Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Wednesday, March

20, 2024

Manila, Philippines

The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an archipelago country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean consisting of 7,641 islands. It is the world's twelfth most populous country with diverse ethnicities and cultures. Manila’s population is 12,946,000. Languages spoken is English and Filipino. Crowded, noisy, horrific traffic, polluted and subjected to frequent earthquakes and typhoons, but it is fascinating.

Philippines recorded history starts in 1521 Magellan’s landing and was colonized by the Spanish, Dutch and British, but it became an American territory in 1898. Bloody battles with the Japanese in WWII , included the Bataan Death March in which an estimated 650 American and 16,500 Filipino soldiers died after the Japanese took over many of the Western Pacific islands. America avenged its defeat in the Philippines with the invasion of the island of Leyte in October 1944. General Douglas MacArthur in 1942 vowed to free Philippines. In February 1945, U.S.-Filipino forces recaptured the Bataan Peninsula, and Manila was liberated in early March. Manila was virtually destroyed in the war, but rebuilt in the 1950s. America pays tribute in perpetuity to the thousands of American and allied soldiers who lost their lives in the Pacific at the American Cemetery in Manila. It is beautiful, inspiring and solemn place to honor the sacrifice of so many.

Jeepneys are a unique form of public transportation. They got their start as Willys Jeeps left behind when American GIs departed the Philippines at the end of World War II. Filipinos then began recycling them as buses with bodies made from galvanized or stainless steel, fabric covers instead of side windows, and longitudinally mounted benches with room for 20 (or more) passengers. They’re pretty funny. Motorcycles are everywhere and traffic lanes are non existent.

Of course, everyone knows about Esmelda Marcos with the infamous shoe collection that she allegedly funded from the national treasury. She is reportedly alive and well and her son is now the president of the country.😳 Hmm. The local culture includes karaoke , street art, Halo Halo — an ice cream and fruit dessert. Chicken adobo and rice is the unofficial national dish. We were treated to a taste of many Filipino foods today on a great tour of a section of Manila where new skyscrapers and businesses seem to thrive and lots of cool public art abounds.

Halo halo — Filipino dessert

Manila American Cemetery and Memorial is the largest cemetery, 152 acres, administered by the American Battle Monuments Commission by the number of graves and those missing on the walls of the memorial, 36,286 names. There are 17,113 headstones.

The sculpture on the exterior of the chapel is St. George as an American soldier defeating his enemy the dragon. In the chapel, the alter is decorated with a beautiful mosaic of a tall graceful female who scatters flowers.