If you're looking for a quiet, tranquil place to visit, this is not the country. The louder and busier the better. Construction goes 24/7, the noises of the different modes of transport including the ubiquitous jeepney, and businesses are all trying to outdo their neighbours with louder music... and it's bad music - all the old, cheezy American popular love songs.
For Christmas dinner we followed our noses to a tiny Italian restaurant at the far end of a very long lonely beach and had some of the best Italian food I've ever had, but another high point of the meal was the excellent music they played... rare.
I've been listening to the radio a lot and watching MTV Asia and there is some good Filipino popular music. And if you feel the need for some karaoke there is a TV channel that runs the words to the songs, but so far I haven't had the urge.
All the Filipino food I've tried so far has been pretty good. One challenge I had was trying balut - boiled egg with a partially formed duck embryo, but I got it down and it really wasn't that bad. The plan for this Friday is to have lunch at the SPAM restaurant at the mall. SPAM is an ingredient in all the menu items - yum! Something I've tried a couple of times, and like, is a dipped cone. Not chocolate dipped ... cheese dipped. It reminds me of the flavour of Cheezies. These can be found at Jollibees - McDo's (McDonald's) Filipino competition. They are only $0.25, so a nice treat during an afternoon of malling. I've been staying in Ortigas, a wealthier area of Manila with more malls within walking distance of the condo than in all of Calgary.
A couple of other small challenges: I can't be doing my usual mindless jaywalking here. Vehicles do not slow for pedestrians, the zebra crossings are "decoration" only and there are no flashing walk signals for us ... you are on your own. Stay alert, choose your path, and don't hesitate, just GO. Holding out your hand toward the oncoming traffic might help a bit too. Although you could be lucky... you may have one of the omnipresent security guards hold out his hand and stop traffic just for YOU. I think one in three Filipino men is employed as a security guard. They greet you with a smile and a Good day ma'am as they open every door to every building ... Jollibees, metro stations, malls - everywhere! Then they will search through your bags with a stick, and if you are a guy, they will also feel along your back for a gun.
Another noise heard everyday is the bang of firecrackers. I've stopped thinking that some of them might be bombs. I'd read that the Filipinos like their firecrackers and that Manila is quite a show on New Year's Eve... no kidding!! We sat on the roof of the 30-storey condo complex where Chris lives. We started to watch the sky about 10 p.m. and the intensity just grew and grew as we moved towards midnight. It was pretty crazy -- we had a 360 degree full-on fireworks show. I've never seen anything like it.
Here's to a very happy 2005!
No comments:
Post a Comment