One of the iconic Victory Liner coaches that used to transport people around the Philippines before COV 19
When I saw this picture in the Facebook group PHILIPPINES OLD PHOTOS AND MEMORIES I knew I had to share it with you. I asked Chester to select his favourites (there were about 20 pictures in this category alone) and group them so they were easier to view in the blog. Some of you will remember the images from your childhood and I urge you to share them with your older relatives. Teachers feel free to share them with your students to remind them what life was like before Grab and Uber Transport , better commuting ( when they fix the roads in a run up to the election, Smart buildings etc.
Jeff back in 2010 in Boracay
I first learnt about Victory Liner in 2010 when I visited the Philippines to meet Jeff, who worked in Bahrain and then lost his job here. I met him in Manila and we went to Baguio and Subic ( by Victory Liner) and Bohol and Cebu ( by Cebu Pacific!) . I asked my friend , Kuya Coco, who is from Baguio, where the best place to stay was, that was close to the Victory Liner terminal and he suggested the Microtel. You cannot get much closer than this...
The Microtel in Baguio is right above the Victory Liner terminal
So my love affair with Microtel and Victory Liner started. I stayed in Microtel in Baguio, Boracay and Puerto Princessa and have always received excellent service. Last Christmas I paid for Jhoanna, Elay and Althea to stay at the one in Puerto while they were organising my house rental.
Ate Jhe enjoying her stay at the Microtel- Dec 2020
I also used Victory Liner (VL) extensively in my travels around the Philippines, going to Baguio, Subic, Angeles and in and out of Manila. I always remember when we were in Baguio, after many hours travelling , asking of there was a quicker way back to Manila. They told me they had a VL VIP express service which did not stop on route ( on board toilet and hostess serving refreshments) and went down the toll road shaving one hour off the journey, for only a few hundred pesos more than the normal fare. We bought the tickets, checked out of the Microtel, and excitedly headed down to the VL terminal for our VIP trip, to find it had been cancelled, so we had to wait an hour and arrived at the same time as the cheaper coach. The refreshments turned out to be one bottle of water and one pack of Skyflakes!
Another method of Transport that has changed little over the centuries in the Philippines is the Jeepney and in Baguio I took this wonderful photo of them, had it enlarged and mounted in Canvas, and it still hangs on my wall today.
The Jeepneys in Baguio back in 2010
Another photo of an overloaded Jeepney from the Philippine memorabilia
On my last trip to Palawan in 2020 I was having my hire car washed before I returned it and stood beside the road watching the current methods of transport in Palawan go past. When I compare it to the memorabilia pictures not much has changed!
The always overcrowded Manila Domestic terminal in 2018
Even in Palawan as well as the main Puerto Princessa airport there are new smaller regional airports at St Vicente, Port Barton and Lio ( El Nido, saving a bumpy hazardous 7 hour van ride from Puerto!)
The Swift air flight being unloaded at Lio Airport in 2018
So much has changed in the Philippines infrastructure over the last century. The old Jeepneys are being replaced by modern RoRo coaches and smaller vans , for example the ones that run between Puerto and El Nido .
El Nido bus terminal in 2018
Horse drawn carriages have been replaced by motorised vehicles and muddy tracks have been replaced by concrete roads
RP - Metro Manila (262) 1980-09-23 Ld Atn-Ar in Cubao - INL
Photo © Ian Lynas
Photo © Ian Lynas
Three 600-foot (180 m) steel antenna towers were erected in 1915 for the operation of a powerful radio communications station, named Radio Sangley. Later on, a submarine support facility was established. The Cavite Navy Yard was made the headquarters for the U.S. Navy Asiatic Fleet. Just across Cañacao Bay, became the major ship repair facility for the Asiatic fleet. However, World War II and the Japanese occupation of the Philippines interrupted operations in 1942.
Station CAST was the United States Navy signals monitoring and cryptographic intelligence fleet radio unit at Cavite Navy Yard in the Philippines, until Cavite was captured by the Japanese forces in 1942, during World War II. It was an important part of the Allied intelligence effort, addressing Japanese communications as the War expanded from China into the rest of the Pacific theaters. As Japanese advances in the Philippines threatened CAST, its staff and services were progressively transferred to Corregidor in Manila Bay, and eventually to a newly formed US-Australian station, FRUMEL in Melbourne, Australia.
STATION CAST had originally been located at Shanghai but had been evacuated to Cavite in early 1941 as part of the US Navy's disengagement with China.
Prior to the war, CAST was the US Navy's Far East cryptographic operation, under the OP-20-G Naval Intelligence section in Washington. It was located at the Navy Yard in Manila and moved into the tunnels on Corregidor, as Japanese attacks increased. STATION CAST possessed one of the PURPLE machines produced by the US Army.
Cryptanalytic problems facing the United States in the Pacific prior to World War II were largely Japanese. An early decision by OP-20-G divided responsibility for Japanese cryptanalysis amongst its various stations. Station CAST (at Manila in the Philippines), Station HYPO (Pearl Harbor, Hawaii) OP-20-02, and OP-20-G itself in Washington, shared cryptanalytic duties. Other Stations (on Guam, in Puget Sound on Bainbridge Island, etc.) were tasked and staffed for signals interception and traffic analysis.
Photo from http://www.navy-radio.com/
Text from Wikipedia
Well that's all for this weeks walk down memory lane and as usual my thanks go to Chester for grappling with the technology required to transfer the photos from Bahrain to the Philippines and arranging them so neatly. He also came up with the groupings and headings. Finally thanks to everyone who contributed the old pictures to the Facebook group PHILIPPINES OLD PHOTOS AND MEMORIES.
One day I will be there in the Philippines with you all, when the Cov 19 virus goes and they open to tourists again. Until then all I can do is wait patiently in Bahrain and write blogs!
Until the next time, Kita kits, Ingat Palagi and stay safe.
Next week we have the 6th and final installment in our series of Pinoy Nostalgia in Flashback Friday, and we will be looking at Cultural icons like in entertainment , sports etc. in the Philippines over the years.
Until then this is....
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Hello, I am The British Kabayan! Feel free to read my stories.
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