Photos from Manila
Here are a few selected photos from Manila with the associated stories.
The guy who funds a lot of the Alpha work in Manila is a guitar collector, and lost track of the numbers of guitars in his collection at 250... he estimates he has around 300+ guitars. Every guitar was top shelf, limited editions. No junk there. On top of this is every type of guitar amp you could imagine. Matchless, Vox, Carr, Mesa Boogies, Fender etc etc etc. And remember, he doesn't play guitar, only a collector.... crikey... ching ching
The Beatles covers band that played the last night we were in Manila at the personal club of the guy mentioned above. One of the sweetest covers bands I have ever heard, and took requests for any Beatles song you wanted. I threw out "Day in the Life", a song I had studied at high school and by no means a simple song. They absolutely nailed it, complete with weird orchestra crescendo. A very cool night, and hearing the song live was a musical highlight of the trip.
Walking back to the place where we were staying after some heavy rain which had flooded the streets - at places knee deep. A lot of the kids were having the time of their life, getting some relief from the 29 degree heat. The poor kid on the left was getting a bit cold though! Check out the gangsta hand signs : )
In the middle of filming a clip for the Youth Alpha training dvd. We actually did very little filming, it was mainly the guys from Asia who cranked it out. It is quite something hearing talk after talk in Burmese, Thai, Malay etc and having to sit in the audience and act like you understand in case they pick you for a crowd shot... After day four of non-stop shooting, you get into this weird twilight zone.
At the street kids ministry that we visited. This night has deeply challenged me again to step up and live more simply and share more passionately for the many people around the world who live in tragic humiliating conditions. In the midst of it all they are some of the most gracious, generous and fun filled people.
Typical street scene in Manila, lots of people, crazy driving, and Mc D's! Its weird being in a place like this and seeing Starbucks on every other corner, Burger King, Maccers and other parasites everywhere.
We were warned as we arrived that we would have a very hard time paying for anything as the Philippino people are ridiculously generous people despite 30 million of them living on less than $2 a day. It was true, we had to be very sneaky to pay a bill before they did. There are stories of fights in the villages outside of the Manila as to who will pay the bill. Pretty humbling stuff really, something we could all learn a little bit more here in out western world.
Back to NZ, and its time to quickly recover from the travel and get back into it tomorrow morning. Lots happening as we approach the Soul Survivor festival, and start looking at 2008.
The guy who funds a lot of the Alpha work in Manila is a guitar collector, and lost track of the numbers of guitars in his collection at 250... he estimates he has around 300+ guitars. Every guitar was top shelf, limited editions. No junk there. On top of this is every type of guitar amp you could imagine. Matchless, Vox, Carr, Mesa Boogies, Fender etc etc etc. And remember, he doesn't play guitar, only a collector.... crikey... ching ching
The Beatles covers band that played the last night we were in Manila at the personal club of the guy mentioned above. One of the sweetest covers bands I have ever heard, and took requests for any Beatles song you wanted. I threw out "Day in the Life", a song I had studied at high school and by no means a simple song. They absolutely nailed it, complete with weird orchestra crescendo. A very cool night, and hearing the song live was a musical highlight of the trip.
Walking back to the place where we were staying after some heavy rain which had flooded the streets - at places knee deep. A lot of the kids were having the time of their life, getting some relief from the 29 degree heat. The poor kid on the left was getting a bit cold though! Check out the gangsta hand signs : )
In the middle of filming a clip for the Youth Alpha training dvd. We actually did very little filming, it was mainly the guys from Asia who cranked it out. It is quite something hearing talk after talk in Burmese, Thai, Malay etc and having to sit in the audience and act like you understand in case they pick you for a crowd shot... After day four of non-stop shooting, you get into this weird twilight zone. 
At the street kids ministry that we visited. This night has deeply challenged me again to step up and live more simply and share more passionately for the many people around the world who live in tragic humiliating conditions. In the midst of it all they are some of the most gracious, generous and fun filled people. 
Typical street scene in Manila, lots of people, crazy driving, and Mc D's! Its weird being in a place like this and seeing Starbucks on every other corner, Burger King, Maccers and other parasites everywhere. We were warned as we arrived that we would have a very hard time paying for anything as the Philippino people are ridiculously generous people despite 30 million of them living on less than $2 a day. It was true, we had to be very sneaky to pay a bill before they did. There are stories of fights in the villages outside of the Manila as to who will pay the bill. Pretty humbling stuff really, something we could all learn a little bit more here in out western world.
Back to NZ, and its time to quickly recover from the travel and get back into it tomorrow morning. Lots happening as we approach the Soul Survivor festival, and start looking at 2008.
This entry was posted by Sam, on
Monday, November 12, 2007.
You can leave your response.
12 November 2007 at 7:25:00 pm NZDT
Mate, it's awesome that you enjoyed Manila. Hope you can visit again, perhaps in the near future.
13 November 2007 at 11:34:00 am NZDT
Jealous bro. Looks like you had an enjoyable but challenging time. Hope to catch some of your disease.
14 November 2007 at 11:05:00 am NZDT
Talk about radically different and yet similar experiences. And after all that we got home nearly the same time. Can't wait to catch up - sounds like a loooong coffee is required.