We left from Mumbai on Thai Airways 318 for Bangkok at 11:35 PM, a little before midnight.
There was a meal service onboard, and the rest of the flight was comfortable. We landed on time around 5:35 AM.
During transit at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport, we visited the Miracle Lounge near Gate D5 for a quick breakfast.
They had the usual breakfast spread: cereal, fruits, bacon, and eggs, along with dim sum.
Our next flight was Thai Airways 620 at 7:25 AM, which took us from Bangkok, across the South China Sea, to Manila.
There was a meal service onboard and the rest of the flight went by quickly; we landed in Manila at around 11:45 AM.
We were met by a ground agent after we deplaned. He was aware of our connection between Thai Airways and United Airlines. He instructed us to clear immigration and collect our luggage (which was not checked all the way to our final destination). He told us where we could leave our bags at the airport if we wanted to head into the city.
We took a taxi from the airport to the Manila Cathedral, also known as the Minor Basilica and Metropolitan Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. We hired an electric tuk-tuk from here for a local sightseeing tour of Intramuros.
The next stop was the Manila 1945 Memorial, officially known as Memorare – Manila 1945. It is a memorial located in Plaza de Santa Isabel dedicated to the over 100,000 non-combatant civilians who were killed during the month-long Battle of Manila in February 1945.
We then headed to the San Agustin Church (officially the Church of the Immaculate Conception of San Agustin), the oldest stone church in the Philippines. It is famous for its vaulted ceilings and detailed frescoes.
We visited Casa Manila next, a restored 1850s house which is now a museum displaying Spanish colonial furniture, art, and architecture. Instituto Cervantes was nearby.
We passed by Museo de Intramuros on our way to see the Philippine Presidents’ Murals: artwork featuring large plaques of all former presidents of the Philippines.
Next, we saw Baluartillo de San Jose and Reducto de San Pedro, two interconnected defensive structures located along the southwestern wall of Intramuros. They represent a unique layer of the city’s military history, famously serving as a command center during the early days of World War II.
Our next stop was the San Diego Gardens, featuring a Renaissance-style fountain and the Japanese Cannon, one of the few remaining large-scale relics of the Battle of Manila (1945).
We saw the Puerta Real (The Royal Gate) and the Puerta Real Gardens, which served as the grand southern gateway to Intramuros.
Revellin del Parian was our next stop, an outer fortification located on the eastern side of Intramuros, best known for housing the ASEAN Garden.
Circling back, we saw the monument for Felipe II, Rey de España (King Philip II of Spain), a bronze statue located in Plaza de España honoring the Spanish monarch after whom the Philippines was named. Fort Santiago, a 16th-century citadel, served as a military headquarters for Spanish, British, American, and Japanese forces.
After the tour, we walked across Rizal Park and saw the Bust of President Diosdado P. Macapagal, the 9th President of the Philippines, and the Statue of the Sentinel of Freedom (Lapu-Lapu), a massive bronze monument located at the center of Agrifina Circle.
We visited the National Museum of Natural History. The building had a beautiful atrium and many zoological, botanical, and geological exhibits on display.
After spending some time there, we had to head back. We took a taxi from the museum gate back to the airport. We picked up our bags from storage and dropped them off at the United Airlines check-in counter. After clearing security and immigration, we decided to visit the Marhaba Lounge.
The lounge was not very big, but it had a good selection of food and drinks. Overall, it was a nice place to wait before the next flight.
Having skipped lunch because we wanted to make the most of our day in Manila, we were hungry. We got dinner and relaxed there for a while.
We left the lounge to board our flight to Guam, UA184 at 10:25 PM. There was a meal service onboard, and it was amusing to be flying a United Airlines narrow-body aircraft in this part of the world.
