Manila, the other Philippines

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When I went back to the Philippines after my Christmas break, I had to stop in Manila for a few days. Now just to be clear: I hate Manila. It's a horrible, big, sweaty, dirty, poor place. I go bonkers after just a few hours. I tried to do some different things this time, however, to experience the finer virtues that Manila possesses. So, in addition to the the few malls I perused (Manila is basically one big mall), I decided to do the historical circuit in Intramuros, which is
the old Spanish colonial capital.

My first stop was the lovely Manila Cathedral, just outside Intramuros. There was some beautiful stain glass inside and a large replication of the Pieta statue. I took a few quick pics, and then stuffed my camera back in my bag because, yes, I was actually nervous to carry it in plain site. Freaking Manila.

After that I walked through Fort Santiago, which had some well-kept gardens. The fort is on the edge of the river, so the elevated views were actually quite nice. The fort itself was interesting and I even got to see Rizal's jail cell! Oh my! There was a tiny hidden church manned by two nuns about the size of my bedroom here, so you know how small that is! In the back of the fort I stumbled upon...a golf course?? There was a lone Filipino playing, and I couldn't figure out if he was like a decoy to draw in the tourists, or i he was actually playing. I sat for a few minutes overlooking the river to get some perspective. Oddly enough, there were two different vantage points, which pretty much describes Manila, in my opinion. Wealth vs extreme poverty. You
compare the two:



After that I passed another Catholic church (so many Catholics here!) and there was a wedding just leaving. The inside of the church was so nice, but I only had a few minutes to explore, as the wedding party was still rolling about and taking down flowers and things. After I left the church I got some street food and then decided that I could easily walk 20 or so blocks. YIKES I was tired when I showed up at my guesthouse! Ha.

Another highlight of Manila was at Robinson's store, which is kinda like a mall but also with a supermarket. I found a salad and fruit buffet! That is nonexistent in Palawan! I got my food there for the rest of the trip and it was quite the treat :)

Finally I got all my things in order, and I was able to head back to Palawan. Sigh of relief!

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