This is the archived version of our free weekly newsletter. To start receiving it in your mailbox on the send-out day, join the newsletter list!
Hi from Bohol!
My Western brain is trained on the notion of a “white Christmas”, but on this Philippine island, all I can see falling is a massive amount of rain.
Even if I love spending winters away from the cold, I still associate New Year holidays with snowy decor. So, when local kids approach me singing Christmas carols, such as on Moalboal Beach in Cebu last week, I do feel culturally displaced.
“That’s all nice, but I could never travel alone like that”, my sister tells me.
As I hear Mariah Carey’s song echoing outside my room in Loboc, the holiday spirit unites people looking for an easy reason to celebrate. Could one traveling the Philippine islands start to feel like an island as well – alone?
A couple of days ago, I stayed in Panglao, at Elvira’s Homestay. To be honest, I booked the place mainly because it was close to where the ferry from Cebu docks. But what I got was much more than a room, a feeling that in these times when we are all economically exploitable, you can still be embraced like a member of a family, for no apparent reason.
“This is normal for us, relax, feel like at your home”, Elvira would say when I would express my surprise with an unexpected afternoon fruit platter, free breakfast or complimentary tea, water and bread, spaghetti Bolognese with a Coke that suddenly appeared on my terrace before departure, or her proposal to drive me to the neighboring island to simplify my search for a bus transfer.
All of these have a price, and it is certainly not covered by the 13 euros that I paid for a night in a single room I booked.
I didn’t feel I deserved to be spoiled so much, but there was such kindness in this woman’s eyes. She was definitely a person who breathed hospitality. And while I offered to shoot her property with a drone (to give at least some value back), this never felt like a transaction. Her hug at departure felt genuine, and so did her messages to confirm my safe arrival to the next destination.
Well, it’s not paradise. The next day, it happened that I stayed in an overpriced hotel with a non-functional bathroom and uninterested hosts. But just because there are people who strayed into tourism to rob you of both money and decency, it doesn’t mean that those who just like the simplicity of life that comes with kindness are endemic, like Philippine tarsiers.
Even when traveling alone, it is possible to find one’s tribe among strangers. It is possible to communicate with smiles even when you don’t share a language.
I like this idea that traveling connects us with our families, and not necessarily drifts us away from them.
I haven’t published a new article yet, but I did open a new social media account today – on Bluesky. Wanna follow Pipeaway there? Check it out – my first post is a photograph of one of the tiniest primates in the world, a creature that can fit in my palm!
This is how I see myself exploring the world. With eyes wide open. Curious about that hugely important person I will meet next.
Have a social week!
Ivan Kralj
Pipeaway.com
This is the archived version of our free weekly newsletter. To start receiving it in your mailbox on the send-out day, join the newsletter list!
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning if you click on them and make a purchase, Pipeaway may make a small commission, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting our work!
