How To Survive A Zombie Apocalypse In The Philippines - Could You Do It?

This is a "Rewind Tuesday" episode where Pea rewatches what she calls her all-time favorite video — a creative survival tutorial wrapped in a fictional zombie apocalypse narrative set in the Philippine countryside. Despite expecting it to be a hit, it turned out to be one of her biggest flops. The original video is nearly five years old, and Pea provides behind-the-scenes commentary before and after the replay, acknowledging the low-budget effects and her own acting while still expressing pride in the concept.

Framing and behind-the-scenes context ​

• Pea introduces this as her #1 favorite video she's ever made, which she expected to be a breakout hit
• Instead, it got fewer views than almost anything else she'd released — "crickets" in the comments
• She acknowledges the acting "sucked" and the special effects were low-budget, but wanted to try something more creative than "another boring live stream about local chitchat and gossip"
• The concept: answer the question "If there was a zombie apocalypse, could you survive it in the Philippines?" using real survival skills her dad taught her, wrapped in a fictional narrative

The fictional zombie apocalypse narrative ​

• Set three years after civilization collapses — Pea plays a lone survivor wandering the Philippine provinces
• She debunks TV zombie tropes: gasoline goes bad in less than a year (so The Walking Dead's endless car supply makes no sense), canned food was consumed within months by starving survivors, and bullets were used up quickly with no one manufacturing more
• Her weapon of choice is the bolo (machete) — Filipinos have used them for centuries, they're easy to find, good for chopping bamboo and zombie heads alike
• She says you only truly need two things to survive indefinitely: a flint and a fish hook

Survival skills demonstrated (all real techniques) ​

• Rice: finds a rice field (they're everywhere in the Philippines — "you can't walk more than a couple of meters without running into one"), references a previous video on rice cultivation, notes rice is high in carbs/calories — bad for dieting but perfect for post-apocalyptic survival
• Bamboo cookware: selects young green bamboo, cuts a section with natural partitions on each end, carves a hole with a flap lid, puts rice and water inside — the green bamboo won't burn and acts as a natural pot over an open fire; rice cooks in 10-15 minutes
• Fishing pole: uses a thinner bamboo stalk cleaned up as a rod
• Minnow trap for bait: cuts an old soda bottle in half, removes the cap, inverts the top into the bottom — minnows swim in but can't get out; uses them as bait for bigger fish (she confirms she really caught the fish but admits it took longer than shown — she cut the footage)
• Fire starting: uses a flint to scrape magnesium shavings, then sparks them to start a fire; mentions she found butane lighters but saves them for rainy days
• Fish cleaning: demonstrates gutting and descaling by hand with the machete

Foraging for fruits, greens, and spices ​

• Bananas: grow wild everywhere, low enough to harvest safely, provide vitamin C and potassium
• Papayas: found all over, boost the immune system
• Tiny red chilies: picked from wild bushes, the same kind found in every Filipino restaurant "back when there were restaurants"
• Lemongrass: grows wild in moist warm areas across the country, good as a meal addition and also useful for treating fevers — important since "pharmacies were wiped out of medication long ago"

Survival philosophy and worldbuilding details ​

• Sleeps in cars with doors on both sides so she can escape if a zombie finds her at night — never more than one or two in rural areas
• Avoids houses and fortified city areas because zombies are attracted to sound; if you snore, you could wake up surrounded by hundreds
• Notes that Philippine province houses couldn't keep zombies out anyway
• She tried living in a small community of about a dozen survivors, but someone died in their sleep, turned, and chaos erupted — she barely escaped and now prefers going solo
• Says humans are just as dangerous as zombies at this point
• Found a radio two years in but got only static across the dial — assumes the worst about the rest of the world
• Her most emotional moment: says she misses her cats most of all, had to leave them behind because they'd slow her down and get them all killed, still wonders what happened to them

The meal ​

• Final spread: rice (served from bamboo), grilled fish, grilled bananas, papayas for dessert, chilies for spice, all served on a coconut shell bowl
• Eats with bare hands — "We Filipinos eat with our hands, bare hands. That's the traditional way of eating."
• Squeezes chili juice directly onto the rice and fish

Closing narrative and commentary ​

• The fictional story ends with Pea saying she'd love to share food with someone but doubts she'll find anyone, calling herself "an Eve without an Adam wandering the wasteland"
• A comedic reveal: "Zombie Lucy," her camera woman, groans from off-screen
• Post-replay, Pea reiterates this is still her favorite video despite the poor performance, and thanks viewers for rewatching it with her

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