Manila, Manila
I keep coming back to Manila
Simply no place like Manila
Manila I’m coming home

As the song says, there really is no place in the world like Manila. Manila is a city of contrasts. A tourist’s picture taken in the affluent subdivisions of the city would feature palatial mansions with patrolling security guards. Another picture would depict wooden shanties built closely to each other. This is Manila!

The division between the rich and the poor is sadly, Manila’s biggest contrast. While towering condominiums, sprawling mansions in posh subdivisions would house and shelter the rich and the infamous, a great percentage of the population would would be on the other side living like jam-packed sardines in the shanty areas.
It can be safely said that Manila is a city of chaotic extremes; the “flying” colorful and heavily embellished jeepneys vie with fluent English speaking taxi drivers to grab fare; the seemingly courageous takatak boys who zigzag oncoming traffic to sell cigarettes and menthol candies, the sampaguita vendors on the sidewalks who would take advantage of the crawling traffic to ply their cloying sweet flowers…all these can only be found in the Philippines, in the City of Manila.

The noise, pollution, traffic, poverty, the uncollected garbage strewn in the street, the patch work shanties that stands precariously on the banks of the Pasig River characterized the City of Manila. These can be very intimidating especially to a first time tourist but its a part of our heritage and were proud of it. Striving to earn a daily decent living, but surely are known for their hospitality and ability to adapt to any rigorous and challenging situations. Their good humor is catching. It would not be uncommon to see a sidewalk vendor talking animatedly with a tourist in pidgin English.
City of Manila… capital of the Philippines, home to more than 12 million people is a shopping haven for people who have an excessive liking to shop. The chains of SM malls and many other shopping mall conglomerates provide endless choices of goods and merchandise for the local people. The informed tourist however would frequent Binondo, Divisoria and the stalls under the Quezon Bridge in Quiapo for world class hand carved accessories, abaca and capiz shell handicrafts.
Shopping is not the only thing that Manila can offer to local and foreign visitors. Just like any other Asian city, Manila too has numerous tourist attractions that can enchant the most blasé globe trotter. Malate and Ermita with its neon lighted bars and cafes are considered to be the hub of the city’s nightlife scenes.

Rizal Park, Intramuros, Fort Santiago, National Museum of the Philippines, and the recently opened Manila Ocean Park are only some of the spots that would fascinate local and foreign tourists. The world famous Manila Bay sunset is considered to be one of the most visited areas. The Chinese cemetery with its posh air conditioned and lavishly decorated tombs is worth visiting as where else in the world can you see a tomb with furnished bedrooms and flush toilet? Only in the City of Manila!

Tags: city of manila, manila, metro manila