I’m in Cebu, Philippines right now and I’ve been here for a couple of days. The rain was just too much for me in Manila and I had to get out. I’ve never been a “rain” person and even though it’s been a while since I tested my aversion to rain I can report without doubt that I still hate it. Hate is a strong word and maybe I should say that it makes me depressed just as it did when I lived in Portland so many years ago.

Cebu. I don’t know what to say about it. I can say that I had heard from several different sources that Cebu was the place to go after Manila… I’ve got to admit that I have no idea why, it is dirty and what is worse it is very poor, with the accent on “very.” I don’t think I’ve ever been to a place like this on my own. I’m in no way suggesting anything about the people here because in almost every case they have been super nice to me. Just like in Manila they seem to be curious about me, or to generally like Americans… if they can tell I’m an American. The poorness is real though, it’s so real you can feel it around you. Several times since I’ve been here I’ve found myself in what could best be described as an almost shantytown. Houses made out of scrap tin or wood, the stream next to the houses filled with trash, and everybody just sitting around watching me go by. I’ve felt so bad that I haven’t taken any photos of what I’ve seen. The sad thing is that everywhere you see a “shantytown” more than likely you’ll be a couple of blocks away from wealth, in two of the times the wealth was a mall complete with parking lots filled with nice cars and streams of shoppers carry packages.

As I mentioned I’ve been here for about a day and a half, but except for the weather being warm and sunny Cebu has been a bust. This portion of the trip has been so much of a bust that I made a reservation for a ferry cruise back to Manila. I’ll leave on Saturday morning and it will take me 23 hours for the journey.  That will leave me one day in Manila before I fly to Hong Kong. So far I haven’t done anything fun since I’ve arrived in the Philippines almost five days ago and I’m hoping that the last couple of days I’ll do something memorable.