G’day folks. Last post on Manila, at least for now. Today’s post concentrates on my second (full) day in Manila and the places I visited whilst I was there. Whereas my first day of sight seeing was in the relatively contained area of Intramuros and the nearby Rizal Park, the list I drew up of places to check out on the second day was perhaps shorter, but nothing was close together.

The one thing it did allow me to do though was experience Manila’s myriad of transportation options. Up until this point I had either taken an Uber or taxi. The fares are more than reasonable and we’re talking about a pretty easy way to get around Manila. However, not quick! Manila is another city which surely ranks high for bad, slow traffic. It’s a nightmare frankly and heading to Intramuros in the middle of the day took less than half the time it took to get back from Rizal Park, slightly closer to my hotel.

With this in mind I set out to try the public transport system and in particular the metro system. They have an MRT and a LRT (Light Rail System) which are mostly elevated on concrete pylons and have no real difference, although I guess the LRT does feel a little more like you’re in tram carriages rather than train.

It’s a system still in its infancy with most of the planned lines not completed or even not started in some cases, however it would prove useful and faster than taxis (I am at least presuming, but with confidence) and was well air conditioned too.

Marikina Shoe Museum

Marikina is a district sort of North-West of where I was staying in Manila, which was the Makati District which I guess is somewhat central but I found it hard to get a read on what really was the ‘centre’ of the Philippine capital. As the crow flies it would probably be a 10-12km journey I guess, but I went a longer, cheaper way than by crow, and the crow would have found it hard to carry my weight any way.

I took an Uber a short distance to the closest metro station Guadelupe. The metro is grey and a little foreboding, but the trains themselves are modern and clean and bright. Went along the line and then changed to the MRT-2 Line, which ran a line that crossed the MRT-3 line but higher. The stations were separate and five minutes’ walk apart. The stations both had the same name though – Araneta Center Bubao Station.

Then the MRT took me over the river to Santolan station. From there I had to use what they call a ‘tricycle’ which basically is a motorbike with a side car enclosed in plastic. It’s a fun way to get around for a short amount of time. That was a 10 minute ride to eventually make it to the Marikina Shoe Museum.

And trust me, that journey was fun and long and a bit of a highlight of Manila all of its own. The Shoe Museum was what it said on the box – a museum of shoes. There are shoes from all across the Philippines. I wasn’t allowed to use my action camera but I was allowed to use the DSLR. However I wasn’t able to take photos on the top level which is where the collection from former First Lady Imelda Marcos lives. Nice guy at the museum gave me a bit of information – Marikina is the district which used to belong to the shoemakers of Manila, and indeed still today there is still a fair bit of shoe production going on here. The museum is small but cute and there’s a sort of wooden shoe structure in the middle. I like an interesting and quirky museum, and this fit the bill admirably!

Chinese Cemetery

The Chinese Cemetery was in a completely different part of town, a little north of a fictional centre if you like, and over an hour away from Marikina via any available form of transport. Back on line MRT – 3 to the stop ‘Recto’ and there a change onto the LRT-1 line which I took to R Papa station – which was an overshoot for the South Gate entrance of the cemetery but was right next to the cemetery, just no entrances there at all. So I had to walk a fair way – 20-25 minutes, to get to the South Gate.

The cemetery is proper creepy. It’s very grey however there are overgrown sections where greenery abound making it look a little an abandoned city. It’s size and the design of so many of the tombs make it actually feel like a mini-city in the middle of Manila, and you can drive around it. Well you could if you had a car. Some graves had holes in the end and I am hoping the bodies were moved to another cemetery otherwise it would be even creepier.

Then there were the dogs barking, loudly and angrily. I was heading deeper into the cemetery when I heard one that sounded absolutely rabid and I decided that I was pretty much done with this cemetery. If you like this sort of place, and there are people who do, it is something else.

SM Mall of Asia, Bay of Manila

Back along the LRT-1 one line I went to Pasay station, I was headed to finish the day to the SM Mall of Asia, which was in Pasay right on Manila Bay. To get the remainder of the way there I caught one of Manila’s most famous modes of transport – the ‘Jeepney’. This elongated jeep is incredibly cost-efficient for the passenger at 13 peso per ride which is a little over 20 US cents. They get I think 14 people on two long seats, 7 each but I’m sure they stuff more in too when they can.

The Mall itself is HUGE, one of the biggest in the Philippines I am told, and certainly it’s a shopper’s paradise. It took a good ten minutes or more to move quickly via foot power through it to the Manila Bay side. Look it’s a mall, there’s loads of shops and places to eat, I don’t know what else I can tell you. It’s a bit confusing to navigate. But I was there at the right time as the sun started to set over the bay.

There was a small amusement park – or perhaps they were just random amusement rides between the mall and the sea. It’s only a strip 50 – 80 metres wide. I could see many boats, some oilers out in the bay from my position. People walked by the bay as people do on the path there and held hands and took selfies.

For me, the day was at an end. It was time to Uber back to the hotel, for the next day I flew south to the island of Palawan. Thoughts on Manila as a city? It’s full on, but it’s interesting and curious. It’s a bit seedy in places I guess and you have to deal with that. The population of greater Manila is around 14.5 million people so it’s not for the feint of heart, but the old city is attractive and well done and there are things to see and do. It doesn’t rank in my favourite cities in the world but on the other hand I certainly didn’t hate it either.

Thanks for popping in today. Take care wherever you are in the world and… May the Journey Never End!