More Only in the Philippines...

Only in the Philippines do they...

Plant rice under umbrellas. These umbrellas provide the only shade in the rice paddies. Notice the bundled rice, those will be separated and planted in neat rows.

People often stand on the side of the highway with their arms outstretched holding something they want to sell. We often see people holding ears of corn, or bottles of goat's milk. This lady was holding live eels. We stopped, took a picture, but didn't buy them. I think she was really disappointed!

Everywhere you look you see a carabao (prounounced care-a-bow.  Like bowing to the King) completing a variety of tasks. They are in the fields, they are on the highways, hauling people and goods. This one was hauling seed out into the fields. Notice the bamboo poles that serve as the cart's long handles?

This carabao is tilling up the soil just prior to planting. You notice that they flood the paddies before planting.

You find the funniest signs. People here usually use English in their signs, but it's not always correct English. Here's just one example I saw at the grocery store meat counter. It should have read, "For Customer Use Only." Also I laughed wondering why they needed the sign in the first place. Who else would be tempted to use the water inside the store?

There are bicycles with sidecars selling icecream. The two popular brands here are Nestles and Selecta. Each has its own jingle that they play as they pedal down the streets. You can hear if your favorite brand is in the area. We all like Selecta best as it's creamier and tastes more like what we are used to eating in the US. There are also the dirty icecream sellers who make their own icecream each morning and sell it during the day. This guy was selling Nestles and President Carlos treated the little kids in the area. When he asked them what kind they wanted they all shouted, "Penguins!" I gues one of the selections looked like little penguins.