Manila is the tenth largest city in the world with a population of about 21 million - not counting the people who live on the street, I imagine. It would be interesting to see statistics on those numbers. They must be very high.
Manila is also not your average South East Asian city. Actually it feels more like a Latin American city. Probably the mix of Spanish and American influences. The Philippines was a Spanish colony for 300 years before becoming an American colony and it is the only country in SE Asia (besides the new East Timor) which claims Christianity as its "official" religion. Also, unlike other SE Asian cities, the cuisine is just awful.
A little known fact is that much of Manila was laid to waste during the Second World War. It was second only to Warsaw in its destruction. This is where America and Japan came to blows, and Australia can probably thank Manila for being the distraction which kept the Japanese from invading further south.
The old city, Intramuros, which lies within a fortified city wall must have been quite attractive once. Very little of the original remains,
Fortified walls
Intramuros, Manilabut there are glimpses of its former grandeur in the cathedrals and some partly restored buildings. My favourite, St. Augustine's Cathedral, is modest from the outside, but the interior, in its cool cement greys and pale turquoise, with blue glass chandeliers is quite lovely.
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