Hectic Manila, Philippines
 

Besides its what I am told normal madness, we are told that Manila will be even more hectic as we will be visiting (unplanned) during the APEC conference. We get a quick taste of this outside the airport arrival area when we attempt to join the taxi queue which is about 150 passengers deep with a “Yellow Cab” showing up about every 7-10 minutes.

Knowing this will not work we walk off the airport area through a construction site then jay walk across 6 lanes of traffic on a major highway to find a “White Cab”. Our 5 mile journey to downtown begins but takes us almost an hour in bumper to bumper traffic even on a sometimes multi-lane highway.

Checked into our hotel our next adventure is a ride in one of the most popular forms of public transportation, a colorful and (9 pesos) very cheap “Jeepney”. Our destination is one of the oldest parts of Manila, Intramuros. Here we discover of the quickest ways to see this huge area is on a bicycle tour where someone else is doing the pedaling.

A lot of the city's history is here including Fort Santiago and the Manila Metropolitan Cathedral which I think has being rebuilt about eight times. Intramuros is definitely a worthwhile stop in Manila.

Our second day has us crossing MacArthur Bridge to see another part of the city. A nice local noodle lunch then we receive a sidewalk blessing of “Holy Water” before we make a visit to Quiapo Church.

Quiapo Church is home of the Black Nazarene which is considered scared and miraculous by many here in the Catholic faith.


Video:https://youtu.be/E55yccH4rZ0

Keep it coming! Am following as usual.

JW,

Always glad to have you along :)

Manila By Night,

Part of our night exploration of Manila has us going against the flow of traffic on a busy street as we pass by The National Museum. Our destination is Chinatown one of the oldest such market area outside of China.

For us the area turns out to be a bit of a disappointment but probably not as bad as it could have been. We learned from a taxi cab driver the day after visiting that it is not one of the safest places to be in Manila especially at night.

Our second night is spent enjoying one of the locals passion, karaoke. We end up at the Star Of Manila which has one of the best karaoke set up we have ever seen. It is not too busy the night we visit and we end up having the good fortune of meeting one of the bar owners, Steve. This turns out to be a treat as we get to learn more about business and Manila life from a foreigner's perspective.

We finish the night with a walk towards the American Embassy with Steve and his bodyguard who then escorts us back to our hotel.

Tomorrow, we set out for another unique Manila experience but this time only two of us will be a part of it.


Video:https://youtu.be/j0mpNkf1jW4

Nice. I wish I could show this to the many Phillipino co workers I had. I'll bet they would enjoy this. However its better to be retired. :S-.

JW,

Continue enjoying retirement :)

My last Manila post.. Off on NCL Escape on Saturday.

Manila Cock Fighting

Although we had been led to believe “Cock Fighting” was a popular venue in Manila we are having a difficult time getting information about it. After several attempts talking to different locals we finally find someone with some good 411.

With this information in hand we make plans for an early get up on a Sunday morning to head to Pasay City Cockpit. Having been to a bull fight once I am not really to fond of this outing. However, our son is excited about it so I basically tag along for the experience.

We watch a few fights with a mostly male audience who almost go in a frenzy betting on the fights. A few of them even tried to solicit us into playing along although we felt much safer just being spectators.

Interestingly, there is not always a winner and loser in the fights. Unfortunately some roosters that survive get a trip to “The Rooster Doctor” for repairs to later rejoin the circuit. What an experience to watch him do his magic and even perform man to rooster mouth to beak resuscitation.

To my surprise cock fighting was much less unpleasant than watching a bull fight and another good lesson for me in how we are all so culturally different. Experiencing these things for us is truly part of the joy of traveling.


Video:https://youtu.be/CObdUXuiA2Q

Oh yes. Retirement is great. ��.

Where is the Escape embarking from?

Will follow.:).

JW,

NCL Escape is 7 Day Western Caribbean from Miami.

St Thomas, Tortola and Nassau are the ports of call although we are planning more ship than port time.

We did the same itin. from the Getaway.

You go about as much for the ship as you do for the ports. I did buy some great Cuban rum in Nassau to use back home. 7 yr. old Havana Club. Good stuff. :).

JW,

Off to pick up some "Old Havana Club"... How is your supplies?

You can try cock fighting in the provinces. It may surprise you.

DMB. Somehow I missed this. Mine is long gone. :D. BTW we are in Singapore now.

Cheers, Larry.

JW,

I am jealous.. Enjoy your cruise and tell us all about it. Our planned next one is in May.

CodyD,

How is it different? Would love to see other areas of the Philippines.

Manila has much to offer just learn to be vigilant and stay smart always.