Manila byNight

Manila by Night

Path down the valley to a house

Early on Sunday morning Tristan took me to the Sydney International Airport to take my flight to the Philippines with my friend Elva. Elva arrived a few minutes before me and we went through the paperwork and checks to leave the country. As we waited the weather turned to storm clouds and rain. Flights from Brisbane and Melbourne being delayed by bad weather but not our flight.

We were only delayed by 10 minutes before we set off on our 8 hour flight to Manila. Due to a mess up with our boarding pass we ended up sitting in different parts of the plane. I had an isle seat which was perfect for my wrecked knee to be able to move. Elva had a window seat so she could watch as we passed over Australia, New Guinea and Indonesia. The flight seemed to pass quite quickly despite my technology not working with meals and chatting with a Filipino family from the south that were in the same row as me.

Crazy bus ride

We arrived in Manila on time, found our luggage and went to wait in terminal one for our American friends. The terminal was empty, baron not a shop or refreshment in sight and within no time we were almost the only ones there except cleaning staff and a few officials. Two hours to fill in sitting on a seat at almost midnight Australian time. A couple more planes arrived but still nothing really happening and we thought this very strange for an International Airport. About 20 minutes before the Americans were due to arrive Elva went to look at the only flight screen behind a barricade to see if their plane was on time only to find no Emirate flight listed. We found an official that said the Emirate flights came into terminal 3, miles away. No we couldn't walk it would be too far, yes we could go by taxi if we could find one. It wasn't looking good with only 20 minutes to be there. Then another worker came along, she said we could catch a shuttle bus free just outside the terminal. Great so we rushed out there.

We found the shuttle bus and waited, and waited, and waited until a few minutes before we needed to be there the bus took off. We sped across the tarmac in-between planes on the tarmac, past planes with passengers disembarking(we did stop to let them cross). At times we were so close to the planes on the tarmac we could have put our hand out the window and touched them. We went from one terminal to the next at top speed dodging anything in our path to finally the last stop terminal 3 and almost on time as our American friends were just coming through security. Next trick was to find our American travelling companions as they had asked us to meet them at the baggage department and we were locked out in the arrivals area. A helpful policeman came to our rescue.

Typical house we passed

By now it was well after midnight and we still hadn't eaten since lunch was served late due to turbulence. The Filipinos who were our hosts eventually found us and we were on our way to Calistan about 2-3 hours drive away. Manila by night was not well lit but from what I saw it was a very different country from anything I had seen before. Wide cement highways edged by houses some in good condition but much of it was broken ruins either destroyed and crumbling or with people living in the midst of it with light shining out of their broken homes. Many looked like they had been victims of the typhoons with plastic, cardboard and pieces of wood replacing what would have once been walls. As we drove north I was amazed at all the little road side stores consisting of a table and a shelf set up outside homes with various good for sale ranging from food to cans of soft drink or hand made goods. They were open all night as we passed at about 3 a.m. and still people sat waiting for a sale. We stopped for a quick snack at a chicken place similar to KFC with a McDonald's also near. Coke and McDonald's were everywhere. We passed many dark streets with people milling around, there was a brothel at one point with large blow up figures and scantly dressed girls. This was at about 4 a.m. but about 200 meters down the road were two little girls sitting on the pavement beautifully dressed sitting by a child size table and chairs with an empty bowl in front of them. They would have been about 4 and 7 years old. One was asleep slumped on the table the other just sitting. I felt so sorry for them what sort of short life will they have?

We drove into the night bumping along thee road changing sides regularly to avoid traffic and roadwork's that was marked by men with flags for signs or pot of burning something with the flames being the warning. We passed community after community all with little stalls still working and lights in homes that were no more than rubble and tin.

We reached Calisitan about 5 a.m. as the sun was rising. The family there had prepared 2 little rooms for us to sleep in with foam mattresses on the floor. Elva and i fell into a deep sleep for a couple of hours as we hadn't slept on the bus there. Jamie and Marilee rested but didn't sleep. We were woken to the news that they had prepared us a meal of rice, bread, hot dogs, omelette and coke. 

Children waiting

After our meal we went up to the church, a small 3 sided building with a beautiful carved pulpit and lectern made bu one of the family. The children were quietly waiting to be measured and photographed. They watched and joked as their friends were photographed and then disappeared as we finished. They were quite shy around us and didn't say much.  

Rice on the road

Once the measuring was completed we headed off for the mountains to Baguio with the ministers wife and little one year old daughter joining us. By daylight we could see much more of the countryside and the communities as we passed. There were miles of rice fields and often rice spread on the roads to dry with something placed on the road-at each end of the spread rice to warn you not to drive on it. Once the rice had been harvested skinny cows graze on the stumps left above the ground.

Pastors beautiful garden

the mountains

Slowly the farm lands gave way to forests which reminded me of the Mt Field forests but as we got higher it also looked very different. The mountain ranges were stunning stark with huge caverns and rocks screed slopes hundreds of meters long. Nestled among these rugged slopes were little dwellings carved into the cliff faces or hanging precariously over the edges. Some dwellings were on the other side of the valley and these were reached by three wires suspended across the valley hundreds of feet below was a narrow river. The occupants of these houses carry everything needed across these wires, I can't imagine how they did it, their balance and skill must be amazing as this was the only access to their houses.