Posts

Showing posts from April, 2017

Manila, Luzon, Philippines

Image
Welcome to readers from Turkmenistan First impressions of Manila are less than favourable. The city appears grey even in tropical sunlight. The traffic is execrable. The bus from the airport, only 5 km away, took an hour to make the centre. That journey took us through some tough neighbourhoods. Feel Dinah Washington's  This Bitter Earth Of course merely first impressions. At the traffic lights I was reminded of Manuelita Mascarenas - Green an environmental lawyer recently executed at the lights while in her car with her children. One of twelve such lawyers murdered in the last year alone. * And of course it's hot. The Mexicans and the Spanish got to the Philippines hundreds of years ago at the beginning of the 16th century. Both their influences are palpable here. The big draw here is that most everybody speaks English. I travelled with my partner and Sophie ,who was 4 and a half months old so ... the journey was especially interesting