Blog Marco

Qantas pilots delayed QF20 flight from Manila to Sydney via Brisbane the other day. How? They refused to remove their shoes for a security check at Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). The Australian pilots reportedly had argued with airport officials that they were being mistreated. The plane carrying 200 passengers left 70 minutes late after the two pilots yielded for the security check.

Security at the airport has been stepped up since the discovery of the plot to bomb planes flying from Britain to the US. In the last week, a local newspaper had reported that a security consultant was able to smuggle in C-4 explosives attached to the soles of hs shoes on a flight bound for southern Philippines. The consultant also claimed to have put together a bomb inside the plane's toilet. Were the Qantas pilots in the right for refusing security checks? Who gives? I think they should have submitted and they made such a big fuss for nothing, wasting 200 people's time. So what does that amount to? 200 people * 70 minutes is 14,000 minutes which is a total of 9.72 days of lost time for these people. ARGH!

What a neat idea. They have a carriage just for female, elderly, children, & disabled passengers in Manila, Philippines. I guess because the carriages in the MRT (Mass Rail Transit) get so packed like sardines, it is probably wise to have a system like this to prevent and groping incidents and the like...

Manilians (aka people who live Manila) are technologically disabled. Take this case in point: The lines were long - super long, something like 30 or 40 people deep time 3 lines waiting to purchase a ticket for the train. There were two ticket machines located on either end. Guess who first lined up, realised there was no one waiting at the ticket machines, bought a ticket and passed all those who were waiting - leaving them speechless (they saw me, I noticed, I saw their expressions too). Yes me! I could not believe that out of all those people had no change for a simple machine. The machine only had a few buttons – compared to our 100+ button ticket machine in Sydney. My case in point: Manilians are technologically disabled.

Imagine, this bunch of bananas at $2 a pop. P80 (80 pesos) is about AUD$2.10. I gorged on bananas while I was in the Philippines. I miss bananas. I'm too frugal to spend AUD$8+ a kilo (the going rate here in Sydney) for bananas. I guess apples, kiwis and mandarins will have to do.

I'm (was) in Manila. To be specific, I'm (was) walking on the gangway between Greenbelt and Glorietta and I see this S-class Mercedes dropping off a passenger at Greenbelt. Wait! An S-Class Mercedes in Philippines? This guy must be swimming in it. Lucky bastard.

In Australia, Dampa (pronounce "amp" like amplifier and "pa" as in parachute) is simple bread made from water and flour. In Manila, Philippines, Dampa (pronounce "Damp" as in dump truck and "a" as in apple) is a location in Paranaque city. It is very close to the international airport. And if you do eat there you will definitely hear the deafening roar of a 747 jumbo flying over. Dampa has a market selling seafood and an adjoining area of restaurants that don't (seem to) have a menu.

Dampa is a wet market meaning that the seafood sold in that market are not iced or frozen but kept wet and alive. Normally fish is iced or frozen when it comes to our fish mongers in Australia. After you buy the seafood from the markets you can take your 'catch' down the street to have it cooked by one of the restaurants. Ask your fish to be Ihaw-Ihaw – which I think means char-grilled. Food was affordable when I was there. The whole bill to feed three people amounted to less than $40. And we are tal