Intramuros

     My Intramuros experience wasn't as super awesome as I thought it would be. Let me explain. Intramuros is the part of Manila that the Spanish initially lived in, and so all of the buildings are old and ornate. There are large, gaudy Catholic churches. We walked through a wealthy person's house with Chinese pottery, marble busts, very well-crafted wood furniture. 

     My poor experience started off with a meal at Pugon Roasters. My dissatisfaction was not with the food, but with the fact that we all overate. In fact, I tasted one of the best culinary ideas ever. It was Shepherd's Pie, but instead of mashed potatoes on top, it was mac and cheese. But it was really filling. And to top it off, Dad and Rebecca wanted to go have coffee and a piece of cake afterwards. The ride over there was pretty neat. Manila Bay was on one side, there was a cool transition from small buildings to high rises, there were big boats, and it was kind of relaxing. 

    The moment we get there, we are hawked at by kalesa (horse-drawn carriage) drivers for them to take us for a ride. The taxi driver dropped us off in front of the San Agustin Church, a World Heritage site. Mass had just ended so we walked around in the museum part of the church. Lots of crucifixes, lots of old biblical paintings, lots of Virgin Marys. I think walking around that church was our second mistake. It was a lot of the same stuff, it was hot, and we had just been to church, so we were getting hit over the head with churchy stuff. 

    

    We then walked in a circle around a block, and wandered into a museum. It was a museum on the houses of the wealthy Spaniards. It was three stories of 15th and 16th century furniture. All wooden, lots of mirrors and fabulous displays of wealth. We left and just walked a couple streets and for the most part were done. 

    Another thing I noticed was that in Intramuros, I saw the poorest people in Manila that I had yet seen. Lots of people lived off of the tourism. There were dozens of pedicabs (bicycle cabs), several with a driver sleeping in the seats. There were chickens everywhere. Most of the shops were tiny little things consisting of a counter with a rack of processed food behind it. I saw a concrete frame of a house with people living in it. No roof, just 2 or 3 concrete walls. 

     If asked again, I would probably come back, because I know that I could have had a better time if it was more structured or if we had some sort of guide.