Here we are, in the cattle section (oh, that's supposed to read Coach) on Cathay Pacific headed to Manila, the capitol of the Philippines. Punkie Dominoes and I were a little squished, but since anything under a six-hour flight is a short one, we didn't mind too much. We got to watch movies and play games on the in-seat entertainment. Fun!Evidently we did not time our travel too well since the evening we arrived, a tropical storm arrived as well, so the first few days were a little wet. We made trips to the shopping malls near-by, and let me tell you that is really different. In order to get into the mall, you have to pass through secruity and have your bags checked. The thing that was a little different is that the security guards were really armed - no handguns for them - let's use rifles!
We didn't try this common type of transportation - the jeepney. There are literally thousands of them plying the roads in Manila. People sit in the back on benches on the sides, and you enter through a door in the rear. The jeepneys would stop in the middle of the road (middle lane at that) to let people off. What a wild ride that must be! They are very colorful, too.
One day we went to Fort Santiago, built around the 1590's. It is strategically located on the banks of the Pasig River and overlooks Manila Bay. The Intramuros area has many historic buildings, but most had to be rebuilt after WWII.
This is the Catholic Cathedral which was originally built in 1590 and subsequently destroyed by fire, typhoon, earthquake, and the war. This is the sixth building rebuilt on the site and was refurbished in 1954. 
This was in a courtyard in a typical (wealthy) Spanish home that was commissioned by Imelda Marcos.
On the walls of Ft. Santiago, guards kept watch!
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