Photos above pics of downtown Los Panos and the craziness.
The startling contrast between very nice well established houses and gardens sat in stark contrast to the dirt floored shacks in which the majority of people lived. The traffic chaos and business, the colours and signs everywhere, the crazy power lines strung between poles and the friendly, polite people. The Philippines is an interesting place.
As we travelled by bus to Taal Volcano, we discussed many things but one conversation stands out. How will the many poor people such as we were seeing who currently eek out an existence now, cope as food prices continue to rise. We saw food riots emerge in Indonsesia and Egypt three or four years ago as the cost of staples increased alarmingly. The poor are the ones that ultimatly get hit the hardest as they have no financial resillience, and for NZ and Australia this should be of significant concern as these places are in our 'neighbourhood' not on the other side of the world. It is a tough issue that cannot be ignored.
We had a great day........ as well as tackling this weighty issue
Below, the team negotiating with the locals for a cheap boat crossing and the trip accross the lake to Taal Volcano
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