Bangkok Week 522 — Mika's Photos

A weekend in Metro Manila... and 10 full years in Thailand! How time flies!
Note: week 522 = 10 years. Every year consists of 52 weeks and ~1 extra day; and over 10 years, those leftover days add up to 2 weeks!

Good morning from Metro Manila!

Today, we're visiting Intramuros - the historic walled area of Manila. (Which is now surrounded by a golf course.)

What is called "Intramuros" today was synonymous with "Manila" during the Spanish rule.

Most of Intramuros was destroyed at the end of WWII, but significant effort was made to rebuild and restore it in later years.

Reconstructed buildings.

More reconstructed buildings.

An ornate door.

More reconstructed buildings.

The Manila Cathedral - which has been (re)built 8 times now, due to fire, earthquake, and war.

This most recent reconstruction was completed in 1958.

Quite modern-looking stained glass.

Most recently, it was closed from 2012-14 for earthquake retrofitting. Good that they learned from past incidents!

The imposing Intramuros Administration building.

Urgently needed: 230 kitchen staff to start our business. Too bad we didn't think about this earlier.

The entrance to Fort Santiago...

... a citadel built by the Spanish.

Plaza de Armas.

Spanish Barracks Ruins.

The dungeons (from the top).

The dungeons...

... featuring entries from a Lego competition for students.

Looking across the river toward San Nicolas area (and Chinatown).

My new buddy.

The fort is also part of the structure of the walled city. You can walk on the walls.

Back outside the fort: someone scrambled the Scrabbles tiles. They were going for "archbishop".

More reconstructed / preserved buildings.

Small store in the middle of town.

More old buildings.

The San Agustin Church, originally built by the Augustinians in the mid-1500s.

The door of love.

Courtyard inside the monastary.

Apparently this monastery was destroyed during WWII and subsequently rebuilt.

The main chapel - which is now very popular for weddings!

Giant original staircase, built with stone slabs that were brought over by sea from Latin America.

Giant domed ceiling in the staircase.

View overlooking the chapel.

Wedding on-going. The faux-3D ceiling is actually a masterful painting.

The organ - which was not in use that day.

Notes for the choir. The book of music was so big, because rows and rows of people read off the same page.

Rocking chair for the ages! Arms straight, back reclining!

Casa Manila.

Casa Manila is a complex depicting colonial lifestyle.

Feels colonial?

Courtyard.

Courtyard with tourist below.

More Intramuros buildings.

This one looks a bit more modern!

Our last stop is the Baluarte de San Diego.

Wouldn't want to run into this cannon!

People were shorter back then, I suppose!

The concentric circles of the bastion.

Remember when I said that Intramuros is surrounded by a golf course now?

Beware!

The National Museum of Fine Arts - which we only saw from the outside.

One long taxi ride later, it's time for dinner at my go-to dinner place in the mall next door.

Sunday morning: trip to the Ayala Museum.

Among other things, the Ayala Museum is famous for its diorama exhibit: 60 dioramas depicting the history of the Philippines.

The history starts at the very beginning.

Here, the Chinese trade with the locals.

One of the more violent scenes.

Lunch in the mall afterward.

And late afternoon drinks in the lounge.

Bon appetit!

Leaving Manila on Thursday afternoon- just waiting for this AirAsia flight to land.

Tadpole-shaped islands off the coast of Manila.

An Etihad flight on its way to Manila.

Our rose from Andrew is in bloom again!

Celebrating 10 years in Thailand at "nowhere" - a nicely-designed rooftop restaurant in Ekamai.

It's right next to Big C.

Great view of the neighborhood.

Cheers to another 10 -- or another 522 weeks!