Back from the Phillippines

I always had in my mind, the Philippines, as a pretty slummed down area - third world country that would totally look like some of those old-day kampong villages. Well, I was partially right. There were some areas which looked really, really bad - when the rain came, the sides of the roads would be flooded. The water would be like a quarter of a tyre high and it made walking in the mud a little pain in the ass.

But the developed areas kinda surprised me. Frankly speaking, their economy is far more bustling than Perth. Jeez, they have so many eateries and shops I would say Perth is like a snail to the Philippines, a cheetah.

It's really, really funny though. You'd see the streets looking pretty run-down and all... But when you enter their homes, it can be bigger than your Singaporean HDB flat. When you look at how some of the locals dress up, they have far more fashion sense. They don't look run-down at all man. Then you look at the shops - it's completely comprehensive with so many recognizable brands.

It just "looks" run-down. The people and the homes aren't that run-down... Well, mostly.

Some were pretty bad. I could see leaking roofs when the rain came. Some of the houses were located so damn deep inside foresty areas that I was quite surprised when I realized there was an entire village full of bungalow-looking houses inside.

The scenery isn't bad. It's quite a change from the developed countries where you see industrialization everywhere. I kind of like it there. You'd see rundown stuff... then loads of trees... then mountains... then... gosh it's like they have everything over here. The really nice places can have really blue seas and all. Beautiful.

Another thing that warmed my heart was their culture in the Philippines.

Their culture is really weird for a Singaporean, definitely. They literally treat every single person around them as if they knew them for years. They'd suddenly talk to the person next to them as if they knew them for like 10000 years. They'd just touch another person's arm just to ask her a question. They'd just laugh when they want to, cry when they want to...

Man, that freedom makes me kinda envious.

Contrast that to the "modern" society where people suppress whatever they're feeling and try not to step on each other toes. Secluded from each other. So near to each other yet so bloody far. Eyes stuck on mobile phones and tablets. You're with a friend and he or she is in cyberspace instead.

I don't know, it's not like the Filipinos don't have money to get mobile phones. Some of them do. It's just that they don't get absorbed into technology as much as we do.

Another reason was this...

My dad got a godson, for some reason. I just realized I had a god-bro lol, kinda cool. But yeah, the way they welcomed us in the airport was insane.

Over twenty people just there to welcome us. They showered us with warmth, hugged us despite us not knowing them, and they were just so damn genuine I was questioning my own existence lol. I was questioning what the hell I was living in - a dreadful cold society where each kept to themselves.

These people just held nothing back... They literally spent a few months of their salaries showering us with some gifts. My dad was refusing them, telling them that he felt so bad and he wanted to pay himself, but they just said that they wanted to.

It reminds me of the older culture we had in Singapore, according to my dad. He said that people in the kampong were always together and treated each other as neighbors. They would go as a group, work as a group and everybody was part of this amazing warmth.

Kind of makes me wonder... Is industrialization really helping us?

Industrialization made the Westerners a completely individualistic society. The collectivism of Asian societies are rapidly degrading. I don't know if it's a good thing.

It makes me sad, really, it does. Even at my generation, people no longer seem to have such deep respect for other people any more. They don't seem to be as trusting, as selfless, as warm any more. Not even myself. It sucks, really.