MANILA CITY TOUR AND THE 4TH AIRPORT IN 30 HOURS

WEATHER: Hot and 32C

HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: Seeing the hundreds of Jeepney’s

BUMMER OF THE DAY: No sleep in and go go go

WORD OF THE DAY: Selamat Bo – thank-you in Filipino

DISTANCE TRAVELLED: 574km

I had a half day tour booked for this morning with a pick-up at 8am.  I had to get ready, have breakfast and pop my bag into storage for 10 days all before 8am.  I am feeling tired.  At the end of the tour I was getting dropped directly to the airport for a 3.20pm flight.  I came prepared and I had bought an overnight bag when I was in Phuket, so with that and my backpack was going to do me for the next 10 days.  It goes to show if I can live on 3 pairs of shorts, 4 tops and 2 dresses the why the hell do I need all the other crap.  Good question. 

My driver/guide for the morning was Edgar and he was waiting for me when I came down at 8am and we were on our way to see how much we could discover in 3.5 hours.  Metro Manila is the largest urban center in the Philippines, composed of seventeen cities and municipalities with about twelve million people.  The first thing you notice in Manila are the jeepneys.  They are so cool looking, each one totally different and is the transport that moves people around the city.  Jeepneys are the most popular means of public transportation in the Philippines.  They were originally made from US military jeeps left over from World War II and are known for their flamboyant decoration and crowded seating. They have become a ubiquitous symbol of Philippine culture.  The word jeepney is a mix of the word "jeep" and "Jitney".  When American troops began to leave the Philippines at the end of WWII, hundreds of surplus jeeps were sold or given to the Filipinos. They were stripped down and altered; metal roofs were added for shade; and decorated the vehicles with vibrant colors and chrome-plated hood and other ornaments. They reconfigured the jeeps to accommodate more passengers and classified them as passenger-type jeeps. Its size, length and passenger capacity had increased as it evolved through the years. The jeepney rapidly emerged as a popular and creative way to re-establish inexpensive public transportation, which had been virtually destroyed during WWII. Recognizing the widespread use of these vehicles, the Philippine government began to regulate their use. Drivers now must have specialized licenses, regular routes, and reasonably fixed fares.  Jeepneys are often manned by two people, the driver and the conductor (also informally called the "backride"). If present, the conductor manages passengers and takes care of fare collection. At designated stops, a dispatcher/barker will usually also be present, calling out route and destination and ushering in passengers.  In most vehicles, however, only the driver is present, and passengers have to ask the adjacent passengers to pass on the fare to the driver. The driver in this case, relies on the honesty of the passengers to pay the proper amount of fare, as he has no way of checking how much is paid by each individual.  Jeepney’s can be flagged down much like taxis by holding out or waving an arm at the approaching vehicle. Because of the proximity of the passengers in jeepneys, certain etiquette is followed.  Jostling and shoving passengers is considered rude, the elderly and women are always seated, talking loudly and boisterous behavior is discouraged. To ask the driver to stop the vehicle, passengers can rap their knuckles on the roof of the jeepney, rap a coin on a metal handrail, or simply tell the driver to stop.  They are awesome to watch as we passed them all day. 

Looking around Manila Metro at least, it reminds me of Singapore.  It is clean, organized and no sign of any poverty in this section of the city.  As the morning wore on we did see poverty, and like any Asian city this is expected.  Even though I have compassion for these people my heart still lies in Africa and helping them rather than an Asian country.  Is that PC for me to say that?  Everyone everywhere needs help, that is a fact and you can only run with your heart to decide on where your energies lay.  Our first drive by was the old The Nielson Airport tower and terminal.  It was built by Laurie Reuben Nielson, a businessman born in New Zealand, on a 42-hectare piece of land owned by Spanish-Filipino Enrique Zobel during the American colonial period. It was inaugurated in 1937 and soon became the primary gateway between Manila and the rest of the Philippines, and between the country and the rest of the world. During World War II, commercial flights were relocated so that Nielson could serve the U.S. Army Air Corps. In the 1960s, the vast track of land in Makati of which the airport was a part became a premier commercial and financial hub. Nielson stopped being an airport but the terminal building remained, to be put to different uses.  It was pretty cool to think the road we just drove down was part of the old runway!!!

Manila is the capital city of the Philippines. The city of Manila is located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay.  The populace inhabits an area of only 38.55 square kilometers, making Manila the most densely populated city in the world.  Metro Manila is the most populous metropolitan area in the Philippines and the 11th in the world with an estimated population of 16.3 million. The greater Metro Manila area is the fifth-most populous in the world with an estimated population of 21,951,000.  The earliest written account of the city is the 10th-century Laguna Copperplate Inscription which describes a context of an Indianised kingdom maintaining diplomatic relations with the Kingdom of Medang. The city was invaded by Brunei's Sultan Bolkiahand was already Islamized by the 15th century when the Spanish explorers first arrived. Manila eventually became the center of Spanish activity in the Far East.  The city would eventually be given the moniker of the "Pearl of the Orient," as a result of its central location in the vital Pacific sea trade routes. Several Chinese insurrections, local revolts, a British Occupation and a Sepoy mutiny also occurred shortly thereafter. Manila also saw the rise of the Philippine Revolution which was followed by the arrival of the Americans who made contributions to the city's urban planning and development only to have most of those improvements lost in the devastation of World War II. Since then the city has been rebuilt.  I hate to show my ignorance, but I had no idea that the Philippines had been occupied by the Spanish for over 300 years and that so much of their history involved the Spanish.  Did you know that?  Throw in the American occupation and the Japanese occupation and then when the Philippines gained independence they have had quite a mixed history.  I really had no idea.  Hardly anyone speaks Spanish, even after 300 years.  The Spaniards were not interested in educating the Filipinos while they were here, so their education didn’t really start till the Americans arrived and that is why English is spoken quite widely now in the country. 

Manila also became famous during the Manila-Acapulco Galleon trade which lasted for three centuries and brought goods from Mexico and Peru to Southeast Asia. Silver that was mined in Mexico and Peru were exchanged for Chinese silk, Indian gems, and the spices of the Spanish East Indies.  In 1898, after their defeat in the Spanish-American War, Spain ceded the Philippines to the United States, as well as several other territorial possessions, as part of the terms under the Treaty of Paris and a monetary exchange of $20 million. Immediately after liberation from Spain, between 1899 and 1902, Filipino revolutionaries would be involved in armed conflict with the American military in the Philippine–American War and would result in the deaths of as much as 1.5 million Filipino civilians and the dissolution of the First Philippine Republic.  Manila was the site of the bloodiest battle in the Pacific theater during the Second World War. After falling to the Empire of Japan on January 2, 1942, it was recaptured by joint American and Filipino troops in February to March 1945. Some 100,000 civilians were killed in Manila during the battles between November 1944 and February 1945.  It was the second most devastated city in the world after Warsaw during the Second World War. Since then the city has been rebuilt.

We did a drive by of one of the biggest shopping malls, Mall of Asia which has been built on reclaimed land.  It was massive.  It has a hotel, a convention center, a cinema to name a few things and on the other side is the Bay of Manila and there you will find a big ferris wheel and a lot of restaurants and seafood eats with a view over the water.  I could see this would be busy once the sun went down, it would be too hot along here during the day.  Next drive by was the Coconut Palace which is now the official residence and principal workplace of the Vice President of the Philippines. Located at the Cultural Center it was commissioned by former First Lady Imelda Marcos for Pope John Paul II's visit in 1981. However, the pope declined the offer, saying that it was too ostentatious a place to stay while in the poverty-stricken Philippines.  The Coconut Palace, built in 1978, is made of several types of Philippine hardwood, coconut shells, and a specially engineered coconut lumber apparently known as Imelda Madera.   We stopped at the Manila Hotel.  This is the oldest hotel in the Philippines and Edgar gave me 15 minutes to have a look around inside.  It was beautiful.  Very colonial, big wicker fans, the old fashioned lighting and on the far side of the reception was a massive cake of the hotel that had been made for the 100^th anniversary of the hotel.  They had an ATM in the lobby, so I thought I might as well use that while I was here and pulled out hopefully what would be enough money for the rest of the week. 

We continued past the Rizal Monument which is a memorial monument in Rizal Park built t to commemorate the Filipino nationalist, José Rizal. The Malaysian President was in town for some peace talks and we were not able to stop as there was a military parade all set ready to go and there was security everywhere.  It looked great with all the forces represented in their official uniforms but I felt so sorry for them as it was hot as an oven out there, they must be sweating like nothing else with all that on.  A plaque on the pedestal front reads: "To the memory of José Rizal, patriot and martyr, executed at Bagumbayan Field December 30th, 1896, this monument is dedicated by the people of the Philippine Islands".  The perimeter of the monument is in a continuous ritual guarding by the soldiers known as the Kabalyeros de Rizal (Knights of Rizal). About a 100m west of the monument is the exact location where Rizal was executed represented by life-size dioramas of his final moments.

Our second stop was Fort Santiago.  It is a citadel first built by Spanish conquistador, Miguel López de Legazpi for the new established city of Manila.  The defense fortress is part of the structures of the walled city of Manila referred to as Intramuros ("within the walls").  The fort is one of the most important historical sites in Manila. Several lives were lost in its prisons during the Spanish Colonial Period and World War II. José Rizal, the Philippines' national hero, was imprisoned here before his execution in 1896. The Rizal Shrine museum displays memorabilia of the hero in their collection and the fort features but this was closed today and embedded onto the ground in bronze, his footsteps representing his final walk from his cell to the location of the actual execution.  The fort has a perimeter of 620m and it is of a nearly triangular form. A moat connected with the river separates the fort from the city.  The 6.7m high walls, with a thickness of 2.4m are pierced for the necessary communications.  The construction of Fort Santiago with hard stone, together with the original fortified walls of Intramuros, commenced in 1590 and finished in 1593. 

On August 13, 1898, the American flag was raised in Fort Santiago signifying the start of the American rule in the Philippines. The fort served as the headquarters for the U.S. Army and several changes were made to the fort by the Americans.  During World War II, Fort Santiago was captured by the Japanese Imperial Army, and used its prisons and dungeons including the storage cells and gunpowder magazines for hundreds of prisoners who were killed near the end of the war.  The fort sustained heavy damage from American and Filipino mortar shells during the Battle of Manila in February 1945.

Today, the fort, its bastions, and the prison dungeons for criminals used by the Spanish officials, is now part of a historical park which also includes the Plaza del Moriones (also called the Plaza de Armas) and several ruins. The park houses well-preserved legacies from the Spanish Colonial Period including Jose Rizal memorabilia at the Rizal Shrine.  Adaptive use of this famous historical landmark makes certain areas ideal for open air theater, picnics, and as a promenade.  It was beautiful inside with a water fountain, park benches to sit on, green grass and lots of shade from trees.  It was a little hard to imagine the history this fort had the way it looked now.  After a quick stop at the attached souvenir shop we were back on the road again.

We took a drive through the Intramuros area.  It is the oldest district and historic core of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. Known as the Walled City, the original fortified city of Manila was the seat of the Spanish government during the Spanish colonial period. The walled part of Manila was called intramuros, which is Latin for "within the walls"; districts beyond the walls were referred as the extramuros of Manila, meaning "outside the walls".  Construction of the defensive walls was started by the Spaniards in the late 16th century to protect the city from foreign invasions. The 0.67-square-kilometre walled city was originally located along the shores of the Manila Bay, south of the entrance to Pasig River. The reclamations during the early 20th-century obscured the walls from the bay. Guarding the old city is Fort Santiago, its citadel located at the mouth of the river.  Intramuros was heavily damaged during the battle to recapture the city from the Japanese Imperial Army during the Second World War. Reconstruction of the walls was started in 1951 when Intramuros was declared a National Historical Monument, which is continued to this day by the Intramuros Administration.   We drove past a few of the universities in the Intramuros area and drove past the Church of St Augustine we were then on our way to the airport.  Traffic was horrific by now and Edgar said this was part of the reason he started so early to avoid some of this, which is a great idea, even if I had to get up early, I think it was worth it. 

My flight wasn’t till 3.20pm, but I think Edgar worked into the timing the traffic and I was dropped at the airport at 11.45am.  I always prefer to have extra time up my sleeve, but 3.5 hours seems a little much, but what else were we to do had we left it.  It was probably the best move.  You had to line up outside the terminal to get screened and your bags scanned before getting in and then after a few minutes I got my bearings and found the Cebu Pacific check-in and made my way there.  You had to show your boarding pass and passport to be allowed to the check-in counters and I hoped that my IPod version was going to be good enough, as I had not printed any of my Philippine documents.  But he checked it off, asked what time I was leaving and I was allowed through.  There was an older Australian man in front of me that had a big suitcase, that I am sure weighed more than 10kg-I wonder if he will get hit up for extra money, but he didn’t seem to have any issues and he walked away with a boarding pass. Huh…. Maybe I could have bought my ‘monster’, but then I was actually glad that I didn’t, I didn’t need all the stuff I had and for the ease of my arm etc…. I was still happy.  My check-in bag weighed 7.9kg, I got a window seat and then I was on my way.  Manila have recently just changed their departure taxes and if your tickets were issued after 12^th August they have been included in your tickets, if it was prior you had to pay a departure tax of 200 pesos (5AUD).  I was exempt from this, so I was stamped through and had one more security checkpoint to clear.  There was a line for men (which was longer) and a line for woman and whether you beeped through the scanner or not you were frisked on a box as you walked through.  All the signs are in English and Filipino which is nice and when you speak to someone they understand what you are saying.  Finally I was in departures.  As this was a domestic flight there was no customs or immigration formalities.  I was at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport-terminal 3 and it looked newer to where I came in last night, but arrivals halls always look different to departures.  There were a ton of food outlets, some shops and plenty of seating at the gates.  So I decided to have lunch first that killed an hour and then I found a spot to sit and blog till my computer went flat which worked out to be perfect timing as our flight was soo9n to board and at 2.30pm they called a gate change and we all had to trek from gate 122 to gate 135.  When we are inside 30 minutes of boarding I will switch off my headphones and I keep an eye on the departure gate and what people are doing so I can hear what is going on, if there any announcements, my name being called for an upgrade (yeah right) or gate changes.  So as a pack we moved to the new gate and took a seat as we waited for our bus to arrive and take us to our plane.  There was free Wi-Fi floating around the terminal that would come and go so that helped kill some time till our flight was finally called.  There are no electronic signs here-they are the old fashioned slide boards-take the top one out, move the others up type thing.  It was nice to see that not everything has to be electronic to run smoothly. 

There were 2 busses to take us to the plane and depending on your seat number told you which bus to board.  I was in the first bus and after we were ¾ full we were on our way to what turned out to seriously be 400m if that.  Hardly seems worth the effort, but for them to navigate 180 people across a working tarmac is probably a bigger headache I guess.  Cebu Pacific looks like a Virgin Blue style airline.  They have a cute plane as their logo and lots of catchy funky signs around the airport, I’m not even sure what type of aircraft to expect for the hours flight but when we got to the plane it was a modern A320 aircraft and as we boarded there was top 20 songs playing.  There were plenty of overhead lockers and the plane was a large with a 3x3 configuration so I am not sure on why there was a 10kg luggage restriction.  I am wondering it is the cheapest type of ticket you can buy and that’s what the wholesaler sold to Beth, where if you pay the extra, it gives you extra allowance.  Like I said I won’t complain as a lighter bag is easier for me all round.  There was a guy sitting next to me and as soon as he sat down he went into sleep mode and as the aircraft closed the aisle seat was free but he made no attempt to move to let the middle seat be free to give us more room.  I think if the flight was longer I may have said something to him, but for 1 hour it wasn’t a big deal, but who doesn’t move if the seat is spare?  What is wrong with these people?  We had taxied to a position and had to wait for 20 minutes as 5 international carriers all came into land.  One of them was a Saudi Arabian Airline plane.  I hadn’t even thought to check the cost of flights from Manila to Ethiopia.  I will do that tonight as I need to look at booking my ticket if I am to return in November.  There are no drinks of food supplied for free, it is an additional cost, but for an hour I think I was going to survive.  30 minutes into the flight there were 2 Hostees standing at the head of the aircraft and they were saying something, so I took off my headphones and it must be a Cebu pacific thing, it was a game called ‘Name That Tune’.  One of the Hostees sang a song and the first person to put up there hand one a prize.  I knew none of the songs, but it was pretty funny to get some karaoke on the flight that was totally unexpected.             

We arrived on time into Cebu on time at 4.20pm and after collecting my bag and walking out of departures there was my sign with MY name on it.  I have been collected by one person and then a car is called and then the driver takes me to the hotel.  The drive time was 45 minutes and we got stuck in some traffic just before we got to the hotel.  I was staying at the Marco Polo Hotel, and after walking into the lobby and getting my bags checked by security manually I realized this was a 5 star hotel.  It was beautiful.  I had a letter waiting for me when I arrived and they were my ferry e-tickets for my tour to Bohol in a few days’ time.  There was Wi-Fi in the lobby and internet access in the rooms via cable.  Breakfast was included in the room rate and they didn’t know that I was travelling on my own and I had 8 breakfast vouchers for my 4 night stay.  The check-in guy mentioned if I wanted to invite some-one to breakfast I could.  I wonder now what he was meaning by that.  I also ordered a take away breakfast for my Bohol trip as my pick-up time is at 4am, and a voucher was kept and a form signed for that request as well.  I took my own luggage to my room on floor 12 and I had an amazing view of some mountain ranges.  I was tired and it was nearly 6pm, so I decided to order room service, shower, get some internet time and just get an early night as my half day Cebu tour was booked for 8am tomorrow morning.  I did check the flight costs for me to return to Ethiopia in 4 weeks’ time and the prices are around the 1400AUD mark, no matter how I break up the flights and destinations.  I am finding this a little expensive, especially when I will be back to Ethiopia the first week of January, 5 weeks after that date.  I may just have to toughen out seeing Zeme till January and save that money for when I move there.  Gee look at me I sound so grown up and practical.  I am starting to see no value, besides spending time with Zeme of course, on return trips to Africa when all I want to do is get there and set up a place to call HOME and start my new life, whatever that may entail.  Anyway I am sure things will work out in the end, I am just so impatient at times and I am not one to live in a grey world.  It is black and white and nothing in between.