Tosh was in a particularly good mood the morning after our crazy first day in Manila. Importantly, he had a solid sleep. More importantly, however, he had triumphed over Sarah in the debut chess match in the Greenbelt gardens the previous afternoon. In all honesty, it wasn’t a well-balanced match. Tosh was ashamedly part of the chess club at high school. Sarah… knew the aim of the game and the moves each piece could make. Nevertheless, Tosh takes his wins where he can.
Our first and only full day in Manila was spent exploring various historical sites; i.e. the remnants of colonial Spain. The first stop on our itinerary was Fort Santiago. Built by the Spanish in the 1500s, it is now comprised of rough stone walls, the ruins of barracks, and cool dungeons.
One of our key highlights was learning about the national hero of the Philippines, Jose Rizal, a truly inspiring individual who was sadly executed by the Spanish for the crime of rebellion. This man was a most impressive polymath. He was a doctor by profession but also wrote poetry, discovered species, was a talented artist (we were able to view his sketches, paintings, and sculptures), translated multiple texts… the list goes on! Simply remarkable.
Tosh’s highlight was the LEGO. His inner child was bouncing off the 500-year-old stone walls when entering the temporary exhibition. Buildings and cultural icons were recreated with only those little, multicoloured bricks. We were impressed by the detail and creativity on show.
Amongst these remarkable exhibits was a dark history. The horrors that were visited upon the Manilans by the Japanese and Spanish were also captured inside the fort. Just outside the LEGO exhibit was a dungeon and cell. In these cells, 600 Filipinos had been detained without food, water, and effectively air. A statue dedicated to the victims of the Japanese occupation was erected not far from the Fort, behind the Manila Cathedral.
A short walk from the Fort, we found ourselves at Casa Manila. The Casa Manila is an old colonial mansion that had been restored in the ’80s. It was destroyed in WWII during the bombings. The mansion sits amongst a little complex, and if you weren’t entirely sure of your surroundings, you would be justified in thinking you’d accidentally got your days – and centuries – mixed up and had, in fact, walked headfirst into the wrong era. After the brief panic on whether time-travel was included in your Travel Insurance policy, you would walk through to the ticket booth and get a ticket for 75P.
The old residence has been filled with period furniture and decorations collected from various private and national collections. One of the guards provided us with some more history, a key one being that the chess set in the children’s bedroom was owned by none other than Jose Rizal. Because… of course he played chess… and no doubt, was a variety of Grand Master. After exploring the rest of the house, we exited via the kitchen and returned to the regular chaos that is Manila, although now we were hungry
With a few clever search terms and a swipe of her finger, Sarah found a fairly decent, fairly authentic restaurant for lunch just around the corner from the major tourist sights. After our (very decent) feed, we returned to the cool of our hotel for another nap and compulsory viewing of ‘Paddington.’ The journey and excitement of the previous 24 hours were still affecting our energy levels.
It was a relief to arrive at Ninoy Aquino’s domestic terminal the following morning and leave the concrete and chaos of Manila behind. It was an interesting stopover, but we were well and truly ready for some sun, sand, and snorkelling in Palawan.
2 Responses
Soaking up the history! You two are going to learn SO much on this adventure, I’m sure. Hopefully Sarah’s chess game will improve (but, girl, I get it – Jem always beats me, too!).
A good use of a stopover!!