Thrilla in Manila

Mabuhay!

We arrived in Manila, the capital of Philippines, on Tuesday June 5^th.  Unlike other countries we visited, we did not do much research on the country.  We picked to go there because we knew that there were several HOPE Worldwide projects going on and we were hoping to volunteer at one of them.  Cindy who we had met in Cambodia put us in contact with the evangelist at the Manila Christian Church and HOPE coordinator.  The Philippines is a great place to visit because no visa is required for a stay up to 21 days. After getting our luggage, we went to catch a taxi to take us to our hostel.  The hostel had listed several means of transportation that we could use to get to them.  The taxi seemed reasonable so we thought why not catch one.  Well, as you would guess prices were ridiculously inflated when we asked how much it would cost.  No one was willing to use the meter but instead wanted triple the actual price. “OK, I guess we are not catching a taxi! On to the next form of transport.”  We easily found a bus that we took to the light rail train (LRT) and after that caught a tricycle.  We had never seen this form of transport before and it turned out to be the one we used most despite that fact that we hate them.  See pictures below.

Manila Tricycle.  So the motorbike pulls this metallic boxy contraption.  Ingenious, yes; but in Manila the pollution from cars is so high, you end up breathing in a lot of exhaust since your sitting by the tailpipes.

So Manila is CRAZY busy! Oh my goodness!!! The busyness mixed with the blazing heat (average of 95 deg F) traffic and pollution will make you wonder why you are there. We were glad to get to the hostel, Red Carabao, which was about 40 minutes from the central part of the city in an area called Santa Cruz. The hostel turned out to be a great place for us to meet people and to get more information about the country.  For instance, we did not know that the Philippines has about 7,001 islands.  We started planning what we would do in the 18 days that we intended to spend there.  After some calls and discussions with some of the HOPE coordinators we realized that there were no long-term projects that we could spend our time volunteering at.  However, on one day we got to travel to Payatas, an area in Quezon City, where HOPE has a kindergarten for children from poor families that cannot afford to pay to school their kids.  The school also provides food for the children.  Payatas is Manila's waste dump site and there are so many needs in this area like in any other slum.  HOPE is doing a great job here and on that particular day, they were having a welcome-to-school party for the new kids.  A group of employees from Accenture sponsored the event.  They came with games, stories, school supplies and a great lunch for the kids.  Talk about social responsibility.  I was really moved by these Accenture employees who pull their money together and organize activities for the children.  This was not their first time either.  They also sponsored the last Christmas party and graduation celebration.  We had a great time with them and we pray that they'll continue caring about the less fortunate and giving their time and resources to help the kids.

At HOPE's Payatas Kindergarten with Accenture volunteers

On our second day at the hostel, the manager of the hostel organized a walking tour of Manila. We were so excited that we didn't have to go sight see Manila on our own.  There were about 8 of us who joined the tour.  We caught the LRT and went downtown to the United Nations stop.  From there we walked to Rizal Park named after Philippines' national hero Jose Rizal. Next we walked to Intramuros which is the oldest district in Manila.  It was a walled city way back during the Spanish Colonial Period.  The walls have been preserved along with Fort Santiago which guarded the city.  We also visited some of the oldest churches in Manila before we went off to Chinatown to grab some dinner.  There are lots of fruit stands in the Manila streets along with flee markets that sell clothing, toys, household stuff and many other things.  When our tour was over, we caught a jeepney back to the hostel.  This was another new form of transportation for us.  They are actually old U.S. military jeeps left in Philippines from WWII.

At the Rizal Monument in Rizal Park

China Town, Manila

On our walking tour in front of the Quiapo Church

One of the oldest churches in Manila  - the Manila Cathederal. It was destroyed by earthquakes several times then rebuilt.

Fort Santiago built by Spanish conquistadors in 1571.  This is the oldest fort in Manila, damaged by an earthquake in 1645. It was also the U.S. army headquarters.  Rizal was imprisoned here prior to his execution.

Manila landscape

San Agustin Church in Intramuros destroyed by pirates then rebuilt. It is also a UNESCO world heritage site.

There is a lot of superstition and religions are interchanged. This picture shows a mixture of Catholicism and Buddhism.

Jeepneys - so colorful

On another day, we visited the Chinese cemetery which was actually next door to our hostel.  This is no ordinary cemetery.  In short, it is a well kept neighborhood for the dead. The cemetery is filled with "houses", some of which cost more than what you and I could ever afford.  There were a lot of Chinese living in Philippines in the 50s.  Some of the leaders were killed by the Japanese when the Japanese invaded Philippines and are buried in this cemetery.  One think we found interesting about this place is that where the cemetery is so beautiful and manicured, just beyond the walls is a run down neigborhood of tin homes. There was such a stark contrast between the rich and the poor.

Barren Streets in Cemetery

Feels like a neighborhood, only very quiet

One of the "houses"

More mausoleums

And more.. usually for a husband and wife to be burried

When we were not sight seeing, we would go to the mall.  Filipinos love their malls.  There are so many malls in Manila and they are really nice.  Luckily for us there was one our neighborhood.  We would go there to escape the heat and pollution, go online, indulge in ice creams, movies (we watched MIB 3) and western fast food.  There are lots of McDonalds, BK's, KFC, Pizza Hut, Sbarro, Subway etc. (Filipinos, as we were told, also love just about anything American)

Manila was ok for a few days but we really needed some cooler weather, so off to the mountains.