I took my first trip out of Indonesia the other week and went Manila. Even though I went for work, the timing worked out where I was able to extend my stay over the weekend and stay with a friend from work who is on an expat assignment in Manila. While in town, some of my co-workers took me out to our geothermal camp about an hour an a half outside of Manila. A quick geothermal 101 lesson: geothermal is a clean energy technology where heat generated from volcanoes heats underground water and causes the water to turn to steam. The steam is then extracted from the ground to generate electricity. This form of energy is very common in this part of the world. In fact, 1 in 6 light bulbs in the Philippines is lit use geothermal energy. Ok, there's your science lesson for the day.
As you can see from my Matt v. Food section, I was able to sample numerous traditional Filipino dishes. I must say the availability of pork on the menu again was awesome. Given that the vast majority of the Indonesian population is Muslim, pork is nearly impossible to find on restaurant menus in Jakarta. It was great to have bacon again!
Overall, I was very impressed by Manila. You can certainly see the influence the American occupation had on its culture. It's a very westernized city where English is commonly spoken. I found the people to be genuine, friendly, and very welcoming. Plus they never let me go more than an hour or two without feeding me. It was great!
Here are a few pics from my visit...
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| The Manila Metro Cathedral-Basilica |
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| The inside of San Agustin Church, the oldest church in Manila built in 1606 |
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| Fort Santiago, built by the Spanish during their occupation in 1571. Later used by the U.S. during WWII. |
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| Inside of Fort Santiago |
I love punsit and lumpia! Haven't had sisig in years!!!! However, I did have a southern dish that consited of the same thing a year ago but it wasn't spicy LOL
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