From: Sherman Rootberg (biggiroot)
Date: Mar 1, 2007 10:15 AM
Subject: Thursday, March 01, 2007
Thursday, March 01, 2007
MANILA, PHILIPPINES
Most of the help on the ship, except for the officers, come from the Philippines and many of those are from right here in Manila. Some travel as long as 8 or 9 hours to get here to see relatives and friends working on the ship. Everyone is asked to try to give the maids and food workers as much time off as possible today. We put a do not disturb on our door and only had our butler bring breakfast. He is Indian and is not affected. We ate our other meals off the ship.
When we left early this morning there were hundreds of locals waiting at the dock. When we came back around 5:30 PM there must have been a thousand. Many had children with them. As we pulled into the dock this morning, there was a full band playing. As we left this evening, there were many watching and waving as we pulled away. The ship was playing music from loudspeakers and just after we pulled away from the dock the ship did a 360 degree spin. There was a lot of noise from the ship horn and then we were out to sea. Many would not see those friends and family again for close to a year.
We had been to Manila before so we decided to take a tour to Corregidor today. For those of you who have not ever heard of World War II, this was one of the most hotly fought for islands in the Pacific. General Douglas McArthur was remembered for his speech saying I will return when he was forced to leave as the Japs were overrunning the area. It is also where the Japs started the Bataan Death March. They walked prisoners 80 miles. If they stopped or fell they were shot or bayoneted. The vast majority never made it. The Japs are still not real popular here for all the atrocities against the Philippine civilians.
The island had hundreds of tons of bombs and shells dropped on it by the Japs and then again when the US came back and exterminated them. Every time there is a construction project, live shells are still found.
We went for about a fifteen minute bus ride to a ferry dock. We got on a very large and old catamaran ferry. Inside it was all right. There was bus like seating with seat belts for rough days, good leg room and washrooms. It was about an hour ride to get to Corregidor. The seas were very calm today. One man said he had been here three times before and the trips had been canceled due to rough seas.
The island is now all mountainous forest where there are not bombed out buildings, monuments and memorials, of which there are far too many. Every thing is very green and there are supposed to be 2000 monkeys and a lot of poisonous snakes among various other animals including deer. The roads are well paved following original trails and dirt roads from WWII. All are very steep and have sharp turns.
There were so many bombed out buildings and bunkers we couldn’t even take pictures of a fraction of them. You didn’t know what to take photos of first. There were still undamaged cannon in various areas as well as those bombed out and destroyed. We saw many monuments and memorials including one huge Memorial of the Pacific. There was a museum and the guide, while a little hard to understand, had total knowledge of the entire war and every detail and number.
We toured up and down the island making many stops to get out and take pictures. At noon we stopped at a nice hotel on the island for lunch.
After lunch we went to the Malinta tunnel. It is 836 feet long x 24 feet wide with 26 side tunnels. It goes through a mountain of rock and was considered impenetrable. There were 4,000 men crammed inside when they surrendered to the Japs.
We walked inside the tunnel, then the doors were closed. The lights would go out and it would become pitch black as we would get to side tunnels. Different lighting and narratives would be played, in the side tunnels, about events from the war. Some had statues and mock ups. Others had the original furniture and gear. Many had very loud sound effects and flashes simulating the shelling and bombing. At times it sounded almost real. At other spots there would be movies showing original events. This was all well done and very interesting. If I am ever here again I would take the ferry over by myself and take a private tour of the island. I could have spent a lot more time here. If you ever get the chance to go, don’t miss it. On a day with beautiful weather, like this one, it is something to see you will never forget.
After the tunnel we went to the ferry for the ride back. At the other end buses were waiting to take us back to the ship. Some of us that are gold, platinum, or titanium members of the Seven Seas Society, were invited to a cocktail party at the Manila Hotel. We had been there before and it is a beautiful old hotel.
The buses dropped those of us invited, at the hotel. The ball room being used by Regent was one we had not seen before and it was quite ornate and very pretty. There were so many Hors D’Oeuvres and so many different varieties, we could not eat dinner after that party. It was the best Seven Seas cocktail party yet.
As we had gotten there a little before most, who were coming from the ship, we also left early. Our ride back was in one of the old jeep type jitneys. After WWII the only vehicles available in Manila were army jeeps. They took these jeeps and cut them in half and added a center section to hold nine passengers. Seating is on two long benches running from front to rear. Head room is fine for sit down height but you must crawl to get in and you share leg room with the passenger across from you. These new vehicles are copies of the original but now have chrome Rolls Royce like grills and some are decorated. A short ride in one once is an experience, but I would not want to do it again.
The people in this city are very good to everyone from Regent and their ships. That is because of the great reputation they and their passengers have for the fine way they treat the Philippine people on the ships. On the way back to the ship we were in very heavy traffic due to the time of day and the busy area we were in. No problem. As we are stuck in traffic we hear sirens coming from behind. It turns out there is another bus going back to the ship that is coming from a different tour. They too were stuck in traffic so police on motor cycles are escorting them back to the ship. Suddenly out of no where two policemen jump into our jitney and another one in front of us that is also going back to the ship. Then the motorcycle cops clear traffic in front of us and around turns, going through stop lights with lights flashing and sirens howling. That was one quick ride. We then find out that the cop on our jitney had jumped in because he wanted a ride to the ship to wave good bye to someone.
The people everywhere we went in this city have been friendly and very easygoing both this year and last. It is a good looking city. The only problem is you cannot breathe here. The smog is so bad it always smells like garbage. The wind must have been blowing from a different direction last year. This year is no bargain but last year I could not see very far and could not stop coughing until we were over fifty miles out to sea. This part of the world has got to do something about the air pollution before they kill themselves. I suppose environment is something that is hard to consider when there are not enough jobs to allow the people to earn enough to eat. That is a problem and it is a shame.
Date: Mar 1, 2007 10:15 AM
Subject: Thursday, March 01, 2007
Thursday, March 01, 2007
MANILA, PHILIPPINES
Most of the help on the ship, except for the officers, come from the Philippines and many of those are from right here in Manila. Some travel as long as 8 or 9 hours to get here to see relatives and friends working on the ship. Everyone is asked to try to give the maids and food workers as much time off as possible today. We put a do not disturb on our door and only had our butler bring breakfast. He is Indian and is not affected. We ate our other meals off the ship.When we left early this morning there were hundreds of locals waiting at the dock. When we came back around 5:30 PM there must have been a thousand. Many had children with them. As we pulled into the dock this morning, there was a full band playing. As we left this evening, there were many watching and waving as we pulled away. The ship was playing music from loudspeakers and just after we pulled away from the dock the ship did a 360 degree spin. There was a lot of noise from the ship horn and then we were out to sea. Many would not see those friends and family again for close to a year.
We had been to Manila before so we decided to take a tour to Corregidor today. For those of you who have not ever heard of World War II, this was one of the most hotly fought for islands in the Pacific. General Douglas McArthur was remembered for his speech saying I will return when he was forced to leave as the Japs were overrunning the area. It is also where the Japs started the Bataan Death March. They walked prisoners 80 miles. If they stopped or fell they were shot or bayoneted. The vast majority never made it. The Japs are still not real popular here for all the atrocities against the Philippine civilians.
The island had hundreds of tons of bombs and shells dropped on it by the Japs and then again when the US came back and exterminated them. Every time there is a construction project, live shells are still found.We went for about a fifteen minute bus ride to a ferry dock. We got on a very large and old catamaran ferry. Inside it was all right. There was bus like seating with seat belts for rough days, good leg room and washrooms. It was about an hour ride to get to Corregidor. The seas were very calm today. One man said he had been here three times before and the trips had been canceled due to rough seas.
The island is now all mountainous forest where there are not bombed out buildings, monuments and memorials, of which there are far too many. Every thing is very green and there are supposed to be 2000 monkeys and a lot of poisonous snakes among various other animals including deer. The roads are well paved following original trails and dirt roads from WWII. All are very steep and have sharp turns.There were so many bombed out buildings and bunkers we couldn’t even take pictures of a fraction of them. You didn’t know what to take photos of first. There were still undamaged cannon in various areas as well as those bombed out and destroyed. We saw many monuments and memorials including one huge Memorial of the Pacific. There was a museum and the guide, while a little hard to understand, had total knowledge of the entire war and every detail and number.
We toured up and down the island making many stops to get out and take pictures. At noon we stopped at a nice hotel on the island for lunch.After lunch we went to the Malinta tunnel. It is 836 feet long x 24 feet wide with 26 side tunnels. It goes through a mountain of rock and was considered impenetrable. There were 4,000 men crammed inside when they surrendered to the Japs.
We walked inside the tunnel, then the doors were closed. The lights would go out and it would become pitch black as we would get to side tunnels. Different lighting and narratives would be played, in the side tunnels, about events from the war. Some had statues and mock ups. Others had the original furniture and gear. Many had very loud sound effects and flashes simulating the shelling and bombing. At times it sounded almost real. At other spots there would be movies showing original events. This was all well done and very interesting. If I am ever here again I would take the ferry over by myself and take a private tour of the island. I could have spent a lot more time here. If you ever get the chance to go, don’t miss it. On a day with beautiful weather, like this one, it is something to see you will never forget.
After the tunnel we went to the ferry for the ride back. At the other end buses were waiting to take us back to the ship. Some of us that are gold, platinum, or titanium members of the Seven Seas Society, were invited to a cocktail party at the Manila Hotel. We had been there before and it is a beautiful old hotel.The buses dropped those of us invited, at the hotel. The ball room being used by Regent was one we had not seen before and it was quite ornate and very pretty. There were so many Hors D’Oeuvres and so many different varieties, we could not eat dinner after that party. It was the best Seven Seas cocktail party yet.
As we had gotten there a little before most, who were coming from the ship, we also left early. Our ride back was in one of the old jeep type jitneys. After WWII the only vehicles available in Manila were army jeeps. They took these jeeps and cut them in half and added a center section to hold nine passengers. Seating is on two long benches running from front to rear. Head room is fine for sit down height but you must crawl to get in and you share leg room with the passenger across from you. These new vehicles are copies of the original but now have chrome Rolls Royce like grills and some are decorated. A short ride in one once is an experience, but I would not want to do it again.The people in this city are very good to everyone from Regent and their ships. That is because of the great reputation they and their passengers have for the fine way they treat the Philippine people on the ships. On the way back to the ship we were in very heavy traffic due to the time of day and the busy area we were in. No problem. As we are stuck in traffic we hear sirens coming from behind. It turns out there is another bus going back to the ship that is coming from a different tour. They too were stuck in traffic so police on motor cycles are escorting them back to the ship. Suddenly out of no where two policemen jump into our jitney and another one in front of us that is also going back to the ship. Then the motorcycle cops clear traffic in front of us and around turns, going through stop lights with lights flashing and sirens howling. That was one quick ride. We then find out that the cop on our jitney had jumped in because he wanted a ride to the ship to wave good bye to someone.
The people everywhere we went in this city have been friendly and very easygoing both this year and last. It is a good looking city. The only problem is you cannot breathe here. The smog is so bad it always smells like garbage. The wind must have been blowing from a different direction last year. This year is no bargain but last year I could not see very far and could not stop coughing until we were over fifty miles out to sea. This part of the world has got to do something about the air pollution before they kill themselves. I suppose environment is something that is hard to consider when there are not enough jobs to allow the people to earn enough to eat. That is a problem and it is a shame.
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