Day 1 Saturday Dec 18

---

It's now Sunday Morning. Observations on yesterday.

First on the pics.

First two are of the panoramic views from the room of our suite and the electrical wiring that powers the buildings in our area. To put it all into perspective, just around the corner is the newest Grand Hyatt and just down the road is the US Embassy in Manila - so it's not like we're in a shabby part of town. The third pic is at one of the entries of the Mall of Asia, the largest shopping mall in the Philippines. This place is so big they even have a couple of car dealerships under the roof and dozens of Real Estate agencies trying to flog condominiums. Every entrance has the type of 'barrier' with a minimum of two security guards and everyone who comes through gets 'frisked' and their bags check albeit in a fairly cursory manner. ore interestingly, is that some of the department stores (e.g. Robinsons) have their own security guards as well and STAFF leaving the confines of the store get a far more diligent frisk.

12 noon at Mall of Asia, and the muzak on the PA system stops and a short bible reading and a few Hail Marys are read over the PA - found that a little odd to say the least. Wonder how that would go down in Oz or the US, places that pride themselves on freedom of speech.

Walking down the road to 7-11 to buy some Red Horse a local beer recommended by Earl (note to Earl - think I prefer Colt 45 mate) and saw a couple of things of note. First was this old bloke approaches me trying to sell me a couple of 'gold watches'. Waved him aside so the watches disappear and are replaced with an offer of Viagra - must be the grey hair I guess. Not much point anyway as half Squish's family are staying with us ATM bunked up on couches and port-a-cots - not a lot of privacy for that sort of pursuit.

The other thing I saw was signage in front of building offering modern cosmetics dentistry. Behind the sign - a roller door and what looked to me like a warehouse complete with grotty concrete floors. Think I'll wait for my return to Oz to get my fillings done,

Finally - on our way out to dinner last night - saw a street stall/kitchen offering local food and above the stall the sign reads Public Notary/Money Changer - I guess diversification is the key here.

---

Comments

[Sam Kanaris]

Stop Blogging
Hey Zak Stop Blogging - if you Blog too much you'll go blind Just enjoi yourself - Are you married yet Congratulations to you both (in advance) Merry XMAS and a Happy New Year Me

[squishNjohn]

Vow Renewal
Date is 11th of Jan you big Babba Stikkie thanks anyway - will pass your message on to Squish