Philippines – HurricaneMaine

Wandering Manila

The last full day in Manila was more leisurely. Finally I spent time by the pool, swimming and reading a book.

We went looking for more vegan Filipino food. We took a taxi to one that is a barbeque place. However they did not have seating. Undeterred, we ate on the sidewalk watching people go by. It was delicious food. Sisig is usually made with pig face and belly and cooked until it is crispy. The word sisig (pronounced see-sig) stems from sisigan, an old Tagalog word that means “to make sour,” it did have a slight sour taste that paid well with beer. Bopsis had Spanish origins and is a spicier dish with tomatoes, chillies, and onions.

From there we walked through the streets to another restaurant. Great sights along the way but they did not open when they said they would be.

We passed a few of these tents along the side of a busy road. They are actually funerals with the casket, memorial flowers, and chairs for vigil.

I wanted to try another Filipino desert called Boku pie. It is a delicious in a different area of the Philippines but we traveled to a bakery that is supposed to have it. But they did not have any. They did have ube hopia which had purple sweet potato in it. It is similar to a pastry in Yunnan province in China but a bit heavier.

In our wandering I came across a free library with a resident kitty.

The Sofitel had great Christmas decorations and music. Festive!

And the hotel had great food: sisig, eggplant with mango salsa, and turon a la mode which is fried bananas with ube ice cream.

This turon is banana lumpia with caramel

Now off to Bali!

Makati sights and food

Makati is overall a very safe area of Manila with interesting alleys and food variety. There is a week rated Vegan cafe that makes authentic local food (without meat of course).

It was enjoyable to walk around a city and just taken in the sights, sounds, and smells.

Many homes have guard dogs either inside or outside as in this picture.

One of the top 10 world Christmas light shows is here in Manila. We stayed to watch it. It was pretty spectacular. I took 360 videos and only a few pictures.

These are public busses. They go to specific areas to stop but people get on and off when it is in traffic.

Manila, Philippines

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.

Inn the tunnels that served as a dungeon. When US forces overtook the Japanese in 1945, they found 600 bodies that died from overheating and horrible conditions. Many were local and dinner were US.

Marking the mass grave and prayers for the 600 many unidentified.

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.