Manila is a very interesting metropolis: a combination of chaos and diversity
Most of the friends who travel to the Philippines are attracted by its many islands. This time, for many reasons, I only went to the capital Manila - fortunately, it is a very interesting metropolis and it was worth the trip. The Philippines currently has loose visa conditions. You can enter the country for 7 days without a visa if you hold a valid visa from any developed country. You can use the 10-year US visa and the 3/5-year Japanese visa. Apply for a Philippine visa in advance to stay longer. It is recommended to buy a Philippine mobile phone card before traveling. It is cheap, plug-and-play, and more convenient than mobile wifi.Dirty streets and dirty sea water
You can see it from the airplane window before landing To the unabashed chaos of Manila. After coming out of the customs gate, there was a dance team performing in the open space in the airport hall, making the already not spacious space even narrower. Filipinos are friendly and lively, so even if you encounter a chaotic airport as soon as you arrive, you will just blend into their atmosphere. I used a visa card to withdraw cash in local currency pesos (piso) at the airport. The ATM machines of different banks can withdraw up to 5,000 to 10,000 pesos each time. Each transaction requires a 200 pesos handling fee. The fee is high, and it may be exchanged for cash. It’s more cost-effective to exchange money. Currently, 1 yuan is equal to approximately 7 pesos.
We took an airport taxi to the hotel, which cost 900 pesos - but later we found out that we were cheated, and it only cost less than 300 pesos to take a grab taxi. When traveling in Southeast Asia, it is recommended to grab all transportation within the city.
The traffic jam along the way is annoying. One o'clock on Saturday afternoon is not a peak period. We later discovered that this was indeed nothing compared to the traffic on weekdays - Manila's traffic chaos ranks among the top in the world. The drivers are used to such congestion and are all calm. There are no traffic lights on the narrow roads in residential areas, and garbage and debris are piled up randomly. There may be a problem with the underground water system. Some places are filled with stinky smells (similar to the smell I smelled in Havana before. The locals said it was because the sewers were blocked). To quote the movie "Parasite" some time ago, maybe this is " "The taste of poverty".
An interesting phenomenon is that there are a lot of security guards and doormen in Manila. Whether it is a canteen, restaurant or store, there are well-dressed doormen on duty. Sometimes there are several in a house. Is it because of the local labor surplus or because there are many petty thieves?
At night, the streets of Manila are colorful and more lively than during the day. The heat becomes milder at night, making it a good time to go shopping. The Malate district where we live has a lot of Chinese, Japanese and Korean restaurants, which we had not expected before. However, in order to "experience the authentic Filipino food", I did not patronize any of them.
This Spanish-style "Bar & Restaurant" is very European, but it also sells Filipino dishes, such as fried pork trotters, fried noodles, etc. It can be regarded as a cultural fusion. .
Manila Bay lies on the west edge of the city. This is an ancient city that prospered because of its seaport and had developed before Spanish colonization. Looking at the water in the bay in the evening, the scenery is pretty good; but if you look at it under the bright sun, its turbidity is very obvious. Manila has serious industrial pollution and poor seawater quality, so there are no tourist beaches in the suburbs.
National Museum: Like Latin America
The origin of the name Philippines (Filipinas) was taken after Spain occupied the islands in 1565 to commemorate Felipe II, the then crown prince of Spain. More than three hundred years of colonial rule have profoundly affected everything inside and outside the Philippines. Some people joke: The Philippines is a Latin American country floating in Southeast Asia, and this is very true. Compared with neighboring countries, Filipinos are more optimistic and have a more casual attitude towards life.
The National Museum has different theme colors for the exhibition halls corresponding to each period in chronological order. The vast majority of the collection comes from the Spanish colonial period, and the Western paintings and sculptures have no Asian style.
Like other Latin American countries, the Philippines is a Catholic country, which is completely different from Southeast Asia, which is dominated by Buddhism and Islam. Therefore, many collections have strong religious overtones. Place names such as San Juan and San Augustín, which are common in the Philippines, are all names of the Catholic patron saint; Magallanes, a neighborhood near the museum, is "Magellan" in Spanish (Magellan's round-the-world journey ended when he was killed in the Philippines). Most of the local first names and surnames are of Spanish origin.
In 1898, the Spanish-American War broke out, Spain was defeated without any suspense, and the jurisdiction of the Philippines changed hands to the United States. The Philippines is divided into three regions: Luzon in the north, Visayas in the center, and Mindanao in the south. In fact, Spain only controlled Luzon and Visayas at that time, and Mindanao in the south did not fall within its sphere of influence. However, when ceding the colony, the Spaniards "opened the map" and included Mindanao as part of the Philippine territory. to demand more compensation for ceded land. The old Islamic areas of Mindanao were forcibly assigned to Catholic countries, which also laid the foundation for subsequent religious conflicts in the Philippines.
In 1935, the Philippine Autonomous State was established, with certain autonomy and a status similar to Puerto Rico. However, the good times did not last long. In 1942, the Japanese army invaded the Philippines and began four years of militarized rule until Japan surrendered. After World War II, the United States took over the Philippines again. In 1946, the United States agreed to Philippine independence and the Republic of the Philippines was established.
Personally, I think the great thing about Americans is that they changed the common language in the Philippines from Spanish to English in less than fifty years. Starting from "Commonwealth of the Philippines", this country has gained a bit more American style.
Chinatown, Chinese Founding Fathers and Spanish Town
Manila Chinatown was built in the 11th century. The oldest overseas Chinese gathering area. We took grab and actually wanted to experience a tuk-tuk. Compared with other Southeast Asian countries, the tuk-tuks in the Philippines are more crude. They only have a seat on the right side of the motorcycle, and their safety is worrying.
Manila's Chinatown is clearly divided into two parts, the old and the new. The new area has built shopping malls, promenades and archways, while the old area maintains its ancient appearance and has no tourist attractions. It's just a residential area with more Chinese people. If you are short on time, there is no need to come to this area. It is better to spend more time in Rizal Park and Intramuros.
Since you are in Manila, it is best to eat Jollibee once. Founded by Chinese Filipinos, it is Asia's largest local fast food chain and sells three main types of fast food: beef burgers, sweet sauce pasta and fried chicken with rice (the plastic wrap is not a burger, but white rice). We went there early in the morning, and there were already many customers in the store. It is indeed the favorite restaurant among Filipinos.
Walking from China Town to the Spanish City, you will pass by Binondo Church. The original church was founded by the local Chinese religious group and was later destroyed by the war. The current church was rebuilt after World War II. When believers are worshiping on Sunday, tourists are not allowed to enter the church, and the sound of the sermon can be heard standing outside the door.
Afterwards, we visited the memorial hall of José Rizal, the founding father of the Philippines, and the connected Rizal Park. The name Rizal is full of Spanish flavor, but he is of pure Chinese descent and his ancestral home is Jinjiang, Fujian. Rizal studied in Europe and published "Noli Me Tangere" (English translation: The Social Cancer) in 1887, which exposed Spain's decadent colonial rule and caused shock in the Philippines. In 1892, Rizal returned to the Philippines and set off a whirlwind of national movement. He was executed by the Spanish colonists in Manila in 1896, but he had successfully passed on the national spirit to the awakening Filipinos.
Going further south from Rizal Park is Intramuros, Manila's colonial building district, commonly known as the Royal City of Spain in China. "Intra" means "inside", "muros" means "wall", and Intramuros means inner city, which is very similar to the ancient Chinese city concept. This area is quite "fresh". The buildings are usually clean white or solid brown. There are horse-drawn carriages and bicycles for rent, as well as ice cream cones sold on the street. Slowly exploring the colonial traces in the streets and alleys is the top selling point of Old Manila.
Barbara's Heritage Restaurant is the most famous restaurant in this area of the royal city. The original site was a noble private residence, which was converted into a museum and a small restaurant. Gardens and restaurants, the Cervantes Institute of Manila are also located on the premises. It is elegantly decorated, the waiters all follow Western standards, and there is a singing team.
The last tourists of Taal Volcano
There are no beaches in Manila , ask the locals what surrounding tours they have, and the answer usually is only "Taal Volcano". After many comparisons, we finally chose to break up the group with China. After all, the Philippine travel agency’s tone was unreliable. Who knew how long they would delay picking up people.
Taal Volcano is a four-layer nested structure. You must first enter the volcano by boat from the mountain pier outside. There is another lake on the top of the volcano, namely: big mountain → big lake → small mountain → small lake. This kind of boat is called a "crab boat", and there are iron rods outside the hull to assist balance. The boat docked to the hill, changed transportation and got on the horse, and rode up to the top of the mountain with the help of the groom.
"Crab Boat"
In fact, volcanic steam can be seen along the way. Unexpectedly, less than two weeks later, this area suffered a disaster: January 2020 On the 12th, Taal Volcano erupted, covering the sky with volcanic ash and forcing all nearby residents to evacuate. More than one million people were affected. Subsequently, the President of the Philippines ordered Taal Volcano to be permanently uninhabited, and volcano tourism became history. What will the locals who drive boats and drive horses do for a living next?
To be honest, this "tour around Manila" is not interesting enough, and the scenery of the volcanic lake is just average. However, being among the last tourists to the volcano can be considered a kind of luck. Some things will never be seen again if you miss them. The Chinese tour guide who took us along was about the same age as me and told us a lot of interesting anecdotes about the Philippines. Most of the Chinese working in Manila live in Makati City, the most modern city in Metro Manila. Among them are people like her who are legally and legally staying on work visas, and there are also some people who are engaged in gray industries (as we all know, the Philippine gambling industry is very developed). She is now saving money here to prepare for graduate school in the UK. come on!
A shopping mall that is different from what you imagined
I believe that friends who have been to Bangkok have seen it The shopping experience in Siam Square, but in Manila not far away, the shopping atmosphere is completely different. The hotel is a five-minute walk to Robinsons Place Manila, one of the largest shopping malls in the area. I basically go there every night. First of all, you need to go through security checks to enter the mall. There are security gates and security guards who touch your pockets. The effectiveness of this security check is questionable, and I had the question "is the door really powered?" because I never heard it ring.
The most eye-catching thing in the mall is a huge supermarket that sells everything, including cooked food. I wanted to buy some cheap fruits here since I was in a tropical country, but I found that the prices were not cheap at all. Even bananas, a major export commodity of the Philippines, are not cheap at all.
The mall is very large, but it is more like a hypermarket. The most well-known brands are fast-moving consumer goods such as Zara and Uniqlo, and there is no luxury at all. When shopping here, you don't have to worry about your wallet at all, and the attitude of the staff is also very good. Although you can't buy anything good, at least you will feel good. I walked around the mall and didn't see a store selling real shoes. There are several hypermarkets, and the shelves are full of various shoe boxes. This "spectacular" scene has a special beauty.
The dining area in the mall is very vast, covering various cuisines, and there is a Tim Ho Wan restaurant at the entrance. On the last night, we went to an "INS-style" restaurant, but what was served was still local Filipino food.
New Year's Eve in Manila
Nowhere in Southeast Asia is more culturally diverse than the Philippines It is a country with more than 7,000 islands and more than 100 ethnic groups. It has been colonized by Spain, the United States and Japan, and its founding father José Rizal was a Chinese. Spanish place names can be seen everywhere, but locals named Ernesto and Sergio speak standard American English. There are unexpectedly many Korean restaurants in the city center, jeepneys are busy in the chaotic streets, and church hymns are played on Sundays, "Jesussavesus", "JesusisLord". Amidst this hustle and bustle, the last day of 2023 came to an end.
After midnight, there was no New Year bell, but colorful fireworks were set off. I think of the family taking photos while eating fried chicken in front of Jollibee, the boys and girls "driving" elephants on the top of Taal Volcano, the students sitting on the floor listening to the teacher's explanation in Rizal's former residence, or just sitting by the bay, in the university People sitting idle on the street... Manila is the most densely populated city in the world and has all the characteristics of a capital city in a developing country - noisy, active, bustling with people, and slightly dirty. I wish the world will change and develop for the better in 2024.
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