PHILIPPINES 2024 - MANILA

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On the day of my mother’s actual birthday, we were invited to lunch at Café Rizal. This place used to be the Army Navy Club. It is situated near Manila Bay. Joel and Grace’s family met us inside the restaurant for lunch.

Getting there was a hike, distance wise it was not far from Laguna, however, traffic was really bad. The beauty of having a driver is best. We rented a van with a driver for the entire day. For those who want to rent, it was around US$100 including driver, gas, and toll. We tipped our driver well, I would think.

On our way, I saw the hotel we stayed at when I was on our college field trip to Manila, which seemed ages ago. To our surprise, we also saw a statue of a popular Filipino actor, Fernando Poe Jr., who I was told ran for the presidency but did not win. I need to find out why the statue.

Our lunch was super, as always, the food that was ordered seemed endless. Again, to our host, thank you for lunch. The plan after lunch was to go food trekking in Binondo. It is a place where you can walk around and experience different local specialties. However, that day was not a day to walk about. Not to mention the temperature was like in an oven, it was not fair for my mom to brave that heat in a wheelchair or for any one of us for that matter.

My ever-ready cousin Grace bought tickets to go to Manila Ocean Park. It is located behind the Quirino Grandstand in Luneta Park. This is called Rizal Park, the name of our National Hero. They have erected a monument where he was shot during the Spanish Regime.

The Ocean Park was not like what we have in the United States, but it has so many species that I have seen only for the first time. There was also an outdoor attraction but chose not to see it because of the super-hot weather. It does not only have marine animals but also other land animals or were they different attractions but in the same building as well as different tickets?

Our day did not end in Manila but rather we were invited to my cousin’s new house. I don’t need to mention how bad the traffic was, it was so bad that my wife and I needed to use the bathroom and we were up in the skyway where traffic was moving like molasses if at all. We had to hold it a lot longer and as soon as we got through our exit, we stopped quickly at a gas station restroom.

At my cousin’s house, we ate dinner and did karaoke afterward. Filipinos like to sing; a home will never be complete without a karaoke system. Well, if there is alcohol involved then definitely, I will have the courage to sing. To my surprise, my cousins Albert and Marc were good singers. Grace, I already heard her sing the night before with live performers, I am not even in her league. Before we called it a night, we planned to go to Pico de Loro in Batangas the next day or should I say later that day. My cousin Albert had to rebook their flight and my cousin Marc had to work remotely or he called in sick. Philippines 2024 - Manila Pictures