Had a fantastic time last night - went to the opening of Greenbelt 5 where they had some of the Philippines' best singers perform. Went to Nuvo after for a few drinks (or just fresh juice in my case) with Tech, Phil, Sofia, her husband Patxi et al. Bumped into the owner Louie Y. and I suddenly felt that I was back in the 80s, with the atmosphere and Rick Astley in the background. [Comment from Al - Louie Y is one of the main night club owners in Manila and Chinot used to be a real regular in his club, so they are buddies. It's possible that Nuvo was built on the profits from all the mineral water Chinot imbibed in her early 20s.]
Thus, am slightly suffering today. Had to get up at 6am to catch the 8am ferry to Corregidor. However, it was
truly worth it. Corregidor is the second most bombed island in the world, Malta being the first. Fierce fighting went on in the island - the Japanese first bombed it in 1941 when they tried to take it from the Americans, then it was bombed again in 1944 by the Americans, to get it back. That was when the most damage was done.
It was fascinating to see all the gun battery and barracks ruins. Corregidor has the world's longest barracks, housing 8,000 soldiers at one point. We also visited the old cinema, a museum with artefacts from the war, the solemn Japanese cemetery and the old lighthouse, where Euan got vertigo, poor thing. The most impressive though was the Malinta Tunnel, built by the Americans initially as a bomb-proof storage and personnel bunker, but was later equipped as a 1,000 bed hospital. The main tunnel is 831 feet long, 24 feet wide a
nd 18 feet tall, and is under 400 feet of rock. Gen. MacArthur stayed in the tunnel to hide from the Japanese till he left in 1942 for Australia. For more information, you can visit: http://corregidorisland.com/
A bit surprisingly, the children really enjoyed this trip. The ferry ride was an adventure, plus walking into dark caves with bats and hermit crabs was an added plus. Callum was the one who really got into it as they'd just been studying WWII.
Went back to the flat late in the afternoon where the children and Alasdair went for a swim, and I went shopping. All in all, a lovely day.
Thus, am slightly suffering today. Had to get up at 6am to catch the 8am ferry to Corregidor. However, it was
truly worth it. Corregidor is the second most bombed island in the world, Malta being the first. Fierce fighting went on in the island - the Japanese first bombed it in 1941 when they tried to take it from the Americans, then it was bombed again in 1944 by the Americans, to get it back. That was when the most damage was done.It was fascinating to see all the gun battery and barracks ruins. Corregidor has the world's longest barracks, housing 8,000 soldiers at one point. We also visited the old cinema, a museum with artefacts from the war, the solemn Japanese cemetery and the old lighthouse, where Euan got vertigo, poor thing. The most impressive though was the Malinta Tunnel, built by the Americans initially as a bomb-proof storage and personnel bunker, but was later equipped as a 1,000 bed hospital. The main tunnel is 831 feet long, 24 feet wide a
nd 18 feet tall, and is under 400 feet of rock. Gen. MacArthur stayed in the tunnel to hide from the Japanese till he left in 1942 for Australia. For more information, you can visit: http://corregidorisland.com/A bit surprisingly, the children really enjoyed this trip. The ferry ride was an adventure, plus walking into dark caves with bats and hermit crabs was an added plus. Callum was the one who really got into it as they'd just been studying WWII.
Went back to the flat late in the afternoon where the children and Alasdair went for a swim, and I went shopping. All in all, a lovely day.
No comments:
Post a Comment