Editor's note:

More and more Vietnamese people are traveling , studying, living and working abroad, thereby experiencing interesting things in life, such as dancing with poisonous snakes with villagers in Africa, tasting Vietnamese pho in Pakistan with a unique flavor...

VietNamNet Newspaper introduces to readers a series of articles " Experiences of Vietnamese people abroad " about the range of emotions of Vietnamese people when they visit their dream destinations, "try" new things, and leave unforgettable impressions.

pagpag1.jpg
People in this slum live with garbage.

Arriving at a slum in the middle of Manila, the capital of the Philippines, at 7am, Mr. Le Kha Giap and his wife witnessed with their own eyes the working and living atmosphere of the workers there.

The name of this slum means “people who live with garbage”. Their houses and huts are located right next to the large piles of garbage that are collected every day.

From early morning, the stench of garbage was strong. From adults to children, everyone participated in the work of sorting the waste, searching and picking out things that could still be used or sold.

pagpag0.jpg
YouTuber Le Kha Giap and his wife felt very sympathetic when observing life in a slum in the middle of Manila, Philippines.

Walking along the main road in the slum, Mr. Giap saw children sleeping next to piles of garbage, and people bathing in the middle of the road because their houses were too cramped. Dog feces were a common sight on the road.

This slum has about 12,000 people living. Ms. Thao, Mr. Giap’s wife, shared that they have been to many places, including the squalid slums in India. “But in this area, I see that people are much poorer. The sanitation is also very bad.”

In particular, here, Mr. Giap and Ms. Thao saw many people having to eat food picked up from the garbage dump.

pagpag4.jpg
The old lady picked up leftovers from trash bags to make pagpag.

This dish is called pagpag, which is made from discarded chicken pieces from fast food restaurants in Manila. Locals say that pagpag was created when fast food appeared in the Philippines.

After finishing their meal, customers will throw the leftover chicken into the trash, along with tissues, bones, etc. These bags of trash are thrown into the trash by the staff, then collected at landfills along with countless other types of waste.

When garbage is dumped in this slum, people will rummage through each garbage bag to find leftover chicken pieces. If they are lucky, they will pick up pieces of chicken that are quite intact, but if they are unlucky, they will find half-eaten chicken pieces and bones that have eaten most of the meat.

They do this work with their bare hands, surrounded by flies. That image makes the Vietnamese YouTuber couple feel sorry for the people here.

The bags of meat and bones are then sold to restaurants that specialize in preparing pagpag for about 23,000 VND/pot. The restaurant owner will divide them into 2 types – one type is delicious, with meaty chicken pieces, the other type is small, bony pieces.

After washing and boiling, the owner will process these chicken pieces into another delicious version.

pagpag5.jpg
Chicken buckets picked up from the dump, surrounded by flies

The good ones are usually deep fried for about 40 minutes. The less good ones are stir-fried with lots of spices to cover the bad smell. As observed, stir-fried chicken is seasoned with salt, soy sauce, vinegar, MSG, seasoning powder, chili and onion.

The shop owner said that she makes this dish every day to sell, but the quantity is not much, it is sold out by noon. Many people have to come early and stand in line to buy it. Each bag of pagpag costs only 12-13,000 VND.

One resident said that she can eat pagpag every day and this is the favorite dish of the people here. They also never have stomachaches when eating this dish.

pagpag10.jpg
Grade 2 chicken pieces are stir-fried with lots of spices and sold for 12-13,000 VND/bag.

Mr. Giap admitted that after cooking, pagpag had a very fragrant smell, and no one could tell that it was food picked up from the trash bin before. He also boldly tasted a piece of fried chicken and confirmed that the chicken was very delicious.

Witnessing the hard life of the people here, he decided to buy all 4 pans of pagpag from the owner to give to everyone.

“Although each gift is not worth much, we see that people are very happy to receive gifts. A piece of food when hungry is worth a whole package when full.”

People lined up to buy pagpag. Mr. Le Kha Giap (photo on the far left) also tried pagpag and admitted that after being processed, the chicken was very delicious.
Vietnamese tourists go to market in Africa's second largest slum: Discover unexpected items

Vietnamese tourists go to market in Africa's second largest slum: Discover unexpected items

In this second largest slum in Africa, people sell pebbles to eat. The price of each stone makes Vietnamese visitors stunned.
From slum to 'rainbow' village attracting millions of tourists

From slum to 'rainbow' village attracting millions of tourists

From a shabby slum, Kampung Pelangi has become an attractive destination for international tourists after being repainted with colorful colors such as orange, red, yellow, blue, purple... Now, the old, dilapidated village has become a 'rainbow' village, bringing many changes to the people here.
Spending a lifetime to buy a slum-like apartment in China

Spending a lifetime to buy a slum-like apartment in China

Wang Xudong and Zhou Zongzhen spent five years waiting for their apartment building in Shaanxi Province to be completed. The 60-year-old couple had no other choice.