Faith In Transit

Buses in the Philippines come in several forms: new, old, second-hand imports (from China or Japan), air-conditioned (freezer on wheels), air-conditioned with video (watch Hollywood's worst B-movies on pirated DVDs while riding in a freezer on wheels), and non-air-conditioned (also non-upholstered wood slats for seats). But they all have one thing in common: most eschew some religious message somewhere in or on them.

Here's one of my favorites:Yes, you read correctly. That is The Shrine of Jesus.

I know some Christian and non-Christian religions are against iconography, but I never thought the Catholic church and its love of religious icons would go so far as to include stuffed animals and fuzzy dice! Bingo cards, maybe. This bus is like a church festival on wheels!

I also like this second bus:Great is thy Faithfulness: those are the last words you see if your brakes fail while driving behind this bus at high speed. (Well, that or How's My Driving?) Actually, that's there probably due to the fact the thing is so old, faith is the only thing going for it maintenance-wise.