The only thing left undone as per the original schedule I had drawn up for the five day sojourn in Manila was the Sun Cruises tour of the Corrigedor Island. That tour would have been the perfect round up of the historical Manila exploration. Corregidor had played a significant role during WWII in the liberation of Philippines from Japanese occupation. The island, along with three others, formed the defense of Manila Bay during the American control of the country. The heavily bombarded ruins today stand testimony to sacrifices of American, Filipino and Japanese soldiers, who lost their lives in the great war. I wanted to very much be part of the historical recap of that island. But, thanks to the pandemic, the tours have been discontinued and are yet to become operational. However, it is possible to arrange private tours by boat or helicopter. Considering the financial implications, I opted out of those alternatives. Instead, I decided to spend time walking along the Manila Bay area and explore the Ocean Park.
The sun was out in full vigour as I set out for the morning schedule a little after 9.30 am. I abandoned the jacket and took refuge under a sun hat. It was hot and humid. I could feel the t-shirt hugging the bulged contours of my sweat laced torso. The Dolomite beach was not busy because of the weather, I presumed. A few brave souls were still around taking selfies and pouting for photos. The heat bouncing off the crushed dolomite sand was hotter. The Dolomite Beach was a project to create an artificial white sandy beach for 500 meters, for which dolomite was transported from Cebu at great cost. The experiment was not a success because of typhoon activity. However, there have been repeated reconstructive manoeuvres of beach nourishment. Only a portion of the beach is open from 8 am to 6 pm daily. The water quality is not good enough for swimming. The beach is, nevertheless, a great place to watch the sunset.
Moving past the Dolomite Beach I came across the US Embassy and Consular Office. Naturally, security is tight. I was stopped from taking photos of road and beautification works because of the sensitive nature of the area. From the Dolomite Beach it is just a kilometer to the Ocean Park, which is behind the Quirino Grandstand. Just before the Ocean Park is the stately Rizal Park Hotel with stunning views of Manila Bay. During the American control of Manila the Army and Navy Club operated from the 1911 constructed colonial building, which is now a busy upscale hotel.
The Ocean Park was opened in 2008 and is the first water themed facility in Philippines. The pandemic has taken its toll on the upkeep of the Park and Oceanarium. The ticket prices have been dropped to 799 PHP (699 PHP if booked in advance online) from about 3300 PHP to create footfalls. However, I found that very few attractions were open and a tour of the Park could be given a skip in the current situation if one has anything else to do. The water for the Oceanarium is taken in from the Manila Bay and filtered to suit the marine life. The tunnel, which is touted as a major highlight of the Oceanarium, is nothing very great. I found that information about the displayed sea creatures too were sketchy and few. The jelly fish exhibit was closed and so was the section on creepy crawlies.
I took a break on the second floor restaurant that has lovely views of the Bay and the port. I picked egg fried rice with bread crusted pork for lunch. The restaurant was doing good business, I found. The food was good too. From there I went to the Arctic section where visitors could enter the enclosure of Arctic pigeons, feed them and be photographed in a choreographed environment. There was a long queue waiting for entry to view the pigeons and be photographed with them.
Just after the Arctic section is one for toys. Many stores sell the latest toys, presumably from China. Kids drag their parents to the stores and finally manage to get their hands on something that they cannot do without. I was quite drawn to a kiosk selling 'magic' toys. After a great deal of looking around I bought three items for the grandchildren, Eva, Aaron and Sophie.
The 45 minute bird and sea lion show was scheduled at 12.30 pm outdoors. It was getting hot and hotter under the sun. The area has a seating capacity of 1900. The crowd, that swelled with every passing minute, kept migrating to the upper reaches of the gallery with the relentless march of the sun. The show was again quite mediocre and nothing to spend money on. As the show was getting to the scheduled close time at 1.15 pm I found it strange that people left their seats and exited.
As I was leaving the Park wardens asked visitors to wait for security clearance. I kept waiting for a while without knowing the reason for the security restriction. After a while I went to one of the wardens and was told that a few minutes ago there had been an earthquake! I had not felt it and would not have even known about it had I not asked the warden.
On the way back home I bought papaya, watermelon and musk melon for dinner. In the evening I went to the Robinsons Place for a short stroll. The Mall was busy and all the eateries were full. Eating out is the norm, it seems, in Manila. The Christmas spirit was everywhere. It is a major festival in Philippines. Normally, the Christmas festivities stretch from September to December, what they call the 'ber' months. Coming on the heels of a pandemic recovery the celebrations are subdued, I was told. The Manila tour is over and I am bound for El Nido by an early morning flight.
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