2024 Tokyo to Bali - March 23rd MANILA

Happy, Palm Sunday Eve! This a Manila's black Jesus. I'll tell you more about Him later in this post. I thought it was important though to put Him from front and center before we got started! 

Today was a study in contrast! Our adventure began with a bus tour on the legends and traditions of Manila. We were treated to a lengthy and narrated view of many of the older districts of Manila. Here are many of the places we drove by and/or through...

• Museums
• The Lechon district
• The oldest Chinatown (in the world?)
• Chinese cemetery
• St. John the Baptist Parish
• The Shrine of the Black Jesus (Don't get excited, I'll explain this further)
• A street (many streets) full of vendors selling everything!
• The Intramuros
• Monuments & Statues honoring much of their history
• A KFC and Shakey's Pizza (shout out to Grandpa Paul and his days as a pizza man!)

I'll start by explaining the overall feel of Manilla from the eyes of a tourist on a bus. John is going to say that I am crazy, but I so wish that there was a way to REALLY experience Manilla by spending time with a family or some residents and get to know how they really live instead of making shallow assumptions through a cursory view from the safety of an air-conditioned bus. 

From my very limited view, it looks and feels very neglected and impoverished. The buildings and streets have trash everywhere. Children are sparsely clothed (maybe from the heat) and are often hanging out on the sidewalks with less supervision than we are used to in the States. I am sure that CPS would be called in similar situations. They didn't appear to be unloved or uncared for, just living a very different existence. We drive past a doorway to a building where there were four people up close to the building in a stairwell sleeping on cardboard (maybe naptime?) and the baby is sleeping in a stroller, close to the street at least 10 feet away from the sleeping family. Anyone could walk past and simply stroll away with the little one. Does this not happen here in this culture? Maybe it doesn't due to the cost of feeding the little thing! Our tour guide tells us that the average person makes an equivalent of approximately $300 per month with rent often costing @$100 per month. Families often have to live together to make ends meet with some of the family sacrificing themselves by going to other countries to work and send money back home to support the family here in Manila.  

Like many communities, they are so many ways to view it and so many perspectives. I will try to focus on the highlights and the main aspects of their culture that I imagine (in my admittedly very limited and most likely ignorant view) that they enjoy and find meaningful. 

They enjoy fast food like us!

One of their customs during special events and holidays is to purchase a lechon (roasted pig) and have it be the centerpiece of their feast. It is quite horrifying if you think on it too much and spend any time considering the poor animal at all. I feel compelled to upload pictures though as it was a pretty interesting visit to the lechon district where much of the prep and sale of these beasts took place. John spent a little time trying to explain to a few or the vendors that if they simply cut up some of the meat and sold it on sandwiches with a BBQ sauce marketed as Manila sauce, they could make a fortune. No one was listening or cared to consider the advice from such a wise and sage advisor! Their loss.

Here is the pit with rows of places to cook several at once. Most of the cooking had already been done in preparation for Palm Sunday. They were in the processing of packaging, sending out on motor bike and selling the remaining lechon.

We also visited what we are being told is the first ever "Chinatown" district then headed to the Chinese cemetery with all of their mausoleums great and small. A few facts that we learn surround the history of the Chinese in Manila. They apparently own most of the banks here and encompass most of the elite and the very wealthy. They have their own cemetery as they couldn't ship their past loved ones home to China when they died. Many of them believe that they live beyond death, so the surviving family members often leave food and supplies at the burial sites. I guess burial would be the wrong word as all of the tombs that we visited were above ground mausoleums. Some were modest in nature and were simply concrete or granite boxes. Others were entire buildings with air conditioning and various adornments honoring and providing for the deceased. There were whole sections that they called millionaires row where the mausoleums were quite grand and much larger than necessary in my opinion. Each of these plots were leased for 50-year terms. If at the end of the lease, the family didn't renew for some reason, the body would be removed, and the space would be leased to a new tenant. 😬

I thought these sculptures were interesting! Are they dogs, lions or dragons?

Here are some elephants for Lauren!

Our next stop was the parish of St John the Baptist. There is a shrine here called the black Nazarene The color of the wood that it is carved out of is... You guessed it, black! It is believed to be carved out of kamagong Wood which is very dense and considered an "iron wood". The statue is over 400 years old and thought to have miraculous powers. Believers travel on pilgrimages to see it and flock by the thousands ever year to be present during the Feast of the Nazarene, which occurs every year on January 9th. To touch even the ropes that pull the encased shrine is thought to bring healing powers and miracles into the lives of the believer.  Consider searching the "Festival of the Nazarene" online and look for videos of this amazing display of faith in our Lord Jesus! I will say, I was overcome as I walked into the church. I couldn't say whether it was the passion of the believers or simply the presence of the Holy Spirit. God was definitely in the room!!!

As we left the church, we entered an area much like we see in many other countries where a market has been created to gather people together for commerce and community. On this day, many were preparing and selling their version of palms meant for celebration of Palm Sunday.

Here are more pictures of the market...

I am wearing a mask as the air quality in Manila has left me struggling with a wracking cough when not wearing it. 

A vendor selling colored chicks. 🤔

There was so much to see and tell you about, but I feel as if I've droned on too long already. I'll end with a short overview of the mall! Seriously, you'll understand in a minute. 

We got back to the ship after the tour which lasted approximately three hours and had lunch. We got back to the buses that shuttled guests to the local mall ever 30 minutes, precisely 2 minutes after the last bus left. Ugh! We are now waiting for 28 minutes to leave.........

We arrive and I immediately start checking prices as I and curious on what goods cost since people make so little money here. I am shocked!!! Prices are similar to what we'd see at our local mall in America. People walking around the mall are dressed just like you'd see in America. Fast food restaurants are everywhere, clean, organized and abundant! This mall has four levels, and the shops are full. The contrast to what we saw earlier in the day has my mind trying to reconcile how people live in this country. The pay so low, the cost of everything so high, and the social expectations as displayed by the mall crowd just didn't make sense. I resolve to understand that I just don't understand! It makes a person really think hard about our lives and what we value most. What are we spending our must valuable resources on? I find that I desire to be more intentional about the blessings that I enjoy and appreciate the abundance in my own life that much more. The true value though is the love that we all share and its common bonds that tie is all together! 

Here is a little fun from John...