Life in a Small World: Manila

We realized that we were in a special place when, after boarding a local bus, our heads glued to the window, we pulled into a gas station to fill up before the next stop. Manila is one of those cities that defines hustle and bustle. It's moving, its got life. It's life is organic. More so than in any other city I've been in, it seemed to me that things where happening in Manila for the sake of day to day living. Festivals, events, tourist attractions, theaters, museums, waterfronts and all of the rest of those things that you find at city centers, I'm sure exist in Manila. In most large cities those are the things presented to its visitors first as a kind of staged “cultural” experience. In the couple of days I spent in Manila I didn't really find those things or, if I did find them, they seemed secondary, of minimal importance.

What you will find in Manila is mass movements of people in jeepneys (small trucks fitted for carrying passengers), trics (bikes or motorcycles with passenger seats attached), buses, cars and a jam packed elevated train. Instead of souvenir shops pushing Chinese-made goods at you, you find fruit stands pushing delicious exotic colors at you. Instead of fellow tourists or locals on smartphones, you find a population that seems friendly and positive going about their day.

Our lighter skin and western look made us a target for special behavior, I'm sure. Most of the people we saw, from store attendees to strangers walking by on the street, greeted us with smiles saying “hello”. Many of them were trying to sell us things or get us to ride in their tric, but many were just strangers being kind.

Long walks through the city were adventurous. Dodging trics and jeepneys at street corners was something that we became pros at. Refusing offers for tric rides went from being kind of funny to being quite an annoyance. Even the weather was quite extreme with hard afternoon showers that flooded some streets but late morning sun beating down, hard and hot on the city. Dilapidated buildings both inhabited or uninhabited are not so hard to find on a long walk in a one of its central districts. The poverty is evident but those that need an escape from it can easily duck into one of the many malls peppering the city. Just beyond the armed guards checking bags you find air conditioning, designer clothing shops, fancy restaurants, even Krispy Kreme doughnuts. We were after an SD card since I had mistakenly left mine behind in Korea.

Like the old cities of Europe, Manila has an old town tucked inside of a large fortification. The fortified old town is called Intramuros (within the walls) and its 8 feet thick stone walls completely surround it. Walking into old-town Manila is like walking into old towns of Europe only in that you pass through a stone gate and that there are old churches inside. Despite the 16^th century Spanish architecture, Intramuros feels much like the other neighborhoods that we passed through in Manila. Some streets were packed with people, cars, trics and jeepneys while on others we saw barely anything. Stray dogs roamed the streets with the local children in their flip-flops. Tric drivers consistently offering rides and fruit vendors adding a bit of color to your tropical-European experience. I had expected more commercialization, more souvenirs, more fast-food, a more fancy, costly “cultural” experience. This time, gladly, my expectations were not met. We enjoyed some rambutan (a fruit of southeast Asia) and coconut milk atop the wall watching a golf course and the main city in front of us.

As we traveled on to our main destination in the Philippines we found Manila to be an exciting and fitting introduction to the country and its people. While chatting with other tourists along the way I got the idea that Manila has kind of a bad reputation. Philippines is a place known for its pristine beaches and tropical paradise, but Manila is at the other extreme, as a grungy, poor and overcrowded place. Regardless, I would say that it deserves a couple of days and at least one long walk.