Incidental tourism

On Sunday I set out with my new German friend, Jana to try and take in some of Manila's tourist spots. Having consulted our guide books we had the following rough itinerary:
1. Coconut Palace- an Imelda creation built entirely from coconuts
2. National Museum- houses lots of historical and cultural artifacts
3. Rizal Park- Park and statue in honour of Jose Rizal, who fought against Spanish colonialism for the country’s independence
4. Metropolitan Museum – the country’s premier art gallery

However we soon found out in Manila being a tourist can be difficult....when we got to the Coconut Palace it was closed, so we walked to the Metropolitan Museum- also closed and when we eventually found our way to the National Museum it was also closing for the day. AAGH! The only sight we ticked off from our itinerary was Rizal Park.

But once we took a deep breath and stopped being frustrated we started to enjoy all the other sights we were seeing…the ones not mentioned in the guidebook:


1. The green mango seller

2. Roller skaters zooming around the park

3. Gorgeous frangipani trees


4. A gathering of Imelda Marcos supporters

5. A wedding party at the opulent Manila Hotel

6. Flags being raised for Independence Day.

I like to call it incidental tourism!