WOW & phew!

I've spent just two days in Manila. What a shock after Koror!
It's huge, chaotic and not very easy to navigate. As in many other parts of this world -both in the rich and the poor- the public space is dirty and badly kept -or not kept at all. I ended up taking refuge in closed, gated, secured environments.
I spent a morning walking around Intramuros, which is what remains of the old Spanish colonial city -wealthy beyond dreams in the XIX century. What remains is very little and not very inspiring, I'm sorry to say. It's not Havana, Santo Domingo, San Juan... That was what I was expecting.
Very little remains, more than 110 years after the Hispanic-American War of our 400 years presence. I was only able to notice the Spanish influence in the religious art and the traditional cuisine -surprisingly, much more than in a good portion of Spanish America. It seems that the religious orders left cooks along side a dramatic take on the catholic faith and its religious art.
I then tried to find theManila Bay (to where one of my great grand-fathers, the merchant navy captain, would have several times arrived from Havana 100 years ago). That proved to be quite a hard, tiring and sticky challenge (it was hot and humid, even for my standards). I did get there, though, and wasn't very impressed. At that point, I decided I couldn't continue playing the righteous tourist and, doing what the Romans were doing, took refuge at the centenary Manila Hotel -stunning lobby and bar: tropical dark woods, well-placed mirrors, good lights. After a decent coffee, hopped on a taxi back to Makati, the upmarket(ish) commercial and residential area I was staying -I thankfully followed a local friend's advice and chose a nice hotel to stay.
I've spent the rest of my time in Makati. Was taken for dinner and a drink in the area. The evening was pleasantly warm and I started to feel more at ease.
I could live in Manila, and would enjoy a 2 or 3 years assignment here. I would find hard adjusting to the "mall-centred" lifestyle, but would find my way around it -and would have what seems like an amazing, complex country to explore.
Next stop is Hong Kong for two nights.