Yesterday I had the unique experience of going to the University of the Philippines as a guest I attended two classes with my friend and I also hung out with some students and ate lunch there.
The university itself is rather large. It looks like an American university, maybe somewhere down in Florida. Most of the common, socializing areas are outside. The classes are a bit small, but they are air conditioned. I really couldn't tell much difference between here and the States. I guess the biggest thing is that the classes are conducted in both English and Tagalog. Other than that I could have been sitting in a classroom back home.
The food was pretty good too. They have a BBQ pit where they cook up fresh skewers of meat. It was pretty awesome. They have a canteen too that had several very tasty looking options. Something that I really liked was the fresh fruit shake. I had an avocado one. Yeah it sounds weird, but it was good. I'm glad I had it.
So far this trip has totally destroyed my deformed image of the Philippines. I am very glad to have come here. It's been a very great experience and I have grown and learned a lot because of it.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Public transport in the Philippines
The Philippines have 4 main modes of public transport: jeepney, tricycle, train and taxi cab. I was fortunate enough to be able to ride all 4 while here.
Jeepney is by far the cheapest. Most places cost about 7 pesos to get to via the jeepney. Basically jeepneys are a long, truck looking vehicle with a rear entrance at the very back. You board the vehicle and pass your money forward using other passengers. Don't worry, everyone is very honest and no one pockets your change. One fellow passenger actually counted out my change for me to make sure the driver didn't cheat me (drivers cheating the passengers is extremely rare, so no worries).
The tricycles are a bit more expensive, but faster as they go directly to where you want to go. Think taxi but a motorcycle with a large sidecar. This is a very bumpy and sometimes harrowing experience. Drivers in the Philippines are quite skilled, but it seems very chaotic to the inexperienced. You also have to check how much the price is before riding. I've been told you can haggle the price lower if you think it's too much.
The train is very nice. It's quiet, fast and pretty cheap. It is also very uncomplicated. There are three lines in the Manila area and they are all very easy to read (i.e. they are in English). However, some of the stops can be dodgy, especially Recto. I've been to Recto both in the day time and in the night. It is definitely scarier at night. I highly recommend against being in Recto at night alone.
The fourth and the least used by me is the taxi cab. In Japan I use cabs a lot. They are expensive, but they will usually get you where you want to go safely. In the Philippines they are the most expensive mode of transport and the can be very dodgy. I have been told several times that I should not trust a taxi cab here. Mainly they will try to take advantage of their customers. It's not only foreigners who should watch out, but Filipinos too! If you absolutely must use a taxi confirm that the meter is working before getting into the taxi. You should also ask general price. If the meter is broken do not get in. My friend's parents have driven me around Manila several times in order for me to not use the taxi. It was their idea not mine. That's how worried they are about it.
Overall public transport is awesome in the Philippines. It allows you to see another culture and to meet more locals.
Jeepney is by far the cheapest. Most places cost about 7 pesos to get to via the jeepney. Basically jeepneys are a long, truck looking vehicle with a rear entrance at the very back. You board the vehicle and pass your money forward using other passengers. Don't worry, everyone is very honest and no one pockets your change. One fellow passenger actually counted out my change for me to make sure the driver didn't cheat me (drivers cheating the passengers is extremely rare, so no worries).
The tricycles are a bit more expensive, but faster as they go directly to where you want to go. Think taxi but a motorcycle with a large sidecar. This is a very bumpy and sometimes harrowing experience. Drivers in the Philippines are quite skilled, but it seems very chaotic to the inexperienced. You also have to check how much the price is before riding. I've been told you can haggle the price lower if you think it's too much.
The train is very nice. It's quiet, fast and pretty cheap. It is also very uncomplicated. There are three lines in the Manila area and they are all very easy to read (i.e. they are in English). However, some of the stops can be dodgy, especially Recto. I've been to Recto both in the day time and in the night. It is definitely scarier at night. I highly recommend against being in Recto at night alone.
The fourth and the least used by me is the taxi cab. In Japan I use cabs a lot. They are expensive, but they will usually get you where you want to go safely. In the Philippines they are the most expensive mode of transport and the can be very dodgy. I have been told several times that I should not trust a taxi cab here. Mainly they will try to take advantage of their customers. It's not only foreigners who should watch out, but Filipinos too! If you absolutely must use a taxi confirm that the meter is working before getting into the taxi. You should also ask general price. If the meter is broken do not get in. My friend's parents have driven me around Manila several times in order for me to not use the taxi. It was their idea not mine. That's how worried they are about it.
Overall public transport is awesome in the Philippines. It allows you to see another culture and to meet more locals.
Monday, July 26, 2010
The Philippines Day 1 and 2
I was feeling pretty apprehensive about the Philippines before I started this journey. Although it's different from my home country and of my adopted country it wasn't necessarily bad. The people have been very friendly and I haven't been plagued by what travel books and websites made it sound like the hordes of touts. I was asked a few times about taxis, but one no was all it took for them to leave me alone. One surprising thing was that the cops were even asking if I wanted a ride.
My first few hours in the Philippines went very fast. I arrived, found my friend and then went back to her house. Her dad fixed us up some really good Chinese style noodles and after that we went to bed. I must say it was a pretty strange night. I kept hearing strange, scary sounds and had a kind of unrestful sleep.
The next morning I was treated to a great breakfast with tons of great food. I was really digging my friend's dad's specialty: a spicy bacon and vegetable dish. It was awesome. After breakfast we headed to one of my friend's other friend's house. This guy turned out to be really nice and he drove us (me, my friend Tiff, and 2 Japanese people) to the city of Tagaytay.
Tagaytay was really nice. It overlooks the Taal volcano. It was very picturesque. The only bad thing was that it was crowded and pretty rainy. We would've gone to the island in the center of the crater lake, but the adverse weather put the kebosh on that. Still it was a nice time. After Tagaytay we returned to Manila for our last activity of the day.
As we drove back to Manila my new friends decided to go to karaoke. We made plans to meet up with another Japanese guy in order to have a larger and thus funner group. Everything was going good until we hit Manila. The main highway we were on was closed. We had to get off in a section of town that the two locals didn't know. We wandered for over an hour looking for familiar ground. Finally we collected our friend and went to karaoke.
I've gone to karaoke before many times. I've gone to karaoke in several cities in Japan and ranging from small dingy places to magnificent hostess bars. All of those experiences differed from last night. First off we got about 5 different kinds of food and 10 beers for about 1,999 pesos. That's for everyone for two hours. You'd be lucky to get that in Japan for one person. It was awesome. Everyone could sing really well and we just had a blast.
Today was much quieter and slower which was fine with me. Tiff and I went to the University of Saint Tomas and quickly learned that the University was open to visitors from Tuesday to Friday. So we headed over to a mall near her house. This mall was straight out of America. The shops were nearly identical to anything in America. It was pretty amazing. The strangest part was that you are briefly frisked before entering. Also, armed guards are everywhere. The supermarket was very close to an American one. There were tons of American foods. It was pretty great. After browsing around we ate at Jollibee. This is a chain fast food restaurant. It's everywhere in the Philippines. It's pretty good and very reasonably priced. I bought Tiff's food and mine and it was only about 5 bucks. It was very nice.
After that we went over to a massage place. No, it wasn't one of THOSE massage parlors. No, this place was reputable and very professional. The girl who massaged me was very good and worked out the tightness in my shoulders. It was a very relaxing time. The other workers were very friendly too. They all chatted me up after I was done. It was fun.
Now we're waiting to go see Inception. Apparently movies are super cheap here.
More tomorrow.
My first few hours in the Philippines went very fast. I arrived, found my friend and then went back to her house. Her dad fixed us up some really good Chinese style noodles and after that we went to bed. I must say it was a pretty strange night. I kept hearing strange, scary sounds and had a kind of unrestful sleep.
The next morning I was treated to a great breakfast with tons of great food. I was really digging my friend's dad's specialty: a spicy bacon and vegetable dish. It was awesome. After breakfast we headed to one of my friend's other friend's house. This guy turned out to be really nice and he drove us (me, my friend Tiff, and 2 Japanese people) to the city of Tagaytay.
Tagaytay was really nice. It overlooks the Taal volcano. It was very picturesque. The only bad thing was that it was crowded and pretty rainy. We would've gone to the island in the center of the crater lake, but the adverse weather put the kebosh on that. Still it was a nice time. After Tagaytay we returned to Manila for our last activity of the day.
As we drove back to Manila my new friends decided to go to karaoke. We made plans to meet up with another Japanese guy in order to have a larger and thus funner group. Everything was going good until we hit Manila. The main highway we were on was closed. We had to get off in a section of town that the two locals didn't know. We wandered for over an hour looking for familiar ground. Finally we collected our friend and went to karaoke.
I've gone to karaoke before many times. I've gone to karaoke in several cities in Japan and ranging from small dingy places to magnificent hostess bars. All of those experiences differed from last night. First off we got about 5 different kinds of food and 10 beers for about 1,999 pesos. That's for everyone for two hours. You'd be lucky to get that in Japan for one person. It was awesome. Everyone could sing really well and we just had a blast.
Today was much quieter and slower which was fine with me. Tiff and I went to the University of Saint Tomas and quickly learned that the University was open to visitors from Tuesday to Friday. So we headed over to a mall near her house. This mall was straight out of America. The shops were nearly identical to anything in America. It was pretty amazing. The strangest part was that you are briefly frisked before entering. Also, armed guards are everywhere. The supermarket was very close to an American one. There were tons of American foods. It was pretty great. After browsing around we ate at Jollibee. This is a chain fast food restaurant. It's everywhere in the Philippines. It's pretty good and very reasonably priced. I bought Tiff's food and mine and it was only about 5 bucks. It was very nice.
After that we went over to a massage place. No, it wasn't one of THOSE massage parlors. No, this place was reputable and very professional. The girl who massaged me was very good and worked out the tightness in my shoulders. It was a very relaxing time. The other workers were very friendly too. They all chatted me up after I was done. It was fun.
Now we're waiting to go see Inception. Apparently movies are super cheap here.
More tomorrow.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Nara
This year marks the 1300 year of Nara. It was founded in 710 as the first capital of Japan. It only had this distinction for less than a century, but it still holds tons of important cultural treasures. The most significant of those is the Giant Buddha. It truly is a sight to see. The statue is huge. It is one of the largest statues of Buddha in Japan. This was the second time for me to see it, but it was still awesome.
Another major draw to Nara is the deer park. Hundreds of deer wander about the parks looking for people giving out deer crackers. These deer can get pretty aggressive and won't hesitate to snatch anything they can. I saw one deer grab some leaves from an old man's bag. It was pretty amusing. You can buy a stack of deer crackers for about 100 yen. It's worth to do once, but if you have small kids it's probably better not to.
The only bad thing about this trip is that my camera bugged out. It actually started freaking out the previous day. The pictures would come out all distorted and oddly colorful. I thought that it was overheating, but found that if I squeeze it it goes back to normal. I have no idea what's wrong with it. I just know that it picked a horrible time to finally die on me. I guess I'm lucky that it has lasted as long as it has. I bought this thing in preparation for my trip to Guam back in 2006. It has been a good and loyal piece of equipment, but now it's retirement time.
One interesting thing about this was that it was one of the very few times that I rode in a private car on a Japanese highway. My girlfriend drove and I navigated and admired the scenery. It was overall a nice drive. Had I been driving we would've stopped several times for picture breaks. Through most of the cities there were high walls which prevented some views, but outside the urban areas you could see mountains covered in trees and valleys and far off cities. It was neat. I definitely want to do this again.
Nara is just absolutely gorgeous. I really wish that my camera hadn't messed up on me. I won't have to opportunity to go back there for a long time. But when I do, I'm going to have a new and awesome camera to capture the beauty of this great city.
Another major draw to Nara is the deer park. Hundreds of deer wander about the parks looking for people giving out deer crackers. These deer can get pretty aggressive and won't hesitate to snatch anything they can. I saw one deer grab some leaves from an old man's bag. It was pretty amusing. You can buy a stack of deer crackers for about 100 yen. It's worth to do once, but if you have small kids it's probably better not to.
The only bad thing about this trip is that my camera bugged out. It actually started freaking out the previous day. The pictures would come out all distorted and oddly colorful. I thought that it was overheating, but found that if I squeeze it it goes back to normal. I have no idea what's wrong with it. I just know that it picked a horrible time to finally die on me. I guess I'm lucky that it has lasted as long as it has. I bought this thing in preparation for my trip to Guam back in 2006. It has been a good and loyal piece of equipment, but now it's retirement time.
One interesting thing about this was that it was one of the very few times that I rode in a private car on a Japanese highway. My girlfriend drove and I navigated and admired the scenery. It was overall a nice drive. Had I been driving we would've stopped several times for picture breaks. Through most of the cities there were high walls which prevented some views, but outside the urban areas you could see mountains covered in trees and valleys and far off cities. It was neat. I definitely want to do this again.
Nara is just absolutely gorgeous. I really wish that my camera hadn't messed up on me. I won't have to opportunity to go back there for a long time. But when I do, I'm going to have a new and awesome camera to capture the beauty of this great city.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Pre-trip jitters
I'm going to the Philippines in 2 weeks. I wasn't very nervous or gave it much thought until today. I realize now that I'm nervous as hell about it. This is my first time to a so called "third world nation". I'm starting to hear all these warnings about it and such. It's freaking me out. I have a friend there, but she's going to be in school during my trip so I won't get to see her much at all. I'm going to be by myself. This is the first time that I've gone on a trip internationally by myself to somewhere I'm totally unfamiliar with. Sometimes I think I messed up and I shouldn't go, but I've committed to this trip. My friend and her family are expecting me.
I'm pretty sure I have nothing to worry about. I'm going to leave all my valuables here in Japan and keep just a little bit on me. I know I won't need much there since it's cheap. I'm also cultivating my beard and hair to give me the "crazy man" look. Hopefully that will deter touts and thieves. I'll just keep my head about me and I won't have problems.
A friend who went there a few years back didn't have problems. He even ventured away from Manila. I'm not sure if I'm going to do that, but we'll see.
Worries aside, I'm really looking forward to this adventure. It's a new place with new experiences. I hope I'll meet some cool new friends with whom I'll have great new adventures.
I'm pretty sure I have nothing to worry about. I'm going to leave all my valuables here in Japan and keep just a little bit on me. I know I won't need much there since it's cheap. I'm also cultivating my beard and hair to give me the "crazy man" look. Hopefully that will deter touts and thieves. I'll just keep my head about me and I won't have problems.
A friend who went there a few years back didn't have problems. He even ventured away from Manila. I'm not sure if I'm going to do that, but we'll see.
Worries aside, I'm really looking forward to this adventure. It's a new place with new experiences. I hope I'll meet some cool new friends with whom I'll have great new adventures.
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