The scene from the Manila New Year celebrations, as seen from the 54th floor (the roof of our building.) Looks like the whole city is exploding….!
All the best to everyone for 2012. Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2012!
Home in The Philippines
Jolly Jeepneys
I don’t remember where I saw it, but I remember reading an insightful commentary on the jeepney as a symbol of the Philippines. I’m not sure I can do it justice, but I will attempt to repeat the gist of it here. The article talked about the origins of the jeepney, jeeps inherited by Filipinos who, after the second world war, turned the beat-up abandoned military vehicles into something useful and unique. Today the jeepney is essentially still a pile of old metal, often in bad need of repair, and held together with string and a prayer. But with a touch of Filipino flair, some colorful embellishments and a healthy dash of optimism, the jeepney appears so much more than the sum of its parts. Like Filipinos themselves, they make up for lack of substance with ingenuity, optimism and good humour.
And, yes, buses and metros are usually much more effective methods of transport. Jeepneys clog the streets, carry limited numbers, and belch out polluting smoke into the already choking atmosphere. However, the metro here is woefully inadequate for such a large city. I’ve yet to have a reason to use it. Jeepneys, by contrast, are everywhere in Manila, in the provinces and on the islands. Each one is unique and emblazoned with a personal message….anything from a bible quote to “Elvis is King”… expressing the owner’s faith, hopes or world view.
They are all individually owned. Routes are hand-painted on the side of the vehicle. Passengers embark or disembark at will…there are no official stops. Fares are cheap. From a tourist perspective, they don’t offer much to see. The small windows and inward-facing seats mean that it is difficult to see out. They only hold about 20 (small) people at a maximum, but there always seems to be room for one more as the fares go straight to the owner-operator driver. Yet they are the most colorful and attractive thing on most streets and I never tire of looking for my next favourite, really cool one.
Here’s a little humour on how to ride one around the city:
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Waterfalls, Carabao Ride and Canoeing on Mindoro
Even though I liked the Coco Beach location very much, I’m never totally happy if I feel I am being coralled. The resort is set apart from the town and has everything you really need to just stay there the whole time, but the instinct to explore is too strong and the family agreed to participate on a canoeing trip on the nearby river. I had already been sea kayaking in Palau earlier in the year, and loved it! Exploring the scenery at the slow pace of a boat was very inviting, so next morning we headed off on the resort-organized tour with a private jeepney and canoes strapped to the roof… off into the semi-jungle on the still tarmacked road.
The first stop was to visit the Tamaraw Waterfalls, which is touted as a major attraction near the town. Attractive though they are, I am so glad we didn’t rent a car just to go see them. By ourselves it would probably have pretty much been all we saw, we would have never found the subsequent stops scheduled on the tour, which turned out to be much more interesting.
Tamaraw Falls
Next up was lunch as at a place they called Hidden Paradise, and hidden it was indeed. After about twenty minutes of driving on the main island road, the jeepney turned off onto a dirt road and continued for about another 30 minutes past coconut and banana groves, rice paddies, and cocoa trees to what I can only describe as a dead end. Why had we been carried all this way to a field? Moments later another jeepney showed, and a few small wooden carts pulled by carabao, the heavy beasts of burden that are so vital to South East Asian agriculture. I vaguely remembered something about a carabao ride, and while I was still figuring out what we signed up for, we loaded into the cart. Three adult males, plus me, plus the driver and the cart – we must have been close to half a ton – and the carabao set off.
Our carabao trek took us down small jungle tracks, across the shallow river bed numerous times and along the riverbank further for about half an hour. I think I loved this part the most. We saw unemployed carabao lazing in the river mud, more crops and farmers working in the fields, and coconut tree, after coconut tree…
Just as we saw our carabao was starting to flag, our destination came into view. Hidden paradise lived up to its name: a pretty valley complete with waterfall, sculpted water-eroded rock pools, a pretty stream and bamboo shacks on shady banks where they were ready to serve us a barbeque lunch. Our hardworking engine took a well-earned dip in the river, and we dropped off our stuff in the shade and headed over to the rocks. Latham – rock boy – did his favourite thing in the world, climbing up the rocks and planning to jump from a safe spot. Robert and I swam and floated in the surprisingly cold water. It was a beautiful place.
Rocks eroded by rushing water
The obligatory rock jumping picture
Lunch was fantastic too. It was probably the best meal I’ve had in the Philippines yet: BBqed blue marlin, chicken, rice, salad, and excellent fresh fruit. Proof that delicious does not have to be complicated.
Here’s a short video of the scene:
With full bellies we returned back another 30 minutes by carabao to the jeepney. A short ride away was the river for our canoeing trip…1.5 hours downstream in the fast flowing water. Ankle deep in some spots, neck deep in others, the banks were covered in reeds, silt, and the occasional grazing carabao.
The water was so fast and the river terrain so varied that I could not take my hand off the paddle for even a moment to take a sip of water. I learnt to watch the river ahead and try and spot obstacles before they were upon me, a skill I learnt the hard way. A fallen tree, half submerged in the river took me out, and I capsized, turning the canoe over completely. The river was just too fast, and I had been too slow to react. But no harm done, and we all managed to arrive safely at the mouth of the river about 1.5hrs later. I loved the river ride, but I wish our guide had been better. He just paddle way out in front, frequently disappearing around a river bend well ahead of us and wasn’t around to help when we needed him. Like the time a bunch of lively local kids decided it would be fun to jump into the river and hang on to the back of my canoe…talk about drag…I almost went backwards… Fortunately, Robert was behind me and shouted them off. The Palau kayak guide had been excellent and stopped frequently for us to regroup, letting the stragglers catch up and shared his knowledge on the flora and fauna. This guy just wanted to get back to the jeepney asap. The canoes were crap too. The Palauan tour provided an excellent quality sea kayak, complete with backrest. These were cheap, beaten up tourist canoes for renting by the hour. Our backs hurt badly by the end. The last downer was the water quality as the river broadened and we entered back into town. It had been clean and drinkable upstream. Here I didn’t even want to put my feet in it and would certainly never have entered the river if it had looked like that to start with… Yet, despite these gripes, I really did enjoy the river ride, and the trip as a whole was well worth the investment of our time and money. Anyone fancy another trip?
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Coco Beach Vacation!
Unbelievably, its coming up to the one year mark when we first arrived in Manila, which extension aside, is the half way point through our tour. How quickly it goes, and settling in took the usual amount of one year, it seems it just takes that long, no matter how experienced you are at moving around. Anyway, I raise the subject because last year we arrived on December 23 and faced a Christmas in a foreign country with no tree, no presents, no family and certainly very little idea of which way was up. In November last year I worked at trying to find us somewhere to spend a couple of days over the Christmas holidays. Somewhere close by for the couple of days that the Embassy was closed. Coco Beach was recommended to us, but I failed to book anything from Stateside. I see now a plethora of reasons why that was, not least of which was the fact that Christmas vacations are a very big deal here. Book as late as November at your peril! Coco Beach fits the bill though for a pleasant getaway that isn’t too far away from the city, nor too pricey…so I managed to get us a villa for the four day break at the beginning of the month.
Located about 2hrs drive south of Manila, plus an additional 1 hour boat ride, Coco Beach is on Mindoro, one of the largest islands in the Philippines. The resort is outside the town of Puerto Galera, set up on a hillside coconut grove with views out to sea and lots of native character. We booked a small villa with two bedrooms, bathroom,hammock and balcony, and set about relaxing and exploring. Coco Beach doesn’t have a service staff like a usual resort. Room service, daily cleaning and miscellaneous concierge-type services are provided by your assigned service family. This is a local family that lives in a villa close by that services about 10 villas. It was much more personal and friendly than the usual staff setup. And no “dial 9 for room service” either. Just pull on the string that runs from your balcony to their house. The bell at the end of the rope rings and they come outside and call up. Our service family took many a trip down the hill for food, drinks and ice, and we were sure to leave them a thank you tip at the end. We liked the service family concept very much.
Four days was about right to settle in and learn the resort ropes, figure out what to do and where to go. We took a canoeing trip (see separate post), hung out on the beach, took an evening jeepney trip to an authentic pizza restaurant, and took evening trips out on bancas to go to dinner and see the sun go down over the ocean.
Despite the fact that it was the end of the rainy season, the weather held all the way until the morning of departure. As we waited at the breakfast table of the beach to be called for our banca, the heavens opened. We watched the first boats leave in the rain, and the service staff quickly ran inside and returned with umbrellas for the departing guests. There was something about life jackets and umbrellas that amused me. I took a photo. We will return…
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Manila Marine Ball
Almost three weeks ago now, Robert and I attended our first Marine Ball and it has taken me forever to get around to posting it… so before it becomes too much of a distant memory, here’s how it went….
Every year the Embassy throws an annual party to thank the Marines for their services. Every US Embassy is protected by a core of Marines and Manila is no exception. They are the ones that guard the Embassy on a 24/7 basis, plus provide assistance to individuals and the whole Embassy community in an emergency. If memory serves, the invitation told me that it was the 236th Ball, which means that these events have been going on quite a while.
Its a black tie event. Women are in long evening dress, and men in monkey suits or — as Robert chose – formal Filipinno attire, the barong. I think he selected it to avoid wearing a tux, but the bonus was that I think we both expected it to be cooler. Not so. Turns out coconut fibre with a thick cotton undershirt equals plenty of opportunities to sweat. And for anyone that knows the hubby, he took full advantage….
Anyway, it was really fun to dress up and here are a few posey photos taken before we went:
The hotel that hosted the event held about 400 of us in the ballroom. After dinner the Marines do a presentation of their services and finish by bringing in a ginormous cake, pictured here as best I could in the dark. Look for the snazzy uniforms in the background. A great evening!
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Weekly Photo Challenge: The Peoples Park in the Sky
Its supposed to read “The People’s Park in the Sky”, but lack of funds and care at this point has reduced the lettering to 60% and several of the letters were precariously swinging from their last connected screw. The recent typhoons probably gave the rusted letters a real workout.
We visited the park to experience the fantastic views of Lake Taal and the Taal volcano. The views were great. My camera and the haze don’t do it justice. You could see for miles:
The site was originally built by Marcos and his wife as a guest house to host Ronald Reagan during his scheduled presidential visit. However, the visit was canceled and the buildings were never finished. What was completed was renamed from “The Palace in the Sky” to “The People’s Park in the Sky” and opened to the public. (Shades of communist China to me.) Sadly it looks like not a penny was spent since its opening…and it sits there crumbling with vendors selling tourist tidbits from the half-completed basement.
There something about places like this that always give me the chills! Loved the view and loved Tagaytay though. The city of Tagaytay is set on a lake and there’s lots to see and do. With quite a few choices for places to stay, Tagaytay definitely qualifies as interesting place to visit for a short weekend break. Its only 1.5 hrs from Manila and a world apart.
This post is a participant in the Daily Post’s Weekly Photo Challenge: Letters.
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A Neighbourhood Walk: Gates
Walking around the nearby neighborhoods is both taxing and pretty as described in yesterday’s post. Whilst busy not twisting your ankle or getting run over by an aggressive driver, its imperative to take time to gaze at the amazing mix of homes to your right and left. Well, its mostly not the houses that you see…its their entrances. The villages are private so entry is via security point. Then further security is added by high walls and big gates, and from street level all you can really see is the gates. Although tops of some of an eclectic mix of housing styles appears here and there:
Many homes are ambassador residences. We regularly walk past Morocco, Mexico, Paraguay and Belgium on our 90 minute jaunts.
Mostly what you see though are gates. And a real mix of them too: old, new, modest, pretentious, or sometimes just weird. I love this one guarded by magnificent tall bamboo:
This one is just rusty corrugated iron:
While this one is much more posh…
This one is my favourite. Its a South American Embassy residence (Paraguay I think?) – the name is on the gate, but not visible in the photo. Sort of spooky don’t you think? Or it looks like it could be the hacienda of some drug baron. All that’s missing is an armed guard..
Most houses have a blessing tile from the Virgin Mary next to the entrance and there’s quite a variety of those. This is my favorite and they have gone a little OTT. Sorry about the smudgy quality of the shot:
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A Neighbourhood Walk: Plants
As many of you know, I like to walk and Manila has its challenges when it comes to getting around on foot. The heat for one thing…and my resolve to keep going wanes really quickly when I get too hot. The traffic lights go out frequently, and the traffic early in the morning (when its cooler) is horrible. Sidewalks aren’t in evidence too much and, when they are, they can be treacherous after rain as the moss turns them into ice rinks. Despite all these challenges, my friend Melanie and I have been pounding the pavement every Friday for about six weeks now.
Exercising outside is still so much better than the gym, and the residential villages near us have lots of interesting plants to look at.
I never tire of seeing the huge banyan trees, the hanging vines, or plants thriving outside that usually sit next to the central heating in our other homes.
Part two – Gates – to follow shortly…
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..and now in further Development News….
As you may well have come to realise, living here is much like living in a real life Sim City game. With buildings and roads being added and the city changing form almost literally on a daily basis. If I don’t wander down a certain street for a while, a patch of grass has gone and a building or cark park is going up.
The original shopping street here – High Street – built when there was nothing else but wasteland, is now surrounded by building. Phase 3 of High Street is nearing completion with tantalizing heads of newly-planted palm trees poking over the construction fence. Promises of “Blankets of Green” don’t ring really true. You mean a pedestrian path with trees in front of shops, right? But…I’ll take it! Bring on the trees..all six of them! ;o) I’m looking forward to another stretch of pedestrian area to avoid traffic and hopefully there might be a nearer supermarket in there too…. More pics when it opens.
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May I be the first to wish you Merry Christmas!
Here in Manila, not only are we going to heading toward bed after a busy day, just as so many of you are only thinking of getting started, we are also busy in the next day working while you guys are all still snoozing… So it will come as no surprise that we are also onto the Christmas thing MONTHS ahead. Yes, Christmas here begins in September. Of course, for real impact I should have posted about this last month, but life got in the way as usual. But believe me when I say that for several weeks we have Christmas trees and jingle bells at the local supermarket and all around town. Lights and trees are up in many houses, and Metro Manila Supermarket have dusted off their red Santa hats and everyone is donning them again, just like last year when we arrived in late December. So its Santa hats and “deck the halls” from now until mid-January. I am going to be an anti-Santa, raging beast!
Wright Outta Nowhere 
