Bradley's Old Fashioned Weblog

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  • Sent Off In Style

    Remember how I said in an earlier post that Filipinos will use a motorbike for just about anything? Well, when my wife and I flew back out of the Philippines, we had to leave through Clark Air Base, since that’s where we arrived at. We spent most of our stay in Antipolo and had to…

  • Corruption in the Philippines

    I was told that in the Philippines, making money depends on how inventive you are, and how entreprenuerial you can be.  The average salary in the Philippines doesn’t count for much when converted to almost any other foreign currency, and most salaries in the Philippines don’t count for much there either.  This is especially true…

  • Montage of Poverty and Upscale Construction

    While we were commuting back and forth through the Philippines I noticed something that I haven’t seen anywhere else.  The Philippines is like a montage of poverty, middle class, and upper-class establishments and homes. What I mean is that in, say, the US, you have neighborhoods that are well-to-do.  The houses are all very nice. …

  • Standing Out Like A Sore Thumb

    When you’re a white guy and you’re in the Philippines you’re something like a superstar.  It feels like you’re being followed around by the paparazzi or something.  This isn’t really the case in the Manila area, well not so much anyways, but out in the provincial areas, everyone takes a look at you. I get…

  • Weird Animals in the Philippines

    The last few times I was in the Philippines I didn’t really notice anything but ants and mosquitoes. We had quite a bit of excitement this time around though, with giant spiders and snakes. Here are some photos: This ugly bastard is about the size of your average wallet, including the legs. I’m no expert…

  • Beggars In The Philippines

    Beggars are a pretty common sight in the Philippines, but not all of them are what they seem. In the U.S. there’s a running joke that some bums are just bums part-time to make some extra money. When they’re done they go home to wash up for the night and get ready for work in…

  • Public Transportation In The Philippines

    (The “A” is Porac in Pampanga Province. Antipolo is in the bottom right, East of Manila.)After spending 3 days in Pampanga with my wife’s dad and mom it was time to get a few of our things together and head to Antipolo to visit her brothers. We were able to travel light because my wife…

  • Lots of Cats, and Some Dogs Too!

    My wife really really loves cats. She loves all sorts of pets, but she has a particular weakness for cats.  From what I can tell, she always had cats of her own when she lived in the Philippines and now we have cats in Singapore. I know where my wife got her love of cats…

  • Pumping Well Water

    My wife’s parents have a set of apartments in Porac, in Pampanga province. It’s a medium sized building on a pretty good sized lot that has four separate apartments built into it. Each unit seems a bit small. The two middle units could comfortably house 2 people at most, and the end units 3 each,…

  • Arriving in the Philippines

    Arriving in the Philippines was a much better experience for us this time. We flew into Clark Airbase in Pampanga province. The airport is small. There isn’t even an enclosed walkway from the plane to the terminal. You have to do it the old old fashioned way and walk down a flight of portable stairs…