MANILA, MY MANILA

Mother and son enjoying the afternoon while seated on the Carriedo fountain

NAIA TERMINAL 3 OPENING SOON!

MABUHAY! WELCOME (BACK) TO THE PHILIPPINES!

The NAIA-3 was approved for construction in 1997 and is nearly complete. The modern US$640 million, 189,000 square meter facility was designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM) to have a capacity of 13 million passengers per year. However, a legal dispute between the government of the Philippines and the project's main contractor, PIATCO, over alleged anomalies in the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) contract, is holding completion and opening of the terminal. On December 2004, the Philippine Government took over the management of the facility (called "expropriation') through an order of the Pasay City Regional Trial Court (RTC). NAIA-3 is set to open its gates to the world in December 2005 and will take over all operations of NAIA-1.

The NAIA Terminals 2 (PAL) and 1 (All International Flights)


Just to help you imagine its location, it's right across Terminal II (aka Centennial Terminal) currently being used exclusively by Philippine Airlines

The facade. A really huge terminal, almost equivalent to 3X the SM Megamall. Alright, so it's not Hong Kong's CLK or Malaysia's awesome terminal but wow, something Manila can be proud of!

Green against grey to break the monotony of concrete: lovely!

The ramp (Departures on top, arrivals below)

The yawning space of the interiors


Some of the many check-in counters (yellow to represent the sun in the Philippine flag with hints of blue along the sides)

Exit: Welcome home!

Look at that ceiling!

Immigration counters (sadly, it looks kinda cramped)


Knowing how low Filipinos in general look at comfort rooms, I hope this one retains its cleanliness *crosses fingers*

NAIA TERMINAL 3 (IMAGES)

Click on the photos to enlarge.

ON MY WAY TO QUIAPO...

The Manila City Hall as seen from Plaza Lawton. The vehicles on the left proceed to Quiapo, and those on the right go to either Plaza Sta. Cruz or Binondo.

This is T.M.Kalaw Avenue. The National Library is on your left. This was taken during the Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day, hence the orange-and-red royal flag on that mast. Coincidentally, if you were to go straight and cross Taft Avenue, you would come upon the charming old building of the Casino Español where you can still have lunch or dinner (huge servings!). The ultra-modern building of the Instituto Cervantes is being built right beside it. Which makes me worry about the future of its current home, the Art Moderne Mayflower Building along Leon Guinto cor Estrada Sts.

The Manila Hotel as seen from Roxas Boulevard. I recall its tagline in Asian magazines: "There are many things you'd want to see in the Orient. One of them is a hotel." Oh well, maybe the lobby is still something to gape at, but it surely has lost much of its charm and prestige.

DID YOU KNOW...

...that the Carriedo Waterworks, built in 1884, used funds raised from the imposition of taxes on meat? This is pursuant to a Royal Order dated November of 1876.

No other fountain built during the Spanish period ever looked like this one

CARRIEDO c. 2005

Had the chance to walk along Carriedo lately. This is the newly-renovated plaza devoted to the former Manila Mayor Arsenio "Arsenic" Lacson. That multi-tiered thing beyond is the Carriedo Station of the Light Right Transit 1.

Yes, beside it is the Isetann of our childhood, still sporting the orange signature color. Some things never change in the City of Our Affections!