Have Travel, Will Help

MANILA, Philippines - The best tourism brochure is the one written by those who have been there, a personal, first-hand account of the sights and smells, tastes and textures of a place – and yes, perhaps even some of limitations and pitfalls.

Such is the little book “20 Family Destinations, 20 Years of Rotarian Service” published by the Rotary Club of Makati Paseo de Roxas to celebrate their club’s 20th anniversary.

Members of the club chronicle their travels around the country, with their kids in tow, so it is a very useful guide for families. Many of the photos are family snapshots, but do show what the places actually look like, without the airbrushing or photoshop retouches that make those photos in brochures and glossy magazines so breathtaking. But the photos do show the best of the different destinations, and make you want to pack your bags and go.

The 20 destinations include entire provinces (Batanes, Bohol), a city (Davao), and specific localities, resorts and hotels (even one right in Makati), plus a store selling organic products from all over the Philippines. Each write-up gives basic information – address and contact numbers, and website if available. Sometimes you also get specific directions such as “follow the winding road and turn right at the first corner” and prices, although it is best to check before you go as inflation has a way of springing surprises.

With kids – who are always hungry – in the traveling party, food is a major consideration in every article. There is the “best paella in town” in Panglao island, Bohol (at Jugalis Bistro); homemade suman (sticky rice cakes) and “very tasty and crunchy shrimps in special curry sauce” (at Ugu Bigyan’s Potter Garden); native tsokolate and organic corn coffee (at Bohol Bee Farm); and a list of restaurants in Davao City with corresponding specialties of the house.

Very helpful too are lists of things to do, especially for the kids, a good mix of relaxation, entertainment and learning about and interacting with local culture. It also gives some helpful hints, such as for treks up Mount Pinatubo (“find a walking stick at the start of the trek” and “do not carry a heavy load; charm your guide to carry your stuff then just tip him after”).

The book is the pet project of indefatigable club president for this year Jo Yap, and is a major fundraiser of the club for its various projects, which are also written about in the book. Their projects are focused on providing potable water to depressed communities and providing incubators and other equipment for infants for hospitals nationwide that cannot afford to procure such equipment.

The solutions they provide are innovative and cost-efficient, not the run-of-the-mill facilities that sometimes do more harm than good and cost a lot to maintain. For example, providing safe water is done through four simple and relatively inexpensive technologies: a P10,000 washtube (made from local materials) that purifies water using ultraviolet light; a P5,000 bio sand filter that removes 95-98 percent of bacteria; a ceramic pot filter that has tested to 99-100 percent removal of bacteria and parasites; and a chlorine generator from a simple salt and water solution that can then purify unsafe water.

For neo-natal care, they provide government hospitals with infant incubators that only cost P50,000, about 10 percent of the cost of importing such equipment; as well as low-cost phototherapy equipment using blue light for jaundice prevention in infants.  

These Rotarians have been living their mantra – “We live to serve to make this world a better place” – for two decades, and lucky for us they have decided to share some highlights from their travels. And lucky for their beneficiaries that the book – at P350 – is such a good buy.

Contact Rotary Club Paseo de Roxas at [email protected] to order copies. The book is also available at Fully Booked.