Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Manila Day 1, Mostly

Monday April 28th.
Last Thursday morning we took the "express "bus from Olongapo to Manila. The bus stopped 22 times along the way; Randal counted. Two official stops and 20 unofficial stops to let folks on and off along the way.

We had the front row seat. The man standing in front near the window was the ticket taker.
You can see why it takes 4 hours to get to Manila. Lots of traffic out of Olongapo and then insane traffic in Manila. They showed a movie, Deja Vu with Denziel Washington. Totally implausible plot, but it was quite entertaining and made the time pass quickly.



At some of the stops men came on board selling snacks.
These are pork rinds. Randal actually bought some once. They come with a dipping sauce.


When we arrived in Manila we were met by Michael who drives for Carol. You met Carol during our Samat adventure. It was wonderful to have Michael drive us since he knows Manila and Makati and we don't. Our first stop was to the HSBC Bank. HSBC stands for Hong Kong Shanghai Bank Corporation. When we opened our account in Hong Kong, I asked if our money was insured. The answer was no, but since they were one of the biggest banks in the whole world, we need not worry. Well I can think of other words HSBC stands for, but nothing I can write here. Randal's ATM card was wearing out and he had applied for a new card. Because he didn't include his middle name, the Hong Kong Bank wouldn't send the card. The HSBC Philippine banks say they can't help because we opened our account in Hong Kong. So?! HSBC is HSBC, NO? And his worn out card wouldn't work at this ATM. Not a good start for our trip.

Anyway, after that failure we moved on to our next stop, Santis. The chef at Aresi in Subic had sent us there to buy a blender that would chop ice. Michael drove us to Santis. Lots of wonderful foods and spices and wine and everything you might want if your goal was not to buy a blender. But it was a blender we wanted and blenders was what Santis didn't have. We give up for now.

Next stop was Carol's place to dump our stuff. Luckily on our way there we noticed an HSBC branch at the Power Plant Mall. Power Plant Mall is walkable from Carol's place. Luckily the ATM card worked with no problem.

Cash in hand we strolled through the Mall looking for shoes for Randal. That was one of the "must buys" on our list. His old shoes were falling apart.


We opted not to try this and went off to Power Books to browse. We bought a Lonely Planet travel guide to Southeast Asia since it included lots of our future stops.


Later on that evening a view of the Pasig River that is the northern border of Makati.
Makati is part of greater Manila. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasig_River Pretty interesting article about the river which divides Manila in half.


Morning view.

A small, local ferry runs back and forth across the river. Carol said at one point the river was clogged with water plants but it has been cleaned out. A larger fast speed ferry goes along the river's length. I just read that it costs about 45 pesos and is air conditioned and has a bar. It saves travelers from taking a combination of buses and jeepneys to get to their destinations.

Friday night we went to Fort Bonifacio for dinner. You saw the photo of Clawdaddy and the Patriots and Red Sox banners. But you didn't see who we met while strolling along the shopping area after dinner.

Elvis may have left the building, but he is presently standing here in Fort Bonifacio, Makati.


Randal is wearing his Mt. Samat hat and the shirt he had made in Olongapo. One of his favorite shirts had been used as a pattern.
ps I sent this as an email post and the photos didn't show up so now I am re-editing it. It is hard to get just right. I truly may have to read the directions. Till then, the layout might be odd, but the photos should be labeled correctly.

Ruth Johnson
DoraMac







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