Etape 7 - Manila, the staging point to Pacific

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Here we are, in the shores of Pacific Ocean (Philippines Sea) and South China Sea. My friend Francois offered a place to stay and I could not refuse. Francois is in fact one of my colleagues who used to work in North Africa some time ago. However he got lucky and was offered an expat job in a paradise as he calls it. Manila was nothing particular, another large asian city sandwiched in a narrow landstrip between two oceans. However the climate was much milder than in India and Singapore. Also skies were clear. I forgot to mention that there was a constant air pollution haze in India and thanks to the raging forest fires in nearby Kalimantan (southern Borneo) whole Singapore was under a thick blanket of haze / smoke. The visibility was not more than 500 meters which of course was a concern not only to air traffic but also to general public as people with respiratory problem would find it uneasy to breath there. Hopefully the rains will soon come and the fires will be tamed. I had a nice stay in southern Manila - we had a dinner at Appenzell(!) restaurant nearby my friend's house. Crazy thing to see fondue and rosti in menu in that far away country... well, one of the owners was a Swiss chap and Filippino spouse.. In the following day my friend's driver took me to a local hair saloon for a long overdue haircut. It was very interesting experience. I got very close attention from two gents and they were a bit disappointed when I refuse to respond to their 'invitations'... well, at least I got the cut I wanted plus some nice head and shoulder massage, etc.... ;) went to see old Spanish bastions of Intramuras as well before heading to airport to catch a 2-hour night flight to one of my prime destinations - PALAU in Micronesia! :)