フィリピンの旅
[ travel in Philippines ]
９年前に大阪ーバンコク間のtransitでマニラ空港から見えた景色の色合いが忘れられず、今回旅をすることにした。
一人旅は楽しさより発見を優先する為に不安も多い。それに年々怖いもの知らずではいられなくなっている。アジアの中で見たい現実を探るというお腹の中の堅い意志が、頭の中のひ弱な感情に負けてしまいそうだ。それなのに向かうのは、自分の表現が絵空事ではないという確信を少しずつ重ねていきたいからだ。
I decided to go to Philippines this time since I have kept the impression in my mind that the color of the land that I saw at the transit from Osaka to Bangkok over 9 years ago.
when traveling alone I feel different from traveling with some friends for making plans to see something that even I am not sure what it is, and it brings me more uneasiness to go through. I felt like almost not likely to go by myself because of the fear, and this feeling have become bigger and bigger, year after year, since I have been through traveling alone some different countries. But I still made myself to go, because I want to be more confident about my expression in my painting.
マニラ
景観の品位を破壊するジプニー。加えて花や麗しいものへの期待は全て裏切られる。
但しアジア随一のキリスト教国だけあって、日本の新年のようなクリスマスの厳かな雰囲気は少し味わえた。
Manila
Jeepny, that is one of their transportation tool and were left by the American army. I am afraid that these destroy the scenery in Philippines.
As Chiristian is the most major religion in Philippines, so I could have the spiritual feeling for their Chiristmas just like the new year’s day in Japan.
バギオ
山頂の町。アメリカ人が作った避暑地。
マニラから長距離バスで６時間ほど。眼下に広がる田畑とアーリーアメリカン調の家々はミスマッチに思えてならない。
町でジープニーに飛び乗って行き先を告げると方向が違っていたようで、便利な所まで無料で乗せて行ってくれた。ここでも乗り物の外観と地元の人の気性のアンバランスな印象を受けた。
小高い丘の上の教会へ昇る階段や本堂を映し出すモニターはマンダレー（ミャンマー）の山頂の寺院を彷彿とさせる。
Baguio
The cool town on the mountain, it was made to avoid the heat of summer in Philippines by Americans.
Around 6 hours driving by bus from Manila, I found the view with the fields of rice and the Early American styled houses were not matched beautifully.
When I jumped into the Jeepny and told my destination to the driver, he took me to the place for free for transfer to another car of the correct destination that I should take. Then I also found the gap between the rough appearannce of the vehicle and the polite and calm temperance of the people there.
The church on the top of a hill remids me the temple on the top of the mountain in Myanmer, also by the style of the architecture and the system of the TV monitor outside.
ビガン
バギオからバスで５時間程度北へ。最もスペイン風情を残す世界遺産登録都市。宿も文化遺産であるホテルに泊まった。
宿の女主人がスペイン文化と今の自分たちの文化は既に別物だと話してくれた。
Vigan
About 5 hours by bus to the north. It has kept the Spanish colonial style in the town the most and is one of the world heritage town in Philippines.
I stayed the cultural heritage house Villa Angella.
The mistress of the house told me their culture is already apart from the Spanish way.
The room I stayed on the 2nd night was very big and was used for the stay by Tom Cruis when they were taking the movie “Born on 4th July”.
それにしても民芸品や、その類いの文化が物足りない。文化的に最も華やいでいるはずのビガンですらそう感じる。花の生け方等端々に独自の美意識が感じられない。まるで全く興味が無いかのようだ。歴史の中で失われた独自の文化に鍵があるんじゃないだろうか。貧しいというだけならラオスやカンボジアも同様だと思うが、彼らにはもっと物を作って独自のスタイルを築き上げて来た喜びや誇りが感じられた。ミャンマーに至ってはその高みが神々しいほどに感じた。やはりその土地の自然環境と美意識は切っても切れず、他の国の支配によってすり替えられるものではないのだ。自分たちの祖先が創造し、自分たちが守り続けて来たという誇りを持つことの大切さを改めて感じる。
アメリカにより事実上国教を排除された日本はそれ以来常に他国の顔色をうかがい、自分たちの判断や価値観に自身が持てずにいるように思う。私たちはそろそろ立ち直らなければならない。
（ちなみにフィリピンはスペイン→アメリカ→日本軍によって支配され、今はアメリカの影響が最も濃い。現地の人が「私ら殆ど３国の混血やで」と言っていた。殆どということは無いと思うけど、ある程度そうなのだろう。）
この国の人たちは非常に丁寧な英語を話す。もし英語に細かい敬語表現があれば、きっと素晴らしく上手に使いこなすことだろう。或は私たちでアジア英語を提案するのもいいかもしれない。
By the way, for all that, I felt the lack of the cultural property of their own such as folk art etc. even in the cultural town Vigan. I could not find their own aesthetic expression or style like the way of arrangement of the flowers in the vases. Sometimes it even seems like they are not interested in those decorative stuffs.
I wonder there might have been a key to think about this matterin the culture which had been taken away by the foreign countries in the histry.
This was not because they are still developing or poor, as Laos and Cambodia have their own style and gratification in their culture and have prominent aesthetic of their own. In Myanmmer also, I felt the godly beauty from their scenery with their cultural products.
I think it is such a important fact that people to be proud of their ancestors creation and that they have been kept and develped themselves. Also the aesthetic feeling and the natural environment on every each place should be connected deeply so the other troops from outside could not replace it.
We, Japanese has also similar problem by taking away our national religion by America, but now we have to find out our own perspective of value and recover our society.
(Incidentally, Philippines has been colonized by Spain →America→Japan, then now it has the most influence of the American policy. One of the local people said to me, most of them are mixed blood with these three countries.)
By the way, people in Philippines speak English in a very polite way. I imagine if there is a honorific expression in English, they can handle the variety of it quite beautifully. Or, maybe we can suggest the Asian-English language with honorific expression so that we can communicate in English more comfortable.
Although it took more than 11 hours from Vigan to Manila because of the traffic jam around the new year season, it was one of my porpose for traveling to look at the view from the buses, and I could get to see many caracteristic towns on the way.
When it was close to Manila, I saw the rice field and the trees in deep green, then the sky and mountais made the flat scenery and the beautiful contrust, and then I noticed I had come to this country to see this.
30th Dec. Manila to Bangkok
After all, the beauty of this country was that they have deep and wide range of green even in the urban city.
おまけ。
ハロハロ。（混ぜるという意味のデザート）
何ともスムーズなかき氷の上にプリンとかドライバナナとか紫芋のアイスクリームとかコーンフレークにまざってそうなのとかゼリーとかをのせまくっていて、混ぜると小豆や白い豆や別の雑穀みたいのや、しこしこした麺のようなのが出て来る。見た目の色彩も味も食感も変幻自在でくるくる変化する。これがフィリピン人の隠されたテイストなのか？見た目ほどボリュームはなく、さらりとしていておいしい。軽く食べきれた。というか、溶ける様なのでさっさと急いで食べるのがすごくおもしろかった。今は（暑いけど）冬なのでハロハロのシーズンでは無いらしく、ファーストフード屋にしか無かったが、私の隣に座っていた父子も、反対側の隣の女性もそれぞれ好みのトッピングでハロハロを食べていたから需要はあるようだ。
Halo Halo (desert meaning of mix mix)
It was a very smooth frozen ice topped with sliced pudding, dried banana, purple sweet poteto ice cream, jelly and other snacked like some kind of cerials. While mixing them and eating together, there are some more objects appeared like red beans, white beans and something like other cereals and some kind of noodle sweets. It was just so much variety of variations in transformation of the colors, the tastes, and the feel. This dessert is not too heavy for the stomach even quite light. It was funny feeling that I had to eat quickly since it seems like melting so fast.
They said it is not the season for Halo Halo right now, so we can find it only at the fast food restaurant. But the father and his son sitting next to me and the other lady on the opposit side were also eating Halo Halo with their favorite topping, I thought they still have demand for it.
