Chinese New Year (Manila)

Come Chinese New Year those who celebrate pack up and make the journey home to be with their families. Young and old, rich an poor all come home to be with their families no excuses. The mass migration takes over a week and a half in each direction, or so I have been told. Its got all of family and togetherness of Christmas just without the whole Jesus thing. Come the actual week of Chinese New Year and the country shuts down. At the start of the semester I was quickly advised if you don't have be in China for the New Year then don't hang around for.

For those of us who do not celebrate Chinese New Year, read as exchange students, this becomes travel week. After Tuesday classes I garbed my stuff threw it in my newly purchased hiking backpack and set off for the airport and Manila to spend a day and a half before heading to meet about a dozen friends on the resort island of Boracay.

Manila in many ways seems out of place within its self. Unlike many cities which have clear and defining elements to them Manila seems to have been cobbled together out of a spare parts bin, a Spanish Cathedral here, an American building there, some Rio style slums over there, and Asian minimalist commercial architecture to fill in the rest. The people here are extremely friendly here and they must not get many white tourists as many people were amazed to see white people there. After a little while though the dirt and poverty start to get to you and you are ready to move on.

Some of the slums in Manila



Apparently In Manila the sidewalk is an acceptable place to graze your rooster.




To see more of my photos from the trip check out this link.





To be continued in the Boracay entry...










After a day and a half in Manila it was time to move on to Boracay.