NP: Ottmar Liebert - Surrender 2 Love
Mood: Collected
Armed guards, crowded streets, gunshots and loud noises - this is the every day of Manila, crawling by the window of an old van at a snail's pace. I was feeling better, nearly cured of nausea.
Finding the hotel was again difficult, and even at a pricier four-star place they seemed not to have our reservation, and could only offer a twin room instead of a double I'd booked, but at least upgraded it to executive level.
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| Executive twin room in Ramada Manila Central, a little over 3000 pesos a night. |
Arriving back again to San Mateo the evening before was pleasant and easy. Leaving from my fiance's family's home was hard, filled with awkward hugs, held back tears and unsaid goodbyes.
"Take care of my daughter", the man of the house said. In my head I replied "I will do my best, sir", but in reality could only nod earnestly.
Spanish magic was in the air, with talks of visiting Barcelona sometime in the future. How come that legendary city had never been a destination though I'd visited Spain thrice by now?
The magic turned into a visit to Intramuros, the old walled city of Spanish Manila. The Spaniards replaced the original wooden fort with walls of stone in 1590, but most of Intramuros was destroyed in WWII by the Americans and the Japanese.
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| San Agustin Church |
Now most of Intramuros is no longer within the walls.
Tomorrow it will be time to return to Finland and say goodbye to sunlight for the long arctic winter.
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