Cutting Keys

I needed to have some keys cut today so my aunt, Tita Dayday, took me to centro to have it done. We parked around the block and walked the remaining distance. It had never occurred to me that keys could be copied by hand. I'm so used to going over to Canadian Tire and handing them over to an attendant who will insert the original and a blank key into the machine and press a button. A few minutes later, I've got a duplicate!

This time was different. When we got there, the entire sidewalk on one side of the street was set up with numerous locksmiths stations. Each station was brightly painted yellow and displayed a multitude of either keys, door knobs or padlocks. We took a moment to appraise our choices and decided to go with number 15, Willy Boy. His station had about a hundred keys all threaded on to a bent piece of wire.

We presented him with three keys for which we needed copies and he selected matching blanks keys. He worked with a file and a calliper, while we left to run another errand. He was all done by the time we returned less than 10 minutes later. He averaged just over 3 minutes per key, that's comparable to his machine-like competitor! He charged 40 PHP (a little less than 1 CAD) per key which is a much better rate than at the mall where it can cost approximately 80 PHP per key.

Although he seemed to know what he was doing, I had my reservations about whether or not the keys would work. He assured us that if they didn't work, we could always bring them back and he would copy them again. When we got home, we tried all three and every attempt was a successful one! So I certainly recommend giving this a go next time you're in need of duplicates. It was accurate, quick, and affordable.

Wish you were here!

Naga City's Wet Market

Today, I accompanied my grandmother, Lola Nen, to the wet market in centro. I had never been there before but I had heard about it's smells and sounds so I was curious to see what it was like.

When I came downstairs all ready to go, Lola Nen took one look at me and told me that what I was wearing was inappropriate for the market. My tank top was fine, but my knee length shorts and flip flops just wouldn't do. I was instructed to put on pants and to wear closed-toe shoes. I didn't understand the reason for this but it became evident once I arrived.

We took the tricycle to centro and climbed the stairs of the market building. The first thing I noticed were all the bright lights hung by every stall and the floor was soaked in fish juices and water! There was fish everywhere! Lola wasted no time. If she saw something she was interested in, she would personally inspect the freshness of the item by poking it and by checking under the gills. It had to be pink to red in colour; if it was darkened, it was no good. Lola taught me to make sure that the scale was set to zero before having items weighed. This was to ensure that we would be getting everything we paid for. We bought maya-maya, bangus, tilapia, and squid.

Moving forward, we stopped for some vegetables and then on to the red meat! We bought a large piece of pork tenderloin which was then finely sliced. It will be later marinated and tenderized to make tapa. We were also sold two pork legs. Those will be prepared to make crispy pata. After they cut the toenails off and wrapped them up, we were on our way home!

If it wasn't for those shoes, I definitely would've been marinated in some kind of wet market soup. It was an insightful look into daily life in Naga City and I would definitely go back.

Wish you were here!