my long walk.... thursday

I was up at 5am this morning for the cricket and it didn't go very well at all. It finished at 1pm here, I had a nap til 1.45pm and then I decided it was time that I went on one of my long walks.

I decided to head out west of Manila to see where it took me, I always think that is the best way, just walk and walk and see where you end up.

Anyway I walked about 30 mins away from Makati and things started to look interesting, you know what I like if you are a reader of this blog. I found this slum area that I never knew existed, people as always were giving me the "hey Joe" amongst other things.. all nice I may add, girls of all ages smiling and asking me where I was going and what was I doing there.... it's a hard life !!
Some guys asked me to sit and drink with them but that is a big NO NO here, I am at least street savvy. Just say thanks but don't have the time.

I left my condo at 2pm by 3pm I really was in the middle of somewhere that I didn't know and had never heard of, the place was called Sante Ana, I found myself walking down this really interesting street, it was fantastic, a place of mass human activity, severe poverty but everyone had a smile for me, people sitting on the pavement chatting, cooking... yes fires on the pavement everywhere !! .. homes that were the simplest imaginable, a labyrinth of buildings of the poorest quality. Just a piece of wood as a wall, if you were lucky a piece of corrugated iron as your roof. I simply can not describe this to you, I should have taken my camera but I only wanted to carry that which I didn't mind being stolen.

I walked and walked through this "estate", I thought that there may not be a way out as I had walked for over an hour through it. I really wish that you see things that I saw today through my eyes... but it's impossible and any words that I use would be insufficient. I kept walking and walking, it's now 5.30pm I have been walking for 3 hours and 30 mins, I came to a bridge there, people were living under and around this bridge, at first I thought it was a rubbish dump until I looked down over the parapet, people were living there, cooking their dinners, young mothers holding babies, children playing games... a real community.

I stopped on the middle of the bridge, there were 4 naked young boys... about 9/12 years old, they were jumping into this river which was about 60' down !! they asked me for money (everyone does) to jump in the river, I refused but they did anyway...I was amazed, they jumped from a statue on the bridge straight into the water. I watched them for a while, they were on the base ot the bridge near their homes, this was their play area, they were running into an open sewer naked... whilst watching them this is where they kept their dry clothes !!!!! I threw some money over for them to dive into the water to get...it pleased them a great deal... I thought that they deserved it.

I continued walking and found myself in a part of Mandaluyong.... somewhere I have been before..... this is north of Manila... how did I get here ??..... anyway I kept walking and began to recognize some roads.... I remember that it used to take me 2 hours to walk home from Mandaluyong, it was now 6pm.... I had been walking 4 hours and had 2 to go from here.

I reached the area that I lived in for the first 2 weeks of my stay here in Manila, it was a place in north manila. I reached there at 7.15pm but was getting thirsty and hungry so I decided to have a wander down Burgos St.... this is the dodgy area.. sort of red light area. I sat in the outside restaurant of a fancy hotel.
I ordered 2 beers and some food and people watched..... very interesting indeed.

Most of the guys sitting in the same area as me were similar to me...meaning white, old and alone. I shouldn't say this but I like to think that I am not unacceptable as a male, nature didn't do some of these guys any favours if you know what I mean.
There were Germans there, French and Brits, they all looked sleazy to me but then again, maybe they were thinking the same thing about me !! The standard thing is some old fat ugly white guy with an attractive young Filipina.. very little in common but who am I to judge, I was imagining balloons above their heads... the white guys balloon said " wow this is gonna be great sex ".... the Filipinas said " how much cash can I get out of this idiot ".
I feel for the girls... honestly... you really have to understand things here.... feeding yourself and your family...be it parents or children is a real big issue. No jobs.... eat or don't eat.... needs must.

I had a nice meal and drinks then left to go home.... by taxi ... I couldn't walk the last 45 mins.... on the way to the cab this lovely looking filipina who had been standing by the side of the restaurant waiting as they all do.... said to me... sir would you like a massage.... as it happens I really needed a massage after such a long walk.. but that wasn't the type that she was offering !!!!

I got home before 9pm, I'm going to have a cold shower and an early night so that I can get up at 5am for the cricket again.... yes glutton for punishment.

Nearly another weekend here......................