This morning, as I was driving, I saw a man placed a baby in the seat of his tricycle. I was quite worried because I believe there was no seatbelt at all. Then he just went his way as if it was just a normal thing that he usually does. It really got me worried so I drove slowly as I passed by him.
I got one comment on Facebook that this is nothing compared to what she usually sees in Thailand. People there just let their little baby hang on tight behind them as they drive their motorbikes. Quite shocking. I’m sure westerners would really be shocked and scared.
Street Hazards
In the Philippines, there are so many vehicles that don’t have lights nor reflectors at night. These are real street hazards. I’ve had several near accidents over the years with vehicles like this. Hmm…
On the lighter side, I also noticed that this man’s tricycle has a crude bottle lamp for “night driving” hahaha! Once in a while, I see those in the Philippines. “Only in the Philippines.” I also learned from one commenter on Facebook that it’s called a “batotoy” in Tagalog. Interesting.
Last December, my sister and her husband were on vacation and we drove to Makati for a lunch date with hometown friends. Due to the usual traffic congestion in the area, I never really go there unless I have to. Having lived in the province for a long time now, I avoid going to Metro Manila as much as possible haha!
I haven’t been to Ayala Avenue for many years and it was interesting to see that so many tall buildings have already mushroomed in the area. During my younger years, I worked in Ayala Avenue as well as in Paseo de Roxas for some ten years from 1975 to 1985. I was then working as an architectural draftsman.
During those days, it was never allowed for buildings to go higher than 13 floors like the Sarmiento Building in Ayala which is one of the oldest buildings in the area. I worked there for about 2 years before our office moved to a new building which we designed and constructed in Paseo de Roxas—the Corinthian Plaza. I also worked at the Manila Bank’s head office in their Architectural & Engineering Group in Ayala for about 3 years before I entered full-time ministry.
I was glad to pass by and see those two buildings where I used to work in Ayala last December. These two buildings are now dwarfed by very tall buildings all around it. Makati has really changed a lot—and the traffic jam was terrible.
From time to time, my family and I would go to Sta. Rosa, Laguna to visit my wife’s 84-year old mother. Due to the distance, we are not able to visit often. But as we are able, we make it a point to visit especially during special occasions like Christmas or on November 1 which happens to be the day when my father-in-law died.
We would often bring my mother-in-law to the Eternal Gardens memorial park where my father-in-law was laid to rest. And most often after that, the whole family would spend time and have something to eat at Nuvali, a beautiful place which keeps on getting better each time we visit.
In this photo at Nuvali, I was able to shoot a photo of my mother-in-law together with her great grandson as they were sitting on a wheelchair late in the afternoon. They were watching the fishes and boats passing by. But as I took the shot, there must have been something else that they were looking at haha! The place is getting to be quite a nice park where people can enjoy family time together.
I can’t forget one pastor from UK who stayed in the Philippines for about 10 years. He used to jokingly say that “in the Philippines, there are only two seasons: hot and hotter”—and we would all laugh about it hahaha! The poor pastor and his wife had to endure our hot climate which to them was really warm for a decade.
Now that it’s March, I guess that the Philippine summer season is now beginning to arrive since people are now back again using their umbrellas haha! Filipinos use umbrellas not only to protect themselves from the rain but also from the hot scorching sun. To me, it is interesting that in some other countries, I only see umbrellas used when it rains. I never saw—unless I missed it—people in the US and in Japan using their umbrellas under the sun haha!
Another interesting thing about summer in the Philippines is that it’s no guarantee that it won’t rain haha! So, rain or shine, get ready with your umbrellas because summer is here!
Having grown up in Mindanao, one thing that caught my attention when I first came to Ilocandia, the northern part of Luzon, was the farm hand tractor commonly called locally as the kuliglig. It is a Tagalog word for the cicada insect. I don’t know why it’s named after the cicada but I think that it’s maybe because this little machine can really make a lot of noise.
I haven’t really noticed this kind of farm hand tractor in Mindanao. Not even in the Visayas. I could be wrong. Maybe I missed it but it’s not so common as it is here in these rice-planting provinces of Luzon. There’s just so many all over the place and it can even slow down traffic on highways and in every town you pass by.
It’s interesting that this kuliglig is not only a farm hand tractor but as I noticed all over central and northern Luzon, farmers are using it as an all-purpose vehicle. They use it as their family vehicle transporting all kinds of things including people haha! Another amusing thing about this is when this vehicle needs to turn left or right. I often see the driver get off on the left side or on the right side (depending on where he’s going) and in perfect timing, hop in back again as soon as the vehicle is already in the right direction. Really amusing to me haha!
