22- 23 December 2013 The flight into Manila with Philippine Airlines was great. I was greeted at NAIA airport with a heavy police presence. Police with guns lined outside the terminals and the air was tense. I was not surprised since the in-flight newspaper had the headlines “MAYOR, 3 OTHERS SLAIN AT NAIA”. Assassinations and guns are common in the country so despite how uncomfortable the thought of being gunned down is, chances are low. My guesthouse is located in the Makati CDB and 8 minutes away from Manila’s newest shopping centre. While you would feel that Manila is clearly overpopulated from the slum areas, nearby Quezon City is actually the largest in population. I’ve always hated MRT in Beijing but Manila is worse. Nevertheless, it is the best way to see the city and rather convenient too. Directions from station to station and the locations of ticket windows are “assumed…