Philippines 2016 ( Manila )

When I was in Vietnam again in 2015, I met a Finn named Maria. We attended the same cooking class in Hoi An. Hoi An, the cute village that has become a hub of Asian and European mass tourism. When I asked her how she found Vietnam, she shrugged and replied 'It's hard to get used to Vietnam when you've just come from paradise'. Maria took her camera and showed us photos of Palawan, dream beaches and houses on stilts, beautiful bays and bizarre rock formations.

Since we were more than ready for a beach vacation at that time, we quickly decided that we would fly to the Philippines before the hordes of tourists arrived. The allure of staying in places where there are only 1-3 bungalow resorts and eating fried rice with chicken was overwhelming.....we quickly booked flights and fine-tuned our trip.

Starting point was Manila. We flew with Ethihad and after a stopover in Abu Dhabi, we were surprised to notice that there were no more Western tourists on the plane.

The airport (Ninoy Aquino Airport) received us very warmly and we took a taxi to Ermita to our hotel 'Gran Prix Manila' - referred to as the vertreterschließfach for the rest of the report.

On the way to the hotel, the obvious problems of the country were made very clear to us. 1/4 of all Filipinos live below the poverty line, slums, homelessness, and begging children are visible everywhere in the streets and deeply touched me.

Filipinos are also very religious, almost 90% are deeply religious and practicing Catholics. There is a church or something that can serve as a church on every second corner, e.g. construction containers. Here the legacy of the Spaniards is still evident, further remnants can be found in the food and the names of the Filipinos (more on that later - see Manila cemetery).

Ermita: The old town of Manila, modest guesthouses, our vertreterschließfach, a few restaurants in wonderfully dilapidated streets, the modest sightseeing potential can be explored on foot. That's exactly why we chose this neighborhood.

On the first evening, we enjoyed Filipino food for the first time and couldn't believe our eyes. It was unimaginable for us that there were no obvious influences from China or Vietnam. Filipinos mainly eat rice and meat, mostly chicken. A mushroom sauce is poured over the duo and given imaginative names...Sisilog, Embutidosilog, Longanisa....For breakfast, there is fish (milkfish) with rice or sausages. Corned beef is also popular, unfortunately, it's not for me.

Our first day started in the rain, after a mixed breakfast, we decided to first go to the Orchid Garden Nayong Pilipino (near Rizal Park). There were few orchids, but a lot of kitsch. We could admire a real Ifugao house and wait for the weather to improve.

Intramuros is the actual highlight of Manila. Built by the Spaniards, the real old town is hidden behind heavy walls, as the name suggests. Intramuros exudes true colonial flair and reminds you more of Central America or Spain when you stroll through the streets.

Our first point of interest was the St. Augustine Church with its associated monastery.

Like Intramuros as a whole, this is part of the Unesco World Heritage and is worth seeing even for non-church lovers. We're also not particularly into places of worship, but we were quite taken with the building.

The next destination was, once again, a place of worship. The impressive Manila Cathedral. Surprisingly modern windows, for example, contained the portraits of the popes on the glass panes.

After admiring this church as well, we strolled to Fort Santiago.

There, the national hero Jose´Rizal was held captive before his murder.

Unfortunately, the fort has been very neglected, and fires and earthquakes have contributed to its state as a ruin.

We walked past old cells and dungeons, enjoyed the view of Chinatown and skyscrapers. Slowly, Centro Manila and the gigantic dimensions of the city were becoming clear to us.

In the late afternoon, we walked to Rizal Park and the venerable Manila Hotel.

We ended the day with a drink and ate at the Hobbit House, 1212 Arquiza Trade Center M. H. Del Pilar St, Ermita, Manila, 1000 Metro Manila, Philippines. This is a restaurant run by dwarfs. In a country where disabilities, illnesses, and social injustices are an everyday occurrence, this is not a bad idea. I ate Mexican....what a sacrilege, but ....the world I have been traveling in today was not at all Asian, so the food could be different too.

Second day:

Unfortunately, the Filipino breakfast still didn't impress us. Garlic rice and fish in the morning are just not everyone's cup of tea.

Today, we wanted to visit the cemeteries of Manila, which are considered particularly worth seeing. We took a taxi, which cost about € 5 and brought us safely to the other end of the city.

Our first destination was the Chinese cemetery.

At first, you think you are entering a 'gated community'. Wide streets, even avenues have been built. The tour guide explained to us that wealthy Chinese people also want to enjoy the familiar luxury in the afterlife, although the matter of 'existence' is not yet fully resolved :-).

You can see multi-story houses, balconies, columns, some houses, sorry, mausoleums, even have elevators. The bereaved sleep in specially furnished bedrooms and enjoy canned beer from the kitchen of the mausoleum.

There are road signs and chapels that accompany the funeral procession, a quite bizarre world.

Our next destination was the Philippine cemetery. This is completely different, it IS a real city, about 6000 people live among the graves, take care of them, and receive a small tip or the right to live from their family members. There were shops that belong to the cemetery cult (florists, stonemasons, etc.) but also kiosks, grocery stores, almost pubs. All the boom boxes blared, there was traffic like on the main streets of Manila. Photos were not allowed here, which we obviously respected.

The dead here are brought to their final resting place by jeepney.

Speaking of jeepneys, my secret love in the Philippines! Jeeps that were 'forgotten' by the US Americans after World War II and converted into buses. At first glance, not dissimilar to a chicken bus from Central America. The jewelry of the jeepneys was striking, Bible quotes expressed the desire for a better life. Most of them were named Maria or Carmen.

About the naming in the Philippines, just this much...everyone has a name that matches their ethnic group (e.g. Ifugao or Chinese). Then there is the Christian-Spanish name....the baptismal name. Those who have money display both names on the gravestone, those who don't disappear in the ground with their Spanish identity.

To conclude our two days in Manila, we visited Chinatown. Not only could we finally buy the rum 'DON PAPA', which originates from the Philippines, but it was the culinary delights of Chinatown that reconciled us with Manila.

Our conclusion, Manila has few sights, you can easily waste two days in this city, or travel on without worry. Of course, if you are a real third world city freak, you will get your money's worth. For me, Manila falls into the category of Mumbai, Jakarta, I probably won't return. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the charm of Bangkok or Hanoi.

We came back for one night and one day during our trip, but spent that time in Pasay near the Mall of Asia. We didn't feel the need to go to the city center.