Media Category: Philippines 2025

Me eating the 1st bite of food, a chicken ball, on my Manila Street Food and Drinks walking tour in Manila’s Chinatown, called Binondo. I’m trying this fried chicken snack with some chili for added spice. It had a bit of a taste but can’t say I would go back for more. Thanks Tessie for the photo. (Sept. 14, 2025)

Me enjoying a cup of coffee at DFW Airport waiting to hop on my 13-plus hour American Airlines flight to Tokyo with a 3-hour layover before taking a Japan Airlines, almost 5-hour flight, to my final destination of Manila, Philippines. (Sept. 9, 2025)

Our parents tell us not to stand in the middle of a busy street, but here I am standing under the Manila Chinatown Welcome Arch. This Chinatown area is also known as Binondo. It was established in 1594 by the Spaniards, who colonized the Philippines in 1565, as a settlement for Catholic Chinese immigrants. A thriving center for trade and Chinese culture, Manila’s Chinatown is considered as the world’s oldest Chinatown outside of China. (Sept. 12, 2025)

A map of Intramuros, Manila’s ‘Walled City’.

Also, I want to officially thank these ugly, bulky Merrell Women’s Moab 2 Waterproof Hiking Shoes for keeping my feet dry as I stepped through a variety of water puddles while also walking along a variety of uneven surfaces. I complained about bringing you on my travels but now that I’ve seen how helpful you have been, I want to apologize for being superficial and ungrateful. (Sept. 14, 2025)

This is the Baluarte de San Francisco de Dilao is a historic stone bulwark and defensive structure within Intramuros, the Walled City of Manila, built in 1592. I am looking at it from my hotel room at the Bayleaf. (Sept. 14, 2025)

The altar inside the Archdiocesan Shrine of Nuestra Señora de Guia, commonly known as Ermita Shrine or Ermita Church, a Roman Catholic church and shrine located in the district of Ermita in the city of Manila. (Sept. 14, 2025)

At the end of the ramparts of Manila’s murallas or walls and taking the stairs down to head back to the Bayleaf, my hotel in Intramuros. (Sept. 15, 2025)

My comfortable room at the Bayleaf withing Intramuros, the Walled City with great views of the Baluarte de San Francisco de Dilao. a historic stone bulwark and defensive structure. (Sept. 11, 2025)

Me walking along the walls of Fort Santiago, the historic citadel within Intramuros, Manila’s walled city, built by the Spanish in 1571 to defend the city at the mouth of the Pasig River. (Sept. 12, 2025)

Just a short distance away from Fort Santiago, we walked to the Manila Cathedral in Intramuros. The Cathedral’s history is one of repeated destruction and reconstruction, having been built and rebuilt at least eight times since its founding in 1571 as a parish church. Each iteration has faced destruction from fires, earthquakes, and war, most significantly during the World War II, leading to the current, eighth structure completed in 1958. The facade is a Neo-Romanesque structure adorned with statues of saints sculpted from Roman travertine stone and featuring artistic bronze panels on its main portal that depict historical episodes and Marian invocations. (Sept. 12, 2025)

The former American barracks alongside the solid curtain wall of Baluartillo de San Francisco Javier and the moats surrounding the Walled City of Intramuros, including the area around Fort Santiago, were drained and converted into a golf course by the American colonial administration in the early 20th century. The original purpose of the moats was to serve as a water defense system, but they became unsanitary and a breeding ground for diseases like malaria and dengue. (Sept. 12, 2025)

The former American barracks alongside the solid curtain wall of Baluartillo de San Francisco Javier and the moats surrounding the Walled City of Intramuros, including the area around Fort Santiago, were drained and converted into a golf course by the American colonial administration in the early 20th century. The original purpose of the moats was to serve as a water defense system, but they became unsanitary and a breeding ground for diseases like malaria and dengue. (Sept. 12, 2025)

The restored moat, by the main gate of Fort Santiago, was a crucial element of Manila’s Intramuros defenses, a man-made canal designed to surround and protect Fort Santiago from invaders. (Sept. 12, 2025)

Me standing at the entrance of the reconstructed main gate of Fort Santiago in Manila’s Intramuros. After its destruction during WWII, Fort Santiago was declared as a Shrine of Freedom in 1950. Its restoration by the Philippine government began in 1953. (Sept. 12, 2025)