Sunset in Manila

Let us begin the first-ever post on Attractions Philippines by talking quickly about Manila.

Every day in the capital city of the Philippines, there is something new to see. Something quite out of the ordinary. Something that can be classified as far more than just one of the many Philippine attractions. The ironic thing? It’s something so regular, too.

Something like the Manila sunset.

In Ilustrado, Filipino expatriate Miguel Syjuco’s acclaimed debut novel, one is offered a brief description of the sunset in Manila: “Over the bay, the sunset is starting, the famous sunset, like none anywhere else. Skeptics attribute its colors to pollution. Over there’s the land, the great gray sprawl of eleven million people living on top of each other… fourteen cities and three municipalities, skyscrapers and shanties, tumbling beyond Kilometer Zero and the heart of every Filipino, the city that gave the metro its name.”

One cannot say that he has been to the Philippines, or lived in it, or known it, without having his breath taken at least once by this pretty sight. This goes for locals and foreigners alike. It is truly one of the most popular – not to mention, important – Philippine attractions.

“Oh my goodness,” expatriates must have said, “It’s just like a screensaver!”

In the afternoons, typically in the lovely time between five o’clock and sunset, hundreds flock to the boardwalk of Roxas Boulevard, all of them eager to watch the sun dipping cautiously behind Bataan peninsula on the horizon that is, at first, gold, then dark orange, then purple. Tourists, both domestic and foreign, brandish their cameras; artists set up their easels and sit on stools to paint the vista. Anything to capture the moment, it seems. Of course, the moment is not complete without a glimpse of the tiny white dinghy slicing through the glassy waters of Manila Bay.

Government ordinance may have taken away Roxas Boulevard’s sunset-view music bars, al fresco cafes, and street performances. And ridiculous taxes may have been imposed on the enjoyment of other attractions.

Fortunately, this screensaver – this picturesque afternoon view that has come to embody the tropical beauty of the rest of the Philippine attractions – cannot be touched.