"The Capital - Manila" a Manila Travel Page by Lensky

The Clock Tower of Manila City Hall. Its inspiration is Britain's Big Ben.

There are actually two sides of Manila. The old Manila and the new Manila.

Old Manila: it consists of brick pathways, old churches, chinese temples, old Spanish houses, cobbled stone walkways, calesa rides, and piano bars.

New Manila: tall buildings, commercial complexes, malls and markets, train systems, concrete bridges and all kinds of night life.

The Royal and Pontifical University of Sto. Tomas, the Catholic University, the oldest existing university iin Asia and the largest Catholic university in the world in terms of population.

Royal, because it was King Charles III of Spain recognized the loyalty the university exhibited to Spain during the British Invasion.

Pontifical, as granted by Pope Leo XIII.

The Catholic University of the Philippines as bestowed by Pope Pius XII.

The UST Main Building, the first earthquake proof building in the Philippines. It consists of 40 independent structures separated by a gap of one inch filled with loose cement. So when an earthquake comes, the structures have room to "quake" and will not bump each other and collapse. It houses all the administrative offices of the University and the College of Science and Faculty of Civil Law.

This is the Arch of the Century located at the entrance of UST. The side of the arch facing the campus was the main doorway to the university building before it was destroyed by World War II. The stones of that doorway, now rough-hewned and eroded, were transferred and reassembled piece by piece in its present site. The side with its Grecian design facing Espaņa Street is a reconstruction of the doorway as it originally looked. Atop the arch is St. Thomas Aquinas, the Angelic Doctor, patron of the university and all college. On one side of the arch is a commemorative plaque for Dr. Jose Rizal, national hero and one of UST alumni and another for President Manuel Quezon, president of the Philippine Commonwealth and another UST alumni.

I have spent 8 years of my life in this place. Fours years in college and four years in law school which I am currently finishing.