Philippines 2005
Manila, Philippines
August 2005
In Case of Fire or Earthquake..
Today, My bride and I have been married 25 years! The secret to our long and happy marriage is that I am currently 8,543 miles away in Manila, Philippines. She says I’m easy to admire from afar. Up close can be a problem. Please send her your condolences. But if you need her email or phone number, you should probably ask someone else. She somehow keeps changing them without remembering to tell me….
Speaking of the day I met my wife and felt the earth move, that happens a lot here. Instead of the usual “In case of fire, DO NOT use the elevators” signs posted next the elevator, here the sign begins “In case of fire or earthquake…” We missed a 6.2 earthquake by a day when we landed in Tokyo. The previous day, it had delayed flights. We didn’t need an earthquake to delay our flight; a typhoon was adequate.
Our first workday was declared a last minute holiday due to the protest that was expected to follow the Filipino President’s state of the nation address. There were a lot of protest police out with riot gear about three-four blocks from the hotel, but the actual protest ended up developing about 15 kilometers away from here. I consider this one of the safest places I have traveled because they are so busy trying to either impeach the president or to encourage a military takeover here, that they are way too busy hating each other to waste hate on Americans.
The buses here look like old surplus World War II jeeps that have been converted into public transportation. The reason for this is that the buses are actually old surplus World War II jeeps that have been converted into public transportation. They even have an incredibly cleaver name: The Jeepney. I think “Jeepney” is Filipino Pig Latin for “Jeep”. (For everyone under the age of 40 reading this that doesn’t know what Pig Latin is, consider yourself uckyla.) After WWII, there were tons of military surplus, scraps, and equipment debris from battles. Kind of like a typical redneck’s front yard. The Filipinos began modifying the Willis Jeeps to accommodate passengers for public transportation. If you’ve ever ridden in a Willis Jeep, you might think a bus modified out of one might ride rough enough to jar the filings out of your teeth. Well, you are correct.
I am always amazed at what local governments will do to address local traffic congestion. Houston decides to expand I-10 to 24 lanes, although plans call for 20 to always be closed for repairs. Singapore taxes new cars at 200-300% of the purchase price to discourage new cars being added to the traffic. Here they ban cars with license plates ending in certain numbers on certain days. A license ending in 1 or 2 cannot drive on Monday; 3 or 4 on Tuesday, and so on.
I went to a huge volcano crater this weekend that is now a beautiful lake. In the middle of the lake is an island that has a volcano. And in that volcano is a lake. Somewhere there is a really annoying children’s song about to be written. “I went to the lake – in the volcano – in the lake – in the volcano on a sunny morning...I went swimming in the lake-in the volcano-in the lake-in the volcano…–AIGHHH– I’M ON FIRE IN THE VOLCANO IN THE LAKE…” (Hey, don’t knock it! It has more lyrics and rhythm than any C&W song I’ve heard in the last 50 years!) After a boat ride to the island and a pretty decent climb in which 10 thousand micro horses went by hauling rich Japanese tourists, I reached the peak of the volcano. The horses were very small. You may not know that a horse’s height is measured in hands. And these horses only had hooves, so no hands were discernable at all, they were so small. Anyway, me and 10 thousand of my closest Japanese friends enjoyed a quiet moment. That is if you can have a quiet moment with 10 thousand cameras clicking non-stop. What in the heck do they do with all those pictures? I have never seen a volcano in my life and this was a momentous occasion for me. I took about six or ten pictures total. The water in the lake in this crater would periodically start bubbling in small areas and there were 3-4 cracks in the steep walls continually venting smoke.
Anyway, that’s all that’s happening in the Philippines that I’ve seen or imagined. I hope this finds everyone well and phosphorous. (Hey, I wish I could glow in the dark!)
Aketay Arecay,
Eithkay