Not Just Beaches & Rainbows: My Honest Take on the Philippines

Hey, hey! Solo 50+ female nomad experiencing slow travel in the Philippines. And today I want to talk about how you're all being lied to, why it's not all rainbows and unicorns here in the Philippines. Stay tuned. Welcome to my channel. I'm Christine J Gold, and I started my nomadic journey December 1st, 2020. After leaving a 6-year relationship. I sold pretty much everything, whatever fit in the car. Myself and my adult son at the time, we headed west, about 1,600 kilometers from Edmonton to Victoria, British Columbia, on Vancouver Island. And I had no idea that 5 years later I'd be sitting here talking to you in the Philippines, of all places. And if you're new to my channel, please say hello, do all those wonderful things to support not only myself but other fellow vloggers, fellow travelers, fellow foodies, whatever that happens to be, uh, so they can find this video and maybe share it out. I would love that. Thank you so much. And of course, ask any question you want. I'm sure you have questions, don't we all? I know I have so many. I watch fellow vloggers for a reason, right? Before I travel to any country, I guess that would be like my number one tip, is to just— if you're thinking of place, it keeps coming up on your radar, I would advise you to do some research and look at the pros and the cons. I mean, there'll be pros and cons to any place that you go to, um, but it's really about the experience. It's really about expansion. It's really about growth, because if you're not growing You're not thriving. You're not actually living. You're just existing. And I know so many people that are existing. In fact, I get comments or people saying, wow, you're so inspirational, you're so brave, you go and do things and I just could never do. And I want to challenge you and ask why. Why, why would you say that? If anything, I want you I want to inspire you to go do the thing at any age, at any gender, at any socioeconomic circumstance. The only block is here in your mind, and 99% of your thoughts are bullshit. Okay? So let's get that out of the way. I do have another channel, um, it's called Christine J Gold, and I have over almost 1,000 videos all about spirituality, intuition, spiritual awakening, chakras, Reiki, all that. So if you're interested in that, It'll be linked below, and if it isn't, please let me know. Okay, let's get to this. Number 1 reason why, you know, in the Philippines, from a lot of the vloggers I've been following, they say, oh, it's so cheap, it's so cheap, you know, it's so inexpensive. Yes, compared to North America. However, I see a lot of gaps in regards to pricing. And prices. So it's really not as cheap as everyone says unless you go out to maybe the islands or you go into maybe the bigger city like Manila but into the, I guess, less traveled neighborhoods. Okay, um, and I will also say that the The Airbnbs and the hotels are many times— I have found this has happened to me— are not what they describe or what are not in the pictures. And really pay attention to the reviews. Now I know there's some people that just never happy about anything, but if you're, you're seeing the same theme through the reviews and if it's good I, and I would also say I would message them and say, can I look at this place before I say yes? You have every right to, okay? And I, I will also say that if a place is non-refundable, there's a reason for it. Please pay attention to that. Airbnb is excellent. They will fix any issue you have and make sure you're happy. And most of the Airbnb owners want you to be happy. Yes. However, Expedia, Hotels.com, not so much. Let me tell you, they left me high and dry here in Philippines. I can talk about that more. Number 2, there is a huge gap between the poor and the rich, and we're seeing this around the world. This is not something new, okay? But it— you see it so much here where you're having miles and miles of massive shopping malls. And I believe a billionaire family, the Sy family, own a majority of the malls here in Manila. In fact, I'm staying in Newport Boulevard. Go look it up. It's very close to the airport, like it's right across the street. It is the Las Vegas of Manila. Who knew? There's even Gordon Ramsay's restaurant, which sadly I cannot eat at because 99% of the menu items are meat and I don't eat meat. So we'll get to that other part. So there's just a big disparity between the poor and the rich and It breaks my heart because the people here are beautiful. The people here are so kind. I've been told the people forgive, especially with all the things that happen to the Filipinos, um, how they've been under a country's thumb for hundreds of years, starting with Spain. You know, these are things I didn't learn about in school, right? This is something I learned on a guru guide walking trip in, um, the Chinatown, the original. This is the oldest Chinatown in the world, established in 1545, right? So I learned a lot. I have big respect for the Filipino people, big love. And when I come to, to countries that I'm traveling in, I just don't act like a typical tourist or foreigner. I get to know some of the local culture, the people, the language, right? It's about respect, and it starts with yourself, right? And it's about, you know, the Buddha. They're very much aligned with the Buddha traditions as well. You know, the light in me greets the light in you. We are one. We are one. Okay, number 3: the animals. Oh, that, that was a tough one. I have been a pet nomad, you know, caring for people's pets while they go on vacation or they're traveling. I've done this again since, um, 2019, but there are over 16 million stray animals in the Philippines. Skinny cats, one-eyed cats, dogs tied up, roosters, chickens tied up, you know, stuff like that. And, um, I, I feel they're 25 years behind where we are in North America in terms— they need the education. But they're— it's— they're coming around because there are animal rescues. I believe that it's called PAWS, a Filipinos Animal Welfare Society. Shout out to them. I did donate. Yes, because my first video, um, it was a short all about the animals in the Philippines and how it broke my heart. And of course there's always one troll, there's always one that says, well, why don't you just start an animal sanctuary? Oh, you know what, I never thought of that. Thanks for, for sharing. Are you going to fund that? I actually replied back, are you going to fund that? 'Let's go.' No reply. Crickets. Total shocker. Anyways, so the respect of the animal, because the animal, Mother Earth, people, it's all— we're all connected, we're all interconnected. There is no— there's no more disassociation. Okay, number 4, the pace of life here. It's very busy, lots of traffic, very noisy, honking horns. Pedestrians, when you're crossing the street, you're taking the life into your own hands. So what did I do? I followed people. I followed locals. If they're crossing, it should be safe. Here I am. I'm still here. In fact, there are signs in the, like, the greenbelt area, like Glorieta, that say please yield to pedestrians. Yes, but the pace of life— I think the biggest thing I've learned here is patience. Smiling, body language, just go with the flow, learn to let go a little bit more. Number 5, this one might be controversial. How I feel I'm discriminated against. And you know what, discrimination knows no color, no religion, no, no, it's— I get it. Seeing a 6-foot blonde, like a white person coming in, foreigner, tourist. I, I do understand. I empathize. I do. It breaks my heart, especially today. Today was the 4 years ago, um, I was viewing my mother, she passed a week before that, in her coffin. It was a coffin— it was an open, uh, coffin burial. Um, so yeah, anyways, I've— now I know how other people feel when they've been discriminated against, persecuted, killed, whatever it was. I get it, I do. Number 6, the vegan, the veggie. You know, I'm whole food plant-based, although I've kind of have a little bit of dairy here and there, so I guess I'm veggie, even though I confuse people because I don't eat eggs. Anyways, um, quite difficult here. Everything is barbecued, everything is pork, fish, you name it. Meat, meat is a staple in this country. Although they have a plethora of fruits and vegetables, you typically see meat. So maybe I guess you'd call it keto. It's been challenging, but it's also been fun. So I've been using like Happy Cow app, and Google has been very good at looking up places that are veggie-friendly, which I appreciate. And I was actually at a local Filipino restaurant, can't remember the name right now, It was in the Lucky Chinatown Mall. Excellent food. Like, they had this curry tofu, green bean, bok choy on rice. It was delicious. So much so I couldn't eat anything else, and I wanted to try the, the ice cream here. No, wasn't happening. Number 7, the islands versus the big city. And everyone's like Why didn't you go to the islands? Why didn't you go to Cebu or Palawan or, you know, those the other places outside of Manila? Well, there were a couple reasons. There was Lapu-Lapu was very busy. There weren't many places I could book in. I didn't have time to go local because when I spend more time with slow travel, at least a month, I'll come in and talk to the locals and they'll show me and tell me where all the best places are to stay, and, you know, with no overhead like, you know, the, the big hotel chains or even Airbnb, right? Uh, and then a lot of those places were booked and the flights just weren't lining up, so— and I was only spending, uh, 10 days here, and that for me, I felt that was too much. So I embraced Manila. Here I am. So I guess my suggestion is, is really research, line up, make sure these things really work for you. And when you land in a new place, stay at a hotel for a day or two to acclimatize a little bit, to get the rest that you need, because sometimes flights get delayed. We were delayed, there was turbulence, it was a rough ride from Osaka, Japan to Manila, Philippines. I was exhausted. I was almost up for 24 hours. So anyways, um, and my last tip, because I want to keep this short and sweet for now, is the heat. You are not prepared. I walked in— I walked out of the airport and got smacked in the face, literally, with the heat. The air, the smells, it just has a smell. I can't describe it. It's musty, it's maybe a little moldy, it's not fresh like when I'm in Canada. You get fresh air, you get fresh. But also the smiles of the people and the heart of the Filipino people. Kamusta. That was probably the most wonderful thing to learn for me is kamusta. And I get surprised looks like, what? That means hello or how are you in Filipino. And apparently there's over 101 dialects, but their language is being lost. The kids are having a real hard time learning the Filipino dialects, and it's also the hottest time of the year to come. Here I am, don't I always? Like, let's write, like, pretty much every day is 32 degrees Celsius. With the humidity, it's closer to 45, 50, depending on what's going on. And I was so close to cutting my hair, like just shaving my head and becoming a Buddha. Your hair looks like this when you go out, and then when you come back, it is soaked, soaked, just, you know, wet. So be prepared to get, you know, to get used to that type of temperature. This is not Mexico temperature. This is not even South America temperature. This is the real deal. Like, this is humidity, and if you're not used to it— I've been to Ontario, I know what that's like too. This is not even close. Okay, so, ah, wow, thank you. This is my first video on my new channel. I don't even know the name yet. Maybe it'll be there when you're watching this. I'm letting it come to me, but I wanted to record this now while it was fresh. If you enjoyed this, do all those wonderful things— ask your questions, comments, share. I want to hear from you. What should my next video be about? I mean, I talked briefly about Japan as well, so, um, and then maybe guess where my next place is going to be. All right, I'm sending you guys lots of love. Take care.