Manila, the capital, is an eclectic mix of colors and odors, both good and bad. On one hand, it is a photographer’s haven for its high-rise hotels and towers set against the scenic harbor and sunset of the Manila Bay. Traditional calesas (horse-drawn coaches) still clack their way through the narrow alleyways of Intramuros, a former Spanish enclave famous for its fortified Fort Santiago, baroque Manila Cathedral and High-Renaissance-style San Agustin Church, the burial site of the conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legazpi.
City of contrasts
A bridge connects Intramuros to Quiapo, where Christian devotees of the Quiapo Church and the Black Nazarene Procession peacefully coexist with pagan fortunetellers. Contrasts are also strong in Binondo, where the traditional Chinese culture of Ongpin meets the modern shopping haste of Divisoria.
Hotels
Malate, Ermita and Baywalk are where patches of poverty are tucked in between rows of upscale bars, restaurants, malls, and hotels. Among these hotels are the five-star Hyatt Hotel and Casino, Manila Diamond Hotel, Century Park Hotel, Pan Pacific Hotel, and the centuries-old Manila Hotel. Alongside these are less expensive but still classy hotels like G Hotel and Cherry Blossoms Hotel.
Distinctively Filipino
Behind the chaos, the thick smog, and the heavy traffic brought by relentless Westernization, Manila is distinctively Filipino. Its centuries of art and heritage are stored in the National Museum, Cultural Center of the Philippines, and the Luneta Park, the burial grounds of the national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal.
University culture
Rizal, together with co-patriots Gen. Antonio Luna and Marcelo H. del Pilar, studied at the University of Santo Tomas (UST), the oldest university in Asia. It is Manila’s largest university and one of the biggest in the world. It has produced four Philippine presidents (Sergio Osmeña, Manuel L. Quezon, Diosdado Macapagal and Jose P. Laurel), as well as six Supreme Court justices and three Philippine vice presidents. It is the only university in Asia to have been visited by two popes three times: Pope Paul VI (November 28, 1970), and Pope John Paul II (February 18, 1981 and January 13, 1995).
For these achievements, UST became the nucleus of other universities built around it. Among these are Far Eastern University and De La Salle University, some of the top universities in the world that contribute to the lively youth culture of Manila’s University Belt (U-belt).
