"Can't you manila? - said one of our satellites, the insight, accustomed to the name of Manila to join something blooming, - yes where is the luxury, poetry? .. Oh, how bad smells! " - he suddenly added. The smell is really not good. We entered the street consisting of a solid range of shops, and suddenly guess the reason for the smell: the shops of the Chinese heads and sly physiognomy peered out of the shops. Direct Asian Jews: Where are they not? And everywhere they spread the smell garlic, sandalwood and vegetable oil. Here they, however, how much, rather than in Singapore and Hong Kong, and their shops are hardened, like our living yards, only with housing at the top. "
Waving through the streets of the Philippine capital, as it turned out, it is quite safe: the police here - at every corner.
... For reading the novel, "Fregat Pallada" Ivan Goncharov, I did not notice how four hours of flight flew up. Customs inspection We pass in minutes for five - for Russians entrance to the Philippines visa-free. And here she, the same manila described by the Russian classic for almost two centuries ago. During this time, the city has changed prettyly externally, but the sensations remained almost the same. "This is the same Spain, with monks, syntoras, bedspreads, duanes, bulls, and even in addition Spain Tropical!"
"Yes, this is Spain, only tropical!" - I want to exclaim after Ivan Goncharov.
Surprisingly, the business part of the city, where there is a Thai embassy and where we are waiting for a pre-book room at the hotel, meets almost sterile purity. I expected to see the mountains of garbage and the crowd of homeless, and the view was pure streets with a frequencing of skyscrapers and cozy green parks. Something resembles Singapore or Hong Kong.
And Manila reminded us Singapore and Hong Kong.
And the presence of a large number of Catholic temples brings thoughts just about Spain. Well, or about Latin America. Of course, then when we go to a taxi in the neighboring township, we will see and trash, and beggars. But here, in a business district, I really like it. At every corner - a bunch of quite decent restaurants, restaurants and just small cafes.
Local parks look very comfortable.
In parks - modern playgrounds. And when we found a multi-storey shopping center, I lost my time bill at all. See you somehow later, perhaps!
Sometimes it is not even believed that you are in the center of a huge megalpolis.
Continued ...
Read the previous history of Olga here, and where it all starts - here.