Around Manila...

After the temple trip and we moved into our hotel, we started being tourists again. Through my co-worker's travel agency we booked a 3 day combo tour that'd give us the gist of what there was to see in Manila.

We battled traffic all day. I was disappointed in the jeepneys we saw. I was hoping the ornate decoration would give me something to look at while we were stuck in traffic. The jeepneys have become much more subdued than they used to be.



First, we saw some of the monuments. Except for the newer WWII monument in Washing DC between the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial, this is the the only US made WWII memorial. It's also unique in that it's out of the United States.



Out of curiosity I checked for the name "Bodine." There was one, and as it turns out, I am related to him.

We also visited a memorial for a Filipino hero, Jose Rizal. He was instrumental in getting the locals to fight against the Spanish rule and toward independence. This spot is where he was executed and also is the spot where the US gave control of the Philippines back to the locals after WWII.

The guards are as stoic and statue-like here as those at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in D.C. or Buckingham Palace.

We then visited the Spanish fort where Rizal was held prisoner and sentenced to execution. Yes, the statue below is actual size.

Not to demean the memory of Rizal, he sure looks like Oddjob from the James Bond movies.

Of course, where there's Spanish rule, there's Catholicism. And that means visiting one dozen and one cathedrals. Due to heavy bombing from WWII there were only a few old enough to be considered historic. We visited two. In the oldest cathedral in the Philippines, I saw the biggest hymn books ever. How would you like to carry this to church every Sunday?

This old church with the white doves flying around give me a real John Woo vibe.

One of the new attractions in Manila is the aquarium. Having been a scuba diver in Guam for two years, much of this was familiar to me. But it was nice to see this stuff dry and without carrying gear.









Lastly, we attended a dinner show with cultural music. We've done one in every country we went to (almost). Rather than show bits and pieces of each one, I made a video summing them all up.