Our day started off at the Museum of the Filipino People. The museum houses artifacts from different regions of the Philippines. It's a good museum; nicely laid out with lots of great information about the Philippines and its people. But I'm only going to post three pictures from it. Three pictures ... of me. Because really, that's why you're all here!
Here's me in front of a bahay kubo (Filipino hut). This style of home is still used in various areas of the Philippines. The huts are built on stilts because the people who live in them tend to be fisherman therefore the villages are close to the beaches and water. A few years back while touring the Philippines we came across one of these villages. These people lived in the huts and survived by living off the land (and water). No electricity. We ended up having lunch on their beach and they were generous enough to give us some clams from their most recent catch.
Nothing really historic about this picture. It's me and a souped up jeep that includes a powerful stereo sound system and three TVs to watch your DVDs on. We can call it a technological art project. What I like about this photo is the guy in the background. Why is he posing in my picture? And why does he look so confused?
This photo is pretty self explanitory. Me and a rickshaw. But if you want, you can write your own caption in the comments section on this blog!
Outside the door of the Museum of the Filipino People there's a huge park called Rizal Park. Rizal (to totally summerize Filipino history) is the Philippines' greatest national hero. This park is huge. The park area we were in, contains the Department of Tourism Building and National Museum (Museum of the Filipino People).
Directly in front of the Department of Tourism Building is a giant statue of Lapu-Lapu. Lapu-Lapu was the Philippines first freedom fighter, he killed Ferdinand Magellan in Cebu (see my Cebu blog for more info). The death of Magellan sent the Spanish home for quite some time. Needless to say Lapu Lapu deservedly became a national hero.
Beside the Lapu Lapu statue is a giant relief map of the Philippines.
This map, which I found was pretty impressive, has one negative aspect. It's so huge you can't see it! As you can tell from this photo you're pretty much looking at each side straight on. It's impossible to see anything in the center since it gets blocked from the the parts of the map on the outside. My cousin tells me there used to be a walkway above the map so you could see the whole thing. It's gone now and with it any hope of seeing the whole map at once. If you look on the top right hand side of the photo you can see the Lapu Lapu statue in the distance.
After Rizal Park we visited the Chinese Cemetary in Manila. Members of the Filipino-Chinese community have mausoleums up to 3 stories high, complete with amenities like living rooms, bedrooms, bathrooms, and kitchens.
Last stop, San Agustin Church. San Agustín Church, built between 1587 and 1606, is one of the oldest churches in the Philippines, and the only building left intact after the destruction of Intramuros during the Battle of Manila (1945). The present structure is actually the third to stand on the site and has survived seven major earthquakes, as well as the wars in Manila. The church remains under the care of the Augustinians who founded it.
The San Agustín Church lies inside the walled city of Intramuros located in the capital city Manila, Philippines. It is the first European stone church to be built in the Philippines designed in Spanish architectural structure.
Interior of San Agustin.
Attached to the church there's a great museum that takes you through the history of the church and monastery. It's a great trip back in time. You can almost hear the sounds of monks shuffling passed you!
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