More to learn

On a trip to Australia, I was again struck by how much we’ve allowed selfishness to destroy what could be beautiful. The streets of Melbourne are lined with big, beautiful trees. There are large parks to rest and recuperate in everywhere. And everywhere it is clean. There are bins to put garbage in, and people do. With expressways and a coordinated, single-ticket public transport system of bus and train, traffic moves. The old trams still get you where you want to go, too. In Sydney you add the ferries. You don’t need a car to get around.

In Brisbane we stayed in Airbnb by the river. Do you know why it’s called “Airbnb”? Two young American college students rented an apartment together but the rent turned out to be more than their part-time income. So in desperation they decided to sub-rent, but they had no extra beds. They did have three air mattresses, which they inflated and rented out for $10 per night, plus breakfast. That paid the rent. A business was born that needed a name. The start gave the name. It’s a billion-dollar business worldwide today.

And it’s Airbnb we used. A lovely, large apartment by the river in an 1833 wool warehouse. It’s a wonderful old brick building—restored on the outside, transformed on the inside. They didn’t tear it down so they could put up a monstrous, 30-story box. They kept the old, but adapted to the new.

The government gave no choice. In Australia, wide, iconic, historical buildings are listed and protected. They bring beauty and charm to a city and keep history alive. The place we were in had once been a grimy industrial area, for ships to load wool for London. It’s now a high-class residential area.

In Manila, there’s talk of tearing down the old Rizal Memorial Stadium to put up a modern commercial development. It must not be allowed. Best to restore the stadium to its original, usable design or, next best, to maintain it but alter it for commercial use. If you must have another mall, use the existing buildings. The fields can become parks.

In Brisbane, the river flows cleanly beside what are now millionaire’s houses and apartments. Not squatters with their back to a river you can walk on. Gina Lopez started the cleanup of the Pasig—a national disgrace if there ever was one. But she needed city mayors with more gumption and balls than they’ve got. Pasig squatters had to go. Pasig factories and warehouses had to be turned into buildings of beauty. And the Pasig restored to what it is in any other city in the world—a waterway of joy and pride.

River ferries are a restful way to get around a city. A ferry we took in Sydney was an old one—20 years old—but it looked brand-new. In pristine shape, it didn’t seem as if it were about to sink be- low the waves. It was properly maintained.

And buses don’t crash down ravines like they do here because the owners are too stingy to maintain them, with a government that exercises no control to ensure that they do. In Alabang, a crucial power tower fell down because the local government allowed squatters to live under it despite frequent urging from National Grid Corp. of the Philippines to get rid of them because of the risk they posed to themselves and to others.

Let’s vote for mayors who truly care for their cities and assiduously work to protect them, not sell them off to the highest bidder. We need cities we can be proud of, cities wewant to live in.

———— Philippine Airlines is not United Airlines. On our trip back from Sydney, PAL had to change to a smaller plane due to amalfunction in the big one. So it ended up with more business class passengers than seats. Well, it didn’t drag off a few kicking and screaming. It offered a free return trip (MNL-SYD-MNL) over the next year to passengers who would accept a downgrade to selected economy seats, but retain all other business-class privileges. PAL staff members at check-in were so nice about explaining, apologizing and going out of their way to smooth the inconvenience caused through no fault of theirs, that enough passengers agreed. Everyone got to Manila on time.

I travel PAL a lot and I continue to be impressed with its service on the ground and in the air. But its lounges could be improved; they do lag behind the competition.