Makati City, Philippines

[slang]

I've been sending cheap cameras out to net pals all over the world in the last 3 months or so and the photos coming in now are good enough to show off a bit.

It's a genuine challenge for both the photographer and for me in getting their skills up to speed, many of whom have never taken pictures before even with film cameras, let alone a digital. The camera itself is just a cheapie and has specific limits and weaknesses. It took a lot of trial and error for me to be able to get good photos out of this model camera. Having exactly the same style and model here with me that was sent, I was able to immediately spot technical fixes for symptoms seen in the images coming in.

It's also true that some people just have a knack for taking good photos while others do not.

Anyway, these are from the Philippines. There are more available here than you would ever care to see but I thought you might appreciate these.

[slang]

Look at the billboards. The one to the right is an ad for "Desparate Housewives". Interesting. The second is just a shot of some of the trees there. Very cool

[slang]

These are shots of the Philippine "Jeepnys" . Part Jeep, but mostly bus. This is the cheap way around metro city Philippines. The street scenes of the cars are of particular interest to me. Everything is small.

[dar512]

Nice pics.

It would seem your shooter likes to shoot down from a height.

[slang]

I'll pass the compliment on to her. The overall quality of her shots have improved greatly in a very short time.


As for the angle, there is a walkway that runs around the malls. Many of these shots were taken from there. A few of the others were taken from the train station walkway.

Here are a few shots of the walkway.

[Elspode]

Bravo on the concept, Slang. More! I think the results are quite passable. Thanks for the careful work and consideration in putting these here. Seeing people's pics from around the world is one of The Cellar's most satisfying aspects for me.

What cameras, how cheap, and where sourced? Reply in private if you don't want to reveal in public?

[zippyt]

Remimd me to tell you about a jeepny ride from hell some time ,
Dude do you have the collection posted any where , like Flickr ???

[slang]

Dam Zip. I just get here to Makati city and what do I find? Seems like you've made quite an impression on the Philippines. Dont worry though, what happens in the Philippines stays in the Philippines.

[slang]

Hey if anyone wants photos of something specific that wont get me arrested or sent directly to HELL, let me know. This is a very interesting place and I'll be here for a long time. I have enough batteries and memory cards to take about 650 million photos so sound off if you are looking for something specific.

[zippyt]

Don't bother my sweat shop workers !!!!!!!

[Sundae]

Can you take some pictures of street food vendors? And markets...?

Partly because I like looking at other people's dinner, but also because I think the way people cook & sell food is a good introduction to their culture.

[slang]

Zip - I havent found much middle between rich and poor here. If you have a job of **any** (legal) kind, your a step ahead of most people.

SG - Yes, I'll get exactly those sorts of photos as this type of thing also interests me. It grosses me out and makes me vomit sometimes too but it's interesting in a car wreck sort of way.

The only photo to post right now is lame and not even of the Philippine Islands but Japan from quite a distance up from the flight into Narita airport.

More to come.

[Luisa]

Hi Sundae Girl. Listen, Filipino food is not for the faint of heart and stomach. If you thought the food served on Fear Factor was bad, you have not dared to try eating the local Filipino delicacies like Dinuguan (pork blood with pork entrails like liver and spleen) which are usually served to guests at home in a formal meal setting. There is also Kilawin (spleen stir fried with white raddish).

If you get hungry for a snack in the street, there is always Adiddas ( grilled chicken feet), Bituka ng manok (Grilled chicken intestines), Grilled pork blood, Fried chicken bottoms/ tails, and the ever popular Balut (unsuccessfully hatched chicken eggs steamed to become soupy), Let's not forget the Penoy (duck egg fried in an orange batter and dipped in chili vinegar). that's just the tip of the "street food" iceberg. In fact, there are 2 streets in Manila, Quiapo and Blumentritt, that are lined with vendors and their pushcarts hawking the above wares. These 2 places would be the place to go to get the best pictures of local street food and more. both places are about an hour or 2 away from Makati. Provided your driver knows where to go.

If you are in the mood for local rice soup, you can always try the pushcarts in Blumentritt and try the Lugao (sticky rice) with pork or beef intestines. Another place to get good pictures of people enjoying a street meal is the local wet market. They have food stalls there that serve stuff even I don't recognize. But the people there eat with gusto anyway.

I could go on and on about the local street food but I warn anyone who wishes to try it, proceed with caution. These foods are not exactly cooked under the most hygenic circumstances. The food is cooked in the middle of the street and tends to soak up the pollution from the passing cars. The ones served at the local wet market are somewhat cleaner but then the air is not that good to breath as you have to figure out what that scent in the air is. Ameboiasis and Hepatitis are a real threat when ingesting these foods.

The places and food I mentioned above will never be found in the Makati area. Makati is an expat district and the government wants them to think that the country is all lollipops and roses. The places I told you about are the places the government wishes would get swallowed up by a typhoon one time. It is an embarassment to them and they would rather sweep it under the rug. I can get pictures of these places for anybody who wants to see it. The things I mentioned above usually make it to CNN as part of a special report on the hardships of Filipino living documentaries. You will have to see it with your own eyes to believe such foods are eaten by human beings. Usually, the street food is eaten by people who can't afford anything else.

To eat the best of the HEALTHY local food like various sinigang (sour soup) dishes, pinakbet (Mixed Filipino vegetables in coconut cream) and local ensiladas (salads), it would be best to ask your host family to prepare a meal for you or trek to the local Barrio Fiesta or Kamayan restaurant. These 2 restaurants serve the best of Home Filipino cooking in a Fiesta atmosphere. Those restaurants are frequently visited by the tourists and expats. That I would highly recommend.

Originally Posted by Sundae Girl

Can you take some pictures of street food vendors? And markets...?

Partly because I like looking at other people's dinner, but also because I think the way people cook & sell food is a good introduction to their culture.

[slang]

SG - ( this keyboard is nearly worthless, please keep that in mind will all replies ) i went out into the city today and found the things that you asked for .....and more. Some very intersting and some very frightening food items to be sure.

i dont have the data cable for the cam now but those pics are coming soon.

Zip - the chances of me eating monkey on a stick are approximately the same as me throwing this hotel over my left shoulder in the next 3 seconds. Sounds wonderful, but i'll pass. nothing personal.

Tonchi - i'm aware that this place is not utopia in any stretch of the imagination. Yes, makati is a protected city. No, i'm not too sexy to get away from here and see what life is really like. We went to pembo yesterday as her relatives are from there and LaUnion. Not at all a great place to live but great people there. I've been well cared for here so far and everyone is very friendly and helpful.

it seems likely that even pembo is a "nice place" compared to what's out there but i'm not here to bask in the sun on bleached white sand. I'm not here for the comforts and sights of the US, i can experience those back home. I'm here to meet people and learn what this place is about, good and bad.

Do i have the expectation that all filipinos are going to be great to me, no. Will that prevent me from experiencing life here for what it really is and not some tourist ad, no.

i'm a big mother fucker and have been in hotspots before. while it's obvious from my smile and general manner that i'm here to be friends, it's sometimes obvious that i'm not here to be fucked with either.

it's funny how things work out for me on these trips. The police officers are "safer" to talk with than most others and often have a bit of time to make suggestions regarding what to expect in a given area. Sometimes they even come with me ( off duty ) on my photo exploration strolls.

luisa - as for the faint of heart and stomach, i agree totally and everyone will soon know what we are both saying from the photos that will be posted of these native "food items"

it's 3;10 am here now and i have to go get ready to heckle the sweatshop workers at Zippy International.

slang: Get a job! Get a real job and stop smoking those cigarettes, you dont want to stunt your growth, do you?

not reality but sounded funny in my head.

See you all later.

[Tonchi]

Slang, it's good to know that you are one big mo fo, and you are right, that will protect you in many subtle ways. You have discovered the most important way to operate in the Philippines: Intimidation. They are used to being threatened and mistreated there, it is deeply ingrained in that culture. So if anybody even looks like they could enforce their will, people will automatically get out of his way. Money is a key also. You could be on a shoestring by US terms but you will seem to be a god to the people there. The problem with money, though, is that although the people will defer to you and smile and offer you all kinds of considerations, their drive is to separate as much of that money from you as quickly as possible. I have discovered over the last 8 years that their generosity is very two-faced. What they are doing is creating a "debt" which you will owe them FOREVER. Luisa has told me about traditional social relationships there which guarantee your debt to a person or clan who has "helped you out" unto the third generation of your descendants. Filipinos will hotly deny this if confronted, then they will talk bitterly about your "ingratitude" behind your back and will slander you to the neighbors.

Please understand that I am in no way profiling your hosts, I don't know them and can't in any way tell you what they are thinking or how they were raised. After all, my best friend and sister is Filipina, and she is as fine and honest a person as I have ever known, although she will be the first to admit that she is deeply hated by many in her extended family because those characteristics are an obstruction rather than a virtue in their view. Your judgment of people must be finely honed by now, anyway, and I sense your appreciation of individuals and their diversity. There are still some fine people inside that society, and those who worked with the Americans when they were in charge are in much better shape to deal with now. But the majority of the country operates on the most depressing Third World level and seem determined to sink even lower. Poverty, filth and ignorance, when there is no exotic jungle/tribal setting, is just best avoided. This is unfortunately what "modern life" in sprawling cities has done to so many cultures around the world.