Read this blog: The one where we go beyond the walls Friday 7th March 2025 Venturing out beyond Intramuros into Manila for the first time made Matilda feel quite anxious as she had read that tourists are advised to exercise a high degree of caution in the Phillippines. However, there is a very obvious police presence: men (almost exclusively it seems) stand watch in plain pale blue/grey uniforms on street corners and at all the tourist sites we visited and there was a different Manila to be found outside the old city walls, beyond the golf course. The narrow historic streets were replaced by wide multi-lane highways and grand buildings such as the National Museum of Fine Arts [below]. There are plenty of jeepneys on the streets. After WWII the Americans left behind vehicles which the Filipinos modified and have been using for public transport ever since. They can accommodate between 15 and 20 passengers and are often highly decorated with heavy metal inspired names. There are plans to upgrade the jeepneys to make the engines less polluting but people fear this will also mean an increase in fare prices. We looked back across the golf course to the walls. […]
Daily Archives: 11/03/2025
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