Makati City, Philippines

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This PH is small but very nice. The manager didnt even call the police when I was taking these photos.

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This is the pizza that we took to Rizal for lunch, on the seat of a Jeepney.

The Frenchmen both liked the pizza and also made an onion and garlic spaghetti sauce that was delicious!

A long political discussion even ended peacefully as I made my case for the Bush ( W ) policy in Iraq.

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Rush hour traffic in Makati and the horizon.

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Billboards of fashion ads. It's surprising since the natives have so little money for high cost clothing.

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Maybe LJ can do someting with these.

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A simple ride on the MRT turned into a visit to the Mall of Asia today.

It's listed as the 7th largest mall in the world but it's amazing to see here in Manila.

We are much closer to the Market Market mall near the Fort so we don't normally even consider travelling to another mall unless we're in that area visiting someone.

The MoA is BIG, it is very nice, and it is very cool inside the mall shops ( as opposed to the shops that face the outside )

There is construction underway on the Manila bay side of the mall which will surely be very attractive when complete. It's a mess now.

We walked nearly all through and there are many specialty shops that I don't have any interest in and many choices of restaurants.

It was surprising to me that there were not many more people there. The walkways and stairs are much bigger to accomodate many more people than the MM mall.

There is also access to very cheap transportation so that most any pinoy can visit the mall even if they cannot buy much.

Just being inside with all the AC was enjoyable. It's a very large space to have cool.

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Here is the link for MoA

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Most people don't drive or own a car here but they still go to the malls in large numbers.

These two pics show the terminals for the Jeepneys and FXs. The Jeepneys are the least expensive but are very rough riding and are without AC. The FXs are normally a van that 8 or 10 people ride in ( say for example in the US it may be a van with seating ) with relative comfort. The FXs will normally run with the AC on so that you can sit while waiting for the other people that will bring the vehicle to capicity.

The FXs are generally twice as costly as the Jeepney.

The following images show the terminals where the FXs are.

I'm not too sexy to ride a Jeepney and often do. My major complaint is that their widows are too low for me to look out from.

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This is the "SM marching band".

They march around the mall every half hour.

A bit much IMO.

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The "big sale" of Asia.

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Some sights from the grounds.

The huge globe is not something that I see very often this size. It's much better looking after dark when the panels light up in different colors.

The IMAX sign is sorta cool because the big projection screen running within it. The photo doesnt do it justice.

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These are some shots of the cheapest of the cheap rides here. I suppose the pedcab is cheaper but motorized, this is the least expensive ride.

They are called chop-chops.

My wife says that they are Japan's junk.

Aparently Japan cuts their old vehicles into large parts by cutting torch. The large parts are shipped here to the Philippines as scrap junk metal. Very cheaply.

Once the "junk" is here workmen weld the parts back together making the junk parts into a vehicle.

In this way the pinoys can avoid the taxes on the vehicles and have something very affordable, if not good looking or fully functional to use here.

A "new" chop-chop will sell for about P170k ( about $4, 000 ).

All the pinoys that I talk to HATE them but dammit, I'd have one if my wife wouldnt throw a fit about it.

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The motor in this one is a 3 cylinder. It's an old Mitsubishi engine and frame.

The sad reality here is that there is no manufacturing "owned" by the pinoys. They dont like things from here, they hate those things. What they really like is imported things.

Things not imported as junk parts to be welded back together though.

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Another example of roughing it here.

This sort of thing goes on a lot more often than I have the chance to catch in pictures.

In a way I cringe when I see this but then I can respect the fact that this is often the only realistic option for many.

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Just found these.

This is the Mitsubishi Adventure that we rode back from the MoA. It's a 2003 model and fits 10 people inside.

Mind you, they arent "me" sized people but there were 10 in that "FX" on the ride home from the mall.

The fare was P40 and the ride was about 1/2 hour.