July 28, 2008

Stuck in traffic

Metro Manila's traffic can be so unpredictable sometimes! Take Saturday afternoon, for example. It took me one hour to get home from work—and it's only five kilometers away! I couldn't see what was wrong and until now, I still don't know what caused the extremely slow flow. I could have gotten home faster if I just walked, but I couldn't because (1) I had the wrong shoes for walking, (2) I was carrying two heavy bags, and (3) no one in his right mind will walk among Manila's black-smoke–belching cars. This is my third photo of the interior of taxi cabs (the first is here, and the second is here), and this one is really by way of an introduction. Because the ride was so slow, I took out my camera and started taking photos of things by the roadside when the taxi was idling. So in the coming days, I'll be giving you my "Stuck in traffic series"—photos of various street scenes taken through a tinted window that was badly in need of cleaning.

Manila traffic as seen through a taxi's windshield

13 comments:

Olivier said...

en parlant de photos en voiture, il y a un conducteur de taxi New Yorkais qui avait un superbe livres avec toutes les photos prisent de son taxi pendant ces courses

speaking of photos by car, there is a bus driver for New Yorkers who had a superb books with all photos taken of his bus during these courses

Dina said...

Shalom Hilda. This shot gives a real feeling of the situation.
Maybe I should try a similar one through the front window of our buses.
Thanks for your visit!

Layrayski said...

hehe sounds like your traffic adventure is fun (not hehehe)...

Debbie Courson Smith said...

It's great to share the photos becuase it's all so real. And I'm always interested in seeing what taxi drivers hang from their rear-view mirrors. I imagine it predicts their driving skills.

marley said...

Nothing worse than being stuck in traffic. I look forward to seeing what you saw while stuck!

Unknown said...

Happens in Lagos all the time. A result of poor roads and increasing number of cars. I guess every city has its own "headache".

Unknown said...

Taking photo's was a good idea for making the best of a bad situation. Sounds like an interesting series of photo's.

• Eliane • said...

What an adventure! And it must have been an expansive taxi ride!!

Louis la Vache said...

:-(
Looks like rush hour here, too....

Harry Makertia said...

Hilda, we do have a similar situation here! Now, I prefer to use motorbike!

Laurie Allee said...

I'm so glad you had your camera with you! Looking forward to the rest of the pictures.

Jill said...

Making the best out of the worst -- I'm sure you saw things with your camera you normally pass by.

crittoria said...

This is a great photo that really shows the situation. I love the horse hanging from the rearview mirror! I think it's great that instead of just sitting there being impatient, you got busy with your camera...I've enjoyed the results. This series of photos is very interesting!