This trip was for a wedding. We were based in Manila and had to go shopping a couple of times. It wasn't easy then to go too far, especially because we had to cross the whole congested city to go anywhere and that with the rainy season, some roads were difficult. In Manila we stayed in a middle class neighborhood. It was very comfortable, but we only had ac in one room, and temperature was well over 36 Celsius and 100% humidity all the time, so it was tough. In the city lots of slums, metal sheet "houses", but also very rich places, often side by side... which is a culture shock. Also, almost at every store in town, one or more armed guards. It's also a shock..but after a while you get use to it.
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