Typhoon Nesat - Update 3

I was at lunch yesterday with some friends, who told me that apparently the wall around the bay had been completely washed away in something like 5 places. Looking at the video below, I'm not surprised!

Typhoon Nesat - Update 2

This is some of the video I've found on the internet...I think CNN used this too...of the flooding down at the esplanade on Manila Bay nearby Mall of Asia. We were there just a couple of weekends ago. Crazy!!

Again, we've been absolutely fine, but I am concerned for those people who do not live in proper buildings/houses, or in well run areas.

This site was helpful for understanding the strength of typhoons:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saffir%E2%80%93Simpson_Hurricane_Scale

Typhoon Nesat - Update 1

Typhoon Nesat has arrived. We had no idea what to expect, or rather we didn't have any real idea of what kind of effects the typhoon would have. In truth, we're absolutely fine. I'm more concerned for those folk who aren't in well built homes or buildings or who live anywhere near hills that could become saturated with water to such a degree that a mud slide could occur. We've only watched the crazy wind and we've had rain for almost 36 hours now. Some videos below.                                                 

Saturday Market and Market Market

So, another weekend and more to see.  Today we took a quick trip to the Salcedo Saturday Market.

View Salcedo Saturday Market in a larger map	The market was really nice.  We each had a cheese hotdog and wondered around.  There were many interesting items and interesting smells. Some of the pictures below how just how interesting the food is.  The prices are definitely better than the shopping malls.
As you can see, the seafood is out.  Not all is on ice, which makes me a little nervous, however, the fact that the crabs (not in this picture) were still moving makes me think the food is pretty fresh.	An how about that spit on the left.  No automatic turning.  The poor man in the blue shirt manually turns the spit.  How much fun is that. Now if only we can find some biltong.

Some other interesting pictures follow below.

So that was the Salcedo Saturday Market.  From there, we went over to Market Market which is in a fairly new CBD type area call Fort Bonifacio.  The mall was pretty large.  Outside was very similar to the Saturday Market, having fresh fruit, veg etc.

Some pics below of Market Market.

And how about the taxi line

Anyhow, what a great day.  We ended it at home watching the All Blacks killing the poor French.

More Manila Rain & other bits & pieces.

So the rain here is totally insane!! These pics show you the view we normally have out of our bedroom window. And then how the buildings in the view disappear as the rain moves in!?! Totally insane!

Ok, so puddleduck below, is for you dad. This is not at a petting ground or anything. This duck just lives in the garden in the shopping centre nearby. I don't think he eats the koi...lol. I had a good lurk with him during one of my shopping expeditions. I think he thought I had food, because I had a bag with the kettle I had hunted up. He kept trying to look in the bag.

They start here super early with Christmas shopping. I'm already hearing Christmas carols in the stores and below is a picture of one of the stores setting up for Christmas shopping. It was like walking into a wonderland. The picture totally doesn't do it justice!

Opening bank accounts was an experience in itself. We opened accounts at Citibank. This TV with CNN showing, was in the waiting area, when you're wanting to have a meeting with a bank manager. Pretty cool. We were treated with such respect and so much care was taken when we were opening our bank accounts. It was a totally new experience for us at the bank. 

The traffic is a little crazy. This is a pic of our taxi driver trying to squeeze through a tiny gap between two busses much bigger than us!?! 

A couple of weekends back we went to the oldest hotel in Manila. It's just a touristy thing to do. We were desperate for something to eat and found out they had burgers...with a difference. Chips were served in the tall twister. Very different but very enjoyable. It was like stepping into another world. It was so classically grand with wood inlaid ceilings. It seemed to be the spot for brides to get ready too, because while we were there, about 3 or 4 brides must have come through, with other wedding parties entering the hotel to get ready. Was very interesting! But more about churches and weddings in another blog I hope.

Quick Update

Hi all.

So, Vesna has been posting a bunch of pics.  I thought I would let you see some rain.  Today, the rain came down a little at the office.  Below are some videos.  My favourite being the one with the kids swimming in the street. This is the view from the window.

Random Manila Facts

Clearly I'm totally overdue with blogging! This is the shopping centre just over the road. Powerplant Mall. I need to get a picture of the piano, but people can sit and play to their heart's content. It adds such ambience to your shopping experience.

There's also a few Starbucks in the area. Everyone walks around in the evenings and goes for late coffee or frapuccino in my case :-) It's so wonderful just being able to walk freely at night. Totally awesome!

This was the smallest bag of Jasmine rice I could find at our local grocery store, Rustan's. It's incredible how much rice there is here! I've got a photo of the rice isle in the shop further down.

The duck lives in another shopping centre about 5 minutes away. The next photo is basically a picture of his home!?! Such a stunning shopping centre. Looks more like a garden than anything else. All the restaurants open onto the garden and spill over into different parts of it. Totally stunning to sit under the lanterns and have supper - as long as you have an outdoor air con nearby...

This is the isle of rice I mentioned earlier.

Manila Sights 2

Incredible Jewellery.

The fresh water pearls were incredible!

Manila Sights

Some random Manila sights.

The shopping is crazy!

Friday night dinner at a French restaurant with accordian included?!?

The view from our balcony.