About 20 minutes before the appointed pickup time I was sitting in the
church and heard shouting and singing outside. It was a full blown people’s
march going to the Presidential Palace. It may have some relationship with
the dumptrucks full of people we passed this morning coming here. I was a
bit worried that my driver might have gotten hung up in the traffic behind
the marchers (of which there were several thousand). Not to worry. I walked
down the street and there he was waiting for me. The demonstration was
about the budget, more specifically about spending on education. That’s
probably not anything that will get the general population riled up, I
don’t think.

From here it’s back to the room. I’ll take a shower and probably eat in the
hotel restaurant. I think this will be another early night to bed. This
driver cannot keep a steady foot on the accelerator. It’s going to drive me
nuts!
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Today as I made my way through all the stalls, kiosks, and stores, my
second impression was how cheap everything was. All of the supposedly name
brand stuff are knockoffs, some worse than others. Every movie imaginable
is available, including stuff now in first-run theaters, like X-Men III.
Every CD can be bought as well. I didn’t see software or any Nike shoes,
but that’s probably because I wasn’t looking in the right place.

The third impression is how completely noisy everything is. Filipinos do
not value silence. There’s always a stero blaring, horns honking, jeepneys
racing their engines, people shouting. The only place where I’ve found
somewhat of a semblence of quiet is in the churches. Even then, they’re
open to the streets and all that noise comes in.

The first impression? I don’t think that Filipinos sweat….
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It was much better than walking, although I didn’t get where I wanted to
go. The peddler guy ran out of steam and dropped me at the Santa Cruz
Church rather than the Quiapo Church which is about ten minutes by foot
from here. For some reason, he wanted the whole fare! I let him argue for a
while while sweat just poured off of him and then gave him the fare. I can
walk the remaining distance. I haven’t been in a pedicab since Saigon in
1967. I was more than a little smaller back then. The ride didn’t get any
smoother, however, in the meantime.
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This is in the sense of being dripping wet from sweating. I will take some
other transportation back, such as a pedicab. I’m sure someone wants to
earn some money and I’ll pay well!

I’m sitting in a McDonalds having a large Sprite and cooling off a bit.
This building is an old train station converted into shopping kiosks. There
are a lot of people here but not many are carrying packages. I think they
are mostly window shopping as I am.

It took an hour to walk the mile from the church to this mall. It was quite
a varied walk. I refrained from taking any pictures in the live animal
market as it would make some folks queezy, I’m sure. There was also a small
“theater” district where people were trying to sell all kinds of delights.
Fortunately, I didn’t understand what most of them were saying. I have no
idea of the Filipino slang.

The most curious area was where people had A-frame boards set up with all
kinds of degrees and diplomas displayed. As best I could make out, I could
choose which diploma I wanted and then I could buy it. The woman I tried to
talk to wanted me to go across the street up to a 2nd foor office. I wasn’t
willing to do that, so my curiosity remains.
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I had the driver take me to the Quiapo Church in downtown Manila. Churches
usually make a good place around which to sightsee / shop as there is
usually a place there to sit down and rest. That’s what I’m doing right
now. This is a big building and quite nondescript as far a Catholic
churches go. Its claim to fame is a carving of Jesus carrying the cross. It
was carved in Mexico in the early 1600’s and brought here. The weather has
turned the wood black which has really appealed to the Filipinos. Each year
in early January the statue, which stands about six feet tall, is put on a
wagon and pulled through the streets with ropes. Literally millions come
for this event because, according to the legend, touching the statue, the
wagon, or the ropes brings forgiveness of even the most henious sins.
Eventually pictures may end up on the picture album. It’s time to go find
some water and a restroom (called a ‘comfort room’ in the Philippines).
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