Days 89-95 -- Manila

My cousin Nish has been living in Manila for the past few months so I decided since I was soo close I needed to make it a stopover. Changed the flights around so I could accomodate and booked a flight to Manila. Manila was an interesting place...very cheap, but much more cosmopolitan than I expected. Got a haircut and massage for about 72 cents...making it the cheapest on the entire trip so far....who would have thought?!? Spent most of the week with Nish as he did some work for some business opportunities he is pursuing in the area. Got to meet a lot of the locals who are some of the most friendly people I've met to date. A friend of his, a tour guide, Byron took me around to show me some of the sites one afternoon including Malate and Intramurus, an walled city within Manila dating back 400 years. Nightlife in Manila was quiet, but even at the most exclusive places drinks were only $1-$2....not bad. My cousin lived in a tower full of expats in a really nice area that was heavily secured...but on the other side of the fence were some real slums...similar to those you might have seen in Slum Dog Millionaire (good movie!). Wish I would have had more time to see the beach side of the Philipines, but if his business opportunities pan out I'll have someone local to come visit in the future. Back to Hong Kong to celebrate Chinese New Year...