Dirty Feet

Our first ride on a sidecar/tricycle
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Customs didn't ask for our onward ticket and we were pretty disappointed about that, particularly after the rush in Incheon to secure one. The temperature was definitely better here than in Korea - a balmy 30°C. Security is insane at Manila Airport. We went outside of the arrival area to talk with Cathay Pacific about a ticket refund and weren't allowed back in because we didn't have a ticket to go somewhere. Since all the guards had pistols, we decided not to argue but at least everyone speaks English... We'd sorted out a place to stay through CouchSurfing and caught an airport taxi to Quiapo.

View from sidecar
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Our introduction to Manila was in the air-conditioned comfort of the taxi. Basically the place is insane and polluted. Very, very polluted but there are great sunsets! The taxi driver didn't inspire our confidence when we were driving through Quiapo and he said, "I don't think this place is safe for you". Hmm.... thoughts of being dragged from the car and all our gear stolen did flick through our heads but it was dismissed when we met Edd, who was hosting us for a few nights. Sorry Nevil, we did spend 3 nights in Manila. The street we were staying on was a dead-end street so the masses of cars couldn't drive through it.

One of the fancier mauseleums
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We sat and chatted about NZ and Manila before Edd suggested a local place for us to get some dinner. Our first experience of Filipino food was a good one, and with sated stomachs we set out with Edd for a small tour of the neighbourhood. On the way back to our accommodation, Sean managed to pick up an ice cream with, of all things, cheese in it! Not as good as you think.

Our first full day in Manila was spent looking into the Chinese-Filipino culture in Manila. We walked initially, then jumped into a sidecar, to the Chinese Cemetery. This place is mind-boggling Our friend Rodolfo latched on to us and we managed to get a tour for P200 (NZ$1 = P33) - the first guide wanted P450 per hour! He was actually very knowledgeable, explaining to us the ins and outs of the cemetery. The Chinese Cemetery houses the dead in, well, houses! A lot of money has been spent by some families to build outrageous mauseleums, some even containing coke machines, toilets and air-conditioning!

This mauseleum was built around a tree!
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Our tired feet led us to the train, which then carried us to Chinatown. We managed to get onto segregated carriages, a bonus for Adrienne because there were fewer girls and they smelled nice. It was raining by the time we got to Chinatown, so we hid in an internet cafe (P15/hr!) for a while. We missed opening hours and ended up jumping on a jeepney back to Quiapo. A jeepney is a kind of extended jeep that acts pretty much as a bus, the owners take much pride in decorating the exterior off their personalities. Our feet were washed before bed as they were almost black from the dirt! Washing consisted of soaping ourselves up and ladling water over our bodies, no showers here!

Us at the Chinese Cemetery
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Our plan on Sunday was to visit the old, walled Spanish capital in Manila, Intramuros. We walked from Quiapo through some pretty poor areas of Manila constantly barraged with "America! Americano! Yo! Sidecar? Where you going?". We wanted to reply with "China! Hey you China!" but our PC New Zealand upbringing couldn't let us do it. We made it intact and Intramuros was relatively peaceful, until we came across the guys with horse and carts. It was the same as before, but with a clip clop and they were much more persistent seeing as they were there for the tourists and we didn't quite look like locals.

An air conditioned mauseleum. Note coke machine and staircase.
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Our first site in Intramuros was Fort Santiago (P40 pp). This place has some pretty crazy history, being rebuilt after many wars, earthquakes and changing hands a number of times. There was also a museum commemorating the revolutionist Rizal, a Filipino who was executed for leading the independence movement. The exhibition for him was excellent.

Continuing our wanderings through Intramuros we wanted to visit Manila Cathedral, but a wedding appeared to be going on. We didn't think it was appropriate to just wander inside and start taking photos. Casa Manila was open however. We would have been quite happy to have lived in the old Spanish house, with a little redecorating and air conditioning installed! San Agustin church was just across the street, but tourists weren't allowed in while mass was going on so we snuck some photos through the door from outside.

Madness on the streets of Manila, including jeepneys
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Alongside Intramuros is Rizal Park. Many a Manila-ite was here, lazing in the sun. We viewed the huge Sentinel of Freedom statue at one end of the park before visiting the Orchidarium. The P100 pp was a waste of money at this time of year when we saw only a couple of flowering orchids. There is also a butterfly enclosure, but it seemed to have only one or two types of butterflies in it. Our guide book talked about the street vendors in the park but we were disappointed to see that all they sold were chips and warm coke. What happened to freshly cooked Filipino food?!

Chicks for sale, coloured chicks for sale!
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So our weary feet carried us onwards, to Bay View walk. It was getting close to 6pm, and the sun was making its fast descent into the sea. We sat down at the first place we came across that sold beer and enjoyed the beautiful, pollution enhanced, sunset. Dinner was also enjoyed on this walkway, with live bands playing at almost every eatery and one even had only dwarf waiters! Sean was impressed by the fact that dancing chicks were on stage with a Filipino band playing Metallica! This walkway is the place to be in the evenings and like the rest of the Philippines, food was cheap.

Sean's feet after a hard day walking in jandals
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Our onward tickets still needed to be refunded (the reason we had spent so long in the city) so we went to Makati City, the business district, on Monday. A far cry from Quiapo, people in this area of Manila don't stare at you because you're a wigger nor spit/urinate/wash on the street. It was hot, about 33°C and the stops in the air-conditioned malls were just what we needed. We waited in line at the Cathay Pacific office for 45 min before we found out that it takes a whole day before the refund cheque would be made available.

Fort Sanitago
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We found that the best burger to be had in Manila is from a Cubao train station vendor, and we discovered this on our way back to pick up our bags. We had to get to the Autobus terminal at Santo Tomas University to buy our tickets to Banaue and the rice terraces. The bus left at 10pm, costing P462 pp and we wanted to make sure we got seats for the exciting, 9 hour journey.