July 7, 2026 – And This is Manila!

First and foremost, Filipino people are among the most kind-hearted, friendly people in the world.  Children wave at us.  People we pass, even in Manila, often say, “Good afternoon.” Others, stop us and ask, “Where are you from?”  This question frequently starts a full-on chat. Perhaps there is a reason why these people are so nice.   In our walking tour through Manila’s Chinatown, the world’s first and oldest Chinatown, outside of China, our guide gave our little group of four, a deep dive into the history of the Philippines and how the country and its culture came to be.  Trade, of course, brought explorers and traders from other Southeast Asia locations, the Middle East, and even Mexico.  But following Magellan’s “discovery,” in the early 1500’s, trade became conquer and occupation initiatives. Spain ruled these islands for 333 years. 

Filipinos have a reason to resent the Spaniards.  In their conquest to spread Christianity and to gather riches, the Spanish used the native folk as slave labor to build forts and churches.  One would think Filipinos might also hold ill-feelings against Japan and the United States, yes, the United States.  Both occupied this bunch of islands for many, too many years.  In 1935, at the end of the Philippine- American war, the USA promised to help the Philippines become an independent county after a ten year government establishment period, but about that time, WWII occurred. Both America and Filipinos were surprised by the Japanese attack, and 65,000 Filipinos and 15,000 US servicemen were made POWs.  The period of Japanese occupation was a horrible time here.  The stories of torture, starvation, and incredibly brutal attacks on both civilian and military personal in the Philippines is horrendous . . . akin to the atrocities conducted by the nazi’s.  Finally, USA teamed with and equipped Filipino guerillas and together overcame the Japanese in the Philippines.  Following the War, America did recognize Philippine Independency in 1946, ending 50 years of U.S, colonial rule.  We kept our promise and also paid $620 million plus loans and military property to the devasted country to help it recover.

In those times of foreign occupation and despair, the Filipinos’ focus was simply to survive.  Today, these people don’t dwell on hardships caused by imperialistic countries who controlled them; few feel any bitterness toward Spain, Japan, or the USA for that matter, rather, they focus on family and yet still, survival. This positive, forward-looking outlook seen in most people here seems to create natural friendliness, open-arms, peace, and acceptance. Truly kind people!

The Philippines is an Asian country, yet the people here are not steeped in typical Asian culture.  Because of centuries of trade and foreign occupation, Filipinos are a blend of many races and cultures that they have incorporated and made their own.  Though very religious, few temples are here; instead, there are many, many protestant and Catholic churches. There are a few mosques as well.  Their food is distinctly Filipin, but rice is eaten with every meal — with a spoon and fork; no chopsticks, no knife.  Some dishes have a Spanish flair and others hint of Mexico. One thing is sure, they love sweet flavors.  Meats are basted in sugary sauce, catsup here is made with banana catsup dyed red, spaghetti sauce is sweet (they say Italian spaghetti is sour) and all mustard is honey mustard.  Icy fruit drinks laced with sugar, particularly brown sugar, are consumed daily. You get a good dose of sugar, salt, and fat in every meal because that’s where the flavor is found, they say.  Most people speak a little English but their everyday language, Filipino, is rooted in native Tagalog but includes words picked up from other regional languages, English, and Spanish.  Curiously, their Spanish was not learned from the Spaniards; it was picked up from traders from Acapulco.

Manila is a big city with 14 million people.  Mountain folk flock to the city in hopes of opportunity and a better life.  Still, average monthly salary income is only around P22,500 ($320/mo).  A doctor in Manila earns roughly P100,000 ($1600/mo). The thousands of Manila street vendors earn roughly P500 to P2,000/day ($8-$30/day). A rich person here is described as one who can afford air conditioning.  If a person has pretty clothes and white skin, they are considered elite.  Many ladies buy cosmetics and supplements to lighten the color of their skin.  They are a small statured but handsome bunch of people.

Unlike most places we stay, our Airbnb is a very slick apartment on the 49^th floor of a high rise overlooking the quite nasty Pasag River.  Thank goodness it has really nice A/C and super fast elevators.   Metro Manila has over 215 skyscrapers, many of which are foreign investment properties in located in Makati and Bonifacio Global City, the metro’s glamourous and very western-looking financial hubs.   The skyscrapers make a picturesque skyline but below the tall buildings and just outside the two hip and modern areas, there is a lot of poverty.    

Yep, we had an adventure almost every day while here in Manila.  We toured Chinatown, had a three-hour street food binge on a food tour by foot one night when among 13 other things, we ate crazy dumplings called siomai and barbequed squiggly things on skewers called chicken intestines, we hiked to the Manila American Cemetery on July 4 for a very solemn and tearful visit, — how can anything so peaceful and pristinely beautiful celebrate those who sadely sacrificed their lives in something so brutal and unproductive as war? We trudged around Intramurso (the old walled city) in 100 degree heat that felt like 110.  We traveled to Laguna to see the Pagsanjan Falls in a dugout canoe and made a quick visit to the People’s Park in the Sky in Tagaytay and took a look by boat at the active and one of the world’s most hazardous volcanos, the island Taal Volcano.  It did not erupt or even emit smoke while we were there but it had a surprise eruption in 2020 which killed wild life and farm animals and sent ash all the way to Manila. It created new craters and brought an end to the community that had lived there.  We spent one whole day in the emergency room!  Two weeks ago, just before we left Puerto Princesa, Stan scraped his shin while trying to board a tiny jeepney.  It was a bad injury.  Blood gushed!  En route home, I mopped it with every tissue in my purse and every one in Stan’s pockets. We cleaned and bandaged it up, but 10 days later, the injury was not healing.  The area around the wound was an angry red and his swollen ankle looked like a sausage.  It was time for medical attention.  We sat there in the emergency room, in and out of examinations and treatments for 6 hours, mainly playing around on our phones. When finally released and paying our $216 bill, we were starving and our phones were below 10% power and wouldn’t you know, we did not bring a single power bank. We managed somehow to grab a GRAB (Philippine UBER) on our weak service. The app said the car was 10 minutes away. I told Stan, I am going to get food! I ran a a half block away and bought three pieces of fried chicken — the kind displayed in a glass case on the sidewalk fried hours ago, at 70 pesos a piece. Botulism? Food poisoning? We did not care. We ate that greasy chicken right there on the street awaiting our ride.

Now, five days later Stan’s wound is finally looking better after a fresh, professional dressings, 2 Tetanus shots, antibiotics and ointments.  And food. We think he will survive.

Off tomorrow, flying west to Guangzhou, China, dodging super typhoon, BAVI, which is tracking north of us.