MANILA, A PEARL OF THE ORIENT

"PELAS NG SILANGAN" or 'PEARLS OF THE EAST' can refer to several cities in SOUTH EAST ASIA, among them, MANILA or Maynila, derived as some claim from 'MAY DILA' meaning,roughly, "a tongue". UNquestionably my favorite city aside from the one in which I am currently residing(Claremont,the town that pretends it's a city). The reasons are many but there are other cities that can sort of contend with Manila. If I had to choose a city in which I would live for the rest of my life, the choice would be Manila and environs. The choice is easy because MANILA IS A CROSSROADS BETWEEN EAST & WEST! Other cities in the area and elsewhere make much the same claim but I find that people,'natives' of those claimants can be found in MANILA and you can hear their languages and see their 'styles' if you look and inquire,etc.