Wednesday, and I'm back in Manila to move into the condo unit I've booked for July. The idea was to find somewhere in a residential and business district, somewhere reasonably quiet with good access to WiFi-enabled coffee shops and similar resources. This may be a sad reflection of my background but is a necessary evil unless I want to take up an alternative profession.
The bulk of the journey back from Tagaytay is by coach and I have to admit I find it a little depressing. Probably this is the combination of the Beautiful People on the in-coach TV, all with their nose-jobs and perfect teeth, who jar profoundly with what I can see outside the window, for example the shanty towns on the rivers just outside Manila. Kids sifting through the rubbish drifting down to the sea and people collecting plastic bags from under the huge advertising hoardings which are pushing breast enhancement pills and anti-dandruff shampoo at the masses, including me, swinging past in air conditioned splendour on the freeway.
Quezon City (remember - a city is more like a district here) is definitely the poshest part of the country I've seen yet aside from some of the exclusive subdivisions set back from the road and occasionally glimpsed over the tops of the corrugated iron shacks lining the route. A 'subdivision' is just an area of land set aside for use by a developer. What we in the UK would call an 'estate' I guess.
Quezon is a bustling and thriving community and apart from hospitals and government offices has large malls including all the usual western brands, Starbucks to mention one, where I started this piece. Sitting in the window people watching is fun. Doing so brings home to me how stunningly diverse a population Philipinos are. There are some common threads but you see people who look mostly Spanish, Chinese or Indian in the same group walking by. I've no idea how one's ethnic inheritance affects social status or economic opportunity here but it's quite fascinating to look at.
After numerous un-answered e:mails and go-nowhere phone calls before coming here, I found a place near the new city hall in a district known as Fairview. Well; I say district but in fact I'm not sure if this is a road name or the name of a Barangay, to me it's just something you tell Jeepney drivers on the way back from the Ali Mall complex.
The condo unit is on the third floor of an older block and has a great view over yellow rooftops and palm trees. It's a little
This time, unlike in the Grand Boulevard, the roaches don't disappoint in terms of size or scuttle factor (yuck!!!), but are reasonably quickly dispatched and I'm pretty sure they won't be too much of a problem. Fingers crossed.
It'll be a bit grotty till I've scrubbed it but I'm actually seriously taken by it, especially the double doors off the bedroom onto the tiny balcony. Note to self: buy plants. Actually I'm understating again, I can see how it would be absolutely gorgeous with slightly nicer decor. From a house buyer's perspective, it has all the things that you can't change done right: loads of window space, a big square pillar in the main room which adds shape, a cute kitchen area and a bedroom which isn't a cubbyhole. It just needs a bit of care and attention. As well as a complete clean and a paint job!
On the lower levels of the condo there are as advertised a restaurant and coffee shop, laundry space and a karaoke bar. The coffee / food place is on a balcony surrounded by palms and other things in pots and looks very pleasant for evening meals but is open to the elements so will be too hot for working during the daytime. Just opposite the condo there's a small WiFi coffee shop called Mocha Blends.
This is way cool for a variety of reasons as will become apparent. They open officially at 8am but the owner seems happy for me to perch in the corner from 7:30 and the WiFi seems reliable. It's a little expensive at PP300 for 5 hours but there are fixed price deals on their web page which may help reduce this.
Another amusing thing about Quezon is the Korean community. There are enough of them here to spawn numerous restaurants and at least one PC-방 as well as (wouldn't you know it) language schools. One of which is on the 4th floor above Mocha Blends. I spotted a large group of Korean teenagers arriving while I finished writing this. The adults in tow seem to be a mixture of Philippino and Korean, I've no idea who's running the business and I wonder briefly how the economics work out.
According to the sign out the front of Mocha Blends there's live music on a Thursday evening between 9pm and midnight. This bodes well, especially since the coffee shop owner is currently showing exceedingly good taste by playing, of all things, a Jill Sobule CD on the sound system.
Which is an enormous advance on k-pop...
