On foot or on wheels

Here is a footbridge that's great for bikes too. MMDA stands for Metropolitan Manila Development Authority. It's a governance and urban development office, but most people know it as simply the department that puts up all these "beautification" projects like bridges and waiting sheds. Oh, and they have these MMDA officers whose joy in life seems to lie in catching traffic violators. These officers don't make best friends with sidewalk vendors and informal settlers either. When demolition jobs are required (and demolition means demolishing shanties or sidewalk markets, where many poor people live and earn their living), trust the MMDA will be there.

Break time

You'll see a lot of these vehicles if you come to the Philippines, especially in Manila. The "FX" is a taxi but since it's an SUV and therefore bigger and can accommodate more people, people share and get off at different stops. Much like our famous jeepneys. The FX gets its name from the brand of the SUV itself - the Toyota Tamaraw FX.

Ride for free

The bane of every jeepney driver's life - the freeloader. Or in local parlance, the sabit, which literally means hitcher. Most hitchers don't pay anything, the rationale being they don't get to sit anyway. Is it dangerous? You bet. But they don't care anyway.

Bulletproof

I don't know why a taxi operator would ever want to put these bullet hole stickers on their cabs. Wouldn't that be bad for business? It's not exactly the most reassuring sight.

Into the sunset

If I had one of these, I could definitely go sailing into the sunset. Photo taken along Manila Bay. Have a good Friday folks!

Pedicab

The pedicab is another common mode of transportation here in the Philippines, although it's more common in narrower streets and back alleys. You can find this one (and the Church door behind it) in our Chinatown, in Binondo. Either this pedicab driver here had too many customers that day or he had none. I guess we'll never know.