Photos et lettres des Philippines, de France et d'ailleurs

It is now summer vacations here in the Philippines and classes will resume early June. Nevertheless I had to go to Cebu and I must admit that with the hot temperature there, it is more and more difficult to leave my seaside house finally I should not complain because it is a dry heat relatively easy to bear especially after the polar winter in France.
So here I am, on my way to Cebu and since I have no place to park my car in town anymore, the journey begins at 6 am with first a 800 meters walk then a ride of 40 minutes in a bus or a jeepney, next 20 minutes in a tricycle, then 20 minutes in a boat and finally a 3 hours ride in bus. In all it takes 5 to 6 hours from my home to the hotel for just about 150 km.
The buses are comfortable and well air-conditioned with TV and music on board and it costs only 3 Euros for the fare. It is unfortunate that some bus drivers are so crazy while driving and putting evrybody in danger. Furthermore when all the seats are occupied, they put stools in the aisle for more passenger in defiance of all rules of safety. It is true that life is not worth much in this beautiful country. A pedestrian killed on the road costs the insurance 50 000 pesos (600 Euros). An injured one is more expensive with hospitalization, medicines, surgery etc... Then rumor has it that the drivers were instructed to finish off the victims in running on them a second time.  Honestly I cannot believe that.
So after taking possession of my room in NS Royal Pensione (15 Euros a night including breakfast), around noon I was seated in my favorite Thai restaurant in SM mall and I had all the afternoon to do my shopping.

(NS Royal Pensione and a standard room)

Now there are others, but SM and Ayala Center were or are still the largest malls in Cebu. Filipinos like to stroll there and take a breath of fresh air in this period of hot weather. You can find here all kind of luxury shops and you might think you're in Europe or the USA.

(SM Cebu City)

Only this similarity ends inside as outside in some areas not far away it is the greatest misery that appears through the slums where a whole population is crammed in a sweltering heat in the company of rats, mosquitoes and cockroaches. I think that for us French, we should revert to the 50s and the slums of Nanterre to get an idea of the enormous gap here between rich and poor. And although Charles Aznavour said in a song that I like very much, « poverty would be easier under the sun », I disagree with him. Not so easy here. There's no free hospital care or social security coverage for the sick. No free meals for the hungry. All they have is the prayer for the believers, the most numerous, and delinquency, drugs and prostitution for the others.
It is therefore not surprising that some single men chose SM to sit, especially in the 'French Bakery', what an irony! Waiting for charming young girls, professional or not, who will offer their bodies in exchange of some money. Strange couples will thus be created. Old Americans or Europeans fat and ugly but 'rich' and poor girls pretty, graceful and slim, making some money for their families, their babies, their basic needs..... or their vices. Prostitution is as old as the world and we must not fall into caricature and naivety.
So once I completed my shopping I returned to the hotel and took a rest. Later I had dinner in an open air Filipino restaurant and I spent a good night's sleep.
The next day, Thursday, I employed a large part of the day in search of alarm systems for my home and the least we can say is that specialists are few there. But when you think about it, it's logic because the prices are as expensive as in Europe and higher than the goods to be protected in the majority of homes.
I went first in Colon Street in the historic Cebu then to Osmena Boulevard in the new Cebu.

(Colon Street)

(Osmena Boulevard and Fuente Osmena)

In the afternoon, the last address was close to Ayala Center and I went inside for a stroll and to take some photos before returning to NS Royal Pensione, eating and going to bed already tired by the big city.

(Ayala Center)

Friday morning, my alarm clock rang at 5 am and at 6 am  I was in the bus bound to Dumaguete and happy to return there.
By the way, Dumaguete also called, 'the city of the gentle people', was going in 2008 to hit an all-time high crime rate. Perhaps because the Police forces were surprised by the arrival of a whole population from other islands drawn by the easy money of the local economic boom. Hence it is said that citizens' committees, also known as' Vigilante 'were created and the last few weeks many people were executed with the common feature of being criminals with police records. What to think about that? I let everyone deal with his own judgement but here the people are not mourning.