Obama's upcoming visit to Manila next week has sparked some protests outside the US Embassy. Many Filipinos may love the US, but others are opposed to the US military presence in the Philippines, which was, by the way, a US colony from 1898 to 1946.[photos taken off the internet]
It's intriguing that, according to a recent survey, Filipinos, Israelis, and Ghanaians have a more favorable view of the US than even Americans themselves:"The Philippines ranked first in a global survey on the image of the United States (US) worldwide, beating even the US itself when it comes to a favorable view on the American people. According to the 2013 Global Attitudes Project of Pew Research Center in Washington DC, Philippines got an 85 percent score, the highest, when people were asked “Do you have a favorable or unfavorable view of the US?” Following Philippines are Israel and Ghana both with 83 percent, and the US with 81 percent. Among the highest who had an unfavorable view are Jordan with 85 percent, Egypt with 81 percent, the Palestinian territory with 79 percent, and Pakistan with 72 percent. The 2013 Survey, posted online at http://www.pewglobal.org/database/indicator/1/, was conducted in 39 countries and interviewed 37,653 respondents."
The popular tourism-campaign slogan, "It's more fun in the Philippines," definitely does not hold true for Holy Week, a somber time here. For much of the week many stores, restaurants, cafes are closed, and Manila empties out as the masses head home to the provinces. Even the Manila progressive-music radio station I listen to has shut down for much of the week. I've been searching for information on Easter festivals in Manila, but there's not much happening here. Supposedly some Filipinos refrain from music, dance, festivals, and the like during the Holy Week for fear that having fun will bring them bad luck. Speaking of not having a good time, in San Fernando, two hours by bus north of Manila, a gathering takes place each year to literally reenact the crucifixion of Christ. A number of Filipinos dressed in Roman costumes nail penitents' hands and feet to crosses, while others self-flagellate, i.e., whip their own backs until they're bloody. These violent displays of religious fanaticism make you wonder if maybe the Christian missionaries (first the Spanish, followed by the Americans) weren't a little too successful at converting the natives. It's interesting to note that the Philippines is 93% Christian, and is the fifth largest Christian nation in the world, while neighboring Vietnam is only 8% Christian, and overwhelmingly atheist. As I didn't make it to San Fernando for the festival, the photo, found on the internet, is from a previous year there.
On Good Friday I was getting ready to have breakfast when I spotted a large crowd out on the street, so I grabbed my camera and went to have a look. It turned out to be hundreds of Filipinos on a "penance walk," heading to a church several kilometers away in Manila's Chinatown.
Jeepneys are the major mode of public transportation in the Philippines, and were originally made from leftover WWII US military jeeps. They're big, noisy, colorful, and cheap -- a Jeepney ride in downtown Manila is normally about 8 pesos, or 20 cents US.
And, lastly, here are a few photos I took while walking around my neighborhood during Holy Week.
Hanoi, Vietnam's capital, is a long 16-hour bus ride north from Hue. I could have taken a train but didn't want to arrive in Hanoi at 5 am. By train going north from Saigon to Hanoi is about 1,000 miles, and because it's located up in the northern part of the country, Hanoi can be quite rainy and cool, with winter temps occasionally dipping down into the 40s.
You'll see lots of fascinating statues at temples and museums throughout Vietnam
I made the mistake of visiting the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum on a Saturday morning. Despite the steady rain, the line was very long as there were hundreds of Vietnamese elementary students waiting to get inside. Perhaps best described as Soviet "brutalist style" architecture, the building is particularly unattractive and foreboding on a wet, dreary day. As I wrote for the 4 April Saigon blog post, Ho Chi Minh, or "Uncle Ho," is considered to be Vietnam's great liberator, and every major town in Vietnam has a Ho Chi Minh Museum. His body, which is on view here at the mausoleum in Hanoi, is sent to Russia once a year for maintenance.
I had a 1 am flight from Hanoi back home to Manila, so to pass the time before heading to the airport at 9 pm, I decided to attend a Vietnamese opera, which, conveniently enough, was located right next door to the hotel where I was staying. My 1-month tourist visa was just about expired, and this was was an excellent way to end my travels in Vietnam.
