Traffic is nowhere near as nuts here as it was in India – there are no cows or oxen in the middle of the roads and far fewer mopeds and motorcycles, pedestrian seems to stay on the sidewalks rather than sitting in the middle of streets, etc. However, driving in Manila is definitely an experience unfamiliar to most Westerner’s. Paul had obtained his international driver’s license prior to arriving, but after a few taxi rides around the city decided it would be a good idea to avoid driving here. Drivers don’t tend to stay in their own lanes (on the bright side, at least there are lanes painted on the roads and all the roads I’ve seen so far are paved) and all take part in a complex dance of weaving and bobbing between other vehicles. Like a FedEx Hub, drivers are continually honking their horns to advise others of their locations and intentions. Despite all of this, driving is less wild in Manila than it was in Bangalore. Cars don’t tend to drive at excessive speeds – we’d be lucky to get over 40km/h here – and I’ve yet to see a serious accident or read about on in the newspaper.

Note: I owe a huge thank you to Coi A., a co-worker in the Philippines, who took the time to correct my understanding of how the car licensing system works in Manila.

To reduce traffic congestion, cars are not allowed to be on the road at all times. The traffic scheme is fondly called the “color-coding” scheme, why it’s called color-coding is beyond me. License plates which END with particular numbers are off-limits on the roads from 7am-7pm on their assigned days. Thus, vehicles with license plates ending in:

1-2 – off limits on the roads on a Monday
3-4 – off limits on the roads on a Tuesday
5-6 – off limits on the roads on a Wednesday
7-8 – off limits on the roads on a Thursday
9-0 – off limits on the roads on a Friday
Saturday and Sunday are free-for-all days.

Since there’s an upcoming election back home that I won’t be in the country for, we made a trip to the Canadian Consulate. It’s located at the RBCB plaza along with the German and Australian embassies. Forms were filled out and my election ballot was shipped from Ottawa to the hotel, arriving later in the week. Now, I just need to find out who’s running back home, what their platforms are, and make the return trip to the Consulate so my ballot can be sent back home via diplomatic pouch (sounds important, doesn’t it?).

This week has been all about lights, fireworks and the run up to Christmas celebrations. Everynight, mutiple times a night, the city is lit up with lengthy fireworks displays. Each seems to run longer than the last, and the shows are spectacular.

I was a few days into my trip and I noticed that my ankles and feet were swelling. It was horrible. My shoes became progressively tighter and I was miserable for hours after taking them off. It wasn’t just my shoes that were swelling. My shirts didn’t fit properly, my pants seemed overly tight, and I had to stop wearing my watch for a few days because my wrist was swelling so much that it didn’t fit at all for a period of time. Drew informs me this is normal when you head to a tropical climate (he’s had the briefing about it at least once every year). I just wish my doctor or the travel clinic had told me to expect it before I arrived!

After work we’ve made a few trips to the malls to pick up Christmas gifts and souveniers for friends and family back home. Most of the malls we’ve visited are exactly like back home – with the exception of Greenhills. Greenhills is an odd amalgam of upscale mall and indoor/outdoor flea market. The flea market section is broken into stalls, packed with knock-off purses, sunglasses, clothes, and watches. The middle section is devoted to fresh water pearls. Thousand of strands hang from the sides of the stalls in all ranges of sizes, types, and colours.