honesty is such a lonely word...

this little shop off some small town of Ivana in Batanes opened up in the 80s and is mostly unattended. a pricelist is posted at the wall along with instructions on how everything is supposed to be self-service and the customer can just pick up the desired product to purchase and drop the payment on some box. there is no provision for change so one must give the exact amount or leave the rest as donation.



there is nothing much to see here but a few trinkets as souvenirs and basic snack items as biscuits and junk food and coffee.


last december some news broke out that this little cafe got looted out by some unidentified men. apparently it was the second theft incident for the store but they would rather not report it to the police as they tend to mute it anyway.

true enough we asked some people around town and they don't even know about it. and somehow they have become quite nonchalant about petty crimes and lawlessness these days. perhaps there is really no such thing as a zero-crime community in this day and age.

in spite of that though i still can't help but be overwhelmed by the peacefulness of the place not to mention the warmth of its people. just about anybody would stop by on their tracks and greet you. little kids could just run around the street and feel so safe. i was thinking that this must be the best place to rear Xan, wow, i would not need to lock him up our gates and there won't be any need for me to worry about his safety wherever he chooses to run and skip and play about.

i realize how therapeutic this trip has become for me. there is indeed no such thing as a perfect world. no such thing as utopia. evil still abound even in the most serene places. but seeing the goodness in the eyes of those i've met and known even for a short while only makes me want to still believe in the intrinsic nature of man to do and be good to one's fellow. there will always be hope anywhere and everywhere.