A lazy day in Manila, Philippines

We woke to a hazy morning in Manila, Philippines and the sound of drummers drumming. Thankfully, our cabin is on the starboard side of the ship but the folks on the port side had plenty to say about being waked by the loud drumming on the dock. I suppose it was the locals way of welcoming the Insignia to the Philippines. 

Good morning, Manila!

 

Some of the excursions offered were by jeepney, the colorful, loud, iconic public transport vehicles that are unique to the Philippines. The one for the excursion advertised "air conditioned" but most of them are not and they, along with other vehicles (even some horse drawn ones), contend with pedestrians and motorbikes along the busy streets.

These colorful open-air vehicles which run on diesel are currently the subject of controversy as the government wants to replace them with something safer and more environmentally friendly. Jeepney drivers have been striking to protest the recommendations by the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program.  After being in operation for nearly 50 years, it sounds as if they will likely be phased out in the near future.

 

colorful jeepney dropping off Insignia passengers

view from front

Below are a few others spotted on the streets.

We had nothing booked for today so after breakfast, we boarded the shuttle for a ride into the city and spent a few hours in a very modern mall. Ronnie saw his first movie (off ship) since last winter and I know he enjoyed sitting in the dark eating popcorn. I didn’t care to see Transformers: Rise of the Beasts so I came on back to the ship to shower and cool down.

 

 a certified true copy of the film

 

I snapped a photo of this outside the theater. The movie he saw was not a pirated copy. Good to know. He said there were warnings on the screen to all guests that the movie could not be recorded in any way. I guess that has been a problem here.

There's not really much exciting to report since we’re only here for part of a day, but I’ll post some random photos I took today anyway.

modern high rises

forgive me, but I just can't get over the wiring in some of these places

bus window photo of palm tree

Bureau of Quarantine?

modern, multi level mall

mall decor

entire section dedicated to skin whitening products

 

Jan's milk tea with bubbles

Ronnie's lunch (comes with sticky rice, no fries)

Often there will be some small set up near or inside the port for last minute gifts or souvenirs. Today I spotted this somewhat unusual item - a frog purse. Hmm...

comes in different colors

handy zipper pocket

demo as a cross body purse

a nice send off by a local band