Tag: <span>graveyard</span>

Date: May 14th 2014

After my Corregidor island tour, I took a break the following day to do some shopping in Manila. Today, I chose to spend my afternoon checking out Manila’s Chinese Cemetery. My ‘first’ Pinay friend Aimee told me about the cemetery and she suggested I check it out. That was back in 2011. Well, three years later, here I am.

Getting to the Chinese Cemetery wasn’t as easy. I mean, if you get to Abad Santos station, you will see the cemetery right away… but it’s finding the right entrance that’s the challenge. I got down at Abad Santos but when I couldn’t find an entrance nearby, I asked the staff at the LRT and they told I had to go to R. Papa, the very next station! Annoyed, I took the train to R.Papa.

Manila Chinese cemetery North Gate — I walked out of R. Papa station, by the road… and all I saw were the closed gates at the north entrance. Ugh.

Boundary wall Chinese cemetery Manila — I wondered how the heck I could get in. There was no one I could ask either.

Annoyed, I walked back and found myself walking through a barangay(?).

Manila barangay fiesta decorations Philippines — I just kept walking around assuming there would be an entrance to the cemetery somewhere behind

Stage barangay event Manila — But I couldn’t go much further because the road was blocked with this stage set up

Kids barangay Manila Philippines — So I walked back

I walked back to R. Papa where a bunch of tricycle taxi drivers accosted me asking where I want to go. I didn’t feel like wasting time anymore so I just hopped into one, bargained it down to 30 pesos and asked the guy to take me to the right entrance of the Manila Chinese Cemetery.

Manila Chinese Cemetery south gate entrance — The tricycle rode all the way back to Abad Santos station and then passed it to take a left. Another left turn and voila: I was at the right entrance!

The security guard at the entrance asked me where I was from and I replied saying I’m not from media, just a tourist. There is no entrance fee or anything, so one can just walk in. But as soon as I went in, a older guy approached me and asked me if I wanted a guide. He said he would show me around the cemetery in a bike and tell me all about the people buried here. How much? ₱800 (₹1100/$17/€14) he said. I said no. I even asked him if he was an official guide here.

I walked further inside… and another “guide” approached me. He offered to take me around for just ₱400. At this point I was doubting these “guides”. So I just said no to the second guy as well. Then this second fellow went and urinated beside a grave house.

Man peeing Manila Chinese Cemetery — I’m not kidding. That’s the guy, in red, peeing outside someone’s grave.

Manila Chinese Cemetery houses — Oh, by the way, these are not houses… but graves

Continue reading “Philippines: Manila Chinese Cemetery – what it’s like inside” »

Date: 17th April 2011

Technically yesterday was day one in Philippines, but today was when I would officially begin my sightseeing. After a good hearty sleep, I woke up in time for breakfast at Kabayan (they start serving really early).

Kabayan hotel Pasay reception Manila Philippines — The reception

Kabayan hotel Pasay Pinoy Star cafe Manila — Where they serve breakfast and lunch

The breakfast and lunch isn’t your usual buffet offering. You queue up and get served your choice of dishes. No seconds.

Kabayan hotel Pasay breakfast Manila Philippines — Still, they give you a mouthful

It was enough to kick-start my day.

Filipino animal expert TV show Kabayan hotel — Although, I went back to my room and ended up watching TV for some time. This Filipino Steve Irwin was showcasing the natural wonders of Palawan, a place I was going to. So I considered it ‘research’ (even though he spoke mostly Tagalog).

As per my trip itinerary, I was going to be leaving Manila tonight for Banaue, but thanks to Aimee who already bought the bus ticket for me, it freed me up today to go see the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial — which wasn’t far from where I was staying.

I had to check out by noon — and I duly did so by noon. I kept my luggage at the reception and told them I would collect it in the evening. Since it was already 12pm, I had lunch from Kabayan before leaving.

Kabayan hotel pasay lunch Manila Philippines — My first taste of Filipino cuisine. First impression: dry. Not a whole lot of varied flavour. Unlike Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, I guess curry isn’t common here. I only had chicken stock to flavour the hard sticky rice.

Done with lunch, I made my way to a very busy Pasay MRT station. Bought myself a one way ticket to Ayala station (as that’s where Aimee told me I needed to go first).

Pasay MRT terminal Manila Philippines — Ticket cost ₱10

Ayala MRT station Manila — It was a short 5 minute ride to Ayala

SM Glorietta mall Ascott Taguig city Manila — This stop is is a popular shopping hub because of SM and the Glorietta malls here

I also saw a Convergys office here, not that I was surprised to know big Indian BPOs have offices here in the Philippines.

Manila Taguig city road — I took a taxi because the cemetery was to be a short drive from here

But the taxi driver in his broken English started hinting as though he had no idea about the cemetery, its existence or how to get there — which I knew was just an act. The cemetery is quite famous and located in the posh Fort Bonifacio area in Taguig. Plus, its freaking huge!

Manila Taguig city office buildings — I was getting a little irritated by the taxi driver as we were slowly driving around business parks with the cemetery nowhere in sight

Fortunately, there was a traffic policeman up ahead and I forced him to stop so that I could ask the officer as to how to get to the cemetery. The officer gave the taxi driver instructions and I could see a smile on the driver’s face as if he was thinking “yeah, yeah, I know where it is. Fine, I’ll take him there!”

A few minutes later, I arrived at the cemetery. The fare: ₱135 ($3/€2.2). Way too much!

Manila American war cemetery entrance gates — Anyway… phone camera in, time for the DSLR to begin its usage

There isn’t an entry fee for the memorial. The security guard only asked me to sign my name in and advised me not to step on the grass or walk through the first two lanes (don’t know why).

Manila American War Cemetery and memorial view from entrance — Didn’t look like there were many people inside

Manila American War Cemetery Memorial left trees — Stuck to the left side

Manila American War Cemetery War Memorial big tree — With over 17,000 graves, this is the largest war cemetery outside the United States

Manila American War Cemetery Memorial tombstones Taguig panorama — I shot a lot of panoramas because there was no other way I could capture the scale of the cemetery

Manila American War Cemetery War Memorial plaza — The Memorial Plaza

Manila American War Cemetery Memorial fountain caretaker — I didn’t seem many workers here

Manila American War Cemetery & Memorial airplane flying over — I could see the cemetery from the sky just as I was about land yesterday

Manila American War Cemetery Memorial Jewish tombstone — You find the occasional Jew among the crosses

Manila American War Cemetery Memorial tombstone hill — This cemetery is a symmetrical haven

Manila American War Cemetery war Memorial tombstones wide panorama — (Panorama comprised of 12 shots)

Manila American War Cemetery war memorial uncut trees — I like how they decided not to cut some trees

Manila American War Cemetery War Memorial white tombstones wide panorama — Panorama comprised of 11 shots

Manila American War Cemetery war memorial white tombstones wide angle panorama — Panorama comprised of 13 shots

Manila American War Cemetery memorial chapel panorama — Back of the Memorial Plaza chapel

Manila American War cemetery & memorial afternoon — I took a break from the circle and decided to check out the Memorial plaza

Manila American War cemetery & memorial chapel front — The chapel

I wrote a note in the visitor’s book they have inside the chapel and left.

Manila American war cemetery memorial plaza battles — The battles these soldiers fought are all showcased here

Manila American war cemetery memorial pacific battles — Mostly World War II and the other Pacific battles America fought in

Manila American war cemetery memorial plaza soldiers names on walls — The names of the 17,000 plus soldiers buried here are engraved on these walls

Manila American war cemetery memorial plaza Filipino soldiers names — I couldn’t help but notice there were a lot of Filipino names on the walls too

Manila American war cemetery memorial plaza filipino soldiers — Ah, that explains it. I was under the impression only American soldiers were buried here.

Manila American war cemetery memorial plaza Idaho seal — The have the respective state seal corresponding to the walls with the soldiers from the same state

Manila American war cemetery memorial gardener — Lone worker

Manila American war cemetery memorial road — I left the Memorial Plaza

Manila American war cemetery memorial sparrows — Took the 70-200mm lens out for this shot

Manila American war cemetery war memorial crosses — Even though it was scorching hot, I chose to come at this time for the lighting: I wanted shadows

Manila American war cemetery memorial road panorama — Panorama comprised of 10 shots

Manila American War cemetery memorial jeep — You can bring your vehicle inside if all you want is drive through

Manila American war cemetery memorial water evaporating — You can’t really see it but the water was evaporating as soon as it hot the hot tarmac

Manila American war cemetery war memorial section panorama — Larger the panoramas, the smaller the crops when making it fit on my website

Manila American war cemetery war memorial tombstones black & white — Had to try black & white

Manila American war cemetery memorial graves black & white — Added a bit of grain to this one

Manila American war cemetery memorial lawn graves — It was time to leave

Manila American war cemetery memorial medal of honor tombstone — A recipient of the Medal of Honor

Manila American war cemetery war memorial tombstones hill road — Took this on the Canon 450D, which I was also carrying

Manila American war cemetery memorial BGC buildings panorama — Panorama comprised of 14 shots

Manila American war cemetery memorial rainbow sprinklers — Cool huh?

Manila American war cemetery memorial plaza view panorama — I walked back to the Memorial Plaza for one final look

View from memorial plaza panorama — From a little higher up

Manila American war cemetery memorial crosses shadows — After 3 hours of sweating it out in the hot sun, I finally walked towards the gates

Manila American war cemetery memorial white lines — I felt satisfied with the photographs I took today. A good start to this trip.

American Battle Monuments Commission Manila cemetery memorial info — The memorial is maintained by a US government agency

I went inside the visitor’s lounge and stayed for a few minutes. Not that they had anything to see inside, but the room had air-conditioning and a water cooler. The retired American army colonel who manages the place smiled at me as he walked into his office and said: “Enjoy it”.

Enjoy it I did 🙂

Feeling a bit cooler, I left the memorial. The Manila American Cemetery and Memorial is one among the few attractions in Manila worth seeing. You may not want to spend 3 hours here, that too in this heat, but I found it peaceful and a calm place for a bit of photography. Of course, do keep in mind this is still a cemetery honouring soldiers and not your usual family picnic park. So do show some respect for the dead once inside.

Bonifacio Global City Taguig Manila — I took a taxi back to Ayala station

The taxi ride was through McKinley Road, and I quickly realized how posh this area was. The taxi driver told me very rich people live on McKinley Hill.

McKinley hill road to Ayala Manila Philippines — Passed a few highly fortified houses, which usually implies bureaucrats, individuals with questionable incomes sources and other high profile people live here

Ayala Malls McKinley road Manila — Unlike my rip-off taxi ride to the cemetery, the journey back was through the right path and it only cost ₱56

Glorietta malls Ayala Manila Philippines — Figuring I still had some time (and craving for some more air-conditioning), I checked out Glorietta Mall

Glorietta Ayala mall Marks & Spencer store Manila — This was the only photo I took from inside before the security man came over and told me photography is prohibited. Oh well.

SM Ayala taxi line Manila Philippines — I checked out a few floors and left soon after

I took the MRT back to Pasay, went back to Kabayan, freshened up, collected my bags and called Aimee. She asked me to come to Central station, where she would meet me there.

Once at Central, we took a taxi and went to Sampaloc, cost ₱70.

Cayco Street Espana blvd Sampaloc Philippines — We got down here

From there, it was a short walk to the Autobus office. I collected my ticket, paid Aimee back (₱450 for a one-way ticket to Banaue) and we sat a convenient store to chat for some time.

Aimee in front of Autobus station Manila — This is Aimee, and the Autobus office is in the background

I saw Aimee off and boarded my bus, a small one. I’ll talk about how the ride was in my next post but all in all, today was a good start. I had high hopes for the next few days.

Previous post:

Philippines 2011: Flying over South China Sea for the first time

Other posts in this series:

Philippines 2011: Day 2 – Banaue rice terraces; trekking to Batad village

Philippines 2011: Day 3 – Banaue town; heading to Sagada via Bontoc

Philippines 2011: Day 3 – Sagada’s Lumiang burial cave, Sumaguing cave, Hanging Coffins of Echo valley

Philippines 2011: Leaving Sagada for Baguio, and arriving in Angeles city (Days 4 & 5)

Philippines 2011: Day 6 – Good Friday in San Fernando, San Pedro Cutud Lenten Rites

Philippines 2011: Day 7 – Leaving Angeles City for Manila, Mall of Asia

Philippines 2011: Day 8 – Manila tour: Rizal Park, Intramuros, Manila Cathedral, China Town

Philippines 2011: Day 9 – Cebu: Fort San Pedro, Basilica of Santo Niño, Taoist Temple

Philippines 2011: Day 10 – Bohol tour: Chocolate Hills, Loboc river cruise, Tarsiers, churches