"But where is Manila City Centre?"

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Although the Philippines is a South-East Asia country (where I come from), I knew very little about the Philippines and its people. I knew vaguely that its president Gloria Arroyo is less than 5ft tall and its people seem to have a thing for shrimp paste. I only had my first Filipino meal when I was 20 and that was in (of all places) London! The moment I arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, I was eager to explore Manila. I asked the taxi driver to show me the direction to Manila City Centre and he just stared at me blankly. But of course, Manila is a huge metropolitan city with 12 million people calling it home. Metro Manila composed of 14 cities and 3 municipalities. It is strange how the Spanish claimed they founded Manila in the 1570's when the area was already inhabited by fishermen way before then.

I was not really travelling in the Philippines. The office decided that I needed to be in Manila for some reasons and this was where I spent most of my time and where I stayed over the past 8 days. The hotel is of a mix of Spanish-colonial and Filipino decor. It is probably one of the premier hotels where the rich and famous Filipinos like to hold their wedding receptions. There were at least 10 weddings held in the hotel over the 8 days I was in the hotel. The hotel is located at Makati City and the area seems like a friendly-suburb, with lots of restaurants, lounges, bars and malls.

The highlight of my trip was the walking tour around Intramuros with Ian Mandy. He is probably more widely known as Carlos Celdran who runs the Old Manila Walks. Intramuros was the old capital of the Philippines. Intra-muros, in Latin, simply means "within the walls". Intramuros was previously a fortress, surounded by walls and moats but it was ruined by years of neglect and wars. Only a facade of the old city remained standing until the government decided to rebuild the walled-city in the 1990s. Carlos Celdran was more of a story-teller than a tour guide. He walked us through the heart of Intramuros and the history of old Manila with a little music player providing the appropriate background music as he took us through old Manila from the pre-Spanish days to the present time, through the good days and the bad times. His expression was threatrical and his account of Intramuros was compelling. When he later described how Manila was ravished by the Japanese and then 'friendly' carpet bombs under the order of the US, who was supposed to be protecting the Philippines from further Japanese assault, people on the tour were totally gripped. This is one of the few odd times I enjoyed visiting historical sites on a tour group.

8 days have gone past so quickly. I have not seen much of Manila and have not tasted the real Manila either. Of course when I was stuck in the conference room, I could not help but wish that I was out there somewhere in the streets, trying local cuisines or strolling down the beaches of Palawan. Ohwell, I guess that will have to be next time.

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Photos

CBD
Makati City

Intramuros City
Courtyard of Manila Cathedral