Enjoying the Final Day Lunch in Manila with Two Taiwanese Individuals 2019/8/22【64】

It's the morning of day 6.

This is the last day to tour Manila.

The beds are separated like this with curtains. Most of the time, I was the first to wake up.

Had breakfast at my favorite Starbucks again this day.

Americano and berry yogurt with chia seeds.

It was satisfying and delicious. There were many menu items not available in Japan, so I had trouble choosing every time.

Somehow ended up sitting on the 1F seats this day.

Although the return to Japan is approaching, I didn't have anything particular I wanted to do, so I thought about spending the day shopping and relaxing at a spa.

After returning to the hostel and getting ready, new guests from Taiwan arrived in the room. I heard them having a lively conversation with a young Taiwanese man who had already become a friend.

After a while, they invited me to join them for lunch, so I decided to go along. Before that, they went out for breakfast.

I spent my time relaxing at the hostel, thinking about souvenirs from Manila, and planning the return trip for tomorrow.

The new Taiwanese young man came back first, so I introduced myself briefly. He was a graduate student in engineering in Taiwan. Since I am also an engineer, we had a conversation in broken English, especially enjoying a discussion about ramen.

While we were chatting, the other young man came back, and we got ready to go for lunch. I wondered if it was okay to have lunch right after breakfast, but they were both well-built and young, so I guess anything goes. Haha.

It took about 40 minutes to walk from the guesthouse to the restaurant under the sun exceeding 30 degrees. I've gotten used to walking this much.

Along the way, I snapped a photo of the PBCOM Tower, where the headquarters of Bizmates, the online English conversation service I use, is located.

The restaurant, called "Your Local," was located a bit off the main road and was quite stylish.

The menu had a variety of options like pasta, hamburgers, and rice bowls, all of which were carefully crafted in both taste and appearance.

We were the only customers as we entered almost as soon as it opened.

I ordered a green salad and chicken rice.

The salad had a strong lemon-flavored dressing, and I wished there were more types of vegetables.

The chicken rice was essentially a stylish version of Khao Man Gai. It was delicious. The chicken was tender, the rice had a subtle flavor, and the sauce matched perfectly. The coriander on top added a nice touch.

The other two had Bolognese and a salmon rice bowl.

After the meal, we headed to Greenbelt. The new Taiwanese face had an appointment with a friend in the Philippines and disappeared somewhere.

We agreed to meet up for dinner, and I went sightseeing with the other Taiwanese young man who had gone to the aquarium with me the day before yesterday.

First off, we went T-shirt hunting. Inside the shopping mall, there was a Filipino fast fashion brand called BENCH, where I bought a white T-shirt on sale for about 1000 yen.

I also bought some souvenirs at the supermarket on the 1F of this mall.

After shopping, we decided to plan our next move over tea time at a crepe shop located in the courtyard space of Greenbelt.

I only ordered strawberry tea, but he shared a bit of his crepe with me.

Since there was no wifi, I left the task of looking for tourist spots to the young man, while I enjoyed my tea.

Once we decided on our next destination, we headed back to the guesthouse to change clothes.

We took a Grab from the guesthouse to the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial.

It's a massive cemetery for American soldiers who died in the waters near the Philippines. We dressed as formally as possible, having read that shorts and sandals were not allowed in this solemn place.

We arrived about an hour before closing and hurried inside. By the way, you need to show your passport at the reception.

Inside, gravestones are arranged at equal intervals in a circular shape.

The BGC area is nearby, and high-rise buildings line the surroundings. However, it's quiet inside the cemetery.

A short walk from the entrance, there was a monument with the names of soldiers engraved in alphabetical order. The names, engraved so small that you need to get close to read them, continue endlessly.

It's an explanation of the Battle of Midway.

The cemetery, nature, and buildings created a strange atmosphere. It's hard to explain in words, but I felt peace and loneliness at the same time.

Realizing that over ten thousand people had died, I was reminded once again that war is not something to be engaged in. No matter the circumstances, there can be no justification for causing death in war.

Naturally, in this place, the two of us kept quiet as we looked around. There were also people from the West who were breaking down in tears.

We finished looking around in about an hour and left as the cemetery was closing.

Now, regaining our spirits, we headed towards our last dinner in Manila. When I mentioned that I wanted delicious Filipino food for the last menu, the young man passionately recommended the chicken from INASAL that he had eaten yesterday. Honestly, I wasn't too excited about "chicken," but since he said it was the most delicious meal he had in Manila, we decided to go.

We knew there was an INASAL near the guesthouse, so we walked there, but it was a ridiculous distance when we checked on Google Maps. Haha.

It started raining along the way, so we took shelter at a shopping mall called Power Plant, and looked for souvenirs at the supermarket.

The rain stopped, and we headed towards INASAL again.

Eventually, we arrived after more than two hours.

The restaurant was almost entirely filled with locals.

When we tried to order at the register, we were told there was only one item on the menu, so we ordered that.

What came was a simple charcoal-grilled chicken and rice.

This chicken was really delicious. Being tired might have influenced that, but even without that, it was delicious.

Rice is free to refill for an additional charge. I didn't ask for seconds, but the young man ate about three bowls.

The menu only had this chicken.

After the meal, we briskly walked back to the guesthouse, praising each other for how truly tired we were.

By the way, the other young man from Taiwan was in a faraway place, so he gave up on dinner for the day.

And so, the night of our final day in Manila grew late.