The Heart of Manila

Today we visited an area of Manila called Divisoria. It was loud, it was smelly, it was pretty overwhelming. We all loved it.

Like all of our adventures it started out with a taxi. When flagging down a ride, it's always a gamble. We've never had to turn down a taxi because it was in such bad condition, but some are much nicer than others. We had a great taxi on the way there. It was a newer car with ice cold AC, very clean and comfortable. The ride was about a half hour and our driver was happy to point out the sights along the way. We returned home with a few minor purchases: Broccoli, a couple pounds of apples, and a Barong for Henry. Our taxi for the way home had the usual friendly driver, but also came with what seems to be a somewhat common phenomenon: the super-duper overwhelming air freshener (I'm pretty sure that's the official name of this particular scent), and an engine that idles so slowly it seems always on the brink of giving out. Also, no suspension. Did I mention it was a half hour ride? Never the less, we were happy.

Here are some pictures:


No need to leave the car to do our shopping! This man knew his target demographic and was trying to sell Henry toy airplanes and globes. Little did he know, Henry doesn't carry cash.


Do you like how I'm cluelessly walking in front of the pedicab? If I was in the way, the guys would make really loud kissing sounds. Henry is pointing out a big flat of mangosteens.




This guy came over from his stall to pose for the picture. I'd say he's a natural.


In this picture you can kind of get an idea of how much we were stared at.

This boy was so adorable. He kept watching me take pictures, so I asked him if I could take his picture and he was happy to pose and very proud of his picture when I showed him. He was walking with his sister, but she was too shy to pose.

Truman wanted his picture with the Jeepney. Despite the begging from both boys, we've yet to ride one.

The streets were crazy! They were packed full, and then out of nowhere a jeepney or a taxi would come through.







My view from the backseat on the way home. I don't know if you can read the sticker on the dashboard, but it says "clean fuel" with the picture of a green tree next to it. It's nice to know the black smoke coming from the back of the car is "clean".

I guess the clean fuel isn't doing the same wonders for the car as it is for the environment. Here the driver is trying to speed up the idle. The silhouttes in the back are me with the boys waiting patiently in their, um, carseats. Steve had been through this before, so he was able to reassure us and jump out to take a quick picture. We were on our way in no time!




A Coke a Day Keeps the Bad Trip Away! Who knew?