Perceptions and Realities in Manila: [Part 1 of 2]
This is a guest post by Anil from foXnoMad
Manila bay at night
Manila is an eclectic city seemingly in the midst of it all and yet at the edge of the world at the same time. Contrasts between old and new are abound and almost everyone wears a smile when you meet them. Many of Priyank’s assumptions were right on target, including his first taxi ride.
Contrasts
Language
Priyank began his imaginary trip by getting into a cab with a driver who only spoke Tagalog. You’ll find that English is common among the educated but most people you’re likely to encounter driving taxis and jeepneys won’t speak more than a few words. While many won’t speak English you might come across several tour guides that can sing almost every single Elvis song word for word – which I did outside Intramuros, The Walled City (He’s the guy on the left).
Tour guide
Take A Jeepney Instead
One thing that I highly recommend is taking a jeepney to get around. The most popular mode of public transportation in Manlia, many are made from old World War II jeeps left by American soldiers. They can fill up to 8-10 people who hop on and off, passing their money to the driver who never looks back to see the passengers. The entire process works on the honor system. Be prepared to board and exit quickly as jeepneys stop and go with the flow of traffic.
Jeepney
Religion and the West
Catholicism is everywhere in Manila. Most wear crosses, there are elaborate churches throughout the city, and numerous religious icons for sale at shops. Mostly an influence the result of Spanish colonization, aside from religion there is a strong Western current that runs through Manila. Many of the bars, cafes, and restaurants could be taken out of Asia and placed in Europe. And everyone seems finely in tune with US pop culture (especially the NBA).
Manila Church
From People To Places
Many of Priyank’s observations were insightful and mostly accurate. Here are a few more well made points.
- The streets aren’t terrible inside the city but traffic is a nightmare at most hours except the very dead of night.
- Malls aren’t too different than ones you’d find in North America but they are exceptional in how close they mimic them.
- Fashion is comfort meets casual. In the Philippine summer it almost has to be.
Next week I’ll run down some of the places I visited in Manila and compare with Priyank’s imaginary tour of the city. Any questions or observations? Feel free to ask – I’ll be listening to the comments all day and look forward to hearing from you.
Subscribe
Bhutan
Canada
India
Israel
Peru
Russia
USA
This is a nice observation of Manila.. hoped you enjoyed your visit amidst the busyness of the metro..
↵Manila was more than I expected and not what I expected and I was happily surprised at how varied it was. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the Philippines, more people should go there.
↵[...] wanted to write about what a trip there might be like. I’m helping to break down his trip to Manila from perception to reality while he does the same for me about St. [...]
↵Nice post. One correction though, regarding the jeepney. It is true that back then, they converted the WWII jeeps from the US Army into jeepneys, but nowadays, although the design is still the same, there are plenty of new jeepneys that are driving around town. There once was a Sarao Motors that manufactured them, which I believe closed down a decade ago, but as far as I remember, Malaguena Motors in Cavite province still manufacture new jeepneys. So it is not like in Cuba where cars back from the 1950’s are seen around town. Most of the time, the jeepneys you see are new, but with old scrap engines that bleed dark smoke.
And no, they fill more than 8-10 people. Jeepneys are classified according to how many people PER ROW can sit behind. So a small jeepney can be a “lima-han” (5 per row), meaning ten people behind, plus two people up front next to the driver, while big jeepneys reach up to “siyam-an” (9 per row). Drivers actually keep track of their passengers (and yes, they look behind! Ever notice the long backview mirror that is always installed above the windshield?) and sometimes they won’t begin the trip until they have a full house.
↵True – I didn’t mention that many jeepneys are newly built. Thanks for adding those other jeepney details – maybe my drivers were just very conspicuous with their glances!
↵Ah, sounds like the equivalent of Sheruts of Israel, Marshrutkas of Russia, Combi of Peru, etc.
Very convenient!
↵Great post and this is my first visit to Manila through this post. I loved the Jeepney part.. and yes they love to sing especially love songs I work with many workers from the Philipines and when ever they can they sing while they work too.. I find them enthusiastic optimistic people in general..
↵looking forward to the next part of this post.
Welcome to my blog Lilliy and thanks for the comment. I am seeing Manila for the first time through Anil’s post too. I saw pictures from other places in the Philippines and they are beautiful!
↵Thanks Lilly – you’re right, optimism flows through most Filipinos, it’s refreshing
↵this was interesting Priyank, hope you do one more, cdyou do India? the night photo pf M
↵Manila Bay is beutiful, the jewel like quality of the light and colour in it I liked
↵Thanks Trisha! Yeah maybe Anil could do a post on India sometime, I’ll ask!
↵I’d be happy to!
↵Beautiful night shot. Lol about people singing Elvis songs and interesting about the malls being much the same as ours in America.
↵
Some stuff is universal!
↵Jeepney seems close to our tempo, only more colorful.
↵Yup! Although some tempos (I’ve seen only in Indore) are also colorfully decorated!
↵Thank you Priyank and Anil.
↵During a conversation with a Filippina a few weeks back on the topic of touring her country, from all that she described, to me Baguio seems to be an interesting place. Have you been there Anil?
Unfortunately not!
↵[...] This is a guest post by Anil from foXnoMad For the past 2 weeks, Priyank and I have exchanged imaginary posts about St. Petersburg and Manila. I have never been to St. Petersburg and he to Manila. We wanted to write about what a trip there might be like. I’m helping to break down his trip from perception into reality while he does the same for me about St. Petersburg. You can read Manila Part 1 of 1 here. [...]
↵I am glad to see my photo “Manila Bay at Night” here…
↵Thanks Alec, its a nice picture!
↵[...] them up in 2 parts). The following week we wrote posts comparing the others’ perceptions with the realities (again in two parts) as guest posts. This worked out very well and at the same time provided both [...]
↵