"Treasures of Cruising the World" with Bill & Mary Ann: Report # 62 Manila, Philippines March 1, 2014 Saturday Day Two Partly cloudy, 79 degrees

Despite the nice breeze that had come up last night, clearing away the smog from the coastline, the same shroud of smog was back this morning. Must be an everyday thing, like we always see in large cities like Bejing, Shanghai, or Mumbai. Sometimes you never see blue sky at all in those mega cities.

Skyline of downtown Manila

Modern Manila

Finally cleared up

Drink stations for the upcoming party

After breakfast in the almost empty dining room, we walked the promenade deck to find the bar staff setting up tents and tables on the starboard side. A party was planned for the sailaway, much different from the usual activities on the aft deck. This was going to be a complimentary Manila Fiesta Sailaway Party from 4 to 5:30pm.

Wine, champagne, beer, and sodas

We are certain that the promise of champagne, wine, beer and sodas will bring out the crowd. The key word was "free". This brought back memories from another wine and cheese party held on this same deck back on the world cruise in 2007. We had been leaving Suva, Fiji, with a similar party, but there was no set-up with tables and bars on the deck. At that time, waiters brought out trays of filled wine glasses to pass around to the guests. Platters of cubed cheese squares with toothpicks were also passed around.

Shortly after it began, it turned into a melee, with guests grabbing the wine off of the trays before they left the atrium. The poor waiters were running for their lives. The deck was covered with dropped cheese, and people were slipping and falling. Wine glasses broke both inside the atrium and outside. But it sure was a sailaway to remember.

Henk, the hotel manager, was helping with the set-up, and we asked him if he had ever heard of that wild party. He admitted that he was told about it, but had taken steps to keep today's occassion civil. Saying that this was a different crowd, he hoped for a better result. We sure hope so. Well, time will tell.

Inside Robinsons Place Manila Mall

Our plan for today was to take the shuttle back to Robinsons to grocery shop. Leaving around 10am, we found that the buses were not running so fast today. Since it is Saturday, there was a marathon being held near the stadium on the main drive. That meant that the buses were stuck in traffic, and might take an hour to get back to pick up the rest of us. We did not see that coming. The pier guards suggested that we go inside the terminal to get out of the hot sun. Did we do that? Of course not, because we would have lost our place in line, and missed another bus. So a small group of us stayed, which was great, because we had a chance to visit.

Starbucks is everywhere

So is McDonalds

We met a nice lady who was going off on her own. Unfortunately, her husband had a fall a couple of days ago, and broke his collarbone. We hate hearing news like that. Somehow we got on the subject of safety and being careful while we are in Manila.

Yvonne and Johnny from Holland told a story about her getting attacked in daylight in Amsterdam while parking for work at a hospital. Some young thugs ripped off her necklace and tried for the purse. She said she fought like a wildcat, not knowing if they had weapons. These guys did not know who they were messing with, since she has to be adept at handling patients that go off on her. By the way, she is a nurse. She knows how to subdue if necessary. Anyway, the guys ran off without trying to take her car or phone. Calling the police, she said they were caught. But it left her extremely wary of her surroundings, and how she dresses, or what kind of purse she packs. Attached to her shirt is a whistle, which she never leaves home without.

Townsfolk waving to us on the bus

The bus finally arrived, and we were all happy to climb onboard and cool off with the air-conditioning. This was when another accident happened. A man and his wife were passing our bus, not watching where they were walking, but were waving to some people they knew sitting behind us. One second they were up, the next second they were down on the ground. Now these folks were on the large side, and fell like sacks of cement. The guards ran quickly to help them up, and as far as we could tell, there were no broken bones. Just bleeding elbows and knees. By the time the bus turned around to leave, a nurse was running to the couple with a wheelchair to get them back on the ship. Like we said, things can happen so fast, you always have to pay attention.

The main road was blocked for the marathon, but the bus driver took a turn around it. He got us to the mall within 20 minutes. That was about all it took us to buy our supplies, and re-board the bus to go back. We successfully used the majority of the pesos we had left from yesterday. We saved a little bit to spend at the pier souvenier stand later.

Inside Rizal Park

Stashing our stuff, we went off again to walk to nearby Rizal Park. It is a huge area that is dedicated to Dr. Jose Rizal, a national hero and revolutionary, who was executed for his anti-political views and writings.

A monument dedicated to the execution of Dr. Jose Rizal

His remains lie under the huge Rizal Monument at one of the park. We noticed that the grounds appeared to be very dry, indicating that they have not had a whole lot of rain recently. In the center of this park is a pond with fountains and lights. We think there are light shows in the evenings, perhaps on the weekends. Gigantic speakers were set up at each corner of the pond and a Filipino singer was broadcasted throughout the whole area.

The site where it happened

Pond at Rizal's Monument

Fast food in the park

Lining both sides of the narrow stretch of park were stands selling food such as hot dogs, hamburgers, and many forms of Filipino food. Ice cream vendors were also in big demand. Most

Ice cream anyone?

of the restrooms were in areas that you had to pay to get into. Such as the Chinese Gardens, which costs 10 pesos to enter. For both of us, that would be the equivalent of about 50 cents. It was hot, and the time was running by quickly, so it was time to leave.

Food prices really cheap........43 pesos equals $1.00 US

A park within the park

Walkways in the park

The fountain and outdoor auditorium

This fountain has a light show at night

Trees of the park

Park shade

Pigeon houses

About the only birds we saw in Manila

Emergency spot in the park

A few restaurants and more benches

Gardens with benches

Right in downtown Manila

Auditorium for concerts

Many things to see

Chinese garden in Rizal Park....admission was 10 pesos

Nice park with super clean restrooms

Park guards

More historic sites

The main monument of Dr. Rizal

Mosaic at the stadium

The Manila Hotel

Our next stop was the best. It was at the famous Manila Hotel, built we think around 1913. The exterior is not really impressive, but once inside, it is quite impressive. It was like stepping back in time by walking into the cavernous lobby with marble floors and wood paneled walls and ceilings.

Main entrance to the Manila Hotel

The lobby of the Manila Hotel

The center of the room was filled with couches, tables, and chairs for enjoying coffee, tea, or drinks. A pianist was playing the piano while the folks listened or visited with friends. Right off of the lobby is a lounge and bar, where we knew we could order ice cold beers and get something to eat. never checking a menu in the past, we were thrilled to find there were four pizzas to choose from. OK, doesn't get better than this. Our choice was a Hawaiian pizza and two San Miguel beers. Simply delicious. Another hour flew by, and it was time to go.

Many choices to drink

Ice cold beers and nuts

Hawaiian pizza

Lobby with massive chandeliers

Many guests can relax here

The Tap Room off of the lobby

Lobby and reception area

The pianist

Hallway off of the lobby

Comfortable and civilized

This is even a better place to relax

Beautiful hotel pool

A bride

On our way out, a beautiful bride was posing at the front door for the photographer. Her dress had a train that must have weighed more than the girl. Her bridesmaids arrived, dressed in black and gold gowns, and they were all off to the church we assumed. Guess we were lucky to have been here on a Saturday to see these type of events.

On her way to church

Walking back to the ship is safe enough, but it is a bit of a seedy area. A few street vendors bothered us, but not as bad as in other places. At times you are tempted to buy their trinkets in hopes they will then go away. But you run the chance of a dozen more of them coming from around the corner selling more stuff.

Kids from the orphanage

The rest of the afternoon was a busy one with many events taking place. At 3pm, an orphanage, The Asociacion de Damas de Filipinas, Inc., put on a special performance in the Queens Lounge. There were around 25 little ones singing and dancing, cute as can be. Judging from their dance moves, we think they come on many ships when they are in port. It is a wonderful way to bring this subject to light, and the guests love it. So do the kids, as they are treated to lunch, and all the ice cream they can eat. Each child left the ship with gift bags prepared by our staff.

Many smiling faces

The staff gave them t-shirts

The kids love to dance too.

Waving goodbye

They got the moves

Captain Jonathon Mercer

Captain Jonathon with the kids

One of the drinks stations on deck three

All aboard was 4:30pm, and the time for the sailaway party on the promenade deck. We have to congratulate the staff for thoroughly thinking the set-up for this event prior to execution. On the dock, two bands were alternately playing modern tunes, while baton-carrying girls danced and young men did flag-throwing to the music. The only downside was the fact that the Amsterdam was docked with the setting sun on the starboard side.

Presti checking out the bar staff

Many party-goers

Getting more crowded

The sun made most of us melt, and ruined many a photo due to bad exposure. We have to admit the heat and sun were responsible for a large consumption of free wine, champagne, beer, and sodas.

Oh no, we ran out of bottled beer

The only thing they ran out of was regular beer. Taking photos and drinking at the same time does not work. So we held off, and went for beers too late. All that was left were cans of lite beer, not our favorite. Coke Zeros were abundant however. The deck was crowded with little wiggle space to walk from end to end. We did not see a whole lot of appetizers served, but we did find the gutters littered with them on our after dinner walk later on. All in all, the send-off was a success as the crew bid farewell to their families and friends. Always bittersweet.

The party was over

Final farewell

All waving goodbye

Quite a sendoff

The only vendors on the pier

By 5:30pm, we were clear of the harbor, and within 1/2 hour we were clear of the smog that covered the city and nearby mountains.

Pulling away from the pier

Leaving the city behind

Breakwater

The last bid goodbye

The sun set by 6pm, dipping behind an island that looked like a volcano. Sure was a nice way to end the visit to the Philippines.

Sunset was near 6pm

Going down

Almost down

Last Manila sunset for us

We must say that most all of the locals we encountered were polite and super friendly. Even the locals driving by our buses waved and saluted as we drove by. Young men, including the guards, greeted us with respect even at the malls. Perhaps we have a comfort level with people from the Philippines as well as from Asia, since there is a huge population of them living in California. Many of them tend to be in the health care services, and are excellent care-takers.

We now have our sights set on Hong Kong, reminded that it is a day away when we filled out our landing slips today. We will probably have another body temperature check and passport check soon.

In response to a question regarding the Mariner Appreciation Days, that will happen in Durban when Mr. Kruise and his team will join the ship to Cape Town. Another question came up concerning souveniers and declaring them. If the items you purchase are local art, you do not need to declare them. When we get to Africa, some of the wood carvings will be required to be frozen to kill any parasites.

Some more photos from the day ...