"Kuya Kim" to everyone who has seen him on TV, Alejandro Ilagan Atienza is the indomitable and trivia-sharing host of the multi-awarded discovery and adventure show, Matanglawin.
CHOOSE PHILIPPINES had a chance to interview Kuya Kim and pick his thoughts on travel, his favorite places and some very memorable experiences hosting Matanglawin. Let's get to know more about him!
Choose Philippines: How many provinces have you visited in the Philippines?
Kuya Kim: I've always loved to travel all my life. Ever since I was little I was part of a theater company with Fr Reuter. In high school I traveled all over Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. In five summers I toured all over large parts of the country- Cagayan De Oro, Polomolok and Lake Sebu in Cotabato, at a young age I've reached those places. I've been a travel bug ever since!
Ever since Matanglawin started 3 years ago, my travels have greatly accelerated. Matanglawin has adventures in many corners of the Philippines. I have gone to places that tourists would have great difficulty reaching which I feel should be seen in order to be visited. There are also other places that would be better off without tourists since there is wildlife that have very sensitive conditions which might be endangered by the presence of too many people.
CP: Can you tell us of places that have exceeded your expectations and have surprised you the most?
Kuya Kim: One of the places I was really surprised is Anda, Bohol. Panglao is very popular for its beaches so the tourists are always there.
If you take the highway all the way to Anda it's a dead end. From there you have to take a boat. The water is actually shallow, from knee to waist deep but the distance is more than half a kilometer so you really need to take a boat since its an island.
I was surprised when we got there! If you're into archeology there are lots of artifacts, even animal fossils. It's not only in Sagada that has hanging coffins, I was surprised they also had these in the Visayas too. When I entered the caves there were lots of holes in the ground."Bohol" actually means "hole". There were coffins placed in the crevices. There were urns and burial jars that were still intact.
Our guide said after the cave was discovered by antique dealers in the 80s and 90s, a large amount of artifacts was looted. What's remaining are protected and cared for by the people there. You are actually prohibited from picking up anything. It's actually very tempting because they're all over the place.
The other place that surprised me: there's this one kind of bat, it's an insectivore and highly endangered and highly localized meaning it can only be found in only one location and almost extinct in the rest of the world. About 99 percent of the population of that entire species can only be found in one cave in Samal Island in Davao.
The conservation-oriented Montfort family owns the cavern and they have protected and preserved the property. As you walk closer to the cave you can hear the noise from millions of bats.
If you peek inside it's impossible to see the walls because the bats are clinging to every available surface. While they're hanging upside down the bats flutter their wings to cool themselves and you can feel a breeze and smell the stinky sweet whiff of guano. It was highly amazing! You know these animals are highly endangered but inside that particular cave there were millions and millions of bats! There was also a NatGeo team studying the bats while we were there. I was surprised so many scientists and bat experts from all over the world travel to that little cave in Samal Island.
Another place I will never forget (I came here as a member of the Land Rover Club because I love to go off-roading) is the coldest place in the Philippines which is in Luzon- Mt. Pulag. When you wake up in the morning, even when it's not in December, say August, there is ice everywhere . There's frost on the ground due to the cold. "Pulag" is the Cordillera word for "bare". I was really glad because when you see Pulag from a distance you'd think it's bare. You'd be surprised to find that its actually not- its full of the smallest bamboo in the world- the height of my finger! And when you look at it up close it's really a full grown miniature bamboo!
Also there's the national flower of Austria, the edelweiss. They even have a song about it (sings a line...). It's so rare they have to climb the Alps just to find it. The peak of Mt. Pulag has so much edelweiss! These are just some places you would be surprised actually exist in the Philippines.
CP: What should Pinoys do more of?
Kuya Kim: I can say two things. First, Filipinos should travel more. A lot of us are very insular, meaning if that's your island then there you should stay. I find it surprising that once you travel within the Philippines it's not really that expensive. You'd be surprised that there are a lot of places in the Philippines that is world class or have more impact than places in other countries. The only thing we need to do is go there.
Second, once we go there we have to be aware that we need to conserve and take care of these places. Once I say "this place needs to be visited" it's double-edged. When they visit, excursionists bring their pots of food and just leave the remainder anywhere. That's a bad habit Filipinos need to change. We have beautiful beaches and you'll see leftover rice, fish bones and empty mineral bottles. There is a lack of education.
It's great to travel. But at the same time we have to be aware of our surroundings and the need to conserve them because the Philippines is a very beautiful place.
CP: Were you born in Manila? What is your favorite place in the capital city?
Kuya Kim: Yes, I was born in Malate and grew up there and in San Andres. I still live in Malate now. I really never left Manila since I was born.
Malate is one of the places that should be visited. It has long been a haven for artists. In the 1980s when there were cafes patronized by ballet dancers, photographers and journalists. I remember the Penguin Cafe in Remedios where everybody hung out.
Malate and Nakpil were the "in place" in the 90s and drew in the Makati crowd. Now they're gone and it became a Koreatown with lots of Koreans. My hopes for Malate are quite high because I see things as a cycle. Once the artists see the Makati scene is gone and find a niche there they will return. Once the artists return, maybe in ten years, the Makati set will be attracted by the bohemian revival and move in, prompting the artists to leave again. Maybe it'll be the Japanese instead of Koreans for the next round.
It's really just a series of cycles that I have observed ever since the 1970s where there was the Cocobanana and all the other places attracting high society that eventually decayed. Then came Mabini and the era of red light districts and the rich folks left and the artists remained. The artists thrived and the wealthy came back. Today the both groups are gone and another moved in. It's really just a cycle. Malate is my favorite place in Manila mainly because I live there. Malate's character changes but it's essence remains the same.
I am fortunate of the house I own in Malate. It's an old house that used to belong to designer Joe Salazar. He is a visionary and also an architect who designed the house in such a way that it is very modern and sits in the middle of a forest. I have balete trees and mango trees in the middle of Malate! In the middle of that forest is my modern house built in the 70s or 80s.
I consider myself lucky I live there. All my animals can run free. I have 30 dogs and they are all semi-feral and they run around in semi-wild packs. But they're all very small dogs- mini pinschers, I only keep one breed of dogs and I don't keep them in leashes. I have free-flying birds, I have kalaw (Philippine Hornbill) birds and bats which I found a surprise because Malate is very urban but since I have fruit trees I have fruit bats which was very surprising! When I moved in about 8 years ago there were just 4 of them but now there's at least a dozen! And they're all kinda big and would scare you at night. I also have tuko (gecko lizards).
(To be continued...)
