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Published: April 29th 2007
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Jeepney
A revision to the original army jeep during WWII. A company in Manila make a version that is used for mass transit around the Phillipines. Each Jeepney has a unique name. China really only has 3 holidays…National Day which is part of the Fall Festival. Chinese New Year and Spring Festival, and May 1 with a week off for the May holiday.
For May holiday, we chose to leave China and go to the Phillipines. “Another beach holiday ?” you say! Of course. It is Dave. He must have water or he goes nuts.
Dave has been wanting to go the Phillipines since we came to China. It would not be my first choice, but I got to go to Bangkok for pad thai. The least I could do is go to Dave’s destination of choice.
First impression…It is crowded! And that is after living in China. Traffic in Manila is a nightmare. If you go, expect to sit in traffic. We spent two nights and one day in Manila. We used his Marriott points and stayed in Makati. We could not get a flight to Boracay due to May holiday travellers. Apparently, the Phillipines and Japan also have a holiday the same week. That explains booked flights and hotels. Makati is a very nice area with plenty of shopping and restaurants.
We did get lucky on this
Names
The names and decorations can be very interesting. trip. We found places to stay and a flight out of Tianjin. Flying out of Beijing is okay, but requires a little extra effort for us since it is a two hour bus or taxi ride to the airport. The Tianjin airport is 30 minutes away. And they have flights to Japan and Korea which get you to other destinations. Yea!
Our time in Manila was not wasted. It gave us an opportunity to see a little of the area. If we had prepared, we could have gone to Corrigedor. Dave is a WWII Pacific arena enthusiast and had hoped to see some of the sights. Also, his dad had been stationed somewhere in the Phillipines during WWII. That explains the interest. All tours to Corrigedor were booked, so we opted to go to the world’s smallest volcano.
The Taal volcano is actually a volcano within a volcano. It is also supposed to be one of the deadliest. As you can see from the pictures, it is an island in the middle of a crater lake. Inside the island is another lake. Since we only had the day, we did not go to the island to look around.
Taal Volcano
The smallest volcano in the world which is inside a larger volcano. The water is the lake inside the larger crater. the small island is actually a volcano. You can go out and hike around the island and go the lake. It was interesting to see. Especially since we had lived in the NW near Mount St. Helen’s at one time. There are resorts and houses built along the rim of the outer volcano. The only way to see the Taal volcano is to have lunch at one of the many restaurants. The food was good. However, I recommend taking the time to go on a boat out to the island and hike around.
After going to the Taal Volcano, we once again go back into traffic to go the Jeepney factory. Jeepneys are an interesting mode of transporation for Phillipinos. The key is to decorate and name each one. The factory. A jeepney is a cross between a WWII jeep and a bus. Each driver has a route they follow (at their own pace). What I remember of the story is this…After WWII the army left several jeeps behind. This one family aquired many and revamped them for public transportation. The factory only had one or two original jeepneys. Today they are custom made and decorated according to the buyer’s specifications. Some buy them to turn
San Jose church
One of the older churches in the Phillipines. A wedding was going on so we did not get to spend much time inside. them into busses. We did see a few that were for private use. I think I heard that some were actually used for homes. All I can say is that there were a lot of them all over Manila. I wish I could share all the pictures of the different names and decorations but they were just too numerous. Just when I thought I saw one that topped the rest, another one would come along. You really must experience it for yourself.
And once again we sit in traffic. I think we were in traffic more that we actually saw sights. Our next stop was the San Jose church in Las Pinas to see a bamboo organ. The organ was begun in 1816 and finished in 1821. Metal was extremely expensive. Bamboo was readily available. A priest named Diego Cera figured out a way to preserve the bamboo by burying it in the sand until it was hard. For the tourists…good and bad…there was a wedding going on at the church so we were unable to hear the organ play or even stay in the church long. I felt like we were intruding on the wedding so I took
Bamboo Organ
What makes San Jose interesting is an organ with bamboo pipes. The organ was built in 1821. Padre Diego Cera directed the building of it. The bamboo was cheaper than the metal. a couple of quick pictures, said a prayer for the couple and then left. I was able to get an audio CD of the organ. Every February there is a Bamboo Organ Festival. They record the festival every year. It has a beautiful sound.
The church was built considerably earlier. Thank God I take pictures of the signs and commentaries sometimes. It helps the memory. The beginning of construction for the church was 1792 and it was finished in 1819. It was a beautiful old church.
It was about 6pm when we finished at the church. The tour guide was anxious to get us to the store where we could now buy our souvenirs. Dave bought be a pair of pearl earrings. The pearls are a dark bluish gray. Very pretty. We also bought a couple of pillows for the couch.
The next day we were off to the island of Boracay. That is my next blog. I do have a bit of advice for flying around the Phillipines. Be prepared. Be very prepared. Have your ticket and passport ready as well as some cash ready.
There are two security checks in the airports. The first is to check and see if you have liquids in your carryon bags. They stop you and make you switch it to your checked luggage if it is too big. This is done in a very small and chaotic space. If in doubt put it in the checked luggage. It prevents slowing down the people behind you who are pushing to get by. I was one who had to try and get around the people who had to move items from one bag to another.
Second, get to the domestic airport in Manila at least 2 hours early. (for international flights, this is also a good idea). Don’t think that you can wait until the last minute. In the domestic airport in Manila, they do not form lines to the airline counters in an organized way. No little rope lines to designate where you are to go. We were fortunate to talk to a guy whose family is from the Phillipines and he was as confused as we were. We divided and conquered since we were going to the same place. The three of us each stood in what we hoped was a line to the airline and ticket counter where we were booked. There were about 10 ticket windows with different destinations and no clear distinction between which line was which. Also, people were very testy if they thought you are trying to cut into line. And did I mention…it is very crowded and chaotic.
The last thing…be sure to keep cash on had when travelling in the Phillipines. Before you get through the next security station, you must pay a transportation and environmental tax. This also applies to ferries. The tax is not included in the ticket and must be payed at a separate window from the ticket office. The first time through was confusing. Once we figured it out, no problem. I don’t think they take credit cards, so be sure you leave your self a cash buffer to pay the taxes. It would be easier if they just tacked it onto the price of the ticket. On the other hand, the inefficiency does create jobs.
Next…Boracay.
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