Manila, Philippines

Before traveling to Apulit Island, we spent two nights in Manila, the capital city of the Philippines.  We stayed at the New World Hotel in Makati City.  This hotel was gorgeous, the staff was friendly and helpful, the M2M restaurant in the hotel had incredible buffet meals, and the hotel was directly across the street from the Greenbelt shopping mall.  The shoe shopping here is phenomenal :)

All of the cabs were "named" and we saw one named just for us :)

After our stay on Apulit Island, we returned to Manila where we would catch our flight back to Korea.  Our flight didn't leave until 11:30pm so we had an entire day to spend in the city.  We hired a private driver for the day and got a personal sight-seeing tour.

A park commemorating Dr. Jose Rizal, the national hero of the Philippines.

Fort Santiago, one of the oldest forts in the Philippines built in 1571.

The beautiful Manila Metropolitan Cathedral, 

also called the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception.

The Casa Manila, a reconstructed 19th century mansion, has a unique mix of Spanish and Asian styles.

We stopped for lunch at the Harbor View Restaurant.

We spent some time in the Mall of Asia.  This mall is HUGE and it even has an indoor ice skating rink.

For dinner we went to a restaurant called Zamboanga.  The seafood was very fresh (most still alive until cooked) and everything was delicious.  While we ate, we were serenaded by three men playing guitars and a bass crooning some Frank Sinatra songs.  They were excellent!

During dessert, there was song and dance entertainment showing the many different styles of traditional Philippine folk dances.

Johnnie and I were invited up on stage to try Tinikling (bamboo stick dancing)

We flew on Korean Air back to Korea.  In the airline magazine, there is a section informing you how to fill out immigration documents.  We were surprised to see Johnny Green from the USA used as the example!

*******

"Once you have traveled, the voyage never ends but is

played out over and over again in the quietest chambers.

The mind can never break off from the journey."

~Pat Conroy