I saw this travel blog written by Geoffrey James about Manila and I thought I'd share it here.
I honestly do really HATE to write negative posts. If you check through this blog you’ll see that even the posts on Afghanistan have a few positive things to say…….
But my GOODNESS the Philippines!!! Or more precisely Manila, because you cannot and should not generalize about such a large country spread over thousands of islands. Manila - what a dump!
The city has got to be the disgrace of South-east Asia, all the more so because twenty years ago when I used to come through here en route to Papua New Guinea it was THE place in the region to come to for shopping and R&R. How the mighty are fallen!
Let’s start with the international airport. Ninoy Aquino International is exactly the same as it was all that time ago; the same awful green lino when you arrive, the same over-crowded Departure Hall, nowhere to sit if your check-in desk isn’t open. Once through security you find the same down-market shops, toilets that don’t work or are “under repair” and very few F&B places.
I pay the extra $15 to go up to the Sampaguita Lounge just to get out of the crush of people. No, despite the fact that I’m an inveterate traveler I DO NOT LIKE crowds of people! The travelling public en masse is a necessary obstacle that has to be endured and overcome.
The coffee in this over-priced lounge is awful…. Over-boiled and they don’t have a modern machines (which these days can be purchased even for home use) to produce fresh coffee from beans. NO ONE uses this old filter method anymore, at least no one that likes good coffee. Where is George Clooney!!???
I foresee a lot of Filipinos going to be up in arms over this and will say that this guy doesn't know what he's talking about. But believe me, if you look at Manila in the eyes of a foreigner and not as a Filipino living in the Philippines. You'll agree with him.
Manila is a dump now compared to what it was just 20 years ago. I'm not saying this to disparage the country, it's just a fact. Instead of getting angry at the blogger, it's better to admit that it's true and do something about it instead of being defensive and ignore it which is what Filipinos like to do a lot whenever a foreigner says something about their country.
Here the link to the full
article.
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