Gates Of Hell

"Manila has six-hour jams, suffocating air and a horrifying sex trade whose workers consisted primarily of young children, many of whom have been sold to pimps by parents who took solace in knowing that at least their children would be fed."

Manila: Through The Gates of Hell, Inferno.

This hellish picture of Manila may have come from the very ingenious mind of Dan Brown, author of the controversial novels like "The Da Vinci Code" and "Angels and Demons" from his latest offering, "Inferno", but I guess, this is partly true. Well, mostly true.

But that didn't stop me and my non-kulam friend, OB, to go out and see the hidden beauty of Manila. Ok, enough bola. It was pure coincidence.

Since he was new here in Manila (less than a year), he was persistently asking me to tour him around ever since we've met sometime around September last year. Our schedules would not just match. I got work and he got his. So that my promise of touring him around my hometown got postponed and postponed until further notice. (I don't think I made sense there. May masabi lang.)

I don't really know what has gotten into me today that I asked and invited him out to see Manila. Maybe, I need a breather. I needed a diversion from all the things that has been happening to me lately - family issues, petty quarrel with a friend, and anything you could think of. And so to cut the story short, I went out and toured him around Manila.

He said it's good that I gained weight. Not like before that I really looked anorexic daw. Thanks, friend! How honest could you get? :) I see no difference from him though. Oh, except for one thing, his ever receding hairline. I had to wear my sunglasses tuloy all the time.

It actually helped that we had a lot of catching up to do about what happened to us during the time when our friendship took a lie-low, because I pretty much know less about the history of Manila (though I'm a full-pledged Manileno, born and raised in the City of Manila). So, most of the time when we were walking around the walls of Intramuros, taking pictures of some Chinese stores in Binondo, and looking for PNoy's balding head among the luscious trees within the Malacanan grounds, I hardly tell some historical facts about those places.

It's a breath of fresh air (not the air of Manila) to see my old friend once more. For once, I have forgotten that I am actually infected. Although there are times when I had to stop telling stories which are kulam-related, I still enjoyed his company.

'Til our next road trip to wherever. Food trip naman? See you around!

Aja!