I’m commonly mistaken as a Japanese, Chinese, Singaporean and Korean when my skin complexion was a little lighter than it’s dark brown shade that I acquired after spending a month of beach bumming in El Nido, Palawan. Now, I’m mistaken as a Thai, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Lao, Nepalese or Cambodian but never a Filipino. Maybe because only a few people know about the Philippines.
At first you might think that it’s a great advantage in travelling around Southeast Asia. People mistaking me as a local will keep the touts away from ripping me off. However, as I open my mouth and say “How Much”, then the vendors switch their calm faces to their game face and will give me the same treatment as my white counterparts.
Travelling around Southeast Asia is the same even for Filipinos like me.
The price I get is the same tourist price that they give western travellers.
The only difference though is, my home currency value (Peso) is not as high as them.
When most tourists/travellers in my dorm talk about how much their money is worth in Vietnamese Dong and how close to nothing it means to them, I silently listen and think that it’s not the same case as mine and to other Filipino backpackers currently roaming the planet.
Western travellers get 20,000 Dong for every dollar and I get 452 Dong for every Philippine Peso. It would cost them $1 for a baguette sandwich and it would cost me P43. That’s why it means nothing to them and that’s why it means a lot to me.
Nevertheless, despite of the disadvantage of the currency that I’m holding, a great advantage of being a Filipino backpacker in Southeast Asia is the freedom to roam around without visa. As a Filipino I could stay in Thailand, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia for 30 days and 21 days for Cambodia and Vietnam.
Most of the above mentioned countries would let us in without batting an eyelash with the exception of Singapore which will sometimes question the presence of Filipino tourists due to the increasing number of illegal workers in Singapore. You can’t blame those guys for trying to get a job so they could send their earnings back to the Philippines to feed their family. And at the same time, you can’t blame the immigration officers for doing their job.
I’ve travelled outside Southeast Asia as well in the past years due to my previous work and travelling to richer countries seem to be more challenging. Most officers would give a quick and short smile but would eventually try to hide their frown upon seeing my maroon Philippine passport.
I came from a country where the minimum wage is just around $250 (in Manila and way lower for other places) and where a lot of people are exported for labor (Overseas Foreign Workers) which generates billions of dollars for the government. And thus the sad stigma that if you’re a Filipino, you would probably overstay and work illegally in any country even if you don’t intend to do so.
Filipino backpackers endure a lot just to be able to travel like you. So next time you see and meet a Filipino backpackers on the road, drop your prejudice and say hi and smile. It would mean a lot and would motivate us to keep on travelling.
Check out Lois’ and Chichi’s reflection about the same topic:
Interestingly, when I visited Ireland a number of years ago, the Irish correctly identified me as Filipino for the most part, yet the few Filipino backpackers that I encounter consistently misidentify me as anything but (e.g., Japanese, Samoan, etc.). An Irish friend later explained to me that Ireland had sent many missionary priests and nuns to the Philippine Islands, and so were acquainted with that Asiatic culture.
interesting… its really difficult how to identify filipinos physially but good to know that in ireland they’re familiar with our race
Thanks for the link Flip! I agree, we do face a lot of challenges when traveling abroad. But one thing that balances it out though is traveling in SE Asia. I love the look on people’s faces when we say we get a FREE visa. Just coz we’re special
haha… konti lang visa free natin… buti na lang kasama mga kapitbahay sa southeast asia
Very well said! You might want to know that some of the white backpackers are dead broke and cheap charlies. LOL !
BTW, is the minimum wage still 250?ugh
haha yeah i have some broke white friends too… LOL… 250 is usually for degree holders in the city… for most it’s way lower than that
In all my travels, I still have to run into a Pinoy backpacker. If I do, I will not only say hi and throw a pleasant smile but I’ll treat him/her/them to a meal and warm conversation. I admire backpackers of all nationality for their spirit of adventure but I sometimes worry about their devil-may-care attitude and instant trust of strangers.
wow… you’re very generous bert… hope to bump on you someday hehehe… i discovered my zest for travelling when i overheard an the story of an old couple who went overland from beijing to bangkok… it amazed me and it inspired me… and now im doing my own share of adventures too..
thanks for dropping by bert
I would have to be honest I dont think I can tell the difference of any asian culture. At least not yet but I know once I start traveling over there I will start to recognize & paying a ttention to the different attributes of each culture.
As for traveling as a Filipino, I love that I can see your point of view on things. To me it is very interesting. You have really been one of the blogs that makes me want to visit the Filippines and when I do I hope you are there to show me around.
hope you visit the philippines jaime.. it’s awesome…
You have good points. Here in Manila now as a semi-local.. Been in Philippines for over a year.. and I’m starting to sink into the local economy and just how ‘expensive’ 40 pesos is. There are certainly a lot more limitations for Filipinos when it comes to travel, so we are few and far between!
and more to come… i think everyone is born to travel and filipinos will find a way to achieve that dream… pinoy travel bloggers are very good in letting others know how cheap travel can be
im readying myself for such frowns flip.
again, an eye-opener to filipino travelers. very good post.
lets continue showing our kababayan’s on how cheap travel can be
and dont be afraid of the frowns… lets convert it to smiles 
Very well said Flip. Since I now live and work in the US I am very grateful that I earn in dollars. I never take it forgranted because it allows me travel anywhere I want to. Well almost- since visas are still a pain and in the US you can’t take a long vacation (Americans are workaholics). I actually am very dumbfounded that not a lot of people in the US want to travel despite the fact that they are so lucky that they can afford to. In any case, I think us Filipino travel bloggers are doing a great job of letting others know that we are here!
Digging you new banner logo by the way!
thanks grace for dropping by… i agree with you… the pinot travel bloggers are doing a great job in letting the world know that we’re here
I am so glad that there are Filipino travelers out there. It shows that there are some people from the Philippines who do seek cultural awareness and who are curious about other parts of the world, aside from making money and sending it back home. Keep on traveling and writing about it; its the only way to battle the stereotypes.
thanks for dropping by sherry, you’re right, all of us are sick and tired of stereotypes and hopefully we could change it
a lot of people i’ve met so far thought that philippines is a dangerous place to go to…
i feel you for bro! there’s tons of reasons kung bakit dehado na agad ang mga Pinoy travelers but on a more positive note, we have the best qualities of an awesome traveler. And people we will meet on the road can attest to that.
i agree…filipinos are fun people to travel with… we always find a good reason to smile despite of the struggles that we go thru…
I can’t agree more on this Flip, other nationalities its almost effortlessly possible for them to travel the world but for us who as you said earns ‘third world wages’ it takes more than guts and planning to make it possible that’s why I admire those who succeed more – like you and the sole sisters and pretty soon our very own Wanderlass
Hope to do what you guys have done someday.
im sure you’ll be able to backpack soon marky…
I really love it that we get free visa to other SE Asia countries. I’m really diggin’ the “same same” vibe there
love it too Gaye… we always get this remark “You Philippine? Me Lao huh same same”