaurants and local shops. Most of the people live here not from tourism but from the sea what is perfect for those who love to eat fresh seafood. One of the best places for it is Tristana Restaurant. The small place with food and accommodation run by Nancy and her friends. The restaurant is built just on the beach where the fisherman boats full of seafood used to come back in the late afternoon from the sea. In the menu there is nothing more than ordinary dishes so you have to ask Nancy about some special. Do not ask about it too much. Just let Nancy do her best. Two guys working in restaurant are fishermen and they know what is the best from the sea and how to cook it.

That day we came to Tristana earlier to assist in everything from the beginning. Boys went fishing in the morning so we went with Nancy by the car to next town to buy some additional ingredents on the market. Just after we had came back the fishermen boat full of different creatures was on the shore in front of the restaurant. We decided to cook just on the beach. It was amazing! Tropical island, white sand, fisherman boats. It looked like some fake play arranged for tourists but it wasn’t at all. We just had a dinner on Bantaian Island with Nancy and her friends.

It was the best food ever!!! Mussels fried with cheese, steamed huge crabs, raw fish salad, baked bananas and sweet potatoes, scallops, shrimps, squids…just king size dinner in the beautiful place with charming people. I am sure it was the best in our long travel may be not strange food but the extremely tasty. I would like to recommend for everybody Tristana Restaurant run buy Nancy as the top sea food place in Philippines. But remember you have to ask about special set. It is worth any money.

Tristan's Bar & Restaurant

Santa Fe, Bantaian Island





Sunday, April 1, 2007

The Secret Island


On Bantaian Island life is going easy and slow, especially for tourist. In the afternoon You lie in the hammock under the humming coconut trees. The beautiful sunset is coming. Along the white sandy beach some philippinos kids playing in the water. On your right handthere is a fisherman village on your left is also fisherman village and on the back is your nice bungalow where your friends are playing on the guitar drinking excellent local rum.



You can think that something is wrong. Beach, sea, weather, people, food and price of big bottle of rum are just perfect! You are in the best place for holiday on earth and there is only a few tourists on the whole island. Everybody are on Bali, Boracay and Phuket looking in overcrowded resorts for what you have just got. It is nice to have that kind of secret. So please do not advertise that place. Just come here for a week or two and enjoy that small paradise lost somewhere on Visayan Sea.

We are swimming during the amazing beautyfull sun set. Tommorow we are invited for fishing and lunch to our friends restaurant-Tristana (next post).