Bushman in The Philippines: Manila

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Recently, I was in the Philippines on business.  I spent a few days in Manila and then I went up north to the Cagayan Valley.  Below are shots of Manila.  Greg was our driver, and Sonny was my guide in the Philippines.  Greg is a former Manila taxi driver and he knows the city like his own backyard.

Bushman in The Philippines: Manila

Everyone I met in the Philippines was exceedingly polite.  In general, the people that I came into contact with were perhaps the nicest people I’ve encountered in all my travels.  This photo is one example of a “Jeepney” vehicle, the main form of public transportation in the Philippines.

Bushman in The Philippines: Manila

We went out to eat and pulled into this area, known for seafood.  Notice the touts running around trying to get our attention.

Bushman in The Philippines: Manila

Very persistent, the touts compete directly against each other for customers.  They are paid by the various places, and I assume it’s on a commission basis but I’m not really sure.  I just know that they are rather annoying when you’re trying to negotiate the street without hitting them.

Bushman in The Philippines: Manila

Like many countries around the world, the Philippines has it’s share of political turmoil.  As a result, there are armed security guards in most places.  Even though at first it seems strange in the presence of people carrying guns (and sometimes automatic weapons) I felt entirely safe while I was visiting.

Bushman in The Philippines: Manila

Everywhere I went, the security personnel were very professional, polite and approachable, unlike security forces I’ve seen in other countries.  The guards held doors open for me on many occasions and always had a nice warm greeting for me, never failing to call me “sir.”  That’s a tactical shotgun this guard is sporting.

Bushman in The Philippines: Manila

As we neared our destination, we saw touts along the way, beckoning us into their establishments.  It wasn’t unlike visiting a fish market in Taiwan, for example.

I’ll be showing you some choice examples of the food I enjoyed in the Philippines in separate articles at the end of this series.

Bushman in The Philippines: Manila

One tout makes a final desperate attempt to get our attention!

Bushman in The Philippines: Manila

We had to visit several companies in the metro Manila area.  So we bought a large map of the area and laid it out on the restaurant table and located the places we wanted to visit so we could set up a logical route.  The greater urban area of Manila is the 5th largest in the world with an estimated population of 20.6 million people!  It was a good thing we had Greg driving as I would never have been able to manage getting around so efficiently without him.

Bushman in The Philippines: Manila

Here we see Sonny, Greg and one of the girls from the restaurant trying to locate a place on the map.

Bushman in The Philippines: Manila

Bushman in The Philippines: Manila

Driving around, we saw lots of Jeepneys.

Bushman in The Philippines: Manila

Just like Thailand, there are lots of street vendors who walk in between the lanes of cars stopped at traffic lights.

Bushman in The Philippines: Manila

At night time, Manila has some great places to eat and hang out.

Bushman in The Philippines: Manila

Bushman in The Philippines: Manila

Bushman in The Philippines: Manila

Bushman in The Philippines: Manila

Bushman in The Philippines: Manila

This is another very common form of local transportation in the Philippines – called the tricycle.  It’s a motorcycle sidecar.  Yes I did ride in one, and no, I did not fit.  I couldn’t raise my head enough to look out the window!

Bushman in The Philippines: Manila

Bushman in The Philippines: Manila

In some places the number of tricycles is considerable.  We’ll see more of them in the next installment.

Bushman in The Philippines: Manila

Some tricycle owners have a sense of humor.

Bushman in The Philippines: Manila

This is our hotel, the Aloha.

Bushman in The Philippines: Manila

Since firearm carry is legal in the Philippines, many places aks you to check your firearms with security upon entering.  Our hotel was no exception.

Bushman in The Philippines: Manila

This is the vehicle we used.  It was very comfortable inside, with sliding doors on both sides.

Bushman in The Philippines: Manila

Our driver, Greg, poses for a shot.

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