David: Snoring in a City That Never Sleeps

Manila rocks all night long. The Waldens on the other hand, eh, not even just a little. Exhaustion overcame Kathy at 7:30 last night and she passed out fully clothed on our bed just moments after promising to read a bedtime story to Rene. The boy fell asleep sometime after 8 o’clock, and I finally grew weary of nodding off during my evening rosary and reading around 9:00. Do we know how to party or what?

It had been a full, fun day, but not enough to lead to the above scenario. We’re blaming jetlag. Has nothing at all to do with our ages. It can’t. Right?

After sleeping in Tuesday morning, we decided to make a bold venture into the teeming streets of Manila just before the lunch hour. Our destination was Robinson Galleria, a shopping mall basically across the street from our hotel. But getting there isn’t as easy as just crossing a street. Instead, we had to maneuver down a narrow, crowded sidewalk in one direction – walking mere inches from six lanes of bumper-to-bumper, horn-blaring traffic – going up some stairs, crossing above the street to the metro station, down more stairs, and then proceeding in the opposite direction to Robinson’s.

Being not entirely sure whether it was safe for a couple of tourists to walk these streets (though figuring it probably was), my goal was to appear as if we knew what we were doing and “belonged” on the streets. That’s not exactly easy to do when you’re the only two white people in the area and you’re in the company of a brown-skinned boy who lost his “authentic Filipino” credentials by walking with his hands held over his ears because of all the horns. Although we elicited several thousand stares, we made it safely to our destination and back to the hotel, getting lost only once in the process.

It was a nice mall, pretty much like something one would find in the United States. Kathy bought some washrags for us since the hotel has none, and we’d like to go back to buy a Cebuano-English dictionary, Cebuano being Leah May’s native tongue. We also had a nice meal at a sit-down fast-food restaurant. Bringing back memories of our trip years ago to France, I tried to order the sizzling pork sisig but wound up with some kind of chicken dish. Fortunately, it was quite tasty. (In France, I had ordered the “piece of hind” from the English menu but wound up with salmon. I may be the only man ever to visit France who couldn’t get himself a piece of hind even when it was on the menu…)

We then met our driver, Mang Ramon, and, by and by, proceeded to Intramuros, the original walled-in section of the city. There we visited St. Augustin Church, the oldest church in Manila which continues to serve as an active parish. The cornerstone was laid in 1599. Much of the facility has been converted into a museum. Afterward we stopped at Fort Santiago, which has housed Spanish, British, American and Japanese occupying forces over the centuries. Many executions have taken place there, including that of the Philippines’ national hero, Jose Rizal, and hundreds of Filipino and American prisoners during World War II.

Once back to the hotel, we finally succumbed to Rene’s daylong (OK, months-long) pleading and had dinner at Jollibee, the Philippine leader in the fast-food industry, every bit as pervasive as McDonald’s is back in the States. Rene enjoyed a hotdog, Kathy liked the barbecue chicken and rice. The Double Yum with Cheese grew on me as I ate. It’s a burger with some sort of special sauce I never quite identified, but was something like French salad dressing. The french fries were delicious; I’m sure they continue to use the transfats which U.S. fast food joints have replaced in recent years.

And now we’re ready for Wednesday to begin. In a couple of hours, Ramon will take us to Manila Bay where we have reserved spots on a cruise to Corregidor Island. That’s where Gen. Douglas McArthur and thousands of American and Filipino troops held out after the Japanese invaded Dec. 8, 1941. It’s where the general made his famous “I shall return” speech, and the Bataan Death March began. (My father served on the USS Corregidor during the Korean War era, by the way.) We understand it’s a very moving guided tour, and as a WWII Pacific Theater buff, I’m really looking forward to it. Rene is excited about the hour-long trip on a jet boat. I think Kathy is just graciously acquiescing to her boys’ desires. Such a wonderful wife and mother we have!