It takes me a ridiculous amount of time to write a single blog post. This can be blamed on perfectionism, my day job, or old-fashioned laziness.  And now, four months after my trip to the Philippines, I am writing myself into knots trying to capture the essence of Manila while being informative, respectful, and hopefully amusing. And if this fails, at least I can share my photos, one of which I’ve posted today.

I took this picture from the east side of Magallanes Station in Makati City, part of metro Manila. It is early evening, rush hour on a Friday, and it has been raining steadily. The traffic on EDSA boulevard is incredibly heavy, not much faster than walking pace, and the subway isn’t any better. The line to pass through the turnstiles hasn’t moved for 10 minutes, and the passing trains are so crowded they offer little relief to the crush of people standing hopefully on the platform.

I take a moment to appreciate how completely immobile I am, and take a photograph of the scene. Only later do I notice the girl staring back at the camera…

What is she thinking?

See also:

• Renewable city: the once and future Manila