On the second and third day in Manila, Arnold had a couple of students take me around Manila to see some of the sights. The first day, we went to Intramuros, the old Spanish colonial area of town. Intra means inside, and so this area is surrounded by a huge stone wall, built by the Spanish to protect themselves from uprisings or invaders. There are a few cobbled streets and many old houses and churches in this area. It is much quieter than the rest of Manila, and so is relaxing to walk around. We visited Fort Santiago, as well as a renovated Spanish house and a museum about Chinese-Filipinos.

Later that evening we went to Mall of Asia, the largest shopping mall in Asia, for a buffet and some drinks. Arnold and the students were celebrating their victory in the Macau lion dance tournament.

The third day I spent exploring Chinatown and more of Intramuros, before heading to Quaipo Cathedral and the large market behind it. The market is a haven for pickpockets, and it only took five minutes of being there before I had an old lady following me, constantly trying to stuff her hands in my pockets! She wasn’t even discreet about it! They have this idea that all white people are rich; but comparatively we are, as the level of poverty here is high. The market sells all kinds of things from amulets and charms, to folk medicine and fake DVDs. I didn’t buy anything though, I think I may go back another day to look at the amulets, and explore the Muslim district nearby.

Later we went over to Arnold’s school. The school is sponsored by the KMT, the government of Taiwan, so there are a lot of pictures of Chiang Kai Shek and Taiwanese flags up. Out of nowhere, Arnold asked me to teach the class. Without any preparation, I stuck together and warm up, did some stretching, then took the students through the basic stances of Taiji Mantis, showing them how to check their structure. I then introduced them to some basic partner exercises as well, arm conditioning, and Jie Hai Chui, and then adding some basic applications in. The students demonstrated some forms for me, and I showed a few Taiji Mantis forms to them as well.

For me, this was just day 3 in Manila, but was the last chance to hang out with them, as in the morning they left for Sinagpore, to take part in a lion dance competition. They really treated me well as a guest and I had a great time with them. I hope I can visit again, or they can come and visit me too.