Re: [MBZ] OT: Southeast asia

2015-06-12 Thread Rich Thomas via Mercedes

Interestingly enough, feral cats don't seem to be a problem there

--R



On 6/12/15 9:01 AM, Andrew Strasfogel via Mercedes wrote:

What do you think of the cuisine there?

On Thu, Jun 11, 2015 at 9:55 PM, Curt Raymond via Mercedes 
mercedes@okiebenz.com wrote:


Actually according to wiki they are in fact regulated.
As near as I could tell you could pick out the route based on the design
of the Jeepney. We drove through where they were parked and I picked out
maybe a dozen different ones. All the ones we passed leaving the airport
were mostly the same. At first I thought they were all the same one until I
looked closer, paying attention I could see differences in turn signals,
lighting, etc.
Makati City reminds me of LA in a lot of ways, its clearly a business
district designed to attract western business and as such is pretty clean
and safe.
Just did a skype session with Angie which was a nice way to check in.
Interestingly my Republic Wireless cell phone works perfectly if I have
wifi. It works not at all if I don't but that basically means I can travel
and call home for no extra cost. Of course I can't use it to call
in-country but thats not a huge concern. Our office is supposedly 300
meters from here so I shouldn't need to make many calls.
-Curt
   From: Dan Penoff via Mercedes mercedes@okiebenz.com
  To: Okie Benz mercedes@okiebenz.com
Cc: Dan Penoff d...@penoff.com
  Sent: Thursday, June 11, 2015 8:36 PM
  Subject: Re: [MBZ] OT: Southeast asia

I used to go to Manila once a year, fun place to visit, but…

Watch the jeepneys closely - each one of them has a specific religious
theme of some sort, at least most of the ones I saw did.  Amazingly,
they’re unregulated but the primary means of transportation for the
masses.  They each run a regular route of sorts and have regular stops, at
least that’s what the locals told me.

Dan



On Jun 11, 2015, at 7:52 PM, Curt Raymond via Mercedes 

mercedes@okiebenz.com wrote:

Greetings from the Philippines! I'm here for the next 8 days teaching a

class to new co-workers. Apparently it makes more sense to send me here
than 8 of them to the states. After traveling for 26 hours (thats door to
door) I can see why.The highlight of the trip was when I scored a bulkhead
seat in the 787 from BOS-NRT. The 787 is amazing and the huge legroom in a
bulkhead seat is nice. JAL gives nice wide seats too although the bulkhead
seats get small TVs.From NRT to MNL was a 767 and although I had and aisle
seat I was cramped almost to my tolerance limit the whole way, of course
that was after the 12 hour flight BOS-NRT and a 3 hour layover...

Anyway I'll be working 10pm-7am local time which corresponds with

10am-7pm EDT so other than for the next 3 days (remember its Friday morning
here right now) I'll be working just 1 hour off my normal US schedule.

Driving to the hotel yesterday I noticed that diesel is about 30 PHP

(Philippine pesos) a litre, there are about 45 pesos/USD so about $0.66/l.
The car from the airport was a Camry (boring!) but I got to see loads of
jeepneys http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeepney which are pretty wild.
They remind me of the route taxis that Angie and I rode in Barbados but are
decorated more in a style I'd relate to India which isn't a big surprise
since India isn't really all that far away. It was dark last night or I'd
have tried to get a picture. I'll try to spot one today but I'm staying in
Makati City which is pretty high class and I'm not sure they're allowed
here...

-Curt
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Re: [MBZ] OT: Southeast asia

2015-06-12 Thread Andrew Strasfogel via Mercedes
What do you think of the cuisine there?

On Thu, Jun 11, 2015 at 9:55 PM, Curt Raymond via Mercedes 
mercedes@okiebenz.com wrote:

 Actually according to wiki they are in fact regulated.
 As near as I could tell you could pick out the route based on the design
 of the Jeepney. We drove through where they were parked and I picked out
 maybe a dozen different ones. All the ones we passed leaving the airport
 were mostly the same. At first I thought they were all the same one until I
 looked closer, paying attention I could see differences in turn signals,
 lighting, etc.
 Makati City reminds me of LA in a lot of ways, its clearly a business
 district designed to attract western business and as such is pretty clean
 and safe.
 Just did a skype session with Angie which was a nice way to check in.
 Interestingly my Republic Wireless cell phone works perfectly if I have
 wifi. It works not at all if I don't but that basically means I can travel
 and call home for no extra cost. Of course I can't use it to call
 in-country but thats not a huge concern. Our office is supposedly 300
 meters from here so I shouldn't need to make many calls.
 -Curt
   From: Dan Penoff via Mercedes mercedes@okiebenz.com
  To: Okie Benz mercedes@okiebenz.com
 Cc: Dan Penoff d...@penoff.com
  Sent: Thursday, June 11, 2015 8:36 PM
  Subject: Re: [MBZ] OT: Southeast asia

 I used to go to Manila once a year, fun place to visit, but…

 Watch the jeepneys closely - each one of them has a specific religious
 theme of some sort, at least most of the ones I saw did.  Amazingly,
 they’re unregulated but the primary means of transportation for the
 masses.  They each run a regular route of sorts and have regular stops, at
 least that’s what the locals told me.

 Dan


  On Jun 11, 2015, at 7:52 PM, Curt Raymond via Mercedes 
 mercedes@okiebenz.com wrote:
 
  Greetings from the Philippines! I'm here for the next 8 days teaching a
 class to new co-workers. Apparently it makes more sense to send me here
 than 8 of them to the states. After traveling for 26 hours (thats door to
 door) I can see why.The highlight of the trip was when I scored a bulkhead
 seat in the 787 from BOS-NRT. The 787 is amazing and the huge legroom in a
 bulkhead seat is nice. JAL gives nice wide seats too although the bulkhead
 seats get small TVs.From NRT to MNL was a 767 and although I had and aisle
 seat I was cramped almost to my tolerance limit the whole way, of course
 that was after the 12 hour flight BOS-NRT and a 3 hour layover...
  Anyway I'll be working 10pm-7am local time which corresponds with
 10am-7pm EDT so other than for the next 3 days (remember its Friday morning
 here right now) I'll be working just 1 hour off my normal US schedule.
  Driving to the hotel yesterday I noticed that diesel is about 30 PHP
 (Philippine pesos) a litre, there are about 45 pesos/USD so about $0.66/l.
 The car from the airport was a Camry (boring!) but I got to see loads of
 jeepneys http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeepney which are pretty wild.
 They remind me of the route taxis that Angie and I rode in Barbados but are
 decorated more in a style I'd relate to India which isn't a big surprise
 since India isn't really all that far away. It was dark last night or I'd
 have tried to get a picture. I'll try to spot one today but I'm staying in
 Makati City which is pretty high class and I'm not sure they're allowed
 here...
  -Curt
  ___
  http://www.okiebenz.com
 
  To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/
 
  To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to:
  http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com


 


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 http://www.okiebenz.com

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[MBZ] OT: Southeast asia

2015-06-11 Thread Curt Raymond via Mercedes
Greetings from the Philippines! I'm here for the next 8 days teaching a class 
to new co-workers. Apparently it makes more sense to send me here than 8 of 
them to the states. After traveling for 26 hours (thats door to door) I can see 
why.The highlight of the trip was when I scored a bulkhead seat in the 787 from 
BOS-NRT. The 787 is amazing and the huge legroom in a bulkhead seat is nice. 
JAL gives nice wide seats too although the bulkhead seats get small TVs.From 
NRT to MNL was a 767 and although I had and aisle seat I was cramped almost to 
my tolerance limit the whole way, of course that was after the 12 hour flight 
BOS-NRT and a 3 hour layover...
Anyway I'll be working 10pm-7am local time which corresponds with 10am-7pm EDT 
so other than for the next 3 days (remember its Friday morning here right now) 
I'll be working just 1 hour off my normal US schedule.
Driving to the hotel yesterday I noticed that diesel is about 30 PHP 
(Philippine pesos) a litre, there are about 45 pesos/USD so about $0.66/l. The 
car from the airport was a Camry (boring!) but I got to see loads of jeepneys 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeepney which are pretty wild. They remind me of 
the route taxis that Angie and I rode in Barbados but are decorated more in a 
style I'd relate to India which isn't a big surprise since India isn't really 
all that far away. It was dark last night or I'd have tried to get a picture. 
I'll try to spot one today but I'm staying in Makati City which is pretty high 
class and I'm not sure they're allowed here...
-Curt 
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To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/

To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to:
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Re: [MBZ] OT: Southeast asia

2015-06-11 Thread Dan Penoff via Mercedes
I used to go to Manila once a year, fun place to visit, but…

Watch the jeepneys closely - each one of them has a specific religious theme of 
some sort, at least most of the ones I saw did.  Amazingly, they’re unregulated 
but the primary means of transportation for the masses.  They each run a 
regular route of sorts and have regular stops, at least that’s what the locals 
told me.

Dan


 On Jun 11, 2015, at 7:52 PM, Curt Raymond via Mercedes 
 mercedes@okiebenz.com wrote:
 
 Greetings from the Philippines! I'm here for the next 8 days teaching a class 
 to new co-workers. Apparently it makes more sense to send me here than 8 of 
 them to the states. After traveling for 26 hours (thats door to door) I can 
 see why.The highlight of the trip was when I scored a bulkhead seat in the 
 787 from BOS-NRT. The 787 is amazing and the huge legroom in a bulkhead seat 
 is nice. JAL gives nice wide seats too although the bulkhead seats get small 
 TVs.From NRT to MNL was a 767 and although I had and aisle seat I was cramped 
 almost to my tolerance limit the whole way, of course that was after the 12 
 hour flight BOS-NRT and a 3 hour layover...
 Anyway I'll be working 10pm-7am local time which corresponds with 10am-7pm 
 EDT so other than for the next 3 days (remember its Friday morning here right 
 now) I'll be working just 1 hour off my normal US schedule.
 Driving to the hotel yesterday I noticed that diesel is about 30 PHP 
 (Philippine pesos) a litre, there are about 45 pesos/USD so about $0.66/l. 
 The car from the airport was a Camry (boring!) but I got to see loads of 
 jeepneys http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeepney which are pretty wild. They 
 remind me of the route taxis that Angie and I rode in Barbados but are 
 decorated more in a style I'd relate to India which isn't a big surprise 
 since India isn't really all that far away. It was dark last night or I'd 
 have tried to get a picture. I'll try to spot one today but I'm staying in 
 Makati City which is pretty high class and I'm not sure they're allowed 
 here...
 -Curt 
 ___
 http://www.okiebenz.com
 
 To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/
 
 To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to:
 http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
 


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Re: [MBZ] OT: Southeast asia

2015-06-11 Thread Curt Raymond via Mercedes
Actually according to wiki they are in fact regulated.
As near as I could tell you could pick out the route based on the design of the 
Jeepney. We drove through where they were parked and I picked out maybe a dozen 
different ones. All the ones we passed leaving the airport were mostly the 
same. At first I thought they were all the same one until I looked closer, 
paying attention I could see differences in turn signals, lighting, etc.
Makati City reminds me of LA in a lot of ways, its clearly a business district 
designed to attract western business and as such is pretty clean and safe.
Just did a skype session with Angie which was a nice way to check in. 
Interestingly my Republic Wireless cell phone works perfectly if I have wifi. 
It works not at all if I don't but that basically means I can travel and call 
home for no extra cost. Of course I can't use it to call in-country but thats 
not a huge concern. Our office is supposedly 300 meters from here so I 
shouldn't need to make many calls.
-Curt
  From: Dan Penoff via Mercedes mercedes@okiebenz.com
 To: Okie Benz mercedes@okiebenz.com 
Cc: Dan Penoff d...@penoff.com 
 Sent: Thursday, June 11, 2015 8:36 PM
 Subject: Re: [MBZ] OT: Southeast asia
   
I used to go to Manila once a year, fun place to visit, but…

Watch the jeepneys closely - each one of them has a specific religious theme of 
some sort, at least most of the ones I saw did.  Amazingly, they’re unregulated 
but the primary means of transportation for the masses.  They each run a 
regular route of sorts and have regular stops, at least that’s what the locals 
told me.

Dan


 On Jun 11, 2015, at 7:52 PM, Curt Raymond via Mercedes 
 mercedes@okiebenz.com wrote:
 
 Greetings from the Philippines! I'm here for the next 8 days teaching a class 
 to new co-workers. Apparently it makes more sense to send me here than 8 of 
 them to the states. After traveling for 26 hours (thats door to door) I can 
 see why.The highlight of the trip was when I scored a bulkhead seat in the 
 787 from BOS-NRT. The 787 is amazing and the huge legroom in a bulkhead seat 
 is nice. JAL gives nice wide seats too although the bulkhead seats get small 
 TVs.From NRT to MNL was a 767 and although I had and aisle seat I was cramped 
 almost to my tolerance limit the whole way, of course that was after the 12 
 hour flight BOS-NRT and a 3 hour layover...
 Anyway I'll be working 10pm-7am local time which corresponds with 10am-7pm 
 EDT so other than for the next 3 days (remember its Friday morning here right 
 now) I'll be working just 1 hour off my normal US schedule.
 Driving to the hotel yesterday I noticed that diesel is about 30 PHP 
 (Philippine pesos) a litre, there are about 45 pesos/USD so about $0.66/l. 
 The car from the airport was a Camry (boring!) but I got to see loads of 
 jeepneys http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeepney which are pretty wild. They 
 remind me of the route taxis that Angie and I rode in Barbados but are 
 decorated more in a style I'd relate to India which isn't a big surprise 
 since India isn't really all that far away. It was dark last night or I'd 
 have tried to get a picture. I'll try to spot one today but I'm staying in 
 Makati City which is pretty high class and I'm not sure they're allowed 
 here...
 -Curt 
 ___
 http://www.okiebenz.com
 
 To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/
 
 To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to:
 http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com


 


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