City of Smiles
Pasig City, Metro Manila
Our next stop was Manila. Well, if I’d expected it to be anything at all like Kuala Lumpur, I couldn’t have been more wrong. It’s different world!
For a start, with a population of something in the region of 10 times that of Kuala Lumpur, there are surprisingly few high rise buildings. The skyscrapers I saw appeared to be concentrated in the downtown area. We were staying in Pasig City, one of the 16 cities that make up Metro Manila, and I didn’t spot many buildings more than a few storeys high.
It’s a noisy, chaotic, dilapidated and pretty pongy place. You could have knocked me down with a feather when I saw the pollution in the Pasig River. And that traffic! ‘Right’, I thought. ‘I’ll be keeping my head down here, so.’
The Oldies appeared to be fairly shell-shocked on arrival too. But they were soon put at their ease by the welcome they received and the incredible hospitality of the locals. They were treated like royalty! Wherever they went, they had several personal ‘body guards’, and if they as much as looked like they needed anything, there were immediately offers of assistance. ‘They’d better not get too used to this’, I thought, ‘or they’re going to get a right land when we get back to Europe!’
On their first evening in town, they were invited to a Boodle Fight – a traditional Filipino feast. All the food – rice, pork, chicken, fruit, fish, prawns, crabs, watermelon – is spread out on a long table covered with banana leaves. The guests stand around the table and, at the signal, the fight begins: everyone digs in, eating with their hands. Now, that’s my idea of fine dining!
Wandering around the neighbourhood (when they were allowed to), the Oldies were an object of curiosity and were met with polite, friendly smiles wherever they went. I’ve never seen so many smiley humans! I soon began to relax too and, my curiosity getting the better of me, dared to poke my beak out on occasion.
I was fascinated by those famous tricycle taxis for a start. This flexible, mini mode of transport is indispensable. Bringing people to work, children to school, delivering all kinds of commodities, all the while seeming to defy the laws of physics. I’ve seen up to six passengers on one tricycle alone. They turn on a sixpence, weave in and out of the traffic congestion effortlessly, and they’re dirt cheap into the bargain. But whatever you do, don’t expect a comfortable ride. Or a quiet one!
On one outing on a tricycle with some of the locals with every seat taken, our poor driver couldn’t make it over a slightly humped bridge. There was nothing for it but to get out and push. I suspect that His Lordship had to bear the bulk of the blame for that. With emphasis on the ‘bulk’.
A visit to Pasig Palengke, Pasig Mega Market, was soon on the cards. This must be one of the biggest markets I’ve ever seen. And, oh my goodness, you should have seen the fish counters! Unfortunately, I didn’t manage to get much of an eyeful, let alone a beakful. Her Ladyship was far more interested in the fruit section, so we were mostly dragged around there. Bananas!
I was highly relieved that Her Ladyship sped past one stall she inadvertently found herself in front of. It was piled high with a Filipino delicacy that positively made my toes curl: chicken feet.
At one stage, the Dynamic Duo joined a long queue for what the locals claim to be the best halo-halo in town. This is a Filipino dessert made of a peculiar mix of ingredients including condensed milk, coconut, crushed ice, sweetened beans, sago, ube jam, flan, root crop preserves and goodness knows what else. His Lordship refused to even try it, and judging by the expression on Her Ladyship’s face after her first spoonful, it was not exactly a hit with her – in spite of the fruit content. See, they should have stuck with the fish after all!
