Pedicab Tour

We originally planned to explore Manila’s Intramuros on foot, but we wound up taking a pedicab tour.

We had already turned down several taxis and tour buses, but something about these guys drew us in. Maybe it’s because they were friendly, but not overly pushy? Or maybe because we’d already been walking 45 minutes and were feeling the heat and humidity?

Whatever it was, Larry negotiated a price and off we went. The first part of our journey was along a wide sidewalk, but we eventuallly joined traffic.

Manila is known for its horrific traffic. In places, everything from 18 wheelers to horse drawn carriages and bicycles share the same lanes.

Even so, I felt perfectly at ease with our pedicab lads. They knew the lay of the land, and spoke English well enough to share historic tidbits along the way.

The Intramuros area is home to several schools. We had a human traffic jam at one point comprised of high school and college kids. As we turned the corner, I saw a great big line. When I asked what they were waiting for, MC told me, “They are applying for jobs.”

Really made me wonder what the job market is like here, and what sort of employment future awaits all those school kids we’d seen a moment before.

And I’m still not sure what a “psychometrician” is.Read more