Philippines: Manila

At the end of September, Koreans celebrate Chuseok, a holiday similar to Thanksgiving in the United States. Most Koreans return to their ancestral home, where they catch up with family, eat a lot of kimchi, and honor their grandparents. For expats, Chuseok is a time to take advantage of two days of vacation and book cheap international flights. 

Knowing about this holiday in advance, Andrew and I used the Kayak Explore function to see where we could fly for cheap. Our best option in Asia was Manila, Philippines. Neither of us had really thought of visiting the Philippines during our first year abroad, but Kayak talked us into it. 

Manila was familiar to me only because of the boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, aka the Thrilla in Manila. The level of knowledge could only go up from here. Late Friday night, we flew 3.5 hours from Busan to Manila.

My plane boyfriend. He and his family were traveling to the Philippines to see his uncle get married.

Little sister wanted it on the action. They kept us entertained during the turbulent parts of the flight.  

We found our hotel, Casa Bocobo, around 2 am that morning thanks to the trusty yellow airport taxi. For anyone traveling to Manila, this was a nice place to stay for the price. Its vicinity to the main sights in Manila proper was perfect. 

The next day, we had brunch at Casa Armas, a recommended Filipino restaurant. Filipino food is as diverse that the country itself. In Manila, the food seemed to be largely influenced by Spanish cuisine. Adobo, meaning "marinade", "sauce", or "seasoning" in Spanish, is the most popular dish and cooking process in Philippine cuisine. It involves meat, seafood, or vegetables marinated in vinegar, soy sauce, and garlic. It has been considered the unofficial national dish. 

But here, we have tapas!

And some kind of yummy sandwich. We like all sandwiches. All. 

Andrew's radar was signaling a bookstore nearby. His radar never fails. 

Manila is the capital city of the Philippines, which consists of over 7,000 islands. The Philippines is named after King Philip II of Spain (1556-1598) and it was a Spanish colony for over 300 years. One result of being part of the Spanish Empire was the country claiming Catholicism as its predominant religion. However, in 1762, the British captured Manila and held it for two years before handing it back in 1764 under the terms of the Treaty of Paris. 

Spain's rule lasted from the 16th to the 19th century but was marked with a series of revolts. When three Filipino priests were executed for national activities, a group of reformists formed the Propaganda Movement that would later pave the way for the Philippine Revolution. Jose Rizal, known as the national hero, was a young doctor and novelist who advocated for political reforms for the colony under Spain. He was executed by the Spanish colonial government for the crime of rebellion after an anti-colonial revolution, inspired in part by his writings, broke out. 

After lunch, we explored Rizal Park, named for the national hero, Jose. Below is the monument dedicated to him. In the background, you'll see what's being called the "national photobomb". Apparently, the builders were restricted to seven levels, but they've exceeded that by quite a few. The government is trying to figure out what to do about it. 

We entered a section of the park that depicted Rizal's execution day with large statues.

The firing squad consisted of Filipinos in the first row and Spaniards in the back. The Spaniards were there in case the Filipinos refused to shoot Jose, in which case they would shoot the Filipinos then Jose.

Historical accounts state that Jose wanted to be shot facing the sun, the opposite way he was standing but was not allowed to do so. He tried to turn around quickly but was shot in the back.

Here are some scenes from his life as a doctor, writer, advocate, and lawyer.

For scale. 

Rizal park is one of the largest urban parks in Asia. It's good for leisure, festivals, and concerts. It also houses many types of gardens that are nice to walk through. 

That afternoon, we had a reservation with Bambike tours, a socio-ecological enterprise that hand-makes bamboo bicycles with fair-trade labor and sustainable building practices. Our bikes were made in a Philippine-based community development organization for the poor, working to bring an end to poverty.

We took a tour of Intramuros, the oldest district and historic core of Manila. Intramuros translates to "within the wall" in Spanish, and was the seat of government during the Spanish Empire. The Philippine Revolution was launched after Rizal's death, and independence was proclaimed on June 12, 1898. But then, the Philippines was annexed by the Americans by means of the Treaty of Paris with Spain on December 10, 1898, which brought about the Filipino-American War. The Philippines remained an American colony for nearly 50 years. 

In 1935, the Philippines was granted Commonwealth status. Plans for independence over the next decade were interrupted by World War II when the Japanese Empire invaded the country. The US forces and Filipinos fought together from 1944-45 to regain control. On July 4, 1946, the Republic of the Philippines attained its independence from the United States. 

Muralla = wall. 

Bambike was a fantastic way to see Intramuros and learn the history of Manila. Our tour guide, Edgar, left no question unanswered. 

Our bikes. Andrew thought that he needed a way to get more attention, so he rode the Harley type bambike.

Our first stop was San Agustin Church. As mentioned previously, the majority of Filipinos are Catholic, so one doesn't have to travel far to find a beautiful church.

Crashing a wedding. 

Puerta Real is a garden just outside the southern wall of Intramuros. It is originally a gate to the walled city but now, it is famous for being a perfect venue for celebrations.

Edgar, our tour guide. He wondered why we wanted him in a picture. He obviously hasn't seen our blog.

We were able to walk on top of the wall.

We saw many groups such as this one practicing chants, songs, and dances. Edgar said that the performances are usually historically based as a way to pass down Filipino heritage to younger generations.

We continued riding the streets of Intramuros and on top of the wall. There were many college students resting after a day of classes, preparing to go home on Sunday.

Edgar pointed out these Japanese Cannons from the Battle of Manila in 1945. They are pointing outside the walls, waiting for the right time to fire. The location of the cannons gives a picture of how important Intramuros is in Philippine history. 

Puerta del Parian is a gate to Intramuros, situated on the east side of the walls. The entrance is named after the earliest concentrations of Chinese merchants in Old Manila. It's mostly used as a walkway for students now. 

Edgar led us to the Pasig River, which has seen better days. It used to be an important transport route and source of water for Spanish Manila. Due to negligence and industrial development, the river is polluted and considered to be dead by ecologists.

A very practical flood warning system for drivers. 

The Manila Cathedral-Basilica was our next stop. Manila Cathedral was originally a parish church owned and governed by the Archdiocese of Mexico in 1571. The cathedral was damaged and destroyed several times since the original structure was built in 1581. The eighth and current structure was finally completed in 1958. 

Manila City Hall. (Seen earlier as the cannon's target.)

Our last stop on the tour was Fort Santiago, a citadel built by Spanish conquistador, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi for the established city of Manila. This was where Jose Rizal was imprisoned before his execution. 

Statues of President Manuel Quezon (left) and General Douglas Macarthur (right). Leaving Manila, General Macarthur said, "I shall return."

The main gate of Fort Santiago. 

Edgar suggested we pose in our ponchos with the gatekeeper. The gatekeeper suggested we try to look more like nerds. 

Inside the gate is the Rizal Shrine museum, which displays memorabilia of the national hero. Included are depictions of scenes from his time in prison, his art work, novels, and this: the part of his spinal bone that was hit by a bullet. Because why not?

We finished by taking the same path Jose Rizal took from his prison cell to his execution site.

After three hours of touring, our brains and legs were tired. We found Ristorante delle Mitre, where dishes are named after archbishops. The bistro was decked out in Catholic paraphernalia -- appropriately opposite of San Agustin Church. The menu was a mix of Filipino, Italian, and Spanish, and was the perfect place to rest after our day of sightseeing. 

San Miguel beer, a product of Manila. 

Mango crab salad. 

Paella. The most perfect combination of rice, meat, vegetables, and spice. 

Chicken adobo, a Filipino classic.

We wanted to spend our second full day in Manila north of the river exploring Chinatown, the palace, and whatever else seemed interesting. Our walk there provided a good opportunity for a picture of this line of Jeepneys. Jeepneys are the most popular means of public transportation in the Philippines. Jeepneys were originally made from US military jeeps left over from World War II that are known for their crowded seating and kitsch decor. They followed specific routes, like public buses, and made no concessions for pedestrians, like public buses. 

Despite close calls on the cross walk, we made it to Chinatown. Some suggest that this is the world's oldest Chinatown and second largest, next to San Francisco. It was established in 1594 by the Spaniards as a settlement near Intramuros but across the Pasig River. It was positioned so that colonial rulers could keep a close eye on their migrant subjects. 

Minor Basilica of St. Lorenzo Ruiz and Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Parish. Say that 10 times fast.

Andrew had read that the Chinese cemetery was a "must see" in Manila. A nice police officer flagged down a tuk-tuk and negotiated a fair price for us to get there. 

Below is our friend Rudolpho. He approached us as we got out of the tuk-tuk and offered to be our tour guide through the cemetery. This type of unaffiliated tour service is common practice in Manila and Rudolpho seemed like a good guy. 

The Manila Chinese Cemetery was designated as the resting place for wealthy Chinese citizens who were denied burial in Catholic cemeteries during the Spanish colonial period. Far from the cemeteries that we're used to, it was more like a residential suburb with streets lined with mausoleums. Some of these even feature air conditioning, running water, kitchens, and toilets for family members who spend a significant amount of time with their dead. 

Rudolpho was indeed a great tour guide. 

The wealthier you were, the larger your mausoleum. And as Rudolpho pointed out, it's about looks here. 

Many Chinese return to the cemetery on Sundays to bring sacrifices to their family members. These include the family member's favorite food or drink, candles, and flowers.

There's mom and dad. 

This family was Christian, as evidenced by the giant Bible and flowers, not sacrificial food. 

A war memorial for Chinese soldiers who died in World War II. 

Mausoleums of different religions and denominations, all getting along just fine. Protestant on the far left, Buddhist in the middle, Catholic on the right.

I'm not one to follow a man I just met into a basement at a cemetery, but this time seemed okay. Rudolpho showed us the area in which the cremated are honored. 

Stopped for water, played with a cemetery cat. 

This was a war memorial for Chinese, U.S., and anyone "generally anti-Japanese", as our lovely tour guide put it. That "anyone generally anti-Japanese" sentiment has been shared by locals in each country we've visited. 

I think it's safe to say we'll never see another cemetery quite like that one. 

On our way to Malacanang Palace, the President's quarters, we stopped for "the best dim sum in the world". It was kind of like that cup of coffee that's advertised at the Quickie Mart in the United States as "The World's Best Coffee!" 

We heard a lot of commotion leading up to the palace and were told that the local church was having a Nazarene festival. 

They seemed into it.

We continued our tour of the Catholic churches with San Miguel Church. 

San Sebastian Church.

Another wedding! This one was truly breathtaking.

Quiapo Church. There were thousands of people inside and outside of this church for mass. 

After miles of walking and hours of sweating, we treated ourselves to some overpriced cocktails on the roof of the Bayleaf Hotel which overlooked Intramuros. 

We had tacos that night, but there's zero evidence because tacos.

One difficult aspect of our time in Manila was encountering the rather deep levels of poverty that exist there. Although it wasn’t our first glimpse of this in Southeast Asia, the intensity of this experience was of a vastly different sort. Walking through many of Manila’s neighborhoods, we would be approached by dozens of children with their hands out demanding money. Often these requests were quite aggressive: “give me money,” “give me my pesos,” and so forth were continuous refrains.

Although both of us seek to help whoever we can at any time, this was frustrating for several reasons. For one, even if we had given all the money we had to these children, it would have been only a very temporary band-aid on what is a much larger problem than our wallets could possibly hope to change. Secondly, the fact that the children had obviously been trained by adults to target those of us with white skin was disconcerting. While, as white Americans, we have virtually no personal experience with the harms of racial profiling, this was a good lesson on the damage stereotypes can cause (although we might be relatively rich compared to many in Manila, we certainly do not consider ourselves to be rich in any absolute sense). Finally, it is difficult to act as authentically compassionate as one feels when safety is a concern, and there were moments in which we felt quite unsafe.

Another symptom of Manila’s poverty that had less (though still some, even in our hotel) impact on us was the very obvious sex tourism by western men. The unseemly nature of these pairings – inevitably a paunchy, middle-aged white man with a pretty, far younger Filipina woman – is a difficult thing to get used to or feel comfortable around. While we don’t wish to disparage anyone’s choices for companionship, and perhaps there was more to these relationships than it seemed, it was hard not to regret the exploitation that was taking place. In sum, experiences such as these further our resolve to work for economic justice in whatever ways that we can, and to support rather than take advantage of local communities wherever we travel.

We're grateful for our experiences, both joyful and difficult abroad. They continue to shape us in ways that nothing else has. Thank you, as always, for continuing to follow us as we live and travel in Asia.

We are counting down the days until we are reunited with so many of you in the United States! November 17th, here we come!

-Rachel