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.
Established in 1906, the Club Intramuros Golf Course is one of the oldest golf clubs in the country and features fairways, bunkers, and lagoons created where there was once a moat. The 18 hole course is floodlit after dark and the club website states that a round takes about four hours to play but we felt it could last significantly longer in 30+º heat.
Rizal Park [Liwasang Rizal] is also known as Luneta Park or simply Luneta and is dedicated to the memory of the Filipino national hero Dr. José Rizal.
The day before, we had visited the museum in Fort Santiago dedicated to José Rizal and learned about this inspirational man [June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896] who trained as an ophthalmologist and became a writer and key figure in the Filipino Propaganda Movement. This was a group calling for political reform in the Philippines under Spanish control in the late 19th century. Writers produced books, leaflets, and newspaper articles to educate others about their goals and the issues they were trying to tackle. It was active from 1880 to 1898, and most notably between 1880 and 1895, before the start of the Philippine Revolutionary War against Spain.
The Spanish colonial government found him guilty of “conspiracy, sedition, and rebellion” after the start of the revolution and Rizal was executed by firing squad although he was not involved in the revolutionary struggle itself. His writings had been inspirational in motivating the revolutionaries and he did approve of the goal of Philippine Independence.
After his execution Rizal was buried in an unmarked grave which his sister subsequently identified and marked. Later his remains were exhumed and eventually his ashes were interred at the monument erected in Rizal Park [above].
Rizal Park includes the site of his execution. Close by Robert volunteered to take the group photo for a school party who were also visiting. We were not convinced they were truly appreciating the solemnity of the place.
Just beyond the execution site, a tableau of the Martyrdom of Dr José P by sculptor Eduardo Castrillo has been installed. This is a rather disconcerting recreation of those involved in and those watching the execution which took place at 7.03am on December 30th, 1896. Rizal is facing forward towards those visiting the site as if he has been shot in the back [which is not usually the case with a firing squad].
Matilda liked this quote which she had seen in the museum in Fort Santiago.
Men are born equal, naked and without chains. They were not created by God to be enslaved, neither were they endowed with intelligence in order to be misled, nor adorned with reason to be fooled by others.
Also in the park is a large open air auditorium and in the heat we were temporarily envious of the park keeper whose job it was to get into the fountain to make sure the jets had not been blocked [below, bottom right].
In the north of Rizal Park, stands the imposing Statue of the Sentinel of Freedom which depicts Lapulapu [who defeated Ferdinand Magellan]. It has been moved from its original site and now stands facing the Rizal Monument.
We passed the Katipunan Revolution Monument or Bonifacio Shrine. This is a monument to the revolutionary Andrés Bonifacio, who was considered to be the Father of the Revolution against Spain. He founded the Katipunan Movement, a secret society working for Filipino Independence.
The Manila Metropolitan Theatre is an Art Deco building but it was less splendid than we expected and in a rather run down area. Incongruously there was a prison van parked outside. We didn’t stay long.
From here Robert navigated us to the old Central Post Office where a postman still stands, with hand outstretched ready to deliver some mail.
The Central Post Office must have been a splendid building in its day with a commanding riverside position. However it was gutted in a massive fire in 2023 is now disused and open to the elements. The park facing it seems to be an encampment for the homeless.
We returned to Intramuros.
We have been quite impressed by the signs [below left] which have been erected at important sites to give information about the places we visited. There are also signs to tell you where buildings which no longer exist previously stood.
At the Distilleria Limtuaco & Co we were offered a senior rate of entry and there were two options: with or without a tasting session. Matilda who was mindful of the recent tragic deaths associated with drinking shots in Asia opted not to sample the produce whilst Robert chose the liquid option. With the senior discount we paid Php200, which is the equivalent to £2.69 in total.
Distilleria Limtuaco & Co is the oldest distillery in continuous operation in the Philippines but the building we visited was acquired in 1982 to house a museum and tasting experience.
Paying for the tasting experience entitles you to six shots.
The first two were pre-mixed cocktails and Robert was then able to choose four from the array of bottles in front of him
From here we went to Casa Manila which is the building on the left hand side of the courtyard.
The Casa Manila showcases the lifestyle of an affluent Filipino family during the late Spanish colonial period and little of the building has been altered since. The ante-sala was used for receiving causal visitors and the family also whiled away their time here – taking a siesta, eating snacks, smoking or playing games. The sala [below] was reserved for entertaining more formally or on a larger scale.
The sala had the most ornate and grand furniture and at the far end there is a square grand piano. It was fashionable at the time to procure furniture and furnishings from Europe and China.
The house boasts painted walls, crystal chandeliers, carved traceries, Chinese ceramics and gilded furniture to illustrate the elegance and luxury of a 19th century Manila house.
The dining room table is made from a single plank of narra wood. Two punkahs [manually-operated ceiling fans] had been installed to help to circulate cool air and keep flies off the food. These may have been brought from India during the British Occupation of Manila in 1762.
Conveniently located just off the courtyard was Batala Bar [see Selfie of the day]. This became Robert’s temporary “local” and he developed a taste for the Honey Ale brewed by the Engkanto Brewery. He went there several times without Matilda while she was feeling a little fragile and preferred to stay close to the nice clean toilet in our hotel room. Robert was befriended by the owner who freely gave him the internet password which had not been shared on our previous visit.
Robert returned to join Matilda at the hotel where we ordered something not too spicy to allow Matilda’s digestion to settle [see Dish of the day].
Selfie of the day:
Dish of the day:
Route Map:
