Rajeev's World: On Manila's Historic Trail

From the Ayala Museum in Makati, I proceeded towards the historic centre of Manila, to see the colonial heritage that the Spanish left behind.

Passing by a Jollibee outlet - this fastfood chain is big here. Jollibee is Philippines' answer to western fastfood. It has a largely rice based menu and some western fare with a distinct Filipino twist...

Passing by the SM Mall of Asia, one of the biggest malls in the region. Over the last one day I have been here in Manila, the sheer size and number of malls is amazing - this beats most cities I have seen so far...

The Manila Bay Ferris Wheel in the distance...

Passing by the Coconut Palace, also known as Tahanang Pilipino, which was commissioned by the then First Lady, Imelda Marcos in 1978 as a government guest house and was offered to Pope John Paul II during his visit to the Philippines in 1981. It is said that the Pope refused to stay here because it was too opulent and extravagant given the level of poverty in the Philippines. It had cost PHP 37 million to build, which was quite an astronomical amount by any standards.

The Coconut Palace is made of several types of local hardwood, coconut shells, and a specially engineered coconut lumber which known as "Imelda Madera".

The Palace hosted the likes of Muammar al-Gaddafi, Brooke Shields and George Hamilton. It was converted into the official residence of the Vice President of the Philippines before becoming a cultural centre...

Talking of the excesses of Imelda Marcos, there were reports of her excessive spending on luxury goods when Filipinos were struggling with poverty. In the revolution that followed the assassination of Ninoy Aquino in 1983, the rebels overran the presidential palace, and they were amazed to see something like about 3000 pairs of shoes that belonged to Imelda. She is reported to have made a statement "I did not have three thousand pairs of shoes, I had one thousand and sixty."

Some of these shoes are now housed in a museum in Marikina...

Even that is a huge number... and it's for sure that most politicians and their families will be always be obscenely corrupt...

The skyline...

Passing by the business district of Malate...

A traditional Filipino Jeepney - the most popular means of public transportation in the country, jeepneys are known for their crowded seating and colourful decorations, which have become a ubiquitous symbol of Philippine culture and art...

Jeepneys were originally made from American military jeeps left over from the Second World War. But today, jeepneys have got a new lease of life with efficient and less polluting engines. It is said that you can hail an airconditioned and wifi-enabled jeepney in Makati...

A monument dedicated to José P. Laurel, a Filipino politician, on Roxas Boulevard...

And we reach Rizal Park that has a monument dedicated to Jose Rizal, the revolutionary...

Rizal Park is the location for official ceremonies including the Independence Day which will be celebrated here exactly a week from now, on June 12th...