Sometimes travel feels self indulgent
A lot of travel blogs will tell you to ‘let go of your fear and go out and travel the world,’ however for me travel seems the norm, and my security. The daily grind of traffic, work, eat, sleep scares the bejesus out of me and I find my sanction in travel. My biggest problem right now is finding a place to do my washing. Sometimes however I feel like traveling is purely selfish and indulgent and that fleeing couldn't be clearer than in the Philippines.
We left the island of Palawan to stay in a four star hotel in Bangkok living in the lap of luxury where our toilet had the ability to give an enema. It seems in stark contrast to the sheer poverty we were experiencing in the Philippines.
We took photos of the pristine white sand beaches, the turquoise coloured water, and the sunsets but what we didn’t take photos of was the starving dogs that roam the streets, the kids begging at the bus station with sores all over their faces, the dirt floored bamboo shacks that people call home. It was unexpected poverty. When we arrived in Manila, I was unprepared for the dilapidated buildings, dirty streets and chaotic traffic. I expected it to be not exactly like the orderliness of Singapore but close.
What broke my heart was the dogs. They craved both food and attention and when I could, I provided both. The majority of dogs suffered from mange and were constantly scratching - I can only image the annoyance would be similar to a thousand mosquito bites. Some had infected sores, torn off ears and limbs. After dark in Port Barton, dogs roamed the streets in packs, barking and snapping at people. If people are attacked they could contract diseases like rabbies where survival is a slim hope.
What’s most sad, but hopeful, I think is that it doesn’t have to be like that. Before our one year adventure I spent a week in Rarotonga, a developing country which on the whole treated their animals with kindness and respect. The difference was a service called the Ester Honey Foundation. Made up of volunteer vets, the foundation helps 3,000 animals per year and has set up a neutering programme to control the dog population. There were signs up to call a number if people saw an animal in need and the result was friendly free roaming healthy dogs who spend their days running the beach, chasing birds and getting pats from tourists.
If there was a service like this available in the Philippines then I’m sure things wouldn’t be so dire. While dogs got booted (sometimes literally) out of restaurants and tourist populated areas, I also saw a lot of Filapinos being kind to them. We stayed with a Filipino and a Czech girl in Puerto Princesa, and they had adopted a stray dog and called him Chico. I saw Filipinos patting the barely alive creatures and feeding them their scraps. But the thing is there isn’t that service, and when the roads are crumbling and people can barely feed their children I can understand that the state can‘t fund that service but an NGO might.
It’s hard being a bystander seeing horrific injustices that are soul melting and being powerless to stop it. Especially when we came to the Philippines to lie on the beach, swim and read. It’s hard to relax when poverty surrounds the idyllic setting. This is what I mean about traveling being selfish and indulgent. The only person who is going to benefit from lying on a beach is me.
I feel like I have to make the suffering I’m seeing mean something. And by that I mean, not just be a bystander, do something to try and ease some of the burden. I would love to be a part of setting up a programme similar to the Ester Honey Foundation in the Philippines - because by helping animals who carry diseases like rabies, in turn, people are helped.
We left the island of Palawan to stay in a four star hotel in Bangkok living in the lap of luxury where our toilet had the ability to give an enema. It seems in stark contrast to the sheer poverty we were experiencing in the Philippines.
 |
| Best toilet ever. |
We took photos of the pristine white sand beaches, the turquoise coloured water, and the sunsets but what we didn’t take photos of was the starving dogs that roam the streets, the kids begging at the bus station with sores all over their faces, the dirt floored bamboo shacks that people call home. It was unexpected poverty. When we arrived in Manila, I was unprepared for the dilapidated buildings, dirty streets and chaotic traffic. I expected it to be not exactly like the orderliness of Singapore but close.
What broke my heart was the dogs. They craved both food and attention and when I could, I provided both. The majority of dogs suffered from mange and were constantly scratching - I can only image the annoyance would be similar to a thousand mosquito bites. Some had infected sores, torn off ears and limbs. After dark in Port Barton, dogs roamed the streets in packs, barking and snapping at people. If people are attacked they could contract diseases like rabbies where survival is a slim hope.
What’s most sad, but hopeful, I think is that it doesn’t have to be like that. Before our one year adventure I spent a week in Rarotonga, a developing country which on the whole treated their animals with kindness and respect. The difference was a service called the Ester Honey Foundation. Made up of volunteer vets, the foundation helps 3,000 animals per year and has set up a neutering programme to control the dog population. There were signs up to call a number if people saw an animal in need and the result was friendly free roaming healthy dogs who spend their days running the beach, chasing birds and getting pats from tourists.
 |
| A dog we called Lester and I hanging out on the beach in Rarotonga - he was one of the most resourceful dogs I have ever seen - at one point we saw him catching and eating crabs. |
If there was a service like this available in the Philippines then I’m sure things wouldn’t be so dire. While dogs got booted (sometimes literally) out of restaurants and tourist populated areas, I also saw a lot of Filapinos being kind to them. We stayed with a Filipino and a Czech girl in Puerto Princesa, and they had adopted a stray dog and called him Chico. I saw Filipinos patting the barely alive creatures and feeding them their scraps. But the thing is there isn’t that service, and when the roads are crumbling and people can barely feed their children I can understand that the state can‘t fund that service but an NGO might.
It’s hard being a bystander seeing horrific injustices that are soul melting and being powerless to stop it. Especially when we came to the Philippines to lie on the beach, swim and read. It’s hard to relax when poverty surrounds the idyllic setting. This is what I mean about traveling being selfish and indulgent. The only person who is going to benefit from lying on a beach is me.
I feel like I have to make the suffering I’m seeing mean something. And by that I mean, not just be a bystander, do something to try and ease some of the burden. I would love to be a part of setting up a programme similar to the Ester Honey Foundation in the Philippines - because by helping animals who carry diseases like rabies, in turn, people are helped.
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