On 07 December 2014, we joined the Smokey Tours Slum Tour. It was one of a kind experience. It was even lucky that we were able to join the "Photowalk" where we can take pictures. Generally picture taking is not allowed. 

First, we were taken to the market where people from the area buy all their needs. Like any other local market, the place was noisy, dirty, and jampacked. For the sake of our foreigner friends, some of the Filipino delicacies and products were explained according to their use. My most favorite part of the market was the lumpia wrapper making. There was a really huge basin with batter that can produce around 800 wrappers. The workers will work on that basin for the wholeday. The part where they spread the batter to the pan very quickly and taking it out without any utensils is very fascinating. Sad part is, I don't think they earn a lot from all that hard work.

 We then proceeded to the next area. It is the first slum area covered in the tour. It includes houses in very narrow alleys. The place was eclectic. There was a pig on the street, a horse stable among the houses, computers with coin slots to operate, and even a chapel in the midst of the houses (when I say midst, it is literally on the midst, side by side with houses). This area is the most habitable among the areas we visited. 

 The next area had the houses under the bridge. These houses are wiped away whenever there are strong typhoons, only to be rebuilt again after. They collect garbage from the stream where the houses are built along. Children ride Styrofoam containers as boats. 

 The last area is the one along the Smokey Mountain. You will literally walk on trash in the area. Children are excited to see other people. They would willingly pose for pictures, group shots and solos. They wouldn't even know where their pictures go. Some adults seem shy about being subjects of the tour. The community is laudable for its ability to thrive in the area. They even have enterprises there like videoke booths (showing how much Filipinos love to sing), eateries, and junk shops. 

 It is a little comforting to know that these people are not totally forgotten. Certain organizations help them. One of these organizations provide solar lamps to the community which they have to pay for its use with a minimal fee. The good thing is, they have certain rules for using the lamps efficiently. Besides conserving energy, it also helps them exercise discipline. 

 Some of my learning from the tour came from observing our co-participants. I think taking pictures is a nice privilege. We were given instructions to inform our guide whenever we are taking pictures of people so they can give consent. Our co-participants seem to me like: rich kids who are into photography but are not really into the cause of the tour. One scene that stuck to my mind was when I saw someone taking a picture of a woman doing laundry. I understand that the point of the picture taking was to document their normal every day life. Although she is a Filipino, maybe the photographer is really a rich person who has never seen anyone do laundry with basins, washing board and "palo-palo". It just saddened me because in a way, I felt that the woman doing the laundry was commodified. They were both nonchalant about it. I did not really see another interaction between them, much less with the certain photographer and other people from the community. Maybe it was professionalism, but I would have preferred emotions. It made me understood why slum tours are sensitive issues of discussion. Maybe there really is a thin line between documentation and commodification. 

 As a Filipino, I can't really say that it's an eye opener to that kind of situation since we've been educated ever since that such exists. However, it is an immersion. The experience speaks to our emotions, making us ask "is there anything we can do"? The tour also changed my notion of the people from the neighborhood, I have always thought that they are just lying around all day doing nothing, waiting for other people to help them. In fact, they are enterprising somewhere, they just don't have anywhere else to live.  Some even have creative ways of living. 

 It is a Smokey Tour policy to not give anything to anybody from the community or take pictures. So in a way, this lessens the impact to the community. 

The tour is not fun but it is worthwhile.