Manila, Philippines

We visited Manila in 2017 and had a whole day private tour. Since we visited majority of the sites before, today we decided to do it by ourself.
The weather forecast promised to be another hot day with some rain. The plan for today was to visit the ancient Spanish walled city of Intramuros, which is only a little over one mile from the port.
We took a GRAB (Uber) car to reach Fort Santiago.
The fort was completed in 1593 and is located in the ancient walled city of Intramuros.
We arrive to see port before 8:00am. Too early, it opens at 9:00am.
The next stop was only couple blocks away: Manila Cathedral.

The Manila Cathedral has survived earthquakes and conquests for more than 400 years now! The Basilica was originally built in 1571 but has evolved, and the current structure is the eighth building!

We tried to walk thru the old town and see Spanish architecture, but it was incredibly difficult for Boris on a wheelchair. We persisted and walked a mile passing Rizal Park to air conditioned Aquarium.
Rizal Park is the city’s biggest public park and is very dear to the Filipinos due to its historical significance. The Park is the location where their national hero, Jose Rizal, was executed.
Again, the problem was the heat, humidity and extremely difficult conditions of the roads for Boris.
We arrived at the Aquarium before 10:00am. The highlight is the Oceanarium which has more than 14,000 animals across 270 marine species, making it one of the biggest aquariums in the world.
After we cooled down for over an hour, we took another car to the Robinson Mall.
It’s a huge mall with a food court that can satisfy ant taste.
In an hour we were done with this mall and took a taxi back to the ship.Read more