Another observation from the trip. Maybe this has been covered.

When I see westerners they generally avoid me. They avoid eye contact, they don't speak to me, they normally completely ignore me.

In Makati city with all the "adult entertainment" going on with the westerners, that would be logical but nearly everywhere not many speak.

Not a great loss for me because I deal with Americans enough in America. It's strange though.

Slang I reread this thread throughout the day yesterday, it's my favorite right now. Can't wait to see more :thumb:

Thanks Jinx

This is a shot that I passed up before.

We're walking through Comembo and Pinang is leading on foot and I'm snapping.

This woman in this restaurant was waving to us and I asked "do you know her"? Pinang said no, seems she just wanted her pic taken. Maybe she thought that these pictures would be in some fancy famous magazine or something.

Sorry ma'am....just here at the cellar. :blush:

It's common to have people want their image in my camera, and then for all of you to see. Most don't wave as this nice woman did though.

Ever hear about the pollution in Manila? It's bad in some places. In others it's very bad.

There are ditches that run along many of the streets. It's not a storm drain but it's not the sewer either. It's just bad grey water.

Many times there is a very large sign that instructs you not to put your trash in this "stream". Most of the time no regard is paid to it though and you see it piling up, in one case that comes to mind, directly under the sign.

About half to the crap that's along the banks of the streem here is bio garbage and the other half is styrofoam and plastic.

Not this but another place in Comembo there is a strong odor 20 - 30 ft from the portion that crosses the street exposed at the sidewalks.

It's not nearly as bad as many streets that I'd been to in Pakistan.

Coconuts are very popular there. This has to be one of the top 5 growers of cocunuts in the world, if not one of the top 3.

In the rough they sell for 10-15 php ($.20-25) each. They are popular for their juice and I've seen people collect it from them to cool in the fridge and drink.

I've not tried it unrefined so I cant comment on the taste.

Beer is cheaper by the liter so why bother?

Most of them just pile them up in the street with a bike and sell them.

Not something you'd see in the US, but common here.

If you go to "User CP" at the top left of any page and click on "attachments" under the "Miscellaneous" heading, you can see how many times each of your attachments has been viewed. That's a better gauge than the view counter for the entire thread, especially when the thread has been around for a while.

Pictures I've attached within an IotD thread get hundreds of views, but if I start my own thread in the Cellar and stick pictures in there, I'll usually only get 1-2 dozen views. Sometimes less if it's a thread without much of a broad appeal.

Interesting. Thank you Glatt.

Billboards. They tell a lot about what people want and don't want. Some are cool to look at as well.

The Philips bb always seemed to be in exactly the wrong place. This one is in West Rembo, not an affluent area.

Why would people care to see a very big ad for something that they could not (easily ) afford?

Maybe the two billboards together should be considered. :D

This is one of those hotels that rents by the hour. It's a chain hotel there but I'm not sure how many there actually are.

There was a Sogo that we looked at in Guadalupe but didn't stay at.

We walked into the lobby past restaurant style boths towards the front desk. There were people sitting in the booths but I wasn't paying much attention.

No Zip, the floor was not sticky. :rolleyes:

slang: We'd like a room please.
clerk: (Looks at Pinang) How long would you like Miss?
Pinang: (Looks at me)
slang: Two days. (flexes bicep ) :)
clerk: :eyebrow: wow. (hands me a "take a number card") Have a seat and a room with be available soon.

I just wanted to see what it was like there. It's actually pretty funny.

Then we checked in at a nice hotel just off Ayala. Pinang was relieved. :)

Another billboard ad.

These are from the Stressmas eve party.

There is some type of cylinder that explodes confetti and candy up in the air ( and on top of your head if you're not paying close attention )that the host used at this party.

The hazards of this are twofold, the initial concussion of the candy cannon with the resulting fallout and then the rush of kids to get to the candy that landed on or near you. They'll bowl you over if you're not paying attention ( or are trying to take photos and not watching ).

You want to make sure that you are clear of where that candy lands. :smack:

It was a big hit with the kids and was fun to see them having such a good time with something so simple.

Gas prices in the US got you down?

Regular unleaded was $2.95 at the time of this photo.

.

This is what a new apartment building looks like. The rooms can't be more than the size of a normal sized US hotel room.

The rent is 7-8k PHP a month.

That rock facade doesn't look fake at all. :eyebrow: It is wallpaper?