Makati City, Philippines

[zippyt]

Yeah what SG said !!!

Keep it up , keep safe , and have fun !!

[slang]

From Bauang Beach.

It's a beautiful place. And simple. And it's pretty cheap too.



And yes, I'm keeping it up , we're being safe and having fun.

[slang]

Had I known that we would be going to this beach resort and swimming in the ocean, I would have surely brought some kind of water protection for the camera and took shots from out in the South China Sea.

The water was warm and it was great fun. No photos of us out floating on the tubes this time but next time I'll be prepared.

Here are some kids nearby swimming.

[slang]

There are still some 5k images that I'm fiddling with to get organized.

I just ran across these. They show that meat market without the refridgeration.

These are all walk and snap because as you might imagine the locals don't want any foreigner to see how the meats are cut and stored here. It's embarassing to them.

There are three photos showing the market that came out reasonably clear.

The first photo shows the chopping blocks for the incoming meats.They are tree stumps. I suppose the only reason that these meats don't kill everyone that eats them is that they are so very fresh.

It's been estimated to be less than an hour that the animal was breathing when they arrrive early in the morning.







For those of us that are accustomed to much cleaner environments to have foods prepared it's hard to believe that more people don't get sick from this.

It may be because their immune systems are always in high gear, or possibly that the situation is not as bad as it seems.

It hasn't killed me yet. Yes, there is still time.

Oh, and take a look at the sign. There are no preservatives in the meat.

[slang]

This video clip just appeared out of the mass of photos.

It's from the trip to Tam awan in Baguio. There was a very native looking bamboo bridge that ran from one side of a creek to another.

The moment that I stepped onto it the movements and groans made me a bit nervous.

Check your sound. It's a bit loud.




This is what the bridge looks like from underneath in the walking path.





This trip has some thrills in it. Mostly the traffic here in the provinces but also little surprise thrills like this.

[SparkStalker]

Alright, here's a couple, with more to come later...

First up, on the way over - Mount Fuji from the air:


Next, the view from our hotel window. We stayed at the Shangri-La, Makati. The mall you see is Glorietta (specifically, Glorietta 3.) The bomb las month was at the Glorietta 2 entrance, which would be off to the right of this picture. I've got a panoramic that I'll add later:

Here's a telling shot. This is the Pasig river down in the Intramuros area, right near Rizal Park. You can see the "housing" under the bridge. What you can't really see in the photo are the kids swimming in the river, right next to the trash floating down it:

Grave markers at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial. It's one of the most stunning and sobering places I've ever been...I'll add some pictures of the memorial later:

Finally, Star City (without the Ice Palace thingy that Slang posted):

[SparkStalker]

BTW, Slang, have you heard any more about the explosion in Quezon today?

[slang]

I havent heard a thing about it. Been busy uploading and editing photos and clips for .....3 days now.

Hey, thanks for posting your images here too before I forget.

Let me investigate the bombing before making any other comment.

[slang]

MSNBC Asia Pacifc details on the bombing

The Manila Times has a different story than the link above. No mention of the Rebel turncoat.

That's about 8 miles north of here...or about two hours drive in the car.

It's disturbing for sure but not to the point that I'll not go outside for days.

Wait, I don't go outside for days now. I guess I'm uneffected so far.

For the pictures that you posted....

It is bothersome to see not only the houses of those folks but having them swim in that crappy water.

On my photo shoot of the Manila floating hotel there was a family living there on the shore with just a blanket on the stones and some flimsy sunshade type of rig.

There is a man raising a family there on the shore. I talked with him briefly. He swims and even dives underwater around the ship looking for plastics for return. The going rate is 8 pesos per kilo

W-O-W

It's sad. Very tough to see. BUT almost no one asks or even hints for money.

That's just up the river from the scene in the photo.

There's always all sorts of vegetation growing, floating in the Pasig river too. Not a place that I'd want to swim even with recent hep innoculation.

And for the American Manila Cemetery, it is surely a powerful place. There are some excellent displays that detail all the battles in the Philippines and the surrounding islands during the war.

There are rows and rows of scribed names within the walls of the monument displaying the name and hometown of all the soldiers ( that were identified ) there.

The place creeps me out and I cant be funny or drunk there, so we don't go often.

And Star City!! You don't have to go to Snow World to have a great time. There are games and interactive type activities, traditonal rides, specialty shops and all sorts of fat food places there.

It's not just for the kids, although if you go with at least one kid, it's probably better.

[SparkStalker]

Yeah, the swimming was a bit disturbing to see. And when we went down to the harbor where everyone was gathered (it was a Saturday afternoon), the smell nearly knocked me on my ass. I've got a few pictures of just the mounds of garbage that washed up. When I got back home, I just couldn't even begin to explain the level of poverty to people. If you haven't seen it, you just can't understand it.

I've got more pictures of the Cemetery and Memorial...I spent about an hour there walking around. I would have stayed longer, but my wife got tired of it. I'll probably put some of the battle maps up later.

I wish we'd had a few more days to actually do stuff. I would have loved to explore deeper rather than just take pictures from the back of a car.

[slang]

Originally Posted by SparkStalker

When I got back home, I just couldn't even begin to explain the level of poverty to people. If you haven't seen it, you just can't understand it.

True. That's a part of why I take some of these photos.

I've been a few other places in the world outside of the US. Until you actually go, and not to the "tourist-ey" places, it's hard to understand true povery.

It's also very disturbing to not be able to improve bad situations here. It's impossible. At times I give small amounts of money but what good does that do? Not much.

Instead I try to learn more about poverty and the options for people here. Many time I wander into places that would not normally be considered safe. I want to see the dirt. To get a better understanding of the macro and the micro.

I've found that there are dangerous people in terrible poverty but there are surely good honest people too.

In the US, if you eff up very badly you might end up in poverty over time. Here, it's not that way.

On another idea....

Since there is so much travel time to get here and it's so far out of the way, if you can research and plan your next trip before you arrive that would surely increase your appreciation of the beautiful and interesting things to do and see here.

There are tons of travel agencies and other travel groups that can assist you. I'd also help you out with information and photos/background of things that you may wish to do here.

The more people that come to visit the better. Tourism is big revenue here.


That reminds me ( I'm rambling again), what was your opinion of the Shangri-la in Makati?

[slang]

Originally Posted by SparkStalker

....the smell nearly knocked me on my ass.....

That's another good line. I don't talk about it much but it's powerful in many of the places here.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Don't forget people have been eating meat for a long time, and refrigeration is a relatively recent invention. People have learned what they can, and cannot, get away with when it comes to food handling. If you push the limits, it will probably make you sick but not kill you, so you learn what the limits are.

My grandparents always let fresh meat "hang" for awhile, to make it more tender. Basically, they let it start to breakdown naturally.

[SparkStalker]

Originally Posted by slang

That reminds me ( I'm rambling again), what was your opinion of the Shangri-la in Makati?

Simply put, it's one of the nicest places I've ever stayed. The staff, by and large, was extremely friendly. The hotel itself was spotless all hours of the day and night. The restaurants were top notch, and room service was incredibly punctual. Even the security guards were friendly...they even let my wife play with the bomb sniffing dog for a few minutes.

If you all want to do a really nice meal, try the Circles buffet there. Pricey for over there of course, but it was just great, great food.

I appreciate the offer on the trip planning. It's doubtful she'll be sent over there again (the project she was working on was a total system conversion - easily the biggest thing ever undertaken for them), so unless her job changes, it was a one time opportunity. As for personal travel, I would like to go back someday and actually be able to enjoy the trip, but for now, we've got a lot of other places to go first - I still owe her a trip to Scotland and Ireland that seems to be pushed back by circumstance every year...

[Griff]

Nice video dude!
My part of NEPA is snow covered again today, an interesting contrast...