Before going to Bali I thought even if I only have a few days, I should stop in Manila. It is the last time I may be able to before leaving Asia. Even if I can’t see everything, I can say last be in the culture and eat some local food.
Traveling between countries require an e-arrival card with a health declaration. They also require proof of vaccination.
Having been colonized by Spain, there is a lot of Spanish spoken here as well as local Filipino and some English. This may be what Ecuador will be like: poverty, infrastructure challenge, and almost 12 hour day and night as it is close to the equator. As I am actively relearning Spanish, the practice of listening and some speaking is good.
First stop was Intramuros. Many historical buildings are there and the area is more walkable than where our hotel is in Pasay. We toured San Augustin church. The Museo de Intramuros was closed during the week.
From the church we walked towards Fort Santiago. The walls of the city were still evident though many of the structures are unstable.
Fort Santiago has a long history under Spanish rule and was even occupied by Japanese forces near the end of WWII. A Filipino opthalmologist who was also a prolific writer was imprisoned and executed here, convicted of starting the revolution against Spain. Rizal actually didn’t. But his death by firing squad did bring the revolution stronger to eventually topple Spain rule. He now is considered a national hero.
These pictures are the sights we saw walking around Intramuros. I like to take pictures of various architecture and people about their daily life.
Very different from Singapore and China but everyone here is friendly and acknowledges with Ma’am. Very polite. The food looks amazing. As a vegetarian, less options here as it is very meat centric. But next we are headed to Makati, which has more options.