Another day, another adventure
It feels like it’s been years since I last went on a trip, until I look back at all of the photos I’ve taken this year and I realize that it’s been just a little over 6 months since my last adventure. When you’re away from someone you care about, the time you spend apart is that much more difficult to endure, so with my vacation time at work nearly at the accrual limit, I took the earliest opportunity to leave it all behind again.
My adventure will take me to Manila, the capital of the Philippine Islands. When people mention Manila, they’re not talking about a single city, instead they are actually referring to the province of Metro Manila, which is made up of 16 densely populated cities (the city of Manila being one of them). Metro Manila is home to some of the most modern and highly urbanized cities in the country, but a good portion of it is still made up of poverty-stricken masses, living in makeshift dwellings barely fit for stray animals let alone a family of six, that flank the numerous high-rise condominiums and skyscrapers that are popping up all over the place.
With a geographical area about the size of the city of San Jose here in sunny California and a population nearly matching that of the entirety of Los Angeles County, Metro Manila suffers from a serious case of overcrowding. This is evidenced in the daily bumper-to-bumper traffic and the legendary rush hour lines for the public train systems that are so hopelessly under prepared to serve the ever growing needs of the province. Needless to say, my adventure here will be the polar opposite of the time I spent in the sleepy province of Leyte.
There is an upside to all of this though: Metro Manila is considerably more Westernized than other parts of the country so most if not all of the conveniences and luxuries we’re used to having here in the States will be readily available. Of course they’ll end up costing almost the same as they would here in America, but hey, at least it’s an option, right? My base camp will be a condominium that I rented through Airbnb and is located in the heart of Quezon City, the largest city in all of Metro Manila. It’s near a number of national landmarks, such as SM North (the 2nd largest mall in the country), Templo Central, and of course, close to where Lormi and company are staying.
One thing we’ve missed out on during our time apart is going on food adventures and with Metro Manila having some of the most diverse selection of restaurants and food establishments in the country, we definitely won’t be running out of places to try and things to eat. I can’t wait to get started!