SCOOTER PANNIERS FOR TEN BUCKS ?

Ok readers, tired of inflated prices and longing for a fun DYI project ? Then try this !

I was not happy at the prices and size of the panniers ( bags on the side) on offer for my motor scooter so I thought I'd see what I could do with a few cheap cooler bags and a bit of ingenuity and I ended up with something like this ...



Pretty simple really, you get 2 X Aldi cooler bags...should cost U $3.00 all up. These bags fold flat, have a zip top and are lined with cooler foil...nice !

The handle on each bag that is closest to the lid hinge is cut in the middle. the other handle is removed. On each of the handle ends, a " Birch 32 cm Side Lock" is fitted.

Also use a Birch fastener. this is easy stuff and U can get these at a haberdasher. How to fit them ?? Trial and +"*)^@ effort ! find a backpack , copy what's going on there with the straps, swear , lose your patience and by then you'll be done.

It should look something like this....Oh, remember that scooter seat flip up, so your weight and that of the seat help keep the works in place.

ok, so how can U carry these bad boys and use them as bags when shopping ??

Easy. You buy yourself a few meters of 32cm strap...and a few more clips...and make detchable straps foe the bags. you can then sling the bags over your shoulder and go shopping. Return to the scooter, remove the straps and reconnect bags as above.

The bag as bag with strap you should look like this.Snazzy!
Of course the strap can be adjusted to suit your requirements.

here's another view of the set up.....

And the whole shebang should fold down to something like this,,,,,

World's Most Dangerous Train??

World's Most Dangerous Train??

Yes, dear reader,   WMDT, the PNR Manila local, written up on some blogs and travel sites as ....THE WORLD'S MOST DANGEROUS TRAIN!

Yep, we've read of the ancient and poor carriages, the crazy passengers, the vile rubbish that is hurled at the train as it goes thru squatter areas......well, it's not like that any more !!

Seems it's had a rebirth; new carriages, new engines, new platforms but the windows are still covered with heavy wire mesh. The route makes little sense to me but I am not a local.....and judging by the level of patronage it must be going somewhere important to someone as both trips I took were full.



You had your afternoon student/ working women trip from Blumentritt and return was your fellas special; LOTS of men I assume from the expressway, malls and factories around Caloogan.


Never had a problem...never looked like having a problem.

Platforms were clean and freshly painted, signs were a combination of blackboard and photocopy. Security milled diligently about as people swapped pesos for tickets.

The carriages were similar inside to the Manila LRT; you sat on simple plastic bench seats facing across to each other. Effective hand grips were in centre for standees. Carriages had route maps marked; there was even room for disabled.




The journey was...well, a train journey like any other. People came, went, chatted, texted, snoozed or, like me, just sat and rubber-necked.

Here's the crowd at the end of the route and some serious warnings in Red and Black for you train smokers and eaters out there.

And the end of the line itself???

Ok, so where's the thrill??? It was about 20 metres away, just after the track became a produce stall.

Still lots of track to go , so how does an enterprising young fella turn a peso? Easy....make your own train ! You'd want something light, human power, room for a few riders and you'd want to use scrap materials to make it ............and it would look like this.

Ok, so carriage wheels aren't easy to get so....you use old truck and car bearings; like this .

And you'd want to put some passengers on it which would look like this.....and you would provide power by scooting along Flinstone Style.

And, after a hard day's scootering passengers up and down the line, you'd want to sit back with the local kids and smile at the idiot tourist taking your photo..

Silay Dreaming

Ok, so Bacolod is the "Big Smoke" on Negros but Silay is after dinner cigar.

What a gem ! This town of a few thousand called the "Paris of Negros" is full of old houses, symbols of the days when sugar plantations ruled the island and The Quality ruled the plantations from their timber mansions. No building over two storeys, lots of little plaques denoting places of historical interest and lots of O L D places in all sorts of states of repair. Silay is also the birthplace of another monument, Rose Hancock Porteus, kinda fitting really

Sadly I took few pix only.I was too busy enjoying.

Originally established by a  Monsieur Gaston, this little number features the timber, the high ceilings, the windows to capture the breeze and the ornate wrought iron bars to keep out the locals.

This monoculture of sugar farming pretty well meant that the few controlled the many and the feel  in these mansions is very much like that of a Southern US cotton estate but I am no Rhett Butler and the days of Silay being a major centre a long gone.

This place is on the main drag...one of many.

Ok...now see the detail.

Go on ! Click on the photo and check out the fine work under the eaves.....just ignore the missing bits.
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This next Silay Mansion photo is NOT one of mine...God, I wish it was ! Again, are we in Tara ?

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So this is the big end of town with the fire tanker+ petrol station but there's still enough room for a kid and his water buffalo.

Lonely Planet is really good on Silay and here's a link to a li'l guest house there that might interest ;

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g1417360-d1417304-Reviews-Kumfy_Homestead-Silay_Negros_Visayas.html

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Back to Bacolod Part II

Bacolod has a charming old city square.There's a newer one with pond, ducks and other civic delights but the older one with its hopeful little bandstand won me


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This was the scene for some of the finals action.These young guys have climbed up on a speaker box near the bandstand and watch tentatively as the opposition goes through their routines..

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I really don't know why this young individual chose to buck the trend and reveal ; I don't think its a bad thing.
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And at night?....Electric Masskara !

Back to Bacolod

Masskara Festival, 2009, in the sunny Filipino city of Bacolod on the Island of Negros in the Visayan Sea, attended by friendly Negresne, miraming Pinoy from other areas and a few lost foreign objects like me.

That is not me in the photo.

This is a week long festival of masks, dance and festivalising which started about 20 years ago.

It seems back then there'd been a terrible disaster at sea killing 4,375 locals and, well, the sugar industry pretty well ceased to yield a profit...and sugar was king on Negros. So let's lift our spirits and fiesta!

I think it worked. The Festival grows each year, the sugar industry is doing OK, Negros has diversified and bug-eyed tourists like me get to enjoy local hospitality and party on down...as well as age will allow.

I followed the Official Website for details; seems security had been tightened and a crack-down was in place on the unauthorised use of karaoke.


It worked ! Lots of army, police and bag checks. I never felt threatened or unsafe. The event was wonderful and the people watching was of the first order. Lots of people of all ages, lots of youth trying to impress lots of youth just like festivals everywhere; lots of good music and lots of parades.


Thing with Bacolod, IMHO, is that its big enough to have one of everything, big enough to not gawk at an oversized middle-aged whitey like me, yet small enough to feel friendly.



The array of costumes was something; my photos don't do them justice but I hope that I've captured some of the pre-parade and post parade feel




This young woman was not too keen on my taking a pic and, looking at the older women behind, they're not too keen either.
Was it something I said ?




This fella had no such qualms and why would you with work like that to display ?

Great colours as the people from the different "barangays", a local Government area, prepared for their turn.



















I won't post pix of the parades; you can get better ones elsewhere. See you in "Back to Bacolod Part II".


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