I got up early and took a taxi to the Cultural Center of Philippines building. Today I was going to go to Corregidor island, used by US forces as a defense base and a key island in the Philippine battles against the Japanese in World War II.
This is the CCP building, close to Manila BayI got down behind the CCP building and walked towards the rightEventually you come across signs pointing to the Sun Cruises office. Although the ferry leaves at 8am, you are asked to ‘check in’ by 7am or so.
If you want to do a tour of Corregidor island, you really don’t have much choice besides going via Sun Cruises. They have a monopoly over the ferry service to Corregidor island and tours conducted there. I paid ₱2200 (Rs.3000/$48/€38) for the day tour. I couldn’t find anything less from any other tour provider. You can get the fact sheet about the island here.
Sun Cruises offer cycle tours to Corregidor island tooWe left the dockI took this photo before departure, but it was pretty full by the time we leftThe view of Manila skyline from sea30 minutes later, I could see Corregidor island in the distance
During WW2, Corregidor island was seized by Japanese forces and used it to house American and Filipino POWs.
Corregidor island is now a preserved tourist attractionFor a tour around the island, we would be going in one of these train-like carriages, called a tranvia.Once we were assigned into groups, we boarded our respective tranviasShe was our tour guide. Turns out, she’s part of the family that manages the trust looking after Corregidor island.As pretty as the views were, it was scorching hot!Throughout the island journey, you go uphill and downhill quite a few timesCorregidor island has a few private beachesBataan in the distanceOur first stop on the tour was at the Manuel Quezon Memorial Park. Manuel Quezon was the first Filipino president of the Philippines. (Philippines was a US colony)The Filipino Heroes Memorial is also situated hereThey have murals honouring the sacrifice of Filipino soldiers throughout many battlesThere’s a mini-museum housed inside the structure the flag pole rests onIt housed some paintings, a collection of photos and other memorabiliaMany photos of Manuel Quezon and his familyI was back out againAfter 30 minutes, we were asked to return to our tranviaNext stop on the tour was at the Japanese Peace GardenThis was the currency used in Philippines during Japanese occupationThe Japanese Peace Garden has a shrine, and veterans and their families visit often to pay their tributesI don’t know what this wasBattle cannonsImagine warships heading this wayI couldn’t roam around muchWe headed back to our tranviasFrom there we were driven to Malinta tunnelMalinta tunnel was the last stronghold of the joint Philippine and American military prior to the Japanese takeoverWe went inThey have set up bronze statues depicting what life was like for soldiers and other staff stationed inside this tunnelOfficesThe tunnel hospitalI can’t imagine what it must have been like to treat wounded soldiers in these conditionsA store roomThat guy is real. He was dressed in garb similar to what the soldiers stationed inside the tunnel used to wear.We cam out the other end. The tunnel is 254 metres longSome facts about Malinta tunnelAnd that was that
From Malinta Tunnel, we moved down to the bottomside shore.
General MacArthur’s statue with his supposed famous words promising to return from exileThe waters were temptingA panoramaUnfortunately we couldn’t lounge on these sandsBecause after leaving bottomside, we made our way uphill to go grab lunchWe were going to be eating at the only hotel on the island, Corregidor Inn (http://www.corregidorphilippines.com/corr_inn.html)Corregidor Inn even offers dormitory type accommodationLoved this screwpine juiceIt was a buffet lunch at the La Playa restaurant. On offer was: Chopsuey vegetables, fried chicken, roasted porkloin, seafood paella, spaghetti carbonara, salad, snacks and simple desserts.
You know what, usually on such day tour packages, the food most often sucks. But this was not the case here. It was pretty good! The buffet options weren’t vast but whatever was on offer was really well done. Sure I was hungry, but I can vouch for the taste.
After a satisfying lunch, we resumed our tour under the scorching sun.These were the Middleside Barracks, quarters built in 1915 for the soldiers and staff stationed at Corregidor island… until it was bombed and demolished in 1941 by the JapaneseSome parts of of the concrete buildings still stand
Every stop on the tour lasted 15 to 30 minutes.
From the Middleside Barracks to Battery WayBattery Way is collection of 12-inch mortarsStorage for artillery I guessBig cannons… but we would see bigger onesThese mortars have been repainted
The tranvia then took us from Battery Way to a higher point facing the open seas.
This is the biggest mortar cannon on Corregidor islandNeedless to say this mortar had a very long firing rangeJapanese warships would bomb this area; guessing these are shrapnel marksFrom there we moved up to a viewpoint. From up here one gets to see the tailside of Corregidor. Corregidor island is shaped like a sperm or a tadpole.And that in the distance, beyond the island, is actually ManilaMalinta tunnel from up hereNot too far from the viewpoint is the Pacific War Memorial. This is the Freedom Torch monument.The Pacific War Memorial was built by the Americans in 1968It honours the American and Filipino soldiers and generals who fought the battles hereI walked towards the dome
There’s even a small museum inside the memorialThey had some photos of what life was like on Corregidor island during World War 2. This is a carabao (water buffalo) that was used to carry supplies around.Guns used in World War 2 battlesThe map depicting the Pacific battlesBack out of the museum, I walked towards the Topside BarracksNot only was this the biggest barracks on Corregidor island, but at the time of completion, this was world’s longest barracks, stretching 463 metres long.The topside barracks, like everything else on the island, were destroyed in 1941 when the Japanese bombed the islandThis is an open ground across from the Topside BarracksThis was the only movie theatre on Corregidor islandIt’s hard to stand here and not imagine what was on screen regaling an audience in those daysThe final stop on our island tour was at the Corregidor lighthouseDistances to major world cities from Corregidor islandI climbed to the top of the lighthouse. A modern day communications tower next door.Bataan from up here
I went back down, hopped into my tranvia and we were driven back to our boats. The Corregidor island tour was over. We landed back in Manila just past 4pm and I soon got a jeepney going towards Vito Cruz station.
The Corregidor island tour is one of the more pricier tours I’ve down in South East Asia, and to be honest, it wasn’t the greatest for the price. Then again, the island and its history isn’t the most pleasant one. The guide told us a lot about the atrocities that took place on Corregidor island — under the Americans, the Japanese and even under the Philippines government post independence — none of which I mentioned because I suggest you hear it from the guides themselves. So if you like a bit of history, a visit to Corregidor is worth it. If not, save your money if all you are looking for is fun and excitement.
When in Manila, you really don’t have much to do in terms of tourist activities. So I guess that’s what really motivated me to go for this tour. Here’s hoping my reader enjoyed it.
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5 Comments
Gale
18/11/2014
I wonder why they didn’t tell you about the Jabiddah massacre that happened in Corregidor in 1968. <http://thepinoyweekly.com/?p=3766
Oh well, maybe because it's highly political.
Gale
18/11/2014I wonder why they didn’t tell you about the Jabiddah massacre that happened in Corregidor in 1968. <http://thepinoyweekly.com/?p=3766
Oh well, maybe because it's highly political.
Mithun Divakaran Reply:
November 18th, 2014 at 11:45 AM
Nope, they did tell us about it.
Gale
18/11/2014Really?! What did they say?
Reginald Tagavilla
29/02/2016Enjoyed reading your blog. Keep up!
Mithun Divakaran Reply:
March 1st, 2016 at 1:43 PM
Thanks Reginald, keep reading! 🙂