Jalan, Jalan in Mactan

The Indo phrase "jalan, jalan" kept coming to mind as a took a stroll down the Mactan street outside the hotel complex. Lots of people out and about and many inquired as to what I wanted and often suggested all sorts of things that I might be interested in - from shells to the rather disturbing. In Indo when confronted with such a situation all you would have to say is "jalan, jalan" which means "no, thank you, I am simply out for a stroll". Unfortunately I have no knowledge whatsoever of Tagalog and thus did not have a "jalan, jalan" comparative so I just started saying "no, jalan, jalan". The following are some pics I took while on my stroll.

I actually found my first post but already created the below so ....

Insert choice swear words here ...... my lack of knowledge with tech stuff in general just resulted in me erasing this post. So here we go again. I went out for a stroll beyond the compound of the hotel and was engaged by lots of friendly greetings, inquiries and offerings from shells to the rather disturbing ... Those peddling the disturbing were quite persistent and it took a bit of effort to disengage. In Indo the magic bullet was simply to say "jalan, jalan" which basically meant "no thank you I am out for a pleasant stroll and at this time not interested in any other activity". My knowledge of Tagalog is nil so   - after a bit I just went with "no, jalan, jalan" and the universal hand wave to disengage from the more disturbing. The following are from my walkabout.

I think goats are a quality domesticated animal to have in your collection. They are quite hearty, eat lots of things and are quite pleasant to interact with - and are cute according to the girls.

Not sure if you can see this - but Mactan is a "Coke" town. Coke and Pepsi have "claimed" various parts of the world via marketing and contracts - some entire countries are "Coke" or "Pepsi".

Jeepneys are presently my nemesis. I have to deal with their domination of the roads and aggressive style on a daily basis. I do understand their role in Philippine society but still - they frustrate. It is funny that most of them have stenciled in on their bumpers - "how is my driving" - perhaps an inside Philippino Jeepney guy joke.

Roosters are pervasive - evident all over the Philippines. They are coddled and cared for - and fight. More on this later when I have a better understanding of this aspect of the rooster culture.

Apparently, Mactan is a source of shells for export. Lots of establishments were evident catering towards this industry. Many shops were connected to large residential establishments, evidence that there is certainly money to be made in the shell exporting business.

Hanging out in front of one of the shell exporting businesses.

Shells packaged for export.

Philippino calf. Not sure yet about the cow culture here in the Philippines.

One of the more interesting cultural elements that I have come across here. While most of the developing world is soccer oriented - not so the Philippines. Instead of kids involved in make-shift soccer games - its all about basketball here in the Philippines. US influence - perhaps, but I believe there is more to it than this seemingly obvious explanation. Will investigate and report.

Nemesis.

Raw shells outside a "factory" ready for processing and eventually export.

Roosting rooster.

Ashley and Kate making waves here in the Philippines.

Nice to know that the driver of this commercial vehicle feels this way about herbs. 

This was interesting. Out on my walk I came across this crowd of yellow shirted folk. At first I thought it was perhaps a school trip of some sort but upon closer investigation noticed that their shirts all had "Interior Innovations" stenciled on their shirts. They are all workers from a factory most likely producing Pier One type of constructs on their lunch break.

"Mactan Newtown", a more developed part of the island, basically consisted of this complex - McD's, a 7-11, and a bank. you can learn a lot about culture/economy/globalization/development/stuff via McD's and where they pop up in our world.

With Ronald.

Ronald welcoming the world to "Mactan Newtown"!