What we did on Sunday

Yesterday we went to the walled spanish city of Intramuros, specifically we visited Fort Santiago. This city was built inthe 16th century, and was the last city ever built to be surrounded by a moat for protection. The moat was quickly outdated there-after but it was really cool seeing the remains of the city contrasting with the chaos that is modern day Manila right across the Pasig river. We paid off one of the security guards and he took us into the dungeon so we could see where prisoners were kept. It was pretty fun because it was super creepy, made for some good pictures, and because paying off a guard with about U.S. $2 would never fly in the states. To learn more about intramuros click on the following link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intramuros

After Intramuros we went to a cockfight across town. I had no idea what to expect going in other than roosters killing each other. It surely would not fly with the PETA folks, but it was an incredible thing to experience. The cock-fights were a bit boring to be honest, but they did have 6 inch razor blades attached to their feet so the matches went rather quickly. Also cocks tend to be territorial and fight each other naturally, which is most likely how the sport evolved. The most exciting part is the betting that takes place. The ring is set up with two halves and each light symbolizes when it is time to bet on a certian bird. The Filipinos go bezerk during this time and all are yelling out bets, and also signaling them with their hands. The hand signals are crucial because the place quickly gets as loud as a college football game. The most amazing part is that all of the bets are memorized, there is no time for writing anything down, so the Filipinos essentially develop a photographic memory for bets. I loved the experience there and I met a guy who lives in Reno part of the year dealing cards. He told me stories of how there are cockfights in Arizona in the desert, where it is all Filipinos and Mexicans placing bets.

Don't worry they eat all of the birds that are killed, nothing goes to waste. I will try to post some more pictures soon. For now I am done with my canned coffee and we are leaving in a little while to go visit the U.S. Embassy here in Manila. Feel free to comment, it lets me know people are reading.