With the plane full of OFWs (Oversea Female Workers) cheering wildly upon landing, we arrived in Manila. We should have known that they were very anxious to come home; we were the last to board and the plane took off 20 minutes earlier than departure time (the first time that we experienced this in an international flight). Even without counting the many OFWs coming home for the long holidays (well deserved), it was the peak, high season which means everything was expensive in the Philippines. We planned to visit Boracay or Palawan,or at least stay at a villa for a week of golf, but almost everything was sold out and/or asking for three times the usual rate.
Our daughter Kristin’s best friend all though junior high and high school was Beatriz and her grandmother, aunts, uncles, and cousins lived in the Philippines. The night we landed, we were driven to Cora’s (standing second from the right) birthday party where we got to meet the large family.
We took a half-day city tour of Manila. The first stop was Manila American Cemetery and Memorial where we learned of the many battles in the Pacific islands and how many Americans sacrificed their lives in this area during the WW II.
The names of more than 36,000 American soldiers, whose bodies were never found and gave their lives while fighting the war in the Pacific regions, are inscribed here.
The area around the cemetery is being filled with new constructions of high-rise buildings. This area is now considered the up and coming and very expensive new business and living center of Manila. The photo, however, does not portray the true picture of the Philippines since there is still poverty in much of the Philippines. There seems to be very few middle class citizens, only upper and lower class with the majority of the people belonging to the lower class.
The cemetery is the largest in size and has the most American soldiers (17,206) buried in foreign soil. The grounds are meticulously kept under the supervision of American administration. The guide (once a school teacher) told us that he applied to be a grounds keeper because the pay scale is much higher ($3/hour) but he could not get the job because he was not related to any of the deceased Philipino soldiers.
This form of transportation is called “Jeepney”; it is how many of the locals get around the city. The number of seats is limited to about a dozen and the passengers face each other tightly squeezed.
The church of San Augustin, one of the world heritage sites and the oldest stone church in the Philippines, was completed in 1607. Miraculously, it survived many invasions and wars of the past 400 years virtually intact.
When we visited the church, a wedding was just getting under way. Before we got to the church the guide had told us it would be good luck if we got to see a wedding in the church.
The Intramuros Wall was built by the Spanish in late 1500’s. Once, a moat surrounded the outside wall, but now it has been filled and has been converted to a golf course. The golf course is even lighted so that people can even play during the night.
We never knew that McDonald’s delivered, until we got to Manila. We didn't go in to check out the prices but wondered how the majority of its local people (earning only $6-$8 USD per day) could afford to live, eat, and buy things here or at the department stores. We saw a great disparity between the rich and the poor and there was heavy security every where.
We spent our Christmas eve at the home of Gladys and Gari (both lawyers and their three sons were all professionals: Dr., lawyer, and business man),where Lola (we were happy to see Beatriz’s grandmother again - she recently moved to the Philippines after having lived in LA for a long time) was staying. We had a traditional Philippino dinner. Thank you Gladys for inviting us, and graciously opening up your home to us.
When we returned to our hotel, seeing how locals lived, we felt we needed be Santas for the day and decided to pass out tokens of love. What we got in return was a local choir coming by and singing Christmas carols. They sang beautifully and in a touching way. We thank each of the choir members and later, they posed for the photo.
Our daughter Kristin’s best friend all though junior high and high school was Beatriz and her grandmother, aunts, uncles, and cousins lived in the Philippines. The night we landed, we were driven to Cora’s (standing second from the right) birthday party where we got to meet the large family.
We took a half-day city tour of Manila. The first stop was Manila American Cemetery and Memorial where we learned of the many battles in the Pacific islands and how many Americans sacrificed their lives in this area during the WW II.
The names of more than 36,000 American soldiers, whose bodies were never found and gave their lives while fighting the war in the Pacific regions, are inscribed here.
The area around the cemetery is being filled with new constructions of high-rise buildings. This area is now considered the up and coming and very expensive new business and living center of Manila. The photo, however, does not portray the true picture of the Philippines since there is still poverty in much of the Philippines. There seems to be very few middle class citizens, only upper and lower class with the majority of the people belonging to the lower class.
The cemetery is the largest in size and has the most American soldiers (17,206) buried in foreign soil. The grounds are meticulously kept under the supervision of American administration. The guide (once a school teacher) told us that he applied to be a grounds keeper because the pay scale is much higher ($3/hour) but he could not get the job because he was not related to any of the deceased Philipino soldiers.
This form of transportation is called “Jeepney”; it is how many of the locals get around the city. The number of seats is limited to about a dozen and the passengers face each other tightly squeezed.
The church of San Augustin, one of the world heritage sites and the oldest stone church in the Philippines, was completed in 1607. Miraculously, it survived many invasions and wars of the past 400 years virtually intact.
When we visited the church, a wedding was just getting under way. Before we got to the church the guide had told us it would be good luck if we got to see a wedding in the church.
The Intramuros Wall was built by the Spanish in late 1500’s. Once, a moat surrounded the outside wall, but now it has been filled and has been converted to a golf course. The golf course is even lighted so that people can even play during the night.
We never knew that McDonald’s delivered, until we got to Manila. We didn't go in to check out the prices but wondered how the majority of its local people (earning only $6-$8 USD per day) could afford to live, eat, and buy things here or at the department stores. We saw a great disparity between the rich and the poor and there was heavy security every where.
We spent our Christmas eve at the home of Gladys and Gari (both lawyers and their three sons were all professionals: Dr., lawyer, and business man),where Lola (we were happy to see Beatriz’s grandmother again - she recently moved to the Philippines after having lived in LA for a long time) was staying. We had a traditional Philippino dinner. Thank you Gladys for inviting us, and graciously opening up your home to us.
When we returned to our hotel, seeing how locals lived, we felt we needed be Santas for the day and decided to pass out tokens of love. What we got in return was a local choir coming by and singing Christmas carols. They sang beautifully and in a touching way. We thank each of the choir members and later, they posed for the photo.
2 comments:
i think dad's starting to miss golf alot huh? he's starting to blog about how the weather was perfect golf weather haha
I didn't realize. It must have been subliminal.
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