dave liu dot com

Philippines is an oasis in the heart of Asia.  Its here that you will find waterfalls, beautiful beaches, ancient rice terraces, volcanoes and reefs brimming with aquatic life.  However, if you only spend time in Manila, you won’t see much of this.  What you’ll experience is massive traffic sprawls, congestion and a country that seems to have been frozen in the 1980s while the rest of Asia has motored ahead.

My mother and her family was born in the Philippines and my childhood memories are filled with Decembers in Manila which were warm and balmy.  My fondest memories of Philippines are the outgoing people, who are incredibly friendly and seem to really enjoy life.  Try out the karaoke bars (where I promise you will find among the best cover bands in the world) and spend some time outside of Manila. Although travel can be risky in the southern islands and in some rural areas, the majority of the Philippines are considered safe for travelers.

MANILA

The City of Manila (Filipino: Lungsod ng Maynila), or simply Manila, is the capital of the Philippines and one of the municipalities that comprise Metro Manila. The city is located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on Luzon, the country’s largest island. Manila is the hub of a thriving metropolitan area home to over 10 million people. Manila is the second most populous city proper in the Philippines, with more than 1.5 million inhabitants. Only nearby Quezon City, the country’s former capital, is more populous.

Manila got its name from may nilad, Tagalog for “there is nilad,” in reference to the flowering mangrove plant that grew on the marshy shores of the bay. In the 16th century, Manila (then Maynilad) grew from a Muslim settlement on the banks of the Pasig River into the seat of the colonial government of Spain when it controlled the Philippine Islands for over three centuries from 1565 to 1898. Beginning in 1898, the United States occupied and controlled the city and the Philippine archipelago until 1946. During World War II, much of the city was destroyed. The Metropolitan Manila region was enacted as an independent entity in 1975. Today, the city and the metropolis thrive as an important cultural and economic center. However, overpopulation, traffic congestion, pollution, and crime challenge the city.

Rizal Park

It was called Bagumbayan (English: New Town) in Spanish times, and became known later on as Luneta. It is also called Rizal Park, officially called so by 1917 in tribute to the Philippines’s national hero, Dr.Jose Rizal. The body of the hero is said to lie under his memorial statue there, with ceremonial soldiers guarding the site. His poem, “Mi Ultimo Adios” (”My Last Farewell”) is inscribed on the memorial plaque. The name “Luneta” is synonymous to the word lunette; the park was said to have the shape of a half moon in Spanish times, where it was beside a Spanish fort serving as a buffer during rebellions by the locals.

The bronze and granite Rizal monument in Luneta has long been considered as among the most famous sculptural landmarks in the country. It is almost protocol for visiting dignitaries to lay a wreath at the monument. At the Luneta is not merely a statue of the national hero, but also the mausoleum that houses his remains. Both statue and mausoleum are located near the very spot where Rizal was executed.

Nayong Pilipino

Nayong Pilipino, or Philippine Village, features the country’s famous landmarks in miniature. Weekends are good days to visit, when the park assumes a barrio fiesta (village festival) atmosphere, complete with traditional games, indigenous music, songs and dances, and craft demonstrations.

The Philippine Villlage is a 45-acre theme park that is a great place to visit to get a quick taste of Philippines and its culture. The display is divided into a number of geographic displays: Ilocos, Cordillera Central, Tagalog, Bicol, Visayas, and Mindanao. Each of these displays contains a typical house or building and a typical landscape of its region. For example, the Visayas display contains a replica of the historical landmark, Magellan’s Cross, Cebu, and Bohol’s famous Chocolate Hills.

In the grounds of Nayong Pilipino you can also visit the Philippine Museum of Ethnology, the Museum ng Buhay Filipina (antiques museum), the Museum of Philippine Dolls, an aquarium, an aviary of Philippine birds, and a garden of Philippine plants.

SOUTHERN LUZON

Mayon Volcano

Beautifully symmetrical Mayon volcano, which rises to 2462 m above the Albay Gulf, is the Philippines’ most active volcano and is located outside of Manila in Southern Luzon. The structurally simple volcano has steep upper slopes averaging 35-40 degrees that are capped by a small summit crater. The historical eruptions of this basaltic-andesitic volcano date back to 1616 and range from strombolian to basaltic plinian, with cyclical activity beginning with basaltic eruptions, followed by longer term andesitic lava flows. Eruptions occur predominately from the central conduit and have also produced lava flows that travel far down the flanks. Mayon’s most violent eruption, in 1814, killed more than 1200 people and devastated several towns.

One of the most interesting aspects of the volcano, aside from its activity, is the Legend of Magayon. Legend says that there once lived a very beautiful native princess who had an uncle named Magayon. He was so possessive of his niece that no man dared to challenge his wrath by courting the favors of the young maiden. One day, however, a brave and virile warrior was so smitten by the princess that he threw all cares to the wind, clambered up through the window of the royal chamber and enticed the girl to elope with him. With Magayon at their heels, the couple prayed to the gods for assistance. Suddenly from out of nowhere, a landslide buried the raging uncle alive. Local folks now claim that it is Magayon’s anger bursting forth in the form of eruptions.

Below is a picture of me and my cousin, Anna Lisa, with Mayon/Magayon in the background.

Below is a picture we took at my good friend Andy Jhawar’s wedding at the Bel Air Hotel.  This is the crew from our office: (Back) Dave, Chris, Andrew, Joe, Matt, Brian, Jesse; (Front) Leo, Eric, Andy, Me

Festooned with colourful nicknames like “the Wh*re of the East”, “the Paris of China” and “the Paris of the Orient”, Shanghai has long been symbolic of the West’s rape of the East. In the years following 1949 its gaudy past and foreign appearance was a constant blot on the People’s Republic of China’s psyche. The city is divided in half by the Huangpu River, with most of the city’s highlights located in Puxi. The city is said to have half the world’s cranes in it (and judging by the skyline this can’t be too far from the truth) but Shanghai’s past still lingers. The best times to visit are spring and autumn - winter and summer here are merciless in their respective extremes. Shanghai is 15 hours from Beijing by train and a hop-skip and a jump by plane.

 

The Bund

The Bund is an Anglo-Indian term for the embankment of a muddy waterfront. The term is apt: mud bedevils the city. Its muddy predicament aside, the Bund is symbolic. To the Europeans, it was Shanghai’s Wall Street, a place of feverish trading and an unabashed playground for Western business sophisticates. It remains the city’s most eloquent reminder that Shanghai is a very foreign invention. Still a grand strip of hotels, shopping streets and nightclubs, the Bund remains an intrinsic part of Shanghai’s character. Constant throngs of Chinese and foreign tourists pad past the porticos of the Bund’s grand edifices while the buildings themselves loom serenely; a vagabond assortment of neoclassical 1930s downtown New York styles, with a touch of monumental antiquity thrown in for good measure.

The building identified by a crowning dome is the old Hongkong and Shanghai Bank, completed in 1921 with much pomp and ceremony. For many years it has housed the Shanghai People’s Municipal Government. The Hongkong and Shanghai Bank has long been negotiating to get it back. Other Bund fixtures are being sold off, and will no doubt be dusted off and cleaned up.

Definitely take the time to walk down this waterfront boulevard. Between the street lamps and nearby collosal buildings, I’d swear you could imagine you were on the banks of the Thames in London if not for the thousands of Chinese families milling around.

Memorial Monument

This memorial monument is located at the edge of the Bund and is dedicated to the brave Communist Chinese who fought against the tyranny of capitalism. Cap off an afternoon stroll along the waterfront with an evening of fine dining at one of Shanghai’s hippest eateries, M on the Bund. Affording one of the most spectacular views in Shanghai, M serves up some hearty Continental cuisine and truly out-of-this-world deserts. Or take in some jazz at the Peace Hotel, an old Shanghai landmark, where a swing band from way back still manages to bleat out big band classics.

Oriental Pearl Television Tower

Across the Huangpu River from downtown Shanghai lies the once swampy expanse known as Pudong, or “East of the Huangpu.” In the early 1990s, the government declared its intention to turn Pudong into China’s business and finance capital, and the rapid change has been astounding as high rises shoot forth from the rice patties. The first monument to emerge on the eastern shore was the futuristic/retro Oriental Pearl Television Tower. A collection of orbs, spikes and spires, it is considered incredibly ugly by many, all the more so with the 1999 addition of the twin globes of the Pudong Convention Center at its base, but that doesn’t stop travelers from forking out 50 RMB to visit.

Old Chinese City/Yuyuan Garden

The Old Chinese City, to the south of the Bund, was a walled fishing town when the British arrived in 1843. Modern Shanghai grew up around it. It used to be a maze of tiny alleys, but much of it has been torn down and rebuilt in recent years. The widened alleys are still crowded with tourists, domestic and foreign. The old city wall which once contained it has long since been demolished, but one gate remains on Renmin Lu. The southern portion of the Old City contains sprawling street markets of bric-a-brac and souveniers, while to the north lies the newly constructed “Shanghai Old Street” with lots of shops selling antiques, both genuine and otherwise.

Yuyuan Garden is 16th-century garden, consisting of a maze of colorful pavilions, ponds, stone dragons, arching trees, and flowers, surrounding the instantly recognizable zigzag bridge. It is one of China’s finest examples of Ming Dynasty gardens and architecture. The Yuyuan, or “Yu the Mandarin’s Garden”, is characteristic of the architectural style of the Ming dynasty. It is a private garden in the southeast of Shanghai, with a history of more than 400 years. The Garden features more than 30 halls and pavilions. It is divided into six parts, each separated by a white brick wall, the top of which forms and undulating gray dragon. Each part of the park, although divided, has a balance and harmony creating a unity of expression. Yuyuan Garden’s Huxin Ting teahouse is very popular and numerous stalls sell delicious Chinese snacks and desserts.

During my time in Shanghai, my greatest pleasure was wandering the streets and finding local tea gardens, shopping malls and restaurants. Many of the local tea gardens are packed with bao/bread shops, ceramics stores, temples and other local curiousities. Frankly, if you are looking for real Chinese culture, I believe its in places like this were you can experience and share with the locals. I consider myself a pretty seasoned Chinese cuisine afficionado but I saw some things that even I wouldn’t eat!

Leave A Comment »