I’m finally back in reliable Internet service. I spent two weeks in the Bicol region, mostly in Pili, Camarines Sur but with a small side-trip to Legazpi City. I’m back in Manila now for a couple of days before heading home (with a day-long layover in Taipei). I’ll post more pictures when I’m back home.

Fresh (and mostly still moving) fish at the open-air market in Pili.

I’m still not comfortable photographing strangers, which means I missed an opportunity to record the gruesome but fascinating process of cleaning a fish in about ten seconds with a single very large knife to bonk it over the head, scale, and gut it.

The port town of Pasacao

We took a little trip on Christmas day to visit some family in Pasacao. Without access to a car, this involved a tricycle ride over to the right bus route to catch a bus to the terminal in Naga City, then another tricycle ride to another bus terminal, where we caught an express van (which is faster than a bus and sometimes infinitely more terrifying, depending on the driver) to the bus terminal in Pasacao, then a pedicab ride to the center of town where my relatives run a motorcycle parts/services shop. The pedicab charged me double, which is I think is fair.

The primary mode of transportation in the Philippines

The jeepney is iconic, but I think the real official transportation of the Philippines is the single-cylinder motorbike. At 100-125cc’s they’re not particularly fast, but they’re relatively cheap, reliable, and fitted with an extra pair springs and shocks, will carry just about anything on a flat road. Apparently it’s technically illegal to carry a child on a motorbike as pictured, but most people don’t own cars and are just making short trips around town, so this rule is not strictly enforced. This being the Philippines, the owners are also fond of customizing their bikes so you will see all sorts of racing liveries, modified exhausts, and chassis lights.