Manila - Rest Stop

Sofitel Manila
View of Makati from the balcony of Executive Lounge
Awesome pool

Making and eating halo halo
Folkloric entertainment
La Vida Imelda walking tour with Carlos Celdran

My husband, John, and I travel for extended periods so we plan rest days. It is a time to pay our bills, catch up on e-mails, laundry, and writings. One of our rest stops on our recent Asian trip was in Manila. In 2008 we spent five weeks in the Philippines so this time we only scheduled four days in Manila before catching a flight to Palau. We checked into the Sofitel Hotel, which is a unique city hotel because of its prime location on the water creating a resort location at the edge of the city. Each day started with breakfast at the Spiral Restaurant, home to one of the world’s most extensive buffets with multi-cuisine open cooking stations. In fact, so vast was the buffet that there were stations we didn’t even notice until our third day. There was something to suit all nationalities.

We spent three days enjoying the large lagoon swimming pool. In the evening the hotel has a poolside barbecue of fresh seafood and marinated meats plus a colorful cultural song and dance show. It was the perfect place to recharge our batteries.

Our only touristic activity was taking a walking tour with Carlos Celdran. Celdran’s "Walk this Way" tours are as much street theater as they are informative. In 2008 we took his walking tour of the Intramuros, which was so enjoyable and entertaining that we considered taking it a second time so we could glean – and remember – some of the told and untold stories of the historic center of the city. However, we could not resist his "Living La Vida Imelda!" tour. Lucky for us the tour started a short walk from the Sofitel Hotel at the Cultural Center. All of Celdran’s tours start with the singing the Philippine national anthem.

There is more to Imelda Marcos other than being the "Lady of Sole," as in the soles of her shoe collection, one of which was a pair of plastic disco sandals with three inch high flashing battery operated heels. She is quoted as saying, "I did not have three thousand pairs of shoes, I had one thousand and sixty." The shoes became a symbol of her excesses, which might be explained by her provincial upbringing. In 1952 she was first runner up for Miss Manila but by contesting the decision she became Miss Manila and continued on the road to fame and fortune. We came to understand Imelda Marcos and what she did for the Philippines. She not only wanted the best for herself but she wanted the best for the Philippines. Along with her husband, she wanted the Philippines to be seen as a world player in economics and culture. To that end she had the Cultural Center of the Philippines built to promote and preserve Filipino arts and culture. Manila hosted the Miss Universe contest which was held in the Folks Art Theater that was completed in a record 77 days. Just days before the pageant, a cyclone threatened to cancel the event, Mrs. Marcos deployed the Philippine air force to seed the clouds and diffuse the tropical storm. Her efforts succeeded and the pageant was held under clear blue skies. Nothing was beyond her control. Celdran’s tour gives insight into the Philippines of the 1970’s and changed the way we look at Imelda Marcos – and the Philippines.