Back in the Philippines...

My new trip sends me back to Asia and for the first time in my survey career, I've repeated a location, Manila, Philippines. I actually enjoyed my first go-around in Manila, in part to some family friends living in the city and a couple of extraordinary hotels, both contributing to my entertainment while on survey.

Manila city scene

The Philippines is a gorgeous country, consisting of over 7,000 islands and many of the world's most beautiful beaches. Unfortunately, after 2 visits I still haven't been able to experience any of this. Due to the geographic lay of the land, it involves time, flights, boats and most of all, money to get out of the major city and into the more touristy areas of the Philippines.

All I can comment on is downtown Makati City, Manila, which most Filipinos tell me is a shame. Manila is a huge city with one of the highest population densities in the world. The majority of it is huge sprawling urban ghettos, including some of the most impoverished areas I have ever seen on Earth. However, the business center and downtown (Makati) is quite the opposite. Lots of 5-star hotels and endless stretches of mall make the city center very upscale. The survey is Manila is rather easy, thanks in part to the gigantic miles of attached malls. The filipino economy must be thriving because I have never seen so much commerce and shopping readily available in one city.

Filipino Dunkin' Donuts

Although the official language of the Philippines is Tagalog (which sounds a little like spanish) almost everyone speaks English. Manila has taken heat and some attacks from the mostly Muslim south of Philippines, it is a place basically free to practice whatever religion you so choose. Due to that, there are a lot of Roman-Catholic churches built around the city. Intramuros is the the closest thing to an interesting sight in the city.

Intramuros, Manila

I met up with some friends the night after I arrived and went to dinner and some drinks. Afterwards we went to a live music bar and I saw a band called Spongecola, which was basically interprative death metal.

All in all, it was a great show. Unfortunately, both times I've been to Manila, it's been the beginning of an Asia trip and I am usually fighting off jet lag the whole time, this one has been a bit easier.

Anyway, not much to report on Manila, maybe because it's a repeat but here's a few more photos to hopefully make up for this short posting. The rest of my trip includes:

Dhaka, Bangladesh

Bangalore, India

Chennai, India

Singapore

Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

...and an overnight in Brisbane, Australia, so definitely check back for some more updates.

Jeepneys, common modes of transportation

Modern Art Museum

Cock fight in Roligon