Philippines

Good day my friends! After a magical time in the country of Japan, I'm heading a bit further south to a country many may know, the Philippines! While I'm here, I'll be visiting some wonderful rice terraces, speaking of a creature known as the Manananggal, and talking about. . . christmas? That's right, sit back and enjoy the wonders of, the Philippines.

A Southeastern Asia country consisting of over 7,000 islands, the Philippines is home to 114 million people. This archipelago used to be a colony of Spain whom it received it's name after (after King Philip II). The capital of the islands is Manila and its currency is the Philippine Peso. Now that all that is out of the way, I welcome you to the wonder of the Philippines.

For my first stop inside the Philippines, I went to a restaurant popular in Manila known as The Aristocrat. This is a traditional Filipino restaurant which has some phenomenal food. On top of this, it has fantastic customer service, and is welcome to all as it is completely vegetarian friendly. I tried a Filipino dish, shown above, known as Kare Kare. This is a stew made from simmered oxtail, vegetables and a thick peanut sauce. It was a wonderful delicacy and one I would absolutely get again.

I came here to speak to an expert I know on the folklore of the Philippines. I came to speak with him about an interesting creature of the night known as the Manananggal. I'll let the expert take away the story on this frightening creature. 

"The Manananggal is a truly interesting creature. I learned about it from my grandmother while growing up here. The Manananggal is a type of aswang, a general term for a type of shapeshifting, vampiric blood sucking creatures. There's many kinds, but today I want to speak on the Manananggal. It is a creature known for taking on the form of a very attractive woman in the day. At night, however, it is said it grows large bat-like wings and segments itself from its lower half, leaving it behind as it flies away.

The Manananggal is also known as a viscera sucker. This is because it feeds on the insides of people, but it especially loves the fetuses growing inside of pregnant women. They're known to live in jungles but often infiltrate human society through marriage. It feeds via it's long, proboscis like tongue by stabbing it into victims and sucking out the blood, organs or the hearts of fetuses.

This terrifying creature can be stopped however. It leaves its lower half but will have to return to it before sunrise before it dies. If you can do preventative measures against this lower half, such as sprinkling salt, garlic or ash on it, it will be unable to return and will die."

This genuinely terrifying creature is incredible to learn about. It feels like it most likely came about to maybe stop husbands from leaving their pregnant wives alone, however it is not truly known how this came about since the Filipino people mostly relied on oral storytelling, so it wasn't documented until the Spanish came in during the 16th century. It is something truly scary though, and I feel like it reflects upon the same sort of warning, preventative storytelling that was seen in the Americas. Mothers teaching their children lessons by telling them stories.

After speaking about the Manananggal, I went on my way to the next place on my list. A UNESCO world heritage site found here in the Philippines known as the "Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras". Dating as far back as over two thousand years ago, far far before the colonization of the islands. Found in the mountainous region of the northern island of Luzon, these rice terraces show just how special and beautiful a landscape can become when utilized by a culture. A prime example of cultural interacting with natural, these areas have been molded into an agricultural wonder that mixes man-made, natural and cultural aspects of the country. The view of these are simply breathtaking.

The five main clusters of these terraces have all been created, used and maintained by the Ifugao ethnic group. They are a minority that has inhabited these mountains for millenia. 

These are absolutely fantastic and an important site because of what they show, and what they represent.

For this last part of the trip, I had to wait some time. Mainly, I had to wait till September. This was because I needed Christmas to come around. No, I didn't misspeak. Christmas in September. 

You see, the Philippines is home to the world's longest Christmas celebration. They start off in September, and it lasts through January. The merry season here lasts for 5 entire months. With so much festival and preparation, this leads up to the 16th through the 24th of December, which is known as Simbang Gabi, which is known as midnight mass. This is when people aim to go to midnight mass all 9 days (don't worry though, it's okay if you are unable to). This comes from the Philippines being a majorly Catholic country, however the exact origins of these long, long celebrations is unknown. Although it may feel odd from a Western point of view, this event is seen as important in the eyes of the Philippines.

Well Friends, that is it for the Philippines! I hope you enjoyed the wonderful land here, and I will see you as I explore Singapore! Have fun!