Visiting the Philippine Islands is a totally different experience these days, as opposed to the images imprinted on my mind from days long ago. Visiting the pearl of the orient was always a pleasure, one generally described as relaxing. Long days at the beach, the white sand between my toes being gently pulled away by the soft clear tide of the south pacific. We would lay on the beach for hours each day, the only break would be to replenish the sun block lotion or to grab another bucket of ice cold beers from a local beach side vendor for a couple of dollars.
We would grill fish that we managed to catch as we clumsily hung our fishing pulls off of the coral reef. Renting a hut without walls and large branches for a roof only cost two or three dollars, and we would lay in hammocks and let the cool summer breeze come ripping off of the Chinese sea and assault us at will, victims to the days of our youth.
Those are the types of memories of Philippine tourism that always visited my mind during a boring meeting in Washington DC, or on breaks in between seminar sessions in Dallas. On a plane from Tokyo to San Francisco my mind escaped and took me back, and my body desperately wanted to follow.
Beautiful apparently has a twin sister, although with a more wild side. Philippine tourism which is more commonly known for the "older and dignified sister" which are the calm beaches of Ilocos Norte now have a rival to the south. Just down past Manila is a city referred to as "Global City."
Within the time frame of a few years, what was once a quiet and modest military base that protected this Island Nation from invasion is now a sprawling metropolis with countless high rise luxury condominiums, state of the art shopping centers, and multi story super clubs that make Las Vegas cry silently in the bathroom.
Billions of dollars from both foreign and domestic sources have poured into developing the new Asian capitol of night life and it shows in such a way that the term "showing off" is a massive understatement of the obvious. The bars surpass trendy, indulgence is actually on the menu, and intoxication is eminent.
Palm trees meet sky scrapers. Tropical breeze meets Gucci. You meet unforgettable.
Welcome to the new Philippine tourism.
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