THE
HEROES
ISSUE
2020
TRAVEL
Performance Interrupted A trip to Asia isn’t complete unless you belt out a few songs at a karaoke club (also known as a KTV in this part of the world), so we rented a personal room for our group and began to enjoy snacks, drinks and sang few of our favor-
ites until our funfilled night came to a sudden halt. During the middle of “hit me baby one more time” the local volcano, Taal, decided to erupt causing what felt like a semi-truck hitting the twenty-story building where we sang the night away. Jolted and confused, within minutes emergency alerts on our phones began sending instructions for sheltering and staying indoors to avoid breathing the volcanic ash. The night turned eerie as the metro area population of almost 12 million people began a frantic hunt for face masks and supplies. Because of Taal’s ongoing eruption and tremors, we had to stay indoors on our final day in Manila. So, what is there to do indoors in one of the largest cities in Asia? Shopping! Manila is home to some of the largest shopping malls in the world including the SM Mega Mall at a whopping 3.6 million square feet. At SM Mega Mall you’ll find everything from clothing to electronics and at every price range and long with numerous fine dining restaurants as well as budget-friendly food court options. If haggling for handicrafts and knock-offs are your style,
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queen. Just ignore your childhood dining rules and order fried chicken, a cheeseburger, and some spaghetti! Yes, all of the above is on the menu and Jollibee. After dinner we ventured to a massive entertainment bar called One 690, and that’s when our low-key evening turned into an energetic experience complete with impressive musical acts, high-quality drag queen performances, and scantily clad dancers who performed into the wee hours of the morning. Cut to Jollibee visit number two… Oops! As a history buff, my next stop was at the impressive Spanish-era district of Intramuros, which translates to “within walls” and is home to numerous colonial buildings and the massive sixteenth century Fort Santiago that overlooks the Pasig River and modern-day Manila skyscrapers. A stroll around the narrow streets isn’t complete without ice cream or halo-halo, a delicious mixed fruit dessert. Both are easy to find from a number of street vendors. As we exited Intramuros we began to question a haze in the air and a sandy feeling in our hair, but we wouldn’t know why for a few more hours.
Performers at a typical mega-club in Manila Volcanic ash from local volcano, Taal
