Manila, The Philippines: A Uniquely Asian City with a Striking Spanish and American Influence

Statue of King Philip II in Manila

The Philippines continued to get an A+ rating for warm receptions.  As we arrived at the pier, there were dancers and bands awaiting us. While not nearly as numerous as those in Puerto Princesa, they certainly were very talented!  As we looked out at the performers, we could see two ships on the other side of the berth.  One was a military vessel (not sure what kind), and upon closer look, we realized that it was the American ship, the USS Blue Ridge.  What a wonderful sight, when we returned to port later in the day to see the Stars & Stripes adorning the ship!

The Philippines are comprised of over 7000 islands with a population of about 90 million, 40 million of which live in metropolitan Manila.  Magellan arrived in 1521 and claimed the land for Spain before being killed by natives.  The islands were named for King Philip II of Spain (best known in our history books as the king who sent the Spanish Armada to defeat the English and Queen Elizabeth in 1588). The Spanish influence is very evident in the country.  82% of the people in The Philippines are Roman Catholic, followed by Muslims and Protestants (the first to arrive were the Methodists, according to our guide).  

In 1898 before the Spanish American War, Theodore Roosevelt, then Assistant Secretary of the Navy, waited until the Secretary of the Navy was away from Washington and, without informing anyone else, told Admiral Dewey to arrive in Manila when war was declared on Spain in Cuba and to take over the island from the Spanish.  As a result, because everyone including President McKinley and the Spanish were caught off guard, the battle lasted only a few hours before the Spanish surrendered the territory to the United States.  The US influence, although only decades as opposed to centuries of Spanish rule, appeared to have the strongest effect.  The Filipino government is modeled after the US government, with a Federal Republic and a bicameral legislature.  English is the medium used to communicate on an official basis with the rest of the world.  The US retained possession of the Philippines until the American forces surrendered to the Japanese on Bataan Peninsula (near Manila) in April of 1942. (The Japanese first attacked the Philippines on December 8, 1941 in conjunction with its attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7.  This was actually the same day, with the Japanese troops crossing the International Dateline to get to Pearl Harbor.) The Philippines gained its independence on July 4, 1946.  Ties with the US continued throughout the 20^th Century; the US Embassy in Manila was the largest embassy in the world at 17,000 acres until the embassy in Iraq took over that distinction.  The American Military Cemetery in Manila is the largest administered by the American battle Monuments Commission with 17,097 graves, 36,086 unknowns, and 3740 missing in action.  Until 1991, the largest US Naval Base outside the US, Subic Bay, was used for R&R for the overseas military engaged in war.  Clark AFB, was the largest Air Force Base outside the US until its closure, also in 1991. 

At the mouth of Manila Harbor is Corregidor Island.  This was significant in World War II, being the last to fall to the Japanese.  14,000 troops, mostly Americans, fought bravely in the Battle of the Coral Sea until their surrender in May of 1942.  Corregidor was considered the “boundary” line for Australia.  The Japanese felt that they couldn’t infiltrate Australia without taking Corregidor first. 

Captain Jonathan continues to earn our admiration!  When several passengers expressed an interest in visiting Corregidor, he did everything he could to arrange this.  The original itinerary called for an arrival and departure at times when the once-daily ferry to and from Corregidor were impossible to schedule without missing the ship.  However, Capt. Jonathan called HAL headquarters in Seattle and managed to change the arrival time so that people could catch the ferry, and when the departure time could not be moved, he arranged for us to set sail but remain in the harbor so that those who went there could take a tender back to the ship.  Since there was an International Fireworks Competition set for that same evening, he wanted to make sure guests had the opportunity to watch the two teams competing.  So it all worked out quite nicely! 

Our shore excursion was to be one of the longer ones of the cruise, Best of Manila, Past and Present. We were pleased that our friends Sally & Ange were also doing that excursion so we managed to get seats right across the aisle from each other for our day-long trip. 

Our first stop was the very impressive American Military Cemetery.  Both Chuck and I felt that we just didn’t have enough time there!  We passed through the arches and walked along rows and rows of names of the missing in action listed on the walls.  As we came out of the first half and approached the chapel, we saw a wreath positioned there, with a ribbon indicating that it had been placed there by the USS Blue Ridge, the American vessel that was in port with us.  Not only that, but there were many sailors wandering around the arches that listed the Naval MIAs.  We spoke with a few, and when I had seen the ship in port, I’d had presence of mind to pick up a few of our DAR business cards thanking veterans for their service.  I wish I’d had enough to give to all of them, but I did manage to give a couple and thank them for their service. By that time we barely had time to walk across the road and visit the graves.  They reminded us of our visits to the American cemeteries in Normandy and Luxembourg in 2010 when we did our World War II venues tour.  Eleven sections of graves arranged in concentric circles around the memorial to the MIA, the rows and rows of white marble crosses couldn’t help but bring a tear to the eye for the ultimate sacrifice of so many young men! 

With reluctance, we boarded the bus again to head to our next stop, Rizal Park.  Named for the Filipino national hero José Rizal, this large park in the middle of the city bears a monument that holds the same significance for Filipinos as our Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  Rizal is revered by his people in the same way that Gandhi is honored by the Indians.  His tomb is guarded eighteen hours a day by soldiers, standing guard for two hour shifts. The location is also the site of Filipino independence in 1946. 

As we drove through the Central Business District, we passed the world’s first five star hotel.  The tradition of giving hotels ranks of five stars comes from the time when General MacArthur was staying in the Philippines.  He stayed in this hotel, and since he was one of only a few five star generals (others being Eisenhower, Nimitz, Halsey, and King), the Filipinos claimed it was five star hotel.  So this hotel rating dates back to World War II.  Now of course we no longer have five star generals. That title was only given to generals who successfully commanded wide areas of battle during the war.  

We wondered why it was so urgent to arrive at our lunch location at the early hour of 11:00, but we quickly understood why!  We were to have lunch in the Presidential Compound, and it took awhile for our three buses to clear security.  (They were checking the drivers, not us!)  Once there, we were ushered into what had once been the private home of Don Alejandro Legarda.  His wife loved giving lavish dinners, and after their deaths, the tradition carried on.  We were seated at long tables in three separate rooms and served family style on antique plates, and the centerpieces were Murano birds purchased by the Legardas back in the 1920s when they visited Italy.  With seven courses, it took a long time for everyone to be served, and we really dined in style!  While some of the food didn’t really appeal (we passed on the Lapu-Lapu, a traditional Filipino fish), we certainly didn’t come away hungry!  After a quick tour of the house, we were back on the bus headed for our next stop with a two-fold purpose. 

We first visited Casa Manila, a 19^th Century home with elegant furnishings.  Unfortunately the guide whisked us in before we could pick up brochures about the place, promising that we would get them afterward.  When we got back on the bus, I forgot to ask for one.  So all I can say is that we wandered through the house and it had nice antique furnishings.

Across the street was UNESCO World Heritage Site San Agustin Church, the oldest structure in the Philippines.  Dating back to 1571, it had lovely statues and a very interesting crypt.  As we prepared to go into the sanctuary, we realized that we would not be able to enter – we could see a bride walking down the aisle!  We were rushed past, but not before being able to snap a few pictures.  Later we were allowed to enter the vestibule and stand quietly to take in the lovely sanctuary, but since the wedding was in progress, we went no further. 

The day ended with a tour of Fort Santiago, which served as the headquarters of the Spanish military as well as the American and Japanese when they took over.  Within the walls, we visited a dungeon where prisoners were kept and drowned as the tides came in.  We were also interested in various statues that appeared around the complex, including one of General MacArthur.

As we returned to the ship, the guide made reference to another statue of MacArthur, which used to appear in the harbor.  Chuck had referred to this statue when he taught.  It was a statue of MacArthur in the water, wading ashore as he had done at the time of the liberation of Manila and Corregidor in early 1945.  However when he had commented on it to other guests familiar with Manila, they were unaware of it.  He had asked the guide about it earlier and he had confirmed the statue but indicated that it has been moved to another location which was possibly the reason people were unaware of its existence in the original location.  Unfortunately we were just able to pass near the statue and didn’t actually see it.  Guess we will have to leave that for another visit, assuming that “We shall return.” 

As we arrived back at the ship, a marching band and baton twirlers were performing to a huge audience of passengers and crew family members.  We heard (though having been gone all day we didn’t see) that there were hundreds of Filipino family members on board the ship.  Unlike in Indonesia, where the crew members are spread throughout several islands, the majority of the Filipino crew comes from metropolitan Manila. So they were thrilled to have the opportunity to visit the ship and “see where daddy works”.  Apparently it was fun to watch the children having such a wonderful time!  When we saw the band, we couldn’t also help but wonder if there had been entertainment on the pier all day long!  The Filipinos certainly know how to make people feel welcome!  We felt very much at home in the Philippines with the use of English as the official language and the cultural heritage reflecting Spanish names and of course the predominance of Christianity, especially Roman Catholicism.

We set sail at the scheduled time of 6:00 and anchored in the harbor so we could view the fireworks display.  Had we been able to watch from the pier, we could have enjoyed the fireworks from our verandah; however, when we anchored, we discovered that we were on the wrong side of the ship.  So we had to renege on our invitation to our friends Sally & Ange, Bob & Nancy, and John & Gerda and find a place ourselves where we could watch the show.  We opted for the Sports Deck and arrived there at 7:15.  The Italians were to perform first, and they started a little late.  We were also far enough out in the harbor that the fireworks appeared more toward the horizon than high up in the sky.  However, we really enjoyed the display.  We had been told that the Dutch fireworks would start about 20 mninutes after the Italians finished.  20 minutes passed, then 30, then 40, and finally after a 50 minute wait the Dutch display began.  Of course we don’t know how they score the show, but it seemed like the Dutch had a lot of smoke and the display was even lower to the horizon than the Italians.  From the ship, it appeared that the Italians had won hands-down.  But as someone pointed out, the Dutch had a wonderful ground display that would not be visible on a ship anchored so far away.  So we really have no way of knowing who won!  As soon as the display was over, we headed out of the Manila Harbor and headed toward our next stop, Hong Kong, China.  Our only disappointment is that our arrival in Hong Kong means the departure of our tablemates, John & Gerda.  Having gotten to know them on the 2012 World Cruise and having looked forward so long to seeing them again, we were very sad to have to say good-bye after 24 wonderful days of enjoying each others’ company! 

Our first visit to the Philippines was wonderful!  We can’t say enough about the enthusiastic hospitality of the Filipinos, and we thoroughly enjoyed all that we did and saw!  The Filipino crew members just beamed.  After all, as it is for all of us, there’s no place like home! 

BT

P.S. We had hoped to get free Wi-Fi in Hong Kong as we had last year.  However, with "drastic" warning signs on my computer and the story of others being hacked in the Harbour City (HK) terminal, we decided we would be better off paying for the time on the ship!  Late posting for Manila - sorry about that!