Manila
I have previously been to Manila three times, just passing through. Twice I rented a car and driver at the airport and got a tour of the city. Once I stayed overnight in downtown Manila, because we my flight from LA had been into 200 knot headwinds, we had to stop in Seoul to refuel, and I missed my connecting flight to Cagayan. I never liked Manila on any of those visits, but now I think that was primarily because I was alone and didn’t know anyone here.
This time I came with Marissa by my side, and while she had never been to Manila before, she had her resources, a couple of cousins were in town, Dodong, who lives in Manila, and Ansel, who was here for some official training. They have been our escorts and have insulated us a bit from the grunge of Manila, while also allowing us to capture some of the better parts of this now wonderful city.
We arrived in Manila on Saturday, September 30th, at 4 PM in the afternoon, on Superferry 5, just two days after Typhoon Xangsane ravaged the city, four hours before we had to travel all the way across town for the 1st ever national SEO event in The Philippines. Most of the flooding had subsided, but there was still lots of rain.
Cousin Dodong, Marissa and I at Baywalk. Baywalk is a strip of the coast that reminds me a bit of the Hollywood Beach Broadwalk, and of South Beach, in Miami, but without the beach. Instead the 100-foot wide walk is sided by a seawall. There are open air restaurants, street vendors, mimes, and bands. Baywalk runs about 1 mile, the Northern end of it is the U.S. Embassy compound.
The Jose Rizal Natioinal Monument in Manila. Jose Rizal is The National Hero of The Philippines. He led an incredible life, and his death at 35 years, at the hands of the Spanish, led to an uprising by Filipinos against their Spanish oppressors that eventually led to independence.
