Musings from Manila: Jeepney Ride along Quezon Avenue

Edson and I went out to University of the Philippines in Diliman a while back. On our return to Makati we took the jeepney from the campus to catch the MRT.

Here's some shots during the ride:

We went as far as the Quezon Avenue MRT station. The government has recently completed work on the walkway overpasses there, note the striking magenta (OK, electric pink!) and blue color scheme. This is used on all walkway overpasses, bus and jeepney stops, and sidewalk male urinals along EDSA Expressway and Commonwealth Avenue.

Yes, you read the "sidewalk male urinals" correctly. They are horrible, stinking, dirty, metal enclosures giving guys a little privacy when they pee in public. Many Filipino men seem to regard the world as a urinal, doing their business whenever and wherever nature calls. (Not unlike the New Yorkers I saw on their way home after partying on Halloween in 2006.) So, these urinals are an improvement, albeit a very small one. Cab drivers are the most frequent users of these.

No, I have no photos of one myself, but the guy here does, along with other nifty photos and commentaries from his stay in metro Manila.

Here is one of those jeepney stops I mentioned. This is one of the few I've actually seen being used. Along Commonwealth Avenue none of them are used. They sit empty and the buses and jeepneys stop wherever and whenever they like, adding to the danger and chaos of a road known as the deadliest stretch of road in the Philippines.

The MRT:

As you probably noticed from the first picture of the overpass, there are a LOT of billboards in Manila. Here's another giant one, advertising skin whitening...