Manila is the capital of the Philippines. Manila, the old capital, is one of the 17 municipalities 4 cities, 13 towns) of Metropolitan Manila, the national capital region of the Philippines. Metro Manila’s population is about 8.5 million, 98 per cent are literate in Pilipino, English or both. Metro Manila spans a spectrum of extremes: between country and city, East and West, yesterday and today, tradition and modernity. Visitors see it as a shopping, recreational, cultural and educational haven. Of the conference venue, travellers opine that in Asia, the historic Manila Hotel rivals famous hotels in Tokyo, Bangkok, Singapore and Hong Kong.
I have been to Manila twice; once in 1988 to participate in the International Conference on Education and Development, held at the famous Manila Hotel. I had presented a paper titled ’’Technologies Available for Nonformal Education, ’’ and then in 1990 to attend the Planning Meeting of the Asian-South Pacific Bureau of Adult Education. On both the occasions, I had stayed at the Manila Hotel, very comfortable indeed. Always a pleasant stay at this Hotel.
Reaching Manila by air is easy. Fly to Bangkok or Hong Kong and then to Manila.
My friends of the UN days, Ali and Sirkku Makitalo, were then at the Asian Development Bank at Manila. After the Conference in 1988, I stayed with the Makitalos for some more days. Their daughter Carola was a friend of our daughter Kalpana, and their son Peteri was a friend of our son Aseem, who is no more. We used to talk about our UN days in Indonesia, and exchange information about common friends. Another Indian friend at the ADB, Motilal Sharma, was the Educational Adviser. Now he is a Senior Educational Adviser, and is in touch with me through the Worldview International Foundation.
Shopping in the supermarkets or in small shops is a pleasure. You get beautiful handicrafts made of shells. Manila is famous for readymade garments made of a fabric made of Banana fibre, with designs. Usually these are available in Blue and Off-White colours - a speciality of Manila. Filipino food, with varieties of fish and meat, is spicy and tasty, liked by Indians.
Filipino women are very beautiful and outgoing in nature. They greet you always with an uninhibited smile and expect the same from you.