First week has been spent trying to work out how the public transport works (poorly), whether there's anything to do other than go to a shopping mall (not much), and finding a place to live. My new home, for now, is the guest room on the top floor of the National Institute of Geological Sciences - part of University of the Philippines Dilliman campus. This is one of the few places I've found that's actually nice to go walking in - as do hundreds of others on a Sunday morning, escaping the traffic noise and fumes of the rest of the city. The room also has the great advantage of being free (and there's a rumour that someone comes in to clean once in a while). On the other hand, the traffic noise at night is horrendous, with every truck with a poorly maintained exhaust using the street outside as a shortcut.
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| Luxurious accommodation, with "borrowed" furniture |
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| View from my front door |
Metropolitan Manila is huge, and has been getting bigger - it's doubled in population to 12 million since 1980 (and see satellite images below). And given that the transport network is somewhat over capacity, the traffic is mental. It took my neighbours 3 hours to ride by taxi from downtown to the university - a distance of around 10km.
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| Growing in every direction - even into the sea. Red areas show vegetation - still quite a lot to be seen in 1972 (above). Less showing in 2009 (below) as the city has expanded. |
The food is a mix of fast-food chains - McDonald's, KFC, and the home grown equivalent Jollibee - and more traditional pork, chicken and beef stew. All served with rice, 3 (or more) times a day. I had to go for beer and pizza last night, just for variety.
Going by the first week, I think I'll be OK living here for 3 months - but I can't say I've warmed to the place, yet.
I've also posted a work related piece - here - which talks about my first impressions of the flood mapping and forecasting work in the Philippines.
Didn't feel tempted to call your blog "Mattnila"? Sounds like Jakarta.
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