Part 9: Intramuros....
I wanted to visit somewhere historic, where I could learn all about Filipino history, Art and culture.
My friend said that nowhere summed up what I wanted to see, more than Intramuros and insisted I went and take a look for myself at one of Manila's most famous sites.
Derived from the Latin words 'within the walls' this is exactly what it was, a city surrounded by a giant stone fortified wall.
It was built in the 15 century to protect the inhabitants from attack. Spanning nearly 4 miles in length it completely surrounds the small city, which was the old Manila.
When I took the 45 min taxi ride there, it immediately stood out to me. Noticing Statues, Cathedrals, piazza's, monasteries, narrow cobble stoned streets, war ruins and Spanish colonial architecture.
There was quite a noticeable bohemian and artistic atmosphere here compared to the rest of Manila, full of culture, arts and museums - I really liked Intramuros straight away and spent time wandering the narrow cobblestoned streets exploring.
One road in particular, was full of local street vendors selling Filipino food.
Referred to here as 'turo turo' which means to point, or to pick what dish you want in Tagalog.
They where not to dissimilar to Tapa's.
Delicious seafood, grilled meat, vegetable, pastries and rice, all being prepared in front of you - the smell was amazing, and its almost impossible to pass these areas without tasting something, which of course I did.
There were also gift shops and boutiques, street performers and lots of well to do young people strolling around. Also really pushy pedi-cab drivers who pedalled slowly along side me for ages trying to persuade me to hop on for a tour, shoving sightseeing pictures in my face - this after I refused them several times. One did not take a polite 'no' for an answer, so he shadowed me for about 20 mins through the streets on the off chance that I would change my mind. Actually it was quite funny to see - eventually taking the hint.
I stumbled upon a Filipino Emporium jam packed full of everything from antiques, and basketry, to local books, ethnic crafts, decorative accessories and fine art.
The best part of 2 hours flew by and I spent ages rummaging, learning a bit about Filipino history, this place was huge, and spread over 4 floors, feeling more like museum than a shop.

I later passed a majestic memorial statue of a man named Jose Rizal.
I had no idea who he was before, but learned in the emporium that this man was held in the absolute highest esteem here.
He was a national hero and reformist who was executed by the Spanish Kastila in 1896 for being wrongly implicated as the leader of the revolution. But was considered a traitor by the Spanish and back then traitors received death by firing squad with their backs turned, but the split second before they fired, it was believed he turned and faced the rain of bullets, giving him fabled legendary status in the Philippines. His was a quite remarkable story eventually leading to a Philippine revolt against Spain, igniting the Philippine revolution.
Once overthrown, it started the first Philippine independent Republic.
Declaration of Independence was announced on June 12th 1898.

I saw another beautiful memorial erected in memory of more than 100,000 defenceless Filipinos killed in 1945 in the Battle of liberation for Manila.
I learned they were mainly victims of heinous acts perpetrated by the Japanese imperial forces, and heavy artillery barrage by the American army, who where supposed to be coming to the rescue (no surprises there then) In one of the most brutal and bloody battles in the history of Asia.
The monument was a wonderfully sculpted black statue of a shrouded woman, cradling dead and suffering victims on the floor - it left quite a mark on me.

All this walking in the heat was really making me perspire, so I bartered with a horse drawn carriage, or kalesa as the locals call them, to take me around the city for a tour.
The driver seemed like an enthusiastic chap and smiled as we agreed on a price of 300 pesos - I was getting good at this bartering, or so I thought.
The sight seeing trip was really enjoyable as he commentated to me on the famous sites we passed, it was a great way to take in the scenery.
Then about 20 mins in, he decided out of the blue, to add another 2500 pesos to the fee we shook on earlier!!! (About £50 extra). He wouldn't stop when I refused to pay it and his chirpy personality instantly changed.
I was just about to jump off the increasingly, faster moving carriage before he finally, and rather reluctantly dumped me off on the other side of Intramuros, as far away from my start point as possible. It all started so promising, and I was really enjoying the journey, till for some reason he decided to change his mind on the fee.
On the long walk back, I found a really cool looking skate park with some hip young skate crews flexing their skills.
I took the opportunity to snap some great action shots of them against an awesome back drop of graffiti. To be honest it felt a little risky to stop here, but they did seem to enjoy the attention of me taking pics.
I nodded in appreciation and went on my way back to the centre.
It was quite sad passing several families apparently living on the streets, even here at such a tourist and famous place. It's still hard to take in and comprehend for me.
If they have no jobs, there is no dole, or housing benefits like back home, so where do they get money to survive I thought.
When I got back to the centre, I could not resist stopping at a cafe for my first cup of english tea in 6 weeks.
Why is it that they never taste the same away from home. No one makes tea like the Brits, still it was soothing though.
Watching life go by, sipping tea and taking in the culture around me was the perfect way to end the afternoon and sparing a thought for all those Filipinos killed here during WW2..

Next stop: Hong Kong....