We had booked a half day tour to get an overview of Manila and it was well and truly worthwhile. Our tour guide, Fred, was excellent and gave us so much information as we travelled between different points of interest.

The Kalesa, small horse drawn carriages, were just one of the many ways of seeing the sights of Manila.

And of course there were the famous Jeepneys, developed as a cheap form of transport when the US army sold them to the locals for $1 after WW2. They are bright, colourful and you see them everywhere. They ply certain routes and only cost 13 pesos to ride.

There are motor cycles everywhere ridden by the locals and used as a cheap taxi service for one person. They also have tricycles as a form of tuk tuk type vehicles and motor bikes with sidecars as taxis which are more traditional than the trikes.

I mentioned how cheap I thought the shopping was in my previous blog and today discovered that the average wage here is about AUD$18 a day – not a lot at all!

Our tour visited Rizal Park, a memorial to local hero Jose Rizal who inspired Philipinos to fight for independence. He was executed by firing squad for his role in the revolution and although he never actively sought independence from the Spanish his writings inspired others to rebellion.

When we left the bus to walk to the park we wandered through a forest of tree hugs 🤗

From there we went to the Manila American War Cemetery where over 16,000 servicemen & women are buried. It was very sobering to see so many memorials in these beautiful grounds.

Our final stop on this whirlwind tour was at the exquisite Manila Hotel where we indulged in a very traditional High Tea amidst the splendour of this beautiful old building. I’m not sure what the significance was of the several giant figures that formed part of the decoration but you can see how big they are with Dave standing alongside.

I really enjoyed the vibe of Manila – not so much the traffic though which made getting from one place to the next very stop/start slow!

You’re probably thinking we got through today without any dramas but after arriving back in our cabin after several cocktails that night Dave managed to lose his hearing aids. He’d put them in his pocket when the music had got too loud and they just – poof – disappeared! Luckily they reappeared in the bed the following morning. No one knows how they got there but I’m getting very used to breathing sighs of relief 😅

Life is certainly fun with Dave … but it can have its challenges 🤣🤣🤣