Miguel López de Legazpi founded Manila in 1572, fifty years after Ferdinand Magellan claimed the islands for Spain. In what was to become the de facto capital of the country, the Spaniards built a walled fortress facing Manila Bay. Cannons atop its crenellated parapets, double moats, and redoubts defended the fortress, with adobe walls up to three meters thick. Within these walls (intra muros in Spanish), Spain’s wealthy citizens and bureaucrats settled, establishing a bustling city. The city was mainly built to repel attacks from Chinese pirates as well as the British and American armies. Filipino forced labor completed the city nearly 150 years later.

The pre-Spanish settlement of Rajah Sulayman was a wooden fort, on the ashes of which the Spanish fortress was built — Spain's major defense position in the islands. Also known as the “Shrine of Freedom,” in memory of the heroic Filipinos imprisoned and killed here during the Spanish and Japanese eras. Partly rebuilt from the ruins of World War II, it is now a park and promenade housing a resident theatre company — PETA — which has used the ramparts, old garrison, and small chapel as theatres for both traditional and modern plays.

Inside Intra Muros, you will also find Rizal Shrine and Fort Santiago. The restored shrine inside Fort Santiago houses Rizaliana items in memory of the Philippines’ national hero. José Rizal spent his last few days here before he was executed on December 30, 1896. Among the objects exhibited are various books and manuscripts by and about the national hero; sketches, paintings, wood carvings, and sculptures created by him; paraphernalia and souvenirs acquired during his travels abroad; and a collection of colonial-style furniture from his hometown in Calamba, Laguna.

(When the Americans took over Manila in 1898, they filled in the walled city’s moat and built a golf course. The invading Japanese, however, never played golf there.)

Founded in the mid-1850s by Lim Ong and Tan Quien Sien (Don Carlos Palanca) to accommodate the many Chinese who were not allowed to be buried in Spanish cemeteries.

The cemetery, covering 54 hectares, has streets lined with mausoleums richly adorned with marble and wrought iron, some with stained glass windows. There are paved streets and large mausoleums with running water and electricity. The burial sites range from grand mansions to simple niches in walls, depending on wealth. A crematorium is also located here, and it is customary to return ashes to Mainland China after death. Prices range from 25,000 pesos for a small niche to 40,000,000 pesos for the impressive 600 sqm mausoleum built to honour a cigarette manufacturer. (For comparison, a teacher’s salary in July 2001 was about 10,000 pesos a month.)

Looking inside this tomb, you see the coffin of a Chinese man and his two wives. The floor is made of marble, and the coffin is pure granite. Looking to the right, you can see the door to the toilet, where there is running hot and cold water. If you put your hand close to the letter slot, you can feel the cold air from the air conditioner escaping.

The Taal volcano is located approximately 70 km south of Manila. It is a complex volcanic system composed of a small volcanic island (Volcano Island), which has been the site of almost all historic activity, located within a 20x30 km lake-filled caldera.

Since 1572, Taal has erupted at least 34 times. Since early 1991, the volcano has been restless, with swarms of earthquakes, new steaming areas, ground fracturing, and increases in the lake's water temperature.

Volcanologists and other local authorities are carefully monitoring Taal to determine whether the current activity may indicate an impending eruption. Taal is one of 15 "Decade Volcanoes" that have been identified by the volcanology community as presenting significant potential hazards to population centers.

The Las Piñas Bamboo Organ is one of the Philippines' national treasures. Its home is the Parish Church of St Joseph located in Las Piñas City.

Having previously built organs in the Manila area with some organ stops made of bamboo, Fr. Diego Cera de la Virgen del Carmen chose bamboo for most of this organ, with only the trumpet stops made of metal. The choice of bamboo was probably both practical and aesthetic - bamboo was abundant and used for hundreds of items, both of a practical and artistic nature.

It took him eight years to finish the organ.

Traditional horse-drawn carriages, called Kalesa, are still common in some parts of Manila and are a novel way to get around, but they expose passengers to the elements and fumes.

A kalesa is still a common form of transportation among residents in Chinatown, and you can find them around Intramuros. However, they are quite expensive to ride here, as tourists are charged hefty fees.

They are good for short-distance travel. (2001)

The Jeepney is a mobile assemblage of signs, symbols, decorative motifs and fetishes, rattling along the streets of Metro Manila and other towns. They are everywhere you look - no buses to be found, only these vehicles.

World War II wrecked almost all engine-driven vehicles and transportation systems. It was also a problem for the Americans in the Philippines to dispose of the surplus jeeps rusting away at various depots. A convenient mutual solution materialized. The war vehicles were sold to Filipinos, who transformed them into commercial transportation units.

To ease passenger entrance, an opening was created in the back. The plain olive drab was hidden under a blossoming of colors. Today, Jeepneys are manufactured in a factory close to Manila. The engines are from Germany, Japan, or the USA.

I was so fortunate to be invited to my friend's wedding in the Philippines. This is a view down the aisle. There were more flowers than I had ever seen in a church before. They were very beautiful, like the rest of the church.