after dark

Streetlights on a few major roads in Tacloban City are already lighted,  but a large part of the city is still in the dark.  Public transport vehicles are very rarely seen in the early evening, as are people who are living outside the downtown area.  Nighttime activities in this once busy city have been reduced to virtually none.

Without electricity, karaoke bars and beer houses are out of business.  People looking for entertainment, like these two friends sharing a 1-liter bottle of beer, make do with music from a cellphone accompanied by a flashlight spun around as if it were a disco ball.

This scene could be anytime past midnight on any night back then…

Hundreds of commuters would have been waiting for their ride on this street corner, and where there were many public transport jeepneys double-parked on the streets waiting for passengers, none can be seen tonight.  The only car visible in this area is one police car, the only one that was spared from the storm surge.  Inside the car are half a dozen policemen making sure that the streets are safe.

A sidewalk vendor listening intently to the evening radio program.  This corner of the sidewalk is where she sleeps.

An evening coffee from a makeshift booth, while over at the back, a shuttered McDonalds fastfood restaurant.

Across the street, a fruit vendor has set up her display in front of another shuttered fast food giant, Jollibee.

And still on the other street corner, another fruit stand.  This one has been there for quite some time already, but business has been slow lately.

Somebody just found his stash of fireworks, 3 days after new year’s eve.

It’s 9:20 pm and all is quiet.

Tags: Tacloban City

• January 6, 2014
• streets of Tacloban
• 31 Comments