Hospitality

[ekimswish]

My friend was walking down a tourist park mountain here in Taiwan with his visiting parents, from England. It started to rain and someone pulled up and gave them a ride, then took them out for a big meal and tea, and introduced them to the family. They had never experienced anything like it. I know this hospitality exists in the Philippines also.... so have at it. What have you experienced, when you weren't the one footing the bill?

[Candyman]

My friend was walking down a tourist park mountain here in Taiwan with his visiting parents, from England. It started to rain and someone pulled up and gave them a ride, then took them out for a big meal and tea, and introduced them to the family. They had never experienced anything like it. I know this hospitality exists in the Philippines also.... so have at it. What have you experienced, when you weren't the one footing the bill?

The first time ever that me and my family went to Bohol, we took my wife's sister with us. We knew no one, but the sister in law had gone to school with a girl from there (Ben Unido, a small town at the top of Bohol). She had not seen her for years, but had kept in contact, from time to time through phone calls and texts etc. We had caught a 'fast Boat" outrigger from Cebu, called the "Rob Roy", which we had boarded early in the day. We had no set plans, and we were just going to do a trip from north to south of Bohol Island, and had not pre booked anything.We were actually on the boat, when my sister in law remembered her old friend, and sent her off a text. It was answered almost immediately and luckily she was still living in the family home. To cut a long story short, she even met us when the boat came in, and insisted that we accompany her to her home, and no amount of arguing would change her mind ! As far as she (Carman) was concerned, we were "Her Guests". I must admit I felt like I was imposing a great deal, on her, but she was so very insistant, and as my sister in law explained she would be upset, if we did not accept her invitation.So we arrived at her parents house, which was huge by Filipino standards, and backed onto the sea. I and the rest of my family were all introduced to her family, and her father took us all around on a "grand Tour" of the property. He told us he was a fish Merchant.. By the time we got back to the house, and enormous feast had been prepared, and there was no way of getting away from there without eating. I was wanting to go into town to book into a Hotel or Pension House, because the day was getting late, but I was silenced by my wife and her sister, who just told me to "don't worry about it"! I was still concerned, but I did not know what was going on, but later, I found out that Carman's mother had just built another small house, only about 100 yards away, and they had insisted we stay there for the night, for the princely sum of 300 Pesos !It did not end there though, The next day, Carman's father suggested hiring his car and driver, for a day trip all over the top end, and as far south as Caren in the Chocolate Hills, back around to the Butterfly sanctuary at Sugbayan, and all around the top around Trinidad, Talibon, and many other places. The hiring of his own private car, would have only just covered the cost of his fuel and the driver's wage for the day !Meanwhile my sister in law, and Carman caught up, with a stream of constant chatter, and that was my very first impression of Bohol ! Hospitality second to none !