It’s going to be below zero Celsius early next week so mentally I’m going to be on a beach on the Philippines like I was this time last year.
my beautifully-manicured friend holding three passports with boarding passes inside; South Africa, USA, England; my other friend is flashing a peace sign as she always does
We spent a day and a half in Manila before boarding a flight and then boat to the island of Boracay, which deserves its own blog post.
As was expected of me at the time, I fell asleep during the flight from Incheon to Manila’s take-off and only awoke with the bump of our landing. We stayed at the Manila Hotel, which was then decked out in red decorations for the Lunar New Year and visiting guests celebrating the holiday. We listened to a pianist playing a grand piano in the lobby and ate an overpriced dinner before retiring to our rooms.
My room was fine, except the bathtub wouldn’t plug so I couldn’t take a bath, which is very important to me while traveling. It became an issue because it was obviously a non-issue to hotel staff, and I can’t exactly blame them because bathtubs aren’t really a priority as far as most things go. After being moved to another room after some kerfuffle, someone in the administration reached out and offered to gift us some Filipino sweets for our troubles. Unfortunately, by that time we were already in Boracay. The stay and view was nice, but I would probably research other hotels should I go back to Manila.
white and green facade of the Manila Hotelliminal hallway spaceinside an elevator; very vintagegrand piano in the lobbyview from the roomsecond view from the roomLunar New Year decorations of red paper ballsa motorbike with carriage sitting in front of the Manila Hotel
While in Manila, we visited Fort Santiago, the San Agustin Roman Catholic Church, and the beautiful and touching Memorare memorial.
Mostly, we spent a lot of time walking around the streets, taking in the beautiful architecture, which was unlike anything I’d ever seen before. I’d love to return to Manila and explore more of the city and its history, but a day and a half was a good introduction for a first-timer.
sign for the Philippine Coast Guard, featuring a dolphin swimming around an anchorposter reading “No face mask/No face shield/No entry//Help stop the spread of Covid-19”tree-lined walkwayorange and white stone buildinga man walks along a wall full of flowers with graffiti on the building in the back of the imageI’m not even sure what color green I would call this… mint?Plazuela de Santa Isabel; in the back left corner you can see the Memorare memorialbicycles sit outside Casa Manila Museumclose-up of the bicyclesMetrobank in what appears to be an old church; the words “Immaculate Conception” are still on the top of the buildingSpanish Colonial-influenced architecture seen in the restaurants herechalkboard frame advertising lemonade, milktea, iced coffee, mango, graham shake, cheesecake, cookies, in different colored fonts fancy red patrol truckintersection strung with multi-colored flags and many small stores along the roadThe Old Town Barbershop, est. 2021a non-descript white truck with the word “ice” written on it in red at the corner of an intersection with some “kamusta?” graffitia mechanic taking a break near their workbagcute anti-rabies project postersome awesome graffiti from @weewilldoodlestores along the streetsomeone gets a quick haircut on the side of the streetbeautiful cafe interiorview to the street from inside the cafeIntramuros courtyardIntramuros courtyard 2Intramuros courtyard 3a blank handprint on white stonesleeping Jesus on a bench statue outside the Manila Cathedralfacade of the Manila Cathedralwhere two buildings meeta KFC sign under a lot of telephone and electricity wirestapsilog: beef, fried egg, rice, and pickled veggies on the side… one of the best meals eversunsetwe cant seem to escape Korean and its influence… Korean ramen/fish cake/rice cake at an outdoor marketcrispy chicken neck, mini crab, and crispy shrimpsome kind of meat on a vertical rotisseriemy favorite picture taken in Manila, featuring from left to right: a bicycle cart, a rooster (for a pet), a dog (for a pet), and a motorbike
On my last night in the Manila Hotel, as I settled in my new room for a bubble bath (finally), I decided to turn on the television. I hardly ever touch the television, let alone turn it on and flip through channels. As I was idly flipping through channels, I came across Voice of America. My jaw dropped as I realized that this was, specifically, Voice of America Tibetan, and the background of the current news clip was Sarah College for Higher Tibetan Studies.
an interview with a monk on a television screen; I’m sorry I do not know who this is!
I was in the Philippines, on vacation from my job in South Korea, only to come across a television program about the Tibetan college in India where I taught English. Life is wild.
[…] After spending a day and a half in Manila, we were off to the beautiful island of Boracay. (Yes, this was a year ago. Yes, I am just now getting around to writing about it. Read my previous entries here: https://koffeeandkpop.com/2024/01/20/a-day-in-manila-january-2023/) […]
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