Sunday March 1st, 2026 Queen Anne, Manila, Philippines
- Neil Wylie
- Dec 19, 2025
- 6 min read
We were awoken in the very early hours this morning by the strong smell of fumes pervading our cabin – welcome to Manila. There were a couple of tugs watching over the Queen Anne’s approach to the harbor and somehow their clouds of diesel smoke were seeping into the ship, even with all the doors closed tight. However a few hours later, even after we’d docked and the tugs had thankfully departed, when I ventured out onto the balcony, I could see a haze of smog hanging over the city and feel it catching at the back of my throat. It was already hot and humid.
Despite the difficult environment conditions, today we went on a Cunard tour to see “The Charms of Old Manila”. After a 10 minute bus ride through the bustling metropolis we arrived at the area known as Intramuros, literally “between the walls”, Manila’s historic, heart, established in 1571 by Spanish colonizers as their fortified center of power. The area was originally surrounded by immense defensive installations, including walls that were 6M high and 3M thick. However, most of the historic buildings were damaged or destroyed during World War 2 – reconstruction is still ongoing today. Following the Spanish colonial period from 1571 to 1898 the Philippines were an American territory until 1941 when the Japanese invaded and occupied the country until 1945 when the Americans returned. The Philippine people suffered ~400 years of turbulent occupation and oppression, even though they declared independence from Spain in 1898 the country was not formally recognized until 1946.
Intramuros is not entirely filled with historic sites, the 160 acre zone contains many residential areas and offices, including government departments – our guide for today, Orlando, was born and raised here. From our drop off point we crossed the street and I noticed the traffic cop was very heavily armed with a machine gun and a pistol, I thought they must have a really serious “jay walking” problem in Manila.
We emerged from the street into a park like setting with lawns and trees in the center and the walls of Intramuros all around, at the far end I could see Fort Santiago. Orlando led the group to a shady spot beside the remains of the old American barracks, complete with many bullet holes, and proceeded to give us his 15 minute lecture on Intramuros; his speech was well practiced and delivered with some panache but he dwelled a little too long on the Japanese atrocities that took place during World War 2 and insisted on passing around his phone to show us bayonet-impaled babies – I thought some in the group were going to pass out.
A short walk brought over a moat and to the entrance to Fort Santiago, largely rebuilt since the war – Orlando showed us an amazing photo of a US Sherman tank making its way through the entrance to the Japanese occupied fort, the space having been enlarged by US engineers to allow the passage of tanks. There was a central lawn area inside the fort with a statue of the Filipino national hero Dr. Jose Rizal, we got the story of the hero from Orlando; Rizal was a revolutionary back in 1896 and was instrumental in the uprising against the Spanish who eventually caught and executed him. Apparently, everyone in the Philippines knows the story of how Rizal was marched from the fort to a field, now Rizal Park, where young Filipino officers were forced to execute him by firing squad.
Orlando offered us the option of going into the dungeon where the Japanese had packed ~600 American and Filipino prisoners into a space intended for less than 100 where they were left to die and rot. Liberating American troops later discovered the atrocity and buried the victims in a nearby mass grave. I decided that I needed to witness the place where this atrocity had taken place and joined a few others in the dungeon; entry was a bit tight and required some pretty severe stooping to pass through the portal. Once inside, the dungeon revealed itself to be a series of interconnected rooms with dirt floors; it was dank and dark and the mood was “enhanced” by the placement of a few life-sized models of prisoners and Japanese soldiers. Photos from the time of the liberation were displayed on the walls, they were hard to look at – it was an overwhelmingly emotional experience, but I’m glad I did it.
Emerging from the dungeon we were at the extreme northwest corner of Intramuros with the Pasig River marking the northern boundary. The river was extremely polluted, a dark murky green-brown color with many unsavory things floating passed. At this point I was wondering when we’d get to the “Charms of Old Manila”. We were next given 20 minutes of free time to do a bit of shopping just outside the fort, thankfully we found an airconditioned place that was a combination shop and café.
Orlando then led our group off on a bit of a march along General Luna Street passed Roma Square and the Manila Cathedral, the city appeared to get a little bit quainter and older the further we went with classic Spanish colonial styling and cobbles. After about 20 minutes later, a courtyard area opened up on our right to reveal the church and convent of San Augustin, one of the only structures to survive the destruction of the war, as well as many earthquakes and occupations. The church was built in 1587, and the remains of several Spanish conquistadors are interred within, in addition the terms of the American occupation in 1898 were drawn up here – it’s also a World Heritage Site. The façade of the church and bell tower looked their age with the grey-black mold often seen in hot, humid climates, liberally cropping over the surface. Unfortunately Sunday mass was in session, and we were not allowed to enter the church - however, the adjacent museum was open, and entry was included for our group. A little way through the tour of the museum Sandra and I were beginning to lag a bit; I had spotted a nice café that was part of the museum complex and so we temporarily left the group and ducked out to the café. Los Frailes Café, named for a small town in Andalucia, was brilliant and just what we needed – air conditioned, old-world styling, great service and excellent coffee and cookies; Sandra had her first iced latte.
On the way back to the bus we came across a small group of teens who looked to be setting up a reenactment of the execution of Jose Rizal; one of the kids was dressed as Jose with his trademark hat and black jacket and he flanked by two others dressed as Filipino soldiers. I approached and asked the central character if he was off to be executed, he jumped for joy and was so happy that I’d figured out their little show.
The penultimate stop on our tour was at Rizal Park to see the monument to the national hero that contains his remains. The monument consists of a stone obelisk set on a tiered plinth containing the remains of Rizal. The obelisk is surrounded by kneeling bronze figures and a standing statue of Rizal. Set in a large expanse of lawn with a pathway flanked by national flags and an immense Filipino flag that reminded me of others I’d seen in Mexico – what is it with Spanish speaking countries and their gigantic flags?
Finally we made a very quick stop at the Manila Hotel, I wished we’d had more time here ass it was quite magnificent. Built in 1909 the Manila Hotel was the residence of US General MacArthur from 1935 until 1941 when he was military advisor to the Philippine Commonwealth. Reduced to a shell at the end of the Japanese occupation, the hotel was later restored to its former glory. We only had time to walk through the immense lobby area mostly filled with seating and tables for a café and illuminated by the huge chandeliers hanging from a beautiful wood paneled ceiling; a pianist played old classics as waiters busily swooped through the area taking and delivering orders. It was definitely our kind of place.
It’s always nice to visit a new place and our first visit to Manila introduced us to some interesting sites and stories. It was a bit chaotic, a lot hot and smoggy but at the same time quite fascinating.
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