Filipino Engineering!

It may be a bit hard to see in this pic .... but i kid you not, this bad boy home made mansion was actually built inside an billboard advertising stand (not sure if that's what you call it), I guess if companies don't rent the space then someone will make some use out of it .... somehow haha. Its cute though just like a tree house in the city I guess .... also nicely crafted near some condos to the right there .... made me LOLz each time I drove past this .... my 2nd fav photo :)

Cullen Bay .... Filo Style LOLz

Malabon is actually situated along a river, honestly i had no idea! This is actually Cullen Bay - Filo Style - check out the home made boat ramp that leads off a nice Villa ....

Taking Notice ....

Ever since starting out with my camera one of my other favourite past times would be just to walk around, sit around and watch what is around me :) (Contrary to the typical filo observation technique of Standing around with arms crossed and staring LOLz most times this technique is followed by a -ve comment - yes you filo's out there know exactly what I'm talking about! stop shaking your head now haha)

Soft drink in glass bottles, why does it taste better? Same with Red Horse in a bottle why does it taste better ... The canned stuff smells and tastes like acetone

Believe it or not this is actually a 2 way street, even with vehicles and pedicabs parked along the side

What you see .... Is What you get ....

Out of All the photos as simple as it may be, I think this one would have to be my favourite. I took this one while enjoying a ride in a Tricycle along some road somewhere in Tanay. I envy those that wake up and see this first thing in the morning .... You'll have to excuse all the electrical wires dangling on the top half of the photo, it was kinda difficult to compose the shot with them there, I guess in a way it kinda adds to the shot :)

It's amazing how crazy the roads are over in Philippines, I got the shock of my life on my first cab ride to the hotel. A bus, yes i did say a bus! stopped literally 50cm infront of the taxi i was in and to the right hand side of a taxi there was a jeepney 30cm away from me, so close that i could pretty much give the passengers in the Jeepney a High 5 LOL .... all this and no accidents, what can I say, these drivers have skills!

Check out the sign i the photo below "Slow down, Drive carefully Haneh!" .... so cute!
Streets are pretty much filled with pedicabs and side stalls which sell the essentials .... toothpaste, shampoo, detergent etc all in little sachets!! Even that's cute too!

A good friend of mine Ivz suggested we take a day trip to the Province of Rizal. Here we travelled on a very narrow road on an FX Van (Transport Service which is usually a 4WD or Van or some sort, max is 8 Passengers, its airconditioned and you have room to move - in other words much more comfortable than a jeepney or a bus). We passed through Antipolo. The scenery here was amazing, everything was green! Numerous houses were built along the mountain side, staring down at them from up high almost gave me vertigo Eeek! Acrophobia

Philippines ....

The last time I went to Phils was when I was about 12 years old, to be honest with you it somewhat freaked me out! Why you ask? because it was a complete culture shock to me, so different to what I was used to. KFC served with rice? Rats grow as big as cats? People eat fertilized duck eggs? Do I really wanna be here? - I wanted to go home so badly!

I look back now and think about the perceptions I had about Philippines when I was child it makes me smile each time I think about it. Going over there when your a lot older is much different because this is where the appreciation, filo pride and the like kicks in (yet there are still some filo things that grr me lolz), I swear even for that short period of time I kinda felt ... ahmm ... Filo :)

The day I flew in I waited for the sun to rise and took this shot of the skyline, the sun rises really early over here in Phils. I didn't have any close family around me that day or for a few days so some good friends were left to answer my truck load of questions lolz, thanks guys for putting up with that :)

As soon as I saw that sun rise, I thought .... I kinda like it hear :) .... wonder if I can live here for a bit?

To be continued ..... wait for the post on the day trip to Antipolo and Tanay .....

Falling off .... Picking myself up .... and Dusting off ....

I know its been a "while" since i updated my blog, so many things have happend in the past 3 months. Literally it has been a rollercoaster ride, something that i was totally unprepared for. But despite all the broken pieces, blood, sweat and tears I'm still here standing ;) ... because and and and this mami chula ain't gonna go to waste!