Manila

Manila is just a big city. People are very friendly and smile a lot even though they are very poor. They really like Americans especially since we liberated them from the Japanese at the end of World War II. The American military left behind a lot of jeeps which the Filipinos really liked. They converted them into vehicles that carry a lot of people by extending the rear. They continue to handmake these vehicles and they are now the main form of transportation. They are called "jeepnies".

Wehn we returned from sightseeing in Manila we learned of the terrible 8.9 earthquake in Japan and the tsunami which followed it. Fortunately we are safe. The Philippines was under a tsunami warning. However, since we are on the western side of the island it was highly unlikely that we would be affected.

It is really amazing how many natural disasters we have come close to experiencing on this cruise. The earthquake in Christchurch, cyclone Yasi in Queensland as well as the floods there and now the earthquake in Japan not far from us. Now our next worry is a nuclear reactor blowing up since in several days we will be in Seoul, Korea, just west of Japan.

written by  rcodel on March 11, 2011 from Manila, Philippines
from the travel blog: World Cruise - 2011
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