Subic

     Subic is about a three-hour drive north of Manila. Subic is a province, not a city, and a very picturesque one at that. North of Manila, the terrain gets more mountainous, and so by the time we got to Subic Town, where the hotel we were staying at was, the geographical landscape was an amalgamation of mountains, jungle, and fields. Picture the movies located in Vietnam, with the shots of the jungle covered mountains. 

     The drive up was quite beautiful. I tried reading my book, but was too distracted by the scenery. The road to Subic goes straight through the mountains, so instead of cutting tunnels through them, the Filipino government essentially cut a "V" into the mountains, with the road at the base of the "V". Our driver was from a town farther north, so he told us about the geography and tidbits about his childhood etc. Granted, Dad and Rebecca asked him, so he was obligated to respond. 

     Side Note: Drivers, maids, and service people of that sort are somewhat treated as sub-humans. Not to say that they are mistreated, but people don't recognize them as people, rather "the help". Their employers generally interact with them in a minimal way, so they are not used to the people they work for asking about their lives, inviting them to meals, or giving them a place to sleep other than the company van. If you can't already tell, I am talking about our experience with our driver. In the States, for the most part, if you hire a driver or a maid etc., you act courteously towards them. And the US has laws that protect them from various ethical issues like expecting them to sleep in the 40 sq. ft. maid's room or their van. We hit civilization at about lunchtime, and stopped at a McDo's for lunch. We invited the driver to eat with us, and he was uncertain about this. When we ordered our food, he wanted to pay for himself, and Dad insisted that the driver need not pay for his food, and again he was uneasy about this. Eventually, the uneasiness turned into gratitude. We went out for dinner that night with Val, the owner of the clinic I am working at, and we invited the driver to eat with us. After some cajoling, he finally joined us. Dad paid for a place for the driver to stay for the weekend, and he was just overjoyed about this. It was understandable, but I fear we went a touch too far. The next morning, on our journey to visit the clinic, he got us fruit that a village boy picked off of a tree. It was tart and soft. I was the only one out of the three of us (Dad, Rebecca, and myself) to try it, and I probably shouldn't have on account of the questionable source. Later that day, he got us each a balut (the famous almost duck, cooked days before it hatches). Again, none of us touched it. He joined us at the pool as if he were one of the pals. I went to noodle around at the pool table nearby, and he promptly started a game in which he quickly beat me. Anyway, in the States, you treat your driver/maid/whatever like a person, but not like your friend, and in the Philippines, it seems hard to do one without the other. 

     (Alright, back to the story at hand.) We got to Subic Town, where we were staying at the Wild Orchid Beach Resort for the weekend. It was last in a very long line of resorts, spaced probably every quarter-mile or so. Beach resorts in Subic are a misnomer. Yes, they are resorts, and yes they are by the beach, but you don't actually swim at the beach. The beach is where all of the poor people without toilets do their business. Anyway, we got there, checked in, but my room wasn't ready, so Rebecca and I hung out in her room while Dad sorted out the driver.

     For what Dad was paying (I have no idea what he paid, Rebecca said "for what we're paying"), the resort was not up to snuff. Their door was coming off of the hinges, I couldn't get my A/C to work until the technician fiddled with the remote, the door across the hall from Dad and Rebecca had all of the paint sanded off, when we went to the pool, they ran out of towels and then after over a half-hour, got us room towels, which in the room they specifically said not to use. But other than being a little run-down, it wasn't that bad. The view from my room was great. I saw into the bay, which had a few carrier ships of various sizes. There was also a mountain range dead ahead, which was gorgeous at dawn.

     Sunday afternoon, Dad and Rebecca got rid of me again after seeing me for only a few days. Ms. Val Smith-Orr and her adopted daughter Mona picked me up and we were off to the clinic.