Manila

We had an excursion booked for Manila to take us through the Old Town and hit a few other sites. It didn’t meet until 9:15, so we had time to eat breakfast and do our laps before going to the lounge. We hopped on the bus and headed into Intramuros (literally “inside the walls,” meaning inside the old fort). We got about 50 feet inside the walls and ground to a halt due to the traffic. It was Holy Thursday and the streets were absolutely packed with people on pilgrimages to the various old churches. We didn’t really mind the fact that we weren’t moving as it gave us the chance to gawk at the crowds and check out the wide variety of transports available. The uniquely Philippine jeepneys wee the coolest. Originally derived from US Army jeeps, hence the name, these are cars that have been modified to hold 8-12 people in the back and are the cheapest form of transport in Manila.

We did eventually make it through the traffic and got off the bus for a tour of the fort. Much of it has been damaged over the years, either in earthquakes or in various conflicts, especially WW2. The building used as an American barracks has been preserved in the state it was in at the end of the war so that one can see the devastation. We visited what was once the powder magazine for the fort and later a dungeon where the Japanese held, tortured, and murdered Filipino and American POWs during the war. This was obviously all rather sobering.

We took a beverage break, which was quite welcome as we’d definitely come back to the tropics and it was hot. Once through with that, we headed back out of the fort and over to the Manila Cathedral. We threaded our way through the mob and got a chance to go in and see the interior of the church. The boys don’t have a lot in the way of religious education, so it was a good opportunity to talk about Christian beliefs around Easter, Lent, the church calendar, the purple coverings, and so on. Despite there being no service going on, the church was full of people praying.

We then met up with our bus – the original itinerary had called for a bus ride from the fort to the church, but it was faster to walk – and went over to Rizal Park. I was completely ignorant of the importance of José Rizal in Philippine history. Our guide gave us a good review of the role he played, but I was still surprised by the scope of the memorial in place at the site of his execution. This is a huge set of sculptures depicting the moment of his death by firing squad. It reminded me of the Korean War memorial in Washington, DC, with the fluidity and lifelike depictions.

After the park we made a stop at the Manila Hotel, most famous for being McArthur’s headquarters. I have thoughts about “Dugout Doug,” but he is a bona fide hero in the Philippines, and understandably so. The hotel itself was an odd stop as all we did was go in, check out the lobby, and use the restroom. But the lobby was impressive: one of those huge old-school hotel lobbies where you can picture people from all over meeting up. It was beautiful, especially the wooden coffered ceiling.

It was only about 2:00 when we returned to Insignia, but we were pretty beat from the heat so we just had a bit of lunch and relaxed. The boys and I did get some pool time in.Meer informatie