They started to fade in the late 50s in favor of larger bottles. Then can machines became popular with the advent of pop tops. Plastic bottles killed the glass ones, of course.

The last machine I saw with the small bottles, at Hanum's Harley Davidson, was in the 70s. Of course the "nickel Cokes" were a quarter, or more, by then.

Sleeping whenever you damn well feel like ( same for getting up ) is something that everyone should experience for a while.

It's 6am here now and I've been up all night reading books about the Philippines and posting on the cellar.

Life could be much worse.

Get a JOB ya BUM !!!! ;)

Living the life of Riley ???

I gots a Job for ya , document those cats in action !!!!!!

Ya lucky DOG !!!!!

My job nowdays is quite different than in the US. It is now to entertain, to teach Tag-lish, to laugh with and to eat with all of the relatives here in the Phils.

Not a bad job at all.

There are also many books that I'm in process of reading regarding the Philippines, past and present.

Fascinating reading with good commentary from the locals here.

Tomorrow we go into Maynila once again to take pictures. This time I'm hoping for better weather but know that it rains here every day and is overcast much of the time.

We went on a mini tour of the city today and have some mildly interesting photos but first, let's take a look at this.

Mobile billboards

These MBs are moving around all over the city but this it the first chance to actually catch a few pics.

I like the concept and it seems like a likeweight job for the driver. No pressure to load or offloads goods, no rushing around to keep a schedule.

Has anyone seen anything like this outside the Philippines? It cant possibly have started here but I've not seen them away from here.

Our little adventure today took us to Roxas Boulevard around the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC).

In the process of trying to find parking for the Coconut Palace, we stopped on the boardwark area and found this floating restaurant.

Here are all the "official details".

The Jumbo Kingdom is a cool looking attraction. It's not a building, it's not a traditional ship. It's something cool looking at a section of the boardwalk that the water is not all that good smelling or clean.

The website gives all the history and some better looking photos of the JK, but trust me, this is what it really looks like.

In all fairness we did not eat there. The food could well be heavenly.

Just a few hundred feet away is the Song of the Islands, bar and restaurant. A pinoy booze cruise.

It probably doesnt matter to the boozers that the water looks so crappy around the shore. It seems such a shame to me because I'm guessing that with a small amount of money and effort the trash could be fished out to improve the area.

There must be some sort of cleanup once it builds up but at what level does someone say, "OK, it's getting too polluted now, it's time"?

The smell is not nearly as strong as other places that I've been but it's bothersome.

To be fair, a significant part of the problem is that there are few containers to throw trash into. Tidiness is of very low importance to people here because of the many other challenges in their lives.

I often find myself keeping junk, wrappers, bags, bottles, to be tossed in a back pocket until there's a suitable place to put it.

Sadly, much of it ends up here.

There are some very nice looking things to post soon but I had to get this out of my system.

I see them driving around Nashville quite a bit.

OK, thanks TOG.

We arrived at about 1pm, found a parking space and talked to the guards about a tour.

The next tour would be at 2pm and costs P100 ($2.22) each.

After a little looking around it was time for our tour.

This property is absolutely beautiful.

Here is the link from the Phils Tourism site.

Guests are not allowed to photograph the upstairs, which was a disappointment for sure. All the rooms are of the same basic floor layout but with their own unique furnishings according to the name of the room.

They are named after regions or islands.

There are a lot of images to follow. They don't do the palace justice. It's a wonderful place.

According to the tour guide, about 20% of the building materials and most of the furnishings are made from the coconut tree in one form or another.

The guide continues to explain that the original purpose of the palace was to use the coconut in as many ways as possible to show the people of the Philippines the beauty of all of its forms (that they would never be able to use in their own homes or lives because Mr Marcos was hoarding all the money and killing/jailing objectors)

The guide also gave that explaination while we were in the Marcos master bedroom, likely standing feet away from where his power and influence kept millions of people hungry.

Did I mention that I'm not a Marcos fan? He was a great friend of Reagan and they had a long history which I don't completely understand yet, but will soon.

He was also the only Philippine president to be re-elected.

There is a lot more reading required before I can come to a final opinion of the man, but it's not looking favorable.

To many in this neighborhood, he was the best president. Very confusing.

It's only when I edit these pictures that I understand how mediocre this camera is.

It's takes decent photos with good light but in low light as seen in the following 4 pictures, it's disappointing.

All coconuts. Wood, pulp, coconut shells. Very cool looking furnishings.

.

Just outside the dining room here.

Shells here in the chandelier. Could use a good dusting too.

The cooling fan appeared to be made from plastic but I didnt ask the tourguide about it.

She seemed a bit annoyed at my comments and suggestions. :biggrin:

There are a large number more to post. More of the palace and other places that we went today.

More later.

Verry cool Slang !!!

Thank you Zippy.

The collection of the CP is so large and shows so much of the ground floor that it's ridiculous to post any more.

It's a fantastic place to visit. If you have the opportunity, do spend the P100 and go to visit.

Now for the next amazingly almost interesting item on the list of places we've been lately.

This is the Manila floating hotel and restaurant.

It's not in it's best condition here now but take a look and the history here.

By the time these pics were taken the troops were grumbling about walking around all day and we did not actually board the ship ( this time :biggrin: )

It's certainly something different to see and is a large ship by stds of the 50s when it was built.

I forget what kind of camera youre using slang - can you not get a flash attachment for it? Makes a huge difference for me on mine.

We did not stay long enough to enjoy the lights after dark at the ship and the Manila Hotel.

It seems like a safe place for tourists as the hotel is very big and established but also with a full time police station adjacent to it.

That could be a good sign or a bad one. Sometime I'll go down there and stroll around after dark.

Hi Jinx,

I'm using a Kodak Z710 "slr-like" camera which was pretty cheap and overall worth the money.

There is no option for an additonal flash but as I gain confidence that a good camera will not disappear or be damaged, a good quality camera will surely be the next one.

I'm thinking Nikon D70 or better.

Just down the street is Rizal Park. There may be other posts of it here.

This is Jose Rizal and his importance to the Philippines.

On this day, the Marines are standing tall and looking fresh even in the extreme heat. :thumb:

The Marines are not standing guard in the rain and this day it's not raining when we pass by the memorial.

It's good to see them here. They bring honor and respect where ever they are here in Manila.

This is not the only monument to Rizal, it's the biggest with it's own honor gaurd.

I'm confused. Are they US or Filipino Marines? Why would US Marines have this gig?

They are Philippine Marines Griff.

Here I refer to our Marines as US Marines. In this country they are assumed to be Philippine when using the term "Marines".

Ok, enough Marines.

This next "area of interest" is the Chinese Garden which is not visible from the walkway of Rizal Park but is listed in some of the travel guides ( that I don't read or we would not have gone to visit ).

The cost to enter was only P5, which should tell you something before you even enter.

It's possible that we missed the memorable portion of the garden for all the people sleeping on the benches and the swarms of hungry mosquitos.

At one time it was surely a pleasant place to visit.

There are two complaints with the garden:

1. There is stagnet water throughout in ponds that are a haven for mosquitos.

2. There are people sleeping on the railings of the pavilions, setting up cardboard shantys and appearing as this is their mailing address.


On the upside, those that were there seemed in good enough spirits to smile when we walked around and there were some people reading books and magazines.

If one had a five gallon pail of chlorine and were to give each of the 5 or 6 ponds a little dash of it here and there, it might improve the overal enjoyment of coming to visit.

There are also some interesting looking ( Chinese ) pavilions and the walkways are brick or cobblestone instead of just some poured concrete path.

Many of my daily pictures are of traffic and different looking things that I see.

Sometimes those different looking things are cars that are not seen in the US and sometimes they are cars normally seen in the US but not often here.

This is a very bad shot of a vette that zipped by before I could adjust the camera for an action shot.

There may be a lot of Vettes here but I've not seen them with my own eyes very often.

Someone explained to me today that the nicer looking Jeepneys often have sealed windows instead of being open to the outside or having plastic over them.

The nicer looking ones like this have AC, so they cost a bit more, are a bit fancier, etc, etc.

When we get into one, you can be sure that there will be photos here of it from the inside. :)

Here are some night shots from the lineup for the taxi at the Glorietta Mall.

This mall is not nearly as big as many here. The only reason that we ended up here was to go to a specialty shop that is not at other malls.

There are booths you may call them, simple displays with goods on them. Most of them are women's items or cell phone accessories.

As you pass ( if you are a white man ) the girls say hello and then politely say what they have there, as if you could not recognize the items by simply looking at them.

It's ok at first but it gets old after a while.

Example:

Hello Sir, Maam...gold watches?
Hello Sir, Maam...Handbags?
Hello Sir, Maam...shoes?
Hello Sir, Maam...gold rings?
Hello Sir, Maam...high capacity Glock mags?


Ok, so I made that last one up. It's absolutely true about the other items though.

It's only when I go with my wife that they seem so friendly too. :blush:

-----

There are normally "security" officers outside that write the name and the number of the taxi on a form for you as they guide you into a cab.

This gives the passenger some reassurance that the driver will not be a complete ass during the trip.

Tonight the security people were not only writing the cab info on the form to give to the passengers as they entered the taxi, they were also taking pictures of them getting in.

I had seriously hoped to get a picture of the security gaurd taking our picture but they stopped just before we stepped up the the head of the line

Billboards from the EDSA highway

Ok, this is out of the car window but what the hell. Here it is.

This is a spanking new Chevy Suburban. What's the big deal? They sell for $75k here. In a country where the median yearly salary is $1400.

Take a look at some other prices on American cars here.

The prices listed may not be competetive but that's all I have to go on.

The stupidass stuffed animals on the dash are not mine Zippy. :rolleyes:

Here's something a bit different.

There's a joke for drivers. When it's lunch or dinner time they warn each other to stickly follow all the rules.

This is what one of the passengers in a car might say to the driver.

"Hey Slow down you jackass! It's lunchtime...don't you know!?"

The complete meaning of this "joke" has completely bypassed me until a few days ago.

There were 5 of us in a Kia Adventure on EDSA, I was in the front, a pinoy was driving.

We were in traffic that slowed down and the driver merged into the right hand lane to avoid the traffic jam. He very purposely merged out of the traffic and into a split in the highway to take a different route.

A police officer ran out into the highway to halt the car. It was 12:20 pm.

The driver yelled, "Oh Fuck!! It's lunchtime!"

Whatever.

He pulls the car over. The officer comes to the window.

Liscence, registration.

I was thinking to myself, what is the problem here but activated my STFU button for the duration of the "traffic stop".

The officer takes the L and R....comes back....speaks Tagalog for about 5 minutes with the other passengers.

His citation pad is out....he's writing something and speaking in a more serious tone in Tagalog.

I see the driver hand over a P500 note which the officer quickly crumples into his hand.

Then the officer says....OK, I've giving you a warning this time. I have to go eat lunch now. :biggrin:

Not really. Not about saying that he has to go to lunch. That is the only part that didnt happen.

He didnt need to say "I have to go eat lunch with your money for a warning, for an offense that you didnt commit"

I just laughed out loud.

I told the driver in all my miles on the road in the US not one single time has anything like that ever happened to me. That in all the backwoods billy-bob states and counties, in the north, south, east and west not one time has that happened to me and that I was truly a bit skeptical that it does happen here.

He laughed with me for a second or two.

"How do you know how much to give?" I asked.

He said normally he gives P100 but no one had any smaller bills today.

So now whenever we drive around, I make sure to have a few hundred peso notes.

With a "rich" white guy in the front seat, this will surely happen again.

At about 4 o'clock, just by coincidence I'm sure, we saw 2 other motorists buying the police dinner. :3eye:

Just been catching up on this thread - keep them coming Slang, fantastic details.

Thank you SG. These are just the sort of mildly interesting things that I'd like to read from someone's trip.

There were no special trips planned today, no one visiting and no one to go visit. Sort of a boring day.

I woke and got up at around 11 am today. That's when I effing felt like getting around after reading late into the night.

All meals are prepared by my MIL at their house which is just a few doors down. We all like to eat together and it's my MIL's purpose in life to provide good foods and clean clothes for all of us.

That's not sarcasm, that's just the way it is here. Her role here is respectable caring for all of us.

We left the apt to go for breakfast as we often do at this time.

The neighbor across the street is working her way slowly from her front gate into the back of a very pinoy looking Jeepny. She's a very old woman and a slow mover.

Her son is holding her arm to steady her. She's teary and her voice breaks up as she tells me...

Theese my son home from Amerika.

The son, John, an electrical engineer working in the San Fransisco area.

My eyes adjust to the bright sun after crawling out of our cave and I shake his hand.

"Do you drink beer" I asked.

He shook his head no. "How about Pepsi?" He smiled as to say yes and we agreed to get together to chat in the coming weeks.

He'll be around for 3 weeks.

Before moving on to the house for breakfast, I looked in the Jeepny. There was a small boy in the back looking very uneasy.

It was John's son, 3 years old. This was his first visit to "the old country" and I could just read his mind.

"I don't like this vehicle, it's very hot here, this is not home, I don't know all these people, it smells bad here" :lol:

We both commented on the boy's expressions and then went on to breakfast.

After breakfast and an unusually hard rain, complete with lightning we take a trip.

It's just about 4 pm and I'm looking for a cheap distraction for the next few hours.

We are very close to some nice places here but we always go there and I'd like to explore a bit today.

The MRT is cheap and runs through some territory that we don't normally visit, why not take a little trip for a few hours?

Off we go. Tricycle to a Jeepny, Jeepny to the MRT station.

The goal in my mind is to ride the MRT to the outter reaches of the line or lines.

Today that means MRT down to Taft Ave then to catch the LRT and all the way up to Monumento.

Here is a quick link for the MRT

I'm a big fan of all of the public rail system here. It's cheap, air conditioned and the tracks are above the street level much of the time so I can look out the windows in amazement at those strange things that are out there. :blush:

Today we enter at Guadalupe.

The train rolls to a stop and the doors open. A uniformed man works his way out of the railcar with an M16 with a tac-sling. It's a very dark green but not black uniform.

Right hand over the reciever, left hand over the muzzle he wiggles through a gang of people boarding the railcar, trying not to push the weapon into anyone.

He breaks free from the crowd and disappears in seconds.

"I wonder how effective someone with an M16 could possibly be in such a crowded situation" I say to my wife.

Then after thinking a moment agree in my mind that it's probably a deterrant by showing force.

It's surely a strange thing for me to see. I'm not fearful of these soldiers and SWAT people, it just seems very unusual.

Nowdays the whole city is more familiar to me and it's getting very comfortable to go to all sorts of places in Manila.

We switch to the LRT for a ride up the coast. The tickets cost about $.40 each one way to the last stop on the line.

The LRT is older than the MRT. It's the original public rail system here and the roughness of the ride is a big difference from the MRT.

As you look forward into the next car, you see ( and feel ) the cars moving back and forth. It's as if the tracks are bent but that seems improbable.

Looking out the window the older parts of the city are passing by. The old Spanish style buildings are much more common here and the churches are bigger.

This trip I see what turns out to be the old Chinese cemetery. It's so old and run down that it's only after seeing the sign and the gates that I recognize it.

Eventually we arrive at Monumento. To me it appears as run down and dark as many other parts of the city. Lots of lights, cars, jeepnys and people moving in something less than a smooth orderly way.

To my wife it's not a pleasant place to visit, so we head back soon after arriving.

It's surely been worth the forty cents to look out the window at the older portion of the city. My wife doesnt share my opinion on that though.

Once back at Guadalupe everythings fine again.

This is just a little something that I noticed while reviewing a series of photos taken recently.

It's a good idea here to read the signs. The systems of warnings and notices are not nearly what they are many other places in the world.

Take a look at how the hose is just sorta flopped on the truck too.

Maybe it's not acid, maybe it is. It's strange in my mind.

We pass this little shop when riding the MRT.

Do they know what pot is in the US?

I would like to make a little reefer to put in the lips of the big smiley. :joint:

I didn't know squids have white balls.

You didnt know that they smell like sweaty ass either did you?

:lol:

Yeah, a bit strange. I'll have to ask about that.

It has been far too long since I had a Yummy Yes Delight

We covered some distance today. We rode the jeepnys, we walked the uneven sidewalks, we took the pictures.

We came home exhausted as usual.

Is it that fact that I'm out of shape that fatigues me so quickly nowdays or does the pollution and the dreary overcast skies drain me?

Probably both.

This is a group shot of some of the Pulis Oyster people on Burgos ave in Manila.

They are all over the city and one cannot avoid seeing them.

I thought that this program was some kind of punishment from the pulis but that's not tha case as I find out now.

It's a public service. One very much needed with very little appreciation.

Thank you to this group of Pulis Oysters as well as the countless others that are sweeping and picking up trash. A very humble yet pleasant group of pinoys.

Getting close to dinner time in metro Manila.

The destination for the day was the Philippine National Museum, which is directly across the street from the City Hall here.

The unique feature of the city hall building is the clocktower which I didnt get a picture of.

Imagine that, a lost opportunity.

There is a website in progress here.

There is a new mayor in town and in a TV clip he says to the citizens of Manila....

Cooperate or evaporate.

That is in reference to the new plans for Manila.

Once we find a path to cross the street, we're off to the Natianal Museum.

It's a shame that they do not allow photos inside. There are some very beautiful and interesting paintings and artworks inside but no photos are allowed.

Many are very old paintings and some are new abstact sorts of pieces.

They were all very nice looking or interesting to see.

The galleries are kept very cool to preserve the works. The hallways are very hot because they are open to the outside.

Hot, cold....hot, cold.

Just get a sweat going and then WHAM, you're cold again. :biggrin:

This is not what I would consider a must see attraction but it is a nice place to see a variety of artworks from native artists.

It's also free which is always a bonus.

It would surely be a benefit IMO if they had some type of broshure to list the works.

They are from artists that I cannot remember and there isn't one single painting or sculpture that I remember the name of.

We'll probably get there again in the future and I'll have to write down some of the information.

Oh, here is a link

The Spolarium is four meters in height and certainly worth the cost of entry.

The jeepnys are cheap and available nearly everywhere and we ride them often.

The biggest reason is that I'm a cheap bastard at heart and I cant see spending money on a ride.

The secondary reason is that I'm on a mission of another sort, to meet and be seen by the natives. Some sort of PR campaign you might say.

There are so few Americans that ride jeepnys that some pinoys may come to the untrue conclusion that we are "too sexy" to ride the cheap and common transport.

It's true that they are often crowded and the ride quality is BAD, that they don't have AC and that the windows are very low for someone of American height.

The ONE THING that really kills me in the jeepnys is passing all these buses.

Many of the bus's engines are in the rear. Most we'll say. I'm not an expert on that.

And with the engine being in the rear they have a radiator that takes in the air to cool the engine.

At idle in the street the discharge from the radiator from the buses is brutal. Where is the air intake for the radiator? On the side? Why does the heat flow out of that duct? Is this the exhaust duct for the cooling air?

It doesnt make sense to me that this duct would push air out but whenever we pass one of these buses and it sits at idle while we're waiting for traffic to move again, it's like an oven in the jeepny.

It's brutal hot in proximity to those radiator ducts.

They are cheap though. :)

I found this today.

It's one of the forms from the taxi line at the mall.

I suppose it means that I'm running out of stuff to post when I have to show you all this dumb thing. :blush:

What other dumb little thing might I post here next?


Ah, golf.

Is there anything dumber than golf? A good walk spoiled.

Here is a small portion of the Intramuros Golf course.

Every little thing is interesting. For example, it's all in English. Is there anything - a sign, a menu, anything - you've posted, that's not in English?

Taking pics out the back of a jeepny to review later so as to learn the landmarks.

Most everything here is in English. There are exceptions though.

Take a look at frame 529 of the plaques for city hall. Two of the three are in Tagalog.

I'll make a note to try to get more tagalog signs. Many times I already look for them so they can be translated.

Think about it though, the descriptions in the National Museum, all English.

Street signs, directions... What isn't in English? I'll try to find some more examples of Tagalog.

Here are a few examples of Tagalog or Tag-lish.

Taglish