I was sitting at the computer thinking about the next Blog, and wondering what I would write. Then, I recalled that my daughter Karen had suggested that I write about some of the trips I had been on. So, here's one I took to the Philippines, in 1968.
Philippine Airlines and KLM had an agreement that the two airlines share routes and aircraft. Some of KLM's aircraft were painted with the Philippine Airline logo on one side and the KLM logo on the other. I recall that this caused quite a commotion at the Detroit airport, at one of our arrivals there. One of our charters was returning from Amsterdam and the control tower gave KLM permission to land. They had no idea that the KLM aircraft was painted with the Philippine logo on the other side. When the aircraft turned around at the end of the landing, to taxi to the terminal, the control tower went crazy. They had no idea how a Philippine Airlines jet had landed at Detroit without permission, and where was the KLM aircraft? It caused a lot of concern. When the tower finally figured it out, they wanted to kill me for not telling them. Problem was, I had no idea of the paint job either. I informed the companies to please have the pilots inform the tower, on all future flights, that they had a dual paint job.
Back in July or August of 1968, Philippine Airlines and KLM had decided to give a familiarization tour to the Philippines for some key KLM Sales Managers. The trip would be to Manila for three days, then on to the mountain city of Baguio for two days, and then to Hong Kong for three days. There were twenty selected participants. Stig Edgrig, KLM's Tours Manager, was our leader on the trip. Besides me, there were District and Regional Managers and a few of our top District Managers. It was a great trip, as P.A.L. had pulled out all the stops. In Manila, in addition to an intensive city tour, we explored the countryside. We took a boat trip to Corregidor to see where our troops had made a futile last stand against the Japanese in WWII. We entered the tunnels built in many areas throughout the island. On the outside, we saw all the old, rusted cannons that pointed out to sea. The main problem with them was that they could only shoot straight ahead; they had no way of turning the guns right or left. The Philippine, British, and American troops that were captured on Corregidor were taken on the infamous "Bataan Death March". When MacArthur returned to retake the Island, the Japanese occupiers took refuge in the many tunnels. They refused to come out and surrender, so the American troops just bulldozed the entrances close. They say that for several weeks you could hear the gun shots as the Japanese committed suicide rather than surrender. Not a very pretty story.
The President of P.A.L. invited us to his home for a gala dinner. I would call it more of a palace. You could sit at least fifty people in the dining room. What a contrast to the poverty we saw around Manila. I had noted the number of children who were carrying old empty five gallon containers that they would fill with water, and then carry them home. That was, no doubt, the family's water supply. I saw that they all seemed to be smiling and laughing with each other. I mentioned that fact to our host, to what he answered: "That's because they are happy with their lives". You couldn't help but make comparisons between the opulent life style of the wealthy and the way the rest of the people lived. Their homes were all walled in, surrounded by beautiful gardens, and cared for by many gardeners, maids and household workers. Our host thought it very funny when he secretly set off some firecrackers under the table. In some ways, the Philippines were a little child like.
During one of our tours in the countryside, I saw a family in a field cutting rice with some sort of interesting wooden cutting tool. I asked the driver to stop so I could take some pictures. One old man came out of the rice paddy and asked our driver if I wanted to take his picture. I took some pictures and had the driver ask the man if he would sell the wooden tool. He agreed and I gave him five dollars. The driver was a little dismayed; he said that was more than the old man could make in a year. No wonder the old guy was happy.
We flew on an old DC-3 P.A.L. aircraft up to the mountain village of Baguio. I noted that the pilot had a large telephone book that he sat on so he could see out the windshield. We also learned that the mountain jungle we flew over still had tribes that were head hunters; they lived their lives without ever seeing a white man. That made us all hope that the old DC-3 was in good working order. The USA had built a large Military field hospital and recovery center in Baguio. This was separated from the nearby village. The village was very interesting; you would see villagers shopping at open air markets; there were bamboo cages with live chickens for sale. Several people had live chickens hanging from their waist by a string. Because they had no refrigeration, the chickens were carried home live, killed, and eaten for dinner. The most modern structure in the village was an orphanage, and must have been built after the war. The orphanage was run by nuns and the children all seemed well cared for. They sold handmade wood items in a little gift shop. I purchased several carved wood Madonna images, to bring home as gifts. Returning to Manila that night on the same old DC-3, we again stayed overnight at the beautiful Manila Hotel that had been our home for the previous three nights. The next day it was off to Hong Kong.
Hong Kong was an exciting place to visit. It was here that the U.S. sent their military personnel for leave during the Vietnam War; it was a shopper's paradise. The first night we were taken to the famous Floating Restaurant in Aberdeen Harbor. It was decorated with Cantonese red lanterns, gold swirling dragons and traditional Chinese motifs. Of course, fish was the main menu. On the side of the restaurant, there were fish pens; the waiter would use a net to pick out a live fish and show it to you for your approval, before cooking it.
On the following day, we were taken back to Aberdeen Harbor to see the hundreds of small fishing junks, tethered together to form a living communities of Chinese people. We were told that almost every morning the authorities would patrol the waters and pick up the corpses of people who had died during the night. Families living on the junks had little money to pay for burials, so they just rolled the deceased into the sea, for the authorities to take care of. I understand that in the very poor areas of the city, they just left the dead by the side of the road.
Our hotel was just outside Kowloon Park. I could look out the window in the morning and watch throngs of people doing their morning exercises. It was well known in Honk Kong that you could order a suit in the morning and wear it that night. Several of us decided to purchase a suit. The tailor came to our rooms with samples of fabric; once selected and a price determined, the tailor would take your measure; at noon they would be back for a fitting, and about five PM they delivered the final product. The fabric was mostly British fine woolens, and the fit was great. I had mine for several years. There were many small shops where craftsmen carved beautiful chests or worked in silver or gold. I purchased a large round brass tray that could be made into a table or hung on the wall. I gave it to Kirby, just last year. In one small shop they printed "Funeral Money". This was placed in the coffin to assure the dead person had money on their arrival in heaven. Another market sold gold fish, I'm sure there was nothing you might want, that you couldn't find in Hong Kong.
On the third day in the area, I took the Catamaran boat to Macau, the former Portuguese colony on the border with China. It is a very picturesque town built by the Portuguese, but later harbored several different nationalities. Most people go to Macau for the Casinos, which were packed with Chinese gamblers. I contributed a few dollars to their economy and then walked up a road to the Chinese/Macau border, where the armed Red Guard kept watch. I was told that the Chinese often pushed their citizens, who were sick or infirm, across the border at night, so they didn't have to care for them. At that time China was closed to tourism, so I didn't cross the border. One thing that I did note was a very large Levi's factory very close to the border. I imagine that was to employ cheap Chinese labor. It's been going on for a while, I guess.
The following day we boarded our P.A.L. jet to SanFrancisco, and then, on to New York.
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