Manila, Philippines March 1, 2007

Manila! Our view as we arrived. The pier where there were school age children playing in a band to welcome us. Manila is fascinating, even surreal. A combination of modern day and traditions. A place where horse drawn carriages can be right next to city buses, BMW's, taxi's, tricycles, and some crazy things called Jeepneys! These things hold up to 20 people. They originally came from when after WWII, the US thought it too expensive to ship all their jeeps back to the US, so they left them. The Filipinos converted them into public transportation! None of those really exist on the street any longer but they do hand build all of them now her in Manila and they are brightly colored and have tons of chrome on them! Traffic jams are abundant. We opted for a tour that took us out of the city about 90 miles to the south. We traveled by bus and had a police escort! Many waved at us like we were headed to the Oscars! At times we were up on sidewalks or going down the oncoming lane, it was an unusual ride to say the least, all the time, the police were blaring their sirens! The children thought that was way cool. Here we go...
A few vendors were set up on the pier as well.

Here are those crazy looking Jeepneys! A look at modern Manila before we hit the rice fields.

Rice, Rice, Rice, Rice, can I say rice? Most years the Philippines grown enough of their own rice that they do not have to import any. Depending on the rains, drought or tsunami! This year they do not expect to have to import any. Their largest export is coconuts. They do not export rice.
Baskets, hats, etc...are all handicrafts of the Philippines. This man is pushing his goods through town.
The Tricycle. It is actually a motorcycle with a sidecar. We all got to ride in them. That was a blast. You have to be 16 to drive them, thank goodness!

Here we go on our big adventure! White water rafting, Filipino style. In the US, the guides put you in the rafts at the top of the river. Here, you get in at the bottom and the brawny boat men pull you, paddle you, and carry you to the top of the river. Along the way, there are sight-a-plenty!

Here is a picture of Charles and the kids before we risk our lives in the DUGOUT canoes! No crocodiles or hippos in the water here though!!!
Only water that may give you an unwanted illness, and jagged rocks right in your face. Some of the passes were barely wide enough for these tiny canoes to go through. Just look. The pictures don't scream the way I did!

This lady was washing her layndry as we paddled by. The large place had done their laundry and hung it out very orderly. Many people that live along the river have cows. We saw many cows in the river with us. Two times we saw men bathing their cows! That was a first for me.

Does this scenery look familiar at all?? Take a good look. It is where all the river scenes from the movie Apocalypse Now, were filmed. I need to check the spelling on it. But this is where it was. That movie is vintage about 1981 if you wan to rent it and see. However, it is probably not a G-rated film!! The scenery was captivating after we got passed the townspeople and were in the jungle. We were in a gorge. The walls looked to be about 300 ft. high.

Everyone along the river has a canoe and keeps it in a shed like these.

This picture is probably out of sequence but I had to include it. Charles is always saying that I choose the wrong footwear for tours! I like sandals, sensible ones, but ones that look good. I HAD to take a picture of this Japanese gal. She had on heels at the falls!! These were rocks all over, not a flat piece of ground to be had. Charles can never say I have the wrong footwear again!

This is a picture of our brawny boat man, Gary. He is out of the dugout canoe pulling/carrying us over rocks. It was brute strength. These guys had more lean muscles than any guy in body building magazine in the US. They were small but STRONG. He carried, Nicholas, me and a guy named Bruce we met. Charles and Kathleen were in another dugout.

Here are Kathleen and Nicholas taking a photo before they go to the FALLS!!!

Look at those happy kids. They have no idea what is around the bend! They should have read the brochure. I knew better. I stayed on land to take these photos. There they go off to SEE the falls close up. Much like when you go see the Falls at Niagara Falls. However, the Maid of the Mist turns back and does not plunge you under the falls!






Here they are getting hammered in the head by thousands of gallons of rushing COLD mountain water!!!

Happy we made it back alive!

Kathleen and Nicholas celebrate their accomplishments on the river!

Charles gets a 50 minute massage for $5.00 US!! He needed something to take away his stress and the pain he got in his back after shooting the rapids. I do have to apologize for not taking more pictures. You see, the canoe was only about 2 and a half feet across. All my belongins were in my lap with my camera included. I took as many pictures as I could before we started tipping some. Everytime the boat tipped, a rush of water came over the side COLD water, right in our laps! I decided I better put the camera away in the waterproof bag and pay attention to what was going on or I might fall out trying to get a perfect shot. My memories are enough to last me. You however, need to give it a go. We all found the Philippines to be a diamond in the rough. I had no idea of the beauty.

This is McDonald's competition in Manila. The Jolly-B!! Most times there is a Jolly-B on either side of a McDonald's here.

Kathleen and Nicholas got showers and went outside to bid a fond and sad farewell to all the people on the pier. Many of the ship's crew are from the Philippines. It was a sad sight to see them have to tell their husbands, wives, and children goodbye. They won't see them for 4 more months. Very sad to see them all crying. The cruiseline pays the staff well. They justify being away from their families so they can provide a better life for them. Our guide told us that the hottest curriculum to study here is nursing. There are shortages of nurses in the US and Canada and many of these girls are hired right ot of college to go to work there.

We have a couple of days at sea and then CHINA!!! I can't believe it. We have a lot planned for China. We will be in Shanghai a day and a half and then we leave the ship for 5 days and do a land tour. We will go to see the Great Wall and the Terracotta Warriors, The Forbidden City and much more. Stay tuned, it will be some of the most fascinating things we do on the whole trip.