Philippines

General

Here I am a disarray of thoughts and memories. Our room in Manila thank goodness was cooled with air-con. It was a had white washed walls with tile floors and a double bed. The curtains were a almost florescent green with a mucky smell to them. Behind the curtains was a large window with shutters that were made of a lattice of wooden slats. in between the slats was mother of pearl shells. In the morning the light would bounce of the shells thus creating a iridescent display of soft light. Our ventures though Manila the first day were not very eventful. We found the metered taxi was an incredible deal for getting around (as long as you can find the one that takes you to your area). I found that It wasn't quite made for people bigger then the average phillipino. After unfolding myself from the back of the taxi we ventured on to the park and some of the local spots to see. IT WAS WAY STINKING HOT! We didn't want to do much anyway.
Later in the evening we had help from a local guy named Emmes to help us navigate home. He told us of how the transit systems worked.

Other forms of local transit- 'mini buses' called "Jeepits" all over the Philippines. They are bright in color and tend to leave a black ploom of smog behind them. There always seems to be room for more people despite the fact you only have one butt cheek on a seat.

Standard bus think of a pleasure coach bus. but once again everyone is packed in including some people standing. Standard taxi is very expensive but you and your party are the only people in it.
Metered Taxi is a range rover with he front part being standard and the trunk of it having been converted into two bench seats facing one another. Most adults i have seen in one including the driver was 3 people in the front two seats. 3 in the middle row and 4 in the trunk.

Trike happens to be one of my favorites. Perhaps due to my fondness of motorcycles? so you have a small 125cc motorbike with a wended sidecar on it. We managed to fit 3 people in a sidecar and 3 (driver sitting on the tank) on the motorbike.

In summary the transport is readily available and tends to be inexpensive. The down side is you don't have much as far as 'personal space' and you don't tend to move very fast.

The Orphanage

We were welcomed by two smiling people. A woman named Bing and a man named Sonny. Bing and Sonny are like the honchos of the orphanage. I must say with out the two of them i don't know how things get done. Down where the children are there is house1 (girls) and house2 (boys). You have 5 'house parents' who look after the children directly. All i have to say is these people have some major patience. They live with the children 24/7. They rise at 6am and go to bed at about 8pm. With a welcomed nap about midday.

Our days at the orphanage seemed to run together. They seemed to consist of eating, sleeping and playing with the kids. We had a few adventures outside of the Orphanage. Mostly to the local SM 'super market' . Basically a standard mall in the us but has a big part of it designated to the Grocery store.
We had a venture to Tagaytay with Bing and Sonny one afternoon and we had fun goofing about and checking out different sights.

Bing was nice enough to invite us to a family reunion of her as well. It took place in Batangas Black sand beach with warm water and beautiful views. We felt so happy and welcomed by her family. We enjoyed all the different people EXCEPT the Karaoke that went until 4am. That only resumed at 5am.

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Last updated on June 14, 2008