Current Location: Manila, Philippines.

One of the best parts of travelling is to discover the little quirks that make a city unique. Where some cities might have street graffiti or urban sculptures, Manila has Jeepneys.

In the week or so that I’ve been here, I’ve developed a small obsession, dashing out from family photographs to chase particularly eye-catching Jeepneys. They are public transport vehicles with different routes across the city, essentially somewhere between buses and jeeps. But they’re not a uniform red or a boring black – think of them moving murals, brash bursts of colour to brighten up an otherwise drab traffic deadlock. The battered metal of a Jeepney might be embellished with a bedlam of graffiti, artwork, cartoons…with perhaps a couple of jolly streamers hanging from the top, blowing in the wind. Each vehicle reflects the driver’s own pent-up artistic talent, or random eccentric whim.

There might be serene painted landscapes or a scattering of Manga characters and Donald ducks, whimsical shapes and patterns or devout Nativity Scenes. There’s a range of slogans – some scream “Wow Philippines!!” while others quietly appeal “God Bless Our Trip”. And just as you would name your boat or baby, it is natural to name your Jeepney. Some of the strangest Jeepneys carry incongruously staid names like ‘Patrick’, ‘Audrey’ or ‘Dennis’, but there are more flamboyant titles: ‘Gift of God’. Or my favourite, ‘The Excellent II’.

The history of the Jeepney is just as colourful – they are recycled US army jeeps left behind after World War II. Today, they’re known as the cheapest way to get around Manila, though some think of them anachronistic, inefficient beasts thatonly add tothe city’s fog of pollution. Apparently, their wild graffiti has become more subdued over the years. But I still see them as the protagonists of a unique folk-and-pop-art movement. Quite literally.