Sorry I haven’t been reading your blogs. I’m busy doing some spring – cleaning chores, and you know, I can only do these tasks in the morning, which is my blog reading time. There’s really not much to talk about anyway. All is quiet on the western front. After the events of the past weeks, I guess that’s a good thing, right ?
So, with nothing on my mind at the moment, what do I do? Post random pictures, of course. Photos below were taken in the Philippines.
Manila Cathedral
Statue of King Charles, right across from the Cathedral
The gentleman in the photo wears an old policeman uniform of Spanish era. * stares at my pic….. whoa ! That’s proof right there ! I really did pack in 15 lbs. during my vacation in the Philippines ! ( too much eating at eat-all you can buffets ) *
Old , well – preserved buildings, Spanish era Philippine architecture
Entrance, Fort Santiago
Fort Santiago….. oh,look ! There’s a moat! Cool!
It’s a pity there’s very little left of the old, Spanish colonial city of Manila. The city used to be the most beautiful in Asia , ( called the Paris of Asia ) , with wide , cobbled stone avenues and streets, European style fountains everywhere, beautiful bridges
It was for that reason that Gen. Douglas McArthur declared Manila an Open City, allowing Japanese invaders to come in without bombing the city while the US Army retreated to somewhere outside of Manila. Ironically, it was American planes that flattened the city in 1945. Street to street fighting and tanks and artillery blew up the rest that were still standing. Manila was the second most destroyed city during WW2 , next to Warsaw which was # 1. ( of course, Hiroshima and Nagasaki are excluded…. that’s a different level )
Whoa ! Japanese soldiers were already walking around peacefully in this pic.
Destroyed 16th century old Fort Santiago. That was an American tank right there. Well, that’s war. Not blaming anyone. The fact is, real World War 2 action in Asia happened in Manila, Philippines, and nowhere else. The Japanese bombed the country 8 hours after Pearl Harbor. Well, the Philippines was an American territory then, so, invading it was like invading the US.
* pondering*
Where was I ? Didn’t I just say my mind was blank and I had nothing to talk about ?
I better stop here before my thoughts meander from Manila to ancient Mesopotamia. 6_6
Thank you for reading and putting up with my ramblings. Bye and peace !
Check out my anime/manga/videogames blogsite @ https://2megaworthitwordpresscomblog.wordpress.com/
Am a Molecular Microbiology student, love to read books, and I play the violin. 
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renxkyoko
renxkyoko's space 
Posted by WeekendOtaku on May 9, 2018 at 3:39 pm
Nice pictures, Ren! It’s cool to see some of these remnants of the old Spanish architecture.
I’m a fan of war history and I agree that what happened to Manila is tragic but it’s not something people hear much about in the greater WW2 saga. I actually didn’t know that MacArthur declared the city open way back in 1941 to signal the Japanese not to bomb it. Fascinating stuff.
Posted by renxkyoko on May 9, 2018 at 4:41 pm
Same here ! I’m a war history fan . I even bought a dvd of World War 2 in Color . And love to watch Military and History Channels when war shows are on. With so much violence and deaths , I cannot comprehend why wars continue on to this day.
Posted by Tom Schultz on May 9, 2018 at 4:13 pm
Nice pics, though I was hoping to see a photo of you atop Corregidor. 🙂
Posted by renxkyoko on May 9, 2018 at 4:31 pm
I haven’t been to Corregidor, but I sure will go next time, and make sure I go atop Corregidor.
Posted by D. Wallace Peach on May 9, 2018 at 7:11 pm
Cool photos of Manila and your vacation there. It breaks my heart that the Americans and Japanese destroyed the city (the photo after the bombing is intense). And I can’t help but think of the lives lost. Thanks for sharing some of the old architecture that is still around. 🙂
Posted by renxkyoko on May 9, 2018 at 8:23 pm
Hundreds of thousands of lives were lost. That’s war. I hope the ancient structures in Iraq and Syria are still standing . And of course , the well being of the people there. It’s just so sad, and tragic.
Posted by D. Wallace Peach on May 9, 2018 at 9:09 pm
I don’t know why mankind just can’t live in peace. So much potential in lives and resources are wasted. 😦
Posted by renxkyoko on May 10, 2018 at 4:25 am
It’s all about bad leaders of some countries . The world cannot just let them do whatever they want. For example, Hitler and his Nazi government.
Posted by D. Wallace Peach on May 10, 2018 at 2:55 pm
I know. We have our horrible leaders in the US too. And we elect them. Ugh.
Posted by Sarah Ferguson and Choppy on May 9, 2018 at 7:12 pm
Great shots!
Posted by renxkyoko on May 9, 2018 at 7:45 pm
Thanks ! And cheers !
Posted by arlene on May 10, 2018 at 12:46 am
I love your photos of our country. Manila Cathedral is so beautiful.
Posted by renxkyoko on May 10, 2018 at 1:54 am
I didn’t get to see the interior. It was closed when we got there .
Those are photos seen from a Filipino-American tourist’s perspective, Tita Arlene. I’ve seen the poor areas of Manila on You Tube. Is that the real Manila , or for that matter, the real Philippines, I ask myself. Sometimes I feel guilty ignoring what real life in the Philippines is. But that’s true anywhere in the world, right? People don’t go to a place just to see the slum areas.
Posted by arlene on May 10, 2018 at 2:11 am
There is a wide gap between the slums and the rich.
Posted by Peter Wells aka Countingducks on May 10, 2018 at 5:24 pm
Love the old architecture. Very atmospheric 🙂
Posted by renxkyoko on May 10, 2018 at 6:10 pm
There’s really nothing much to see in Manila, except a few structures that miraculously survived. It’s sad that San Agustin Church which was built in late 1500s was not only destroyed …… all the antiques that were kept inside the church were destroyed, too.
Posted by Peter Wells aka Countingducks on May 10, 2018 at 6:23 pm
That is very sad 😦
Posted by Serene on May 11, 2018 at 3:41 am
Beautiful pictures ! 🙂
Posted by renxkyoko on May 11, 2018 at 4:46 pm
Thanks, Serene !
Posted by disperser on May 12, 2018 at 4:02 am
Nice update.
. . . most of the places that were bombed got rebuilt . . . including Nagasaki. Still, it would be nice to go a few centuries without a war.
. . . still waiting, unfortunately . . .
Posted by renxkyoko on May 19, 2018 at 5:06 am
Japan was rebuilt so much faster than the Philippines. It is the nature of the Japanese. They are a very disciplined people, unlike Filipinos , sadly.
Posted by GP Cox on May 17, 2018 at 5:39 pm
I like to see people interested in the history, not just the ‘tourist traps.’
Posted by renxkyoko on May 18, 2018 at 4:08 pm
That’s true. I’ve been doing that from Day one, especially the Philippines, the country where I was born. People don’t even know its location.
Posted by GP Cox on May 18, 2018 at 5:50 pm
I can not understand that. Doesn’t any one stay awake in school?
Posted by renxkyoko on May 19, 2018 at 5:10 am
In my high school US history book, the Philippines was barely mentioned, despite the fact that the county was the only colony the US ever had. and ruled it for almost 50 years.
Posted by jmsabbagh on May 17, 2018 at 11:02 pm
Amazing pictures , of amazing country.l JUst came back from My trip to the Holy Land..Regards
Posted by renxkyoko on May 18, 2018 at 4:10 pm
Thank you. I also want to see the Holy Land. It’s in my short list of places I want to visit in the not so distant future.
Posted by jmsabbagh on May 18, 2018 at 6:44 pm
Life time experience .l feel so lucky been able to see where Jesus walked was crucified and resurrected.Thanks God.Hope you will fulfill your plans. Regards,
Posted by richardmullen on May 20, 2018 at 5:33 pm
Great photo essay. It was very enlightening to me. Thank you for posting it, Rich
Posted by usfman on May 22, 2018 at 3:33 pm
It was nice to read that historic reminders of Manila’s greatness survived after the horrors of the World War II bombings. Thanks for continuing to read my blog in your busy times.
Posted by Simon on May 23, 2018 at 8:54 pm
It’s nice to listen to your meandering thoughts 🙂