Not so thrilla in Manila

I spent my first and last nights in Manila, but was mostly unimpressed. Reminiscent of Panama City, it seemed large, polluted, seedy, the unfriendly taxi drivers never had change (even for small bills), and there was an abundance of people on the street doing nothing. Granted I spent less than 48 hours there, and much of that in a hotel room while a typhoon raged outside, so I cant give a fair assesment, but I found it dilapidated and awfully dirty. I actually saw a drowned rat on the street. Marked contrast from super-sanitary Japan.


I did meet a few nice people there, but the police officer who offered me a prostitute, the horse cab driver who offered to let me shoot his AK-47, the money changer who cheated me out of $60, and the leering street folk made me uncomfortable and spoiled any charm the city might have had.