Exploring Manila (The Philippines, Part 1)

I arrived in Manila in the evening on Sunday. The city has some of the worst traffic I'd ever seen, and after adding an hour and a half taxi ride from the airport to my hostel to my lengthy traveling time of the day, I was exhausted. Once I checked into my dorm, I immediately fell asleep and left all my exploring to do on the second day.

I got an early start to the next day. First I booked my bus ticket to Banaue for that night, then I took a walk around the area near my hostel. I stated by heading to the water. There was a long path that ran along the bay, full of construction workers and street vendors, but the view was pretty nice. In the distance in the picture below, you can actually just see the Ferris wheel belonging to the Mall of Asia, which is located behind the airport.


After walking a ways down the coast, I turned into the city at the sight of this small plaza and water fountain. Behind it was a beautiful old church. The Philippines is the third "most Catholic" country in the world. About 90% of its population is Christian: 80% being Roman Catholic and 10% being of Protestant denominations. As a result of this, there are more than 600,000 churches in the Philippines and over 20 million chapels.



After eating lunch with a pair of sisters that I met at the hostel (they live and teach English in Taiwan and were also traveling on their holiday), I took a taxi to the old city part of Manila further to the north, next to the river. This part of the city has lots of scenic points. The first stop for me was its most famous site: Fort Santiago.


For the small price of 50 pesos (about $1.10), you can enter and explore the fort. There is also an option to pay for a guided tour, but I chose to walk around on my own and just occasionally stand near the tour group to learn a few things.



On the north side of the fort is the river. The sky looked dark and stormy in the distance, but the weather actually cleared up very quickly and in the following hour it was sunny and blue.


From the top of the wall at the fort, I sat and watched the boats go by for a while. Many of the locals working on them noticed me and would wave and shout things.


After I explored the fort to my heart's content, I headed to the center of the old city. Here was the Plaza de Roma, located in front of the Cathedral of Manila. It was a giant and beautiful building that offered a quiet place to sit and think for a while away from the hustle and bustle of the city. I even met a few Koreans in front of it. (Recognized by their "hana, dool, set!" as they counted down to take pictures)



A few blocks down from the cathedral is another famous church in the old city called the Church of San Agustin. This is the oldest stone church in the Philippines.


The last and final stop in my tour around the old city was Rizal Park. It was named because it was the execution spot of  national hero, José Rizal, in 1896. He was also imprisoned in Fort Santiago for the time before his execution, which is another reason for its fame.


The giant park includes many fountains, gardens, a museum, a library, and grandstand. Hence, many locals and tourists enjoy spending free time here.


At the front entrance to the park is the Rizal monument. It is continuously guarded by two marines from the Philippine Marine Corps' Marie Security and Escort Group and the changing of the guard has become a daily ritual that many tourists like to see. I didn't know about this ahead of time though, so I didn't see it.


That evening (Monday) after dinner, I took an overnight bus to Banaue, a town in the Ifugao province about 9-10 hours north of Manila. They are located on the island of Luzon. It is the main and largest island in the Philippines. it is also the 15th largest island in the world and the 5th most populated.


After returning from Banaue two days later, I spent the morning and early afternoon exploring the Mall of Asia while I waited for Andrew to arrive at the airport. The Philippines is home to several giant malls including: SM Megamall (the 3rd largest in the world), SM City North EDSA (the 4th largest), and SM Mall of Asia (the 10th largest).

I chose to go to Mall of Asia over SM Megamall because it was right behind the airport where I needed to meet Andrew, while the Megamall was very far on the other side of the city. I was there on Thursday which was the Chinese (or Lunar) New Year, so there were many festivities and a parade happening that I got to witness.

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