Perceptions and Realities in Manila: [Part 2 of 2]
This is a guest post by Anil from foXnoMad
A Tour of the City
Priyank and I could have been walking around Manila side-by-side and he hit many of the major points that you shouldn’t miss if you’re planning a trip there. Taking a tour of the city is one of the best ways to capture the high points, especially if you have limited time. Manila isn’t the easiest city to navigate on your own and tours within the city are cheap and informative. Also, aside from some mild requests, you won’t be hit up to purchase extras or souvenirs excessively, an annoying aspect I’ve encountered in many other cities in the region.
Fort Santiago
Located inside Intramuros, this former Spanish fort built in the late 1500s has a backdrop of a modern city behind it and is one of the many instances where old meets new in the city. One of the views overlooking the walls is that of a pristine golf course right next door that seems out of place.
St. Agustin Church
As I mentioned last week, religion is prominent in Manila and there is a strong Catholic influence that permeates everything there. There are several churches worth seeing and discovering in Manila and St. Agustin Church is certainly a must. Generally free to the public, make sure you are dressed appropriately.
Balut
One of the Philippine delicacies that Priyank missed out on in his post about Manila was balut. While halo-halo is a refreshing a sweet desert, balut is an adventure that most don’t brave in Manila. (I missed my chance, but won’t the next time I’m there.) Balut is the fertilized egg of a duck that is eaten straight from the shell. This food you can find from street vendors isn’t for the faint of heart…or stomach. You can try your eyes first.
Variety and…Contrast
Manila is an eclectic city and only one stop you should make if you have time in the Philippines. Manila is a great city to explore and launch many more excursions to see the natural beauty the island nation has to offer. It will overwhelm your senses, both imaginary and real.
Any questions or observations? Feel free to ask. I’ll be listening to the comments all day and look forward to hearing from you. Thanks again for making this series as wonderful as it’s turned out, I really enjoyed writing these posts and reading yours.
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Hi Priyank and Anil Polat,
↵Amazing info shared here! Collaborative blogging, heh? Loved it!
Gopinath, glad you enjoyed our posts.
↵Thanks Gopinath, Both of us loved doing it too!
↵Mutual blogging?! Great idea!
↵Nice HDR photos!
Thanks, I can only take credit for the church one though
↵Thanks London Caller, Sometime you have to tell me your real name!
↵[...] This is a guest post from Priyank, a traveler who is preparing to explore the whole world some day. He keeps a detailed account of his travel stories, pictures and experiences on his blog: Final Transit. For the past 2 weeks, Priyank and I have exchanged imaginary posts about St. Petersburg and Manila. Catch up with day 1 in St. Petersburg if you haven’t already and head over to Final Transit to catch my guest post, Manila from perception to reality part 2. [...]
↵Balut! Yuck. Even I (who spent part of my childhood in Manila) would not want to eat that. I can eat the other street food (like the Adidas, the intra-uterine device, etc), but not balut. I suppose if it is really dark to the point that I cannot see what I am eating then I probably would be able to try it. Heck, they actually sell those stuff just during the night, perhaps for the same reason.
↵LOL … now I am skeptical about seeing the picture link that Anil posted..
↵Oh just click the link. You’ll see. It’s still way easier seeing it than actually eating it.
↵Hmm. I did. It’s a lot for me for sure. Heck I don’t eat chicken if it has bones in it cuz that feels too carnivorous… maybe I’ll stop chickening out in a year or so!
↵Thoroughly enjoyed all the pictures.
↵Thanks Mridula.
↵Balut reminds me of Haggis, a Scottish Dish which I was not able to bring myself to eat!
↵http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haggis
Beautiful photograph of the Fort.
Haggis, sounds adventurous for someone like me who is a recent convert to eating animals!
↵Thank you for a lovely post Anil.:)
↵Thanks Celine, I’m glad you enjoyed it.
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