Manila, the metropolis of contrasts... I arrived here end of September after a 15 hours flight via Bangkok and when I came out of the air-conditioned Ninoy Aquino airport I ran against a wall of tremendous heat and humidity !! 33 Centigrade and around 90% humidity !! I immediately removed my sweater cause I felt like baking in a furnace. The first 3-4 weeks have been very tough in adapting to that crazy climate. Then at end of October it became a little less hot and humid as the trade winds arose and humidity dropped down to 50-70%. Metro Manila has approximately 15 million residents on an area which is not bigger than the one of Berlin. There is no subway system because of two reasons; the lack of money and because the Philippines are based on subterranean volcanos and on chasms. The nonexistence of a subway system leads to an ineffable traffic and due to missing (?) exhaust regulations to an air pollution which is the third highest in the Eastern Asian region. This fact and the extreme heat make it impossible to ride a bicycle or to promenade through the city. There is a wide difference between rich and poor people as usual in a third world country, nevertheless the people are very friendly and helpful. This helped me very much in the first weeks to settle in here. The standard of living is extreme low and as a consequence to that the prices for almost everything too, unbelievable. So check out the picture gallery and feel the difference...

Air Pollution Metro Manila    Increasing Pollution Problem in Asia