Hongkong Holiday

News do tend to sensationalize. Yeah, I was a bit worried about going ahead with my planned trip to Hongkong with one of my best friends. All this talk about a backlash against Filipinos was indeed a cause for concern. But seriously, no untoward incident occured while I was there. I expected to be at the receiving end of some disrespectful behavior from a local, but I was treated like a valued tourist instead. Isn't that great?

They served good food. They assisted me while I shopped. They politely answered when I asked for directions. All the things my mom said could happen, didn't. So that was great.

Meanwhile, I did encounter some Filipinos there and I must say that if I were one of the locals, I may be annoyed by Filipinos too. Some Filipinos can be just so loud and inappropriate. Some domestic helpers would make latag their banig in the middle of a business park and make tambay there all day. Businessmen clad in their suits would pass by and understandably glare at them. Some Filipino tourists would shop like they are the only ones there. They would converse loudly in a language people around them do not understand. Even I was really irritated with all the banter. I was already inside the fitting room and I can hear one of them shouting at her companion on the other side of the store, "nakahanap ka ng size?!?". I felt like someone has invaded my personal space.

Now I do not mean to generalize. Hence, I said some Filipinos - not all. But I guess you could say that this can be true for all other nationalities. Some Indonesians can be like that too. Some Malaysians can be that way as well. Some Indians can just be the same. But so far, I have not encountered such. Admit it or not, it is usually the Filipinos creating so much raucous.