Last Day in Manila and the Long Trek Back

One would think that in Manila, we'd have the best internet. Yet, it was not the case at all.  In every other province we went that wasn't Manila, we were able to get really decent wifi.  I suppose that in a city with 12 million inhabitants - that only has capacity for 3 million, there's a few other services that are important.  But sitting in this airport in Detroit with nothing but time for the next four hours until we get on the final leg home, definitely ruminating on the trip home and enjoying the reliable and free internet in the states!

So on our last day, I wanted to go back to Intramuros, the oldest district and core of Manila. It's full of history and was the seat of government when the Philippines was still a part of Spain.  It is a walled city and sits right next to Manila Bay, which is pretty spectacular on it's own.  The center is Fort Santiago, which was heavily damaged in WWII during the Battle of Manila when American and Filipino forces tried to recapture the city from the Japanese.  But the Fort itself is also where Philippine hero José Rizal was imprisoned by the Spanish before his execution for the crime of rebellion, so his museum is also the main focal point of the Fort. 

See, I tell you all of this because many are surprised or don't realize that the Philippines only gained its' independence in 1946.  It was a Spanish colony from 1521 when Ferdinand Magellan arrived and began the Hispanic colonization - and renaming it the Philippines after King Philip II of Spain. 

In return, the Filipinos killed Magellan.  A native ruler, Lapu Lapu, was the first to resist colonization so they skirmished and Magellan was killed.  Filipinos don't play that ish.  I mean, it didn't matter since we were a Spanish colony for 300 years.  Most American's don't even realize that the Philippines was an American territory following the Spanish-American war.  It's why the Filipinos speak English; it's the second official language of the country behind Tagalog.  There are over 120 dialects spoken in the Philippines, but they read and speak English quite well.  

So all of this is to say - get your butt there and visit as it's one of the places in Asia you can get around in speaking English.  You done learned something now, didn't you?  And if you knew all of this, well then you get a bag of dried mangoes from me. You'll have to prove it, though.

But, I digress.  

We braved the heat and made our way to Intramuros, a place I have only gone to once before in all of my visits. Which is strange, given my love of history. But here we were anyway.

The first stop in Intramuros is always the Manila cathedral, the original church of Manila.  It's a gorgeous church with amazing stained glass. And it also holds one of the replicas of Michelangelo's Pietá from the original mold.  It also had St. Peter, so of course had to get that, too.

Leaving the Cathedral, we were accosted again by the vendors outside, who had pestered us on the way in.  Traveling with Pete made us vendor magnets - they immediately went right to him every time, offering him hats made of banana leaves, kalesa rides and tours - and one gentleman selling rosaries.  When he realized we didn't speak Tagalog (or at least weren't acknowledging it), he tried to speak Spanish to us.  It was a bit amusing.

Once we got outside, we tried to walk around and saw this sign. It's amusing since cars do pretty much whatever they want to in the Philippines, but we loved how direct it was. People, get the hell in line.

When we realized that the Fort wasn't close to where we were, we headed back to the car to get to the Fort.  Once again, we were greeted with vendors.  We laughed at how one hat vendor would get to us first and after we'd wave him off, a second one would appear - with a third behind him.  And yes, every single one asked us, even though we said no to the ones before him.  The Filipinos are a persistent people.

Since I had gotten a lot of pictures of the Fort before, I didn't bother to take many (sorry). Luckily, those posts are here from 2010 if you wanted to look.  But this time, we did go into the Rizal museum, which I had never been in before.  Not only was it really informational, it was air conditioned. Always have to find those spots.

So this time, I learned something. The museum follows Rizal's capture and the time he was jailed before his execution.  I have actually read Noli Me Tángere and have El Filibusterismo on my bookshelf.  I know he's the national hero of the Philippines and was a strong proponent for Philippine Independence.  I had no idea he was like Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson rolled into one.  The man had some serious talents - besides being a doctor and a writer, he was an artist and a mason and had degrees in land surveying and agriculture.  He also discovered a flying lizard, frog and a beetle that are all named after him.  Amazing.

Here is the view from the second floor of the museum down into the Fort. As well as a fun cutout we found.

Pete really is a good sport.

 

We also decided to follow the footsteps they created outside that trace Rizal's last steps from his jail cell to outside the fort to his execution. He was not a tall man, but according to the steps, the man walked like a Muppet.  This is a recreation of him being tied from his elbows leaving the Fort.  Who ties a man from his elbows and then shoots him in the back? Honestly?

They are doing some construction to parts of the Fort but the statues of MacArthur and others had been moved to parts of the park. So we had some fun again before leaving.

Hey, we know how to have fun.

So then it was back to Metro Manila to meet up with some family and get some gift shopping done.  I actually regret not taking any pictures during this time. Though there is a hilarious video on the Facebook of my cousins getting bored as we shopped.  If you can see it, it's worth the click.  

But I got to spend time with my cousin Christine, her new husband Frank and her niece, Sofia - and for us, it was like old times, bumming around Mega Mall and laughing.  I was too busy enjoying the moment to capture it.  Which just goes to show you, one of the reasons I love the Philippines is that the traditional pitfalls of social media and phone tethering go out the window.  Let's just say it was time I truly enjoyed and was entirely too short.

Following this, we returned to my Uncle's house for one last dinner together, and this time, got to see my other cousin, Justin.  So it was another small reunion - and again, I took no pictures, though the family did.  On this final day, my Aunt made sure we got to eat all the food that I had requested but hadn't had yet - Pancit Malabon, lechon baboy, fresh lumpia, kare-kare - and healthy doses of garlic rice and tinubong.  It really was a fantastic last day in Manila.

Also, remember that thing I said about Pete being a magnet for vendors in the Philippines? Well traffic this last day was also traditionally Filipino - horrible.  And the street vendors were out in force.  Well this one guy had those dashboard bobbing dog heads.  You know, these things (and how I managed to find the exact dog video in the Philippines, well, that's the internets):

And my cousin Lyra was saying how she loves them.  Well a guy comes by with about ten of them and some fake plants and steering wheel covers and she points.  He is halfway past us when he spots Pete through the window.  He then comes back to the driver window and stands there, staring at Pete, smiling and pushing the dogs close to the window.

The rest of us just laughed uncontrollably.  Even the driver couldn't help it and was laughing.  Pete was trying really hard to wave him away, but he was laughing, too.  The guy finally walked away. But he was grinning as he did.  Sometimes traffic in Manila can be awesome.  But just this once.

So after this long day, we headed back to the condo to finish packing all the gifts and our bags. My grandmother actually made the long trek back from the province and got there later evening just so she could see us off.  We decided to do what we did the first time around and tried to stay up as long as we could. I finished coloring a picture and took a 20 minute nap. Then it was 4am and the driver was there to take us back to the airport.

I know I bitch a lot about US airports. I especially have a problem with slow TSA lines and several agents just milling about. I can't imagine many of you don't.  But getting to the airport, there was a long line outside the terminal. You had to go through security.  Then we made it through the Delta priority line, were interviewed by a guard, got our tickets, dropped our bags and then... security again.  We get through the gate, have 2 hours to kill and realize that to get into the gate, we have to go through security a third time.  

What the hell, Ninoy Aquino International Airport?!

I will say this: the Asians do, however, do security right. They have several people there, ushering you through the line. It actually moves. You have to take out your toiletries, do the shoe thing, etc. But it's much more pleasant.  Now going through it three times in the same airport is a little insane. But it actually wasn't that bad.

The first leg was tough and it was short, but my legs were already feeling the flight. And we hadn't made it to the long leg yet.  Once arriving in Japan where we had to go through security AGAIN, we had some time, so I walked into a store and saw this.  

Damn, we really need to visit Japan next time we visit the Philippines.  This makes me happy. I'm sure the flight had something to do with it, but you're bobbing your head as you watch it, aren't you? AREN'T YOU?!

So we survived the 12 hour flight. I made it through one movie and slept through two (The 33 is really good, I highly recommend it).  We get to Detroit, go through immigration and customs (first time to use Global Entry, worth every penny), get our checked bags, drop them off again and then... another security check.

If you're counting, that's 5 security check points since the Philippines at 5am.  Girl, bye.

We are now 4 hours into our 6-7 hour layover. I'm properly caffeinated, have reliable internet and phone and am thinking it's time for a bite and a massage.

So that is the story of our last day and our trek back.  Thanks, dear readers, for following this journey so far.  If you stick around, I believe I'll have more profound things to say once the jetlag wears off.  But I'll leave you with this: no matter the distance and how exhausted I am now, even a short week with family does well for the soul and the mind. I am tired, but I am also very happy and content. And it was too short. But only because I wish I could see my family all the time.

Off to find a massage. This will be excellent.