Abu Dhabi // After working on farms and building cars, the Emiratis exploring the Philippines for the Beyond Borders documentary series were given a break and treated to local cuisine – chicken heads.
The three male and three female volunteers are being filmed on a life-changing journey to the archipelago for the six-part series.
So far they have been farming, making shoes, roasting coffee and learning how to make lights for shanty homes.
For this week’s fourth episode, they raft through a waterfall, go fishing in a lake and try chicken heads from a street vendor.
The six spent the first part of their trip in factories and homes in and around Manila but this week travel south to the less-urban Laguna Province.
Their first stop was Pagsanjan falls, one of the most famous waterfalls in the Philippines, which is reached by an hour-long canoe ride upstream through Pagsanjan Gorge.
“I laid back to take in the view and I could see cliffs of green left and right and just a thin strip of blue of the sky,” said Fatima Abdullah Farah.
She enjoyed the scenery as two boatmen used oars to paddle and their legs to propel the boats up a series of 14 rapids to the waterfall.
One of the boatmen explained that while it was physically demanding, he wished he could do more.
“There are so many of us we’re only permitted to work once a week,” said the navigator, highlighting the competition for the scarce jobs in the country.
The group were not satisfied with reaching the three-step waterfall and braved a raft ride underneath, through the water.
“The water pressure was so heavy it gave us a water massage,” said Mohammed Al Ameri, who enjoyed the ride so much he hopped on to the next raft going to the falls.
The travellers were then tasked with finding their own dinner and given fishing rods at Caliraya Lake.
“I felt like giving up after the first couple of times I tried,” Mohammed said.
Despite his frustration, he persisted and caught a fish weighing more than 2 kilograms.
“It’s the first time I fish and I think it’s nice to depend on yourself like this,” he said while proudly grilling his catch.
It was also Mariam Al Kuwaiti’s first fishing trip.
“Every time I’ve seen a fish it’s already cooked on a bed of rice,” she said.
An even less familiar type of culinary experience awaited the explorers back in the city.
Upon returning to Manila, the group decided to be daring and try some authentic Filipino street food.
“We have chicken intestines, gizzards, heads, feet, and blood,” said Benjie Coyoca, a street vendor who has run his stand for more than two years.
Working 18-hour shifts, he said he got into the business because the start-up was cheap and the food was easy to sell.
“People like the food because it’s cheap and delicious,” he said.
After being assured the food was halal, the more adventurous of the group tried some.
“I tried the chicken head but it was a little bit difficult,” Fatima said. “I had to break the skull to suck out the meat and brain, which was tasty.”
She drew the line at the eyes because she felt the chicken was staring at her.
Ahmed Al Ghurair’s stomach was not as strong and he found it difficult to keep down his dish of chicken intestines.
More palatable cuisine awaited the group at their Filipino host’s home, where they learned how to cook chicken adobo, an authentic national dish.
Beyond Borders airs every Friday on MBC1 at 2pm, with reruns on Saturdays at 6.30am.
tsubaihi@thenational.ae
