Jeepneys of the Philippines

It was my last day in the Philippines, this past January. Since my flight was to leave at 6am, I stayed in Manila the night before. I had the afternoon to waste and the hotel directed me somewhere and recommended I take a taxi. On the map, it didn’t look very far, so I grabbed my camera and hoofed it. As usually happens, on my way toward a destination, I got distracted and detoured… through a community that I’m sure no tourists ever visit.

What attracted me, first, were the jazzed up jeepneys, parked near the road. Years ago, this used to be the norm—owners took pride in distinguishing their vehicles. Today, this isn’t as common; many of the jeepneys are less decorated and show their bare, galvanized metal. Most of those that were decorated were still not as fancy as the ones I remembered, years ago, on my first visit to the Philippines, but these pics will give you some sense of what they used to be.

If you’re traveling, leave the tour-bus behind and discover the real people. It is usually far more interesting than going to see the Eiffel Tower. It turns out that I happened upon a community, alongside a (garbage-filled) river. More about that in my next post…