From Terror to Tourism

Stunning footage Angela! Palawan looks good from here in London!

If you have time, I would love to know what you think of my film about a British-Iranian hip hop artist:

http://current.com/items/89148592_the_prince_of_persia

I've been to Palawan. It's beautiful, I didn't see anything bad i guess. I think it's totally safe.

btw, angela sun is hot.

Wow looks great. I am half Filipino but scared to travel to PI myself

thanks for taking me home Angela,
I grew up on Palawan and Puerto Princesa, my aunt and her family has a small farm a few miles from where you were at Underground river.
Whats interesting for me -- is a as a journalist I've done tons of stories there where you were.
Its a safe place- most of my family is there and that one kidnapping incident was the first and only one there. The Abu Sayyaf picked a time when local elections had everyone preoccupied.
Most of those ASG members who were involved in the attack and kidnapping are now dead.
So it is a lesson those guys have learned not to mess with the place.
Amyhow thanks for showing my hometown on Current - I rarely post here though too busy with work.
Oh and my relatives there run or own a number of tourist inns - nothing huge or anything but little bed and breakfast type spots. There's a large number of them there. All little inns -- no real big fancy hotels.
By the way- since the insident - tourism has rebounded - perhaps because also of your POD.
They now get about 200,000 a year there.
Oh and Hapi Slip from youtube fame was there recently too...
Agian thanks for the plug and nice story.
cheers
Mike

Wow that look sweet! I may not be there soon, but it's definitely in my mind. Thanks!

fantastic video Angela!

I spent 6 weeks in the philippines last year.

we also made a video...ours was a bit more goofy...

http://current.com/items/76405202_island_of_certain_death

we also produced one about the banaue rice terraces

http://www.jonrawlinson.com/riceterraces/riceterraces_small.mov

keep up the great work

Because of the physical geography of the Philippines, the southern part has been a ripe breeding ground for muslim militant groups like the MILF, MNLF, and others like the Abu Sayyaf. I was on the island northwest of the predominantly muslim area, Mindanao, on an island called Palawan.

This pod was a simple look from the travelers perspective. I dont want to misconstrue the safety issues and concerns but wanted to highlight my experience there and what I learned about the people of Palawan. Friendly, welcoming, and reliant on the tourism industry for their economy.

I was on vacation and decide to shoot this because it is hard for me to leave work at home. When I travel, even for holiday, I cant help but think of story ideas, and I'm inspired by my surroundings. So this was a mystery pod of sorts, and I wanted to share this hidden gem. I shot, produced, and corresponded, and learned all about the "one man band" notion of creating something from scratch.

I went to Palawan to dive and take in the amazing coral reefs. 488 of the world 500 coral species live off the coasts! Its also the road less traveled and I loved being the only American. Americans tend to be too scared to travel to places unknown. Many of my friends dont even have passports! Ive been blessed to have the opportunity to visit so many amazing places around the world.