Sojourn at Manila, Philippines

The Beautiful "Taal" volcano and Mall of Asia

Tricycle rikshaw and Our Group

This November I happen to visit Philippines, my first entry to the country of my beloved. Though I had landed in Manila airport in January as a part of transit, this was my first visit inside the country. I was fortunate that the timing of visit was appropriate. My friend Kath, from Manila had just gone a week back to her home and was expecting my visit. My first impression of the country as I got out of the airport was "feel-at-home", since I found similarities to India. The baggage delivery area, the conduct of customs staff and the airport exit area were reminiscent of those in India.

On exit, I was very much pleased to see my friend and her family. I was glad to note the sense of cordiality from all their family members which made me feel-at-home once again. After the introductory greetings, we headed to their house. En route my friend showed the various popular streets, places, malls and also highlighted about the sightseeing trips for the next 2 days.

During my stay, I visited the famous 'Taal' volcano, the smallest active volcano in the world. It is nearly 50km from mainland Manila and has some spectacular views from nearby hilly regions. Though we couldn't reach near to it, the scenery from the far was good enough to capture vivid photographs.

The visit to a water park resort was another interesting one where I could chill out in the various water sports such as swimming, boating and others. Of notable interest was "Beach wave" where in water waves similar to ocean waves were artificially generated. The water sports were thoroughly enjoyable.

I happen to visit some of the popular shopping malls in central Manila. The biggest of them, in fact the biggest in Philippines, was "Mall of Asia" which sprawled a huge area just near to the Manila airport.

More than the places that I visited, the kindness and the cordiality of my friend's family members and her friends were the ones that impressed me and will stay in my memories for long time to come. Thanks to Kath for the way it was organized!