My Response to the “I’d Rather Go Hungry” Girl Who Offended People (Filipino or Otherwise) In Exchange for More Page Views

It’s a fact that we can’t please everyone. Apparently, Agness Walewinder of eTramping.com belongs to that list of people you just can’t please. Ms. Walewinder, for everyone’s knowledge, is one of two travel bloggers who own the aforementioned website. Let me just say that I’m not here to argue. I’m here because as a Filipino, as a traveller, as a food lover, and as a writer, I was deeply offended.

She recently posted a mostly negatively received post, called “I Would Rather Go Hungry Than Eat Filipino (Street) Food Again!” (“Street” was added to the title after a barrage of angry comments was posted in response.) People went ballistic. The article went viral. At time of my writing, there was close to 700(!) comments on the blog.

It’s not just us Filipinos (who, in general, are a force to be reckoned with). Even non-Filipinos reacted, including fellow foreign travel blogger Nathan Allen of idreamedofthis.com. Mr. Allen lived in the Philippines for a year. In his blogged response to Ms. Walewinder he wrote, “it seems like you might be intentionally trying to antagonize Filipino people in order to bring attention to your blog.”

Don’t Mess with Filipinos. Just Don’t.

I understand that Ms. Walewinder is disappointed, but in my opinion she brought things upon herself. Not that I’m biased or anything, but as a traveller myself I found that she a) overreacted, b) didn’t explore the country enough, and c) generalised something very negative about the Pearl of the Orient.

Get this – she even said that the vast majority of Filipino kids were overweight. She blamed the oily food, the love of sugar, yada yada yada. All this, showing pictures of food that weren’t even traditionally Filipino like doughnuts.

HELLO? Isn’t obesity a pandemic? Stop blaming our country, since everywhere you turn there’s bound to be a child who isn’t of ideal weight and build. It’s not the Filipino food. We’ve had these forever, but when things got Westernised all went downhill.

I’m not saying Western food is bad (a lot of it is very good and I love ‘em). It’s how people live now that’s contributing to poor health. Less exercise and physical activity, more video games and computer/desk jobs… See what I mean?

Well, needless to say she pretty much hit the nerves of a race you can find EVERYWHERE, in almost any country. (Seriously, if you don’t believe me, look around. There’s bound to be a Filipino or someone with at least 50% Filipino descent among your circle of friends, your school, or your workplace).

Expectation < Reality (Or So She Claimed)

She cited CNN Travel’s list of 50 Filipino Foods That Define the Philippines as their main expectation, but insists that reality is far from what was written on a world-renowned, established publication. Based on her extremely short experience, she called our local fruits gross (both in looks and taste).

She claimed, “After having a few small Filipino lunches, we felt bloated and tired and we could tell it was the food.” It was because she ate meat, fish, and veggies “soaked in oil.” She even said, “As we know, oil makes you feel so tired and slows your metabolism down.”

Okay… Why did you eat it then? It’s not like anybody tricked you into eating such dishes. You went there and tried it for yourself. If you were really being picky, there’s a local McDonald’s or some other American franchise at a mall near you.

Mr. Allen wrote on his blog in defence of my country and its cuisine. While he said he initially didn’t like the first bunch of foods he ate there, he “found that traditional Filipino food was in fact quite unique and delicious!” He travelled the country and gave even the stuff he didn’t like a second chance. He said he even enjoyed those that he was hesitant about, and admits that he knows all of that despite barely scratching the surface.

There are plenty of reasons people from other countries keep coming back here. It’s not just the food, mind you. The hospitality, the beautiful sights, the beautiful people, the interesting festivals, the unique experiences, and so much more… And yet, you Ms. Walewinder freaked out because what you experienced in maybe a week or two did not meet your expectations.

Who planned your vacation, anyway? With a wealth of information at your fingertips, you could’ve researched a bit more. You could’ve asked around. Heck, you could’ve asked other travel bloggers who have been here for the 411.

And Then, She Contradicts Herself

Let me take this moment to show you an excerpt of the blog post that really irked me:

The biggest disappointment was not trying traditional Filipino dishes. Why? We simply could not find them! We visited [an] enormous amount of local food stands and restaurants asking for balut, adobo, asado, daing and more and [all] we we [sic] have heard was “Not here. We have some fish and fried pork only.”, “Do you want to try noodles instead?”, “We have some boiled eggs”. So, so disappointing!

Hmm. So let me get this straight… You bashed our food because you were disappointed, but didn’t realise that you didn’t look hard enough? WHERE WERE YOU, AT SOME TOURISTY OVERLY-WESTERNISED HOTEL??? And again, research your ass off. Research, research, research. If you don’t ask, the answer is always “No.”

Okay, I’m calm. Maybe it’s because I grew up here, but dude… There’s Filipino food everywhere. Whether you’re looking at food carts, street food from roving vendors, or at a Filipino cuisine restaurant, traditional Filipino dishes are E-V-E-R-Y-W-H-E-R-E. Even in the business districts, there are employees in nice dresses or polo shirts with office trousers buying the very stuff you were claiming you can’t find.

And then, at the end she says:

Based on our experience, Filipino food did not live up to our expectations at all. Let’s hope we can make it there again in the future and find a better luck!

Are you effing kidding me? Even Nathan Allen saw right through what you did. Sweetie, I have been doing search engine optimisation since 2008. I believe you just created a provocative title to get attention… After all, publicity is publicity. Even bad publicity is publicity nonetheless.

The World Is a Book, and Those Who Do Not Travel Read Only a Page

That St. Augustine quote is one of my ultimate favourites. I believe it, and I live by it as much as I can. You, Ms. Walewinder, apparently asked for the cliff notes version of travelling in the Philippines. If you want, granted you’re not pummelled with rotten fruit should you come back, I can personally tour you and your partner Cez Krol around my beautiful country. I assure that you will taste great food, see amazing sights, and get greeted with warm hospitality. No BS.

I get that not all travel experiences meet our expectations. I could go on about my travels both locally and internationally. For example, a certain Asian airport literally destroyed my luggage one time, or another Asian airport held me in immigration for some time because I was travelling solo. Instead, I choose to revel in the good stuff instead because there’s always something great when you travel. Why can’t you?

So, Ms. Walewinder, you’d rather go hungry? Be my guest. Don’t be surprised if you become banned here because of your ignorance, though. If you don’t believe me, just Google: Manila Declares Claire Danes Persona Non Grata. I told you not to mess with my country. 😉