Steven and I had quick glimpses of St. Andrew's Church, the largest Anglican church in Brunei, and the neighboring Roman Catholic church on our way to the Brunei Handicraft and Training Centre.
Nestled on the banks of the Brunei River, it was founded to showcase an impressive array of traditional arts, from fine textiles to intricately crafted silverware by its graduates. For some reason, visiting the centre didn't seem encouraged, as access was only possible through a guard who opened the gate for our taxi driver.
It wasn't surprising, therefore, that we were the only patrons as we walked through the galleries and admired the lovely woven textiles ...
colorful batiks,
... intricate wooden furniture,
basketry section, and
.... finally, the brass-and-silver gallery. The centre seemed like a missed opportunity to entice visitors to Bandar Seri Begawan to purchase small souvenirs as gifts for loved ones back home. Too many of the items were so large that they made impractical gifts. I was surprised it was called a training centre, as we saw no evidence of anyone learning any handicrafts.
As the temperature wasn't ungodly hot, we decided to walk toward the center of the capital instead of taking a taxi. Walking past a cemetery, we noticed lots of bottles on tables outside and wondered what they were for. Possibly offerings, but we didn't see any by the gravesites?
Another missed opportunity in our minds was the unmarked Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Complex, which was constructed to mark the 25th anniversary of His Majesty the Sultan's accession to the throne. In addition to housing the French and German embassies, it was a shopping center! We only knew about it because one of the shops sold Brunei souvenirs we wanted to check out.
On our way to Ulu Temburong National Park the previous morning, we'd driven by the Teng Yun Temple, the oldest Chinese temple in Brunei. Also spelled Tian Yun Dian, the Daoist temple was originally constructed in 1958 and officially inaugurated in 1960 to serve as a key spiritual center for the Chinese community in Brunei, enshrining deities such as Emperor Guan and the God of Wealth.
We sat down on a bench inside to regroup for a while, listening to the calming music and admiring the colorful images throughout.
While there, we took stock of our three-night stay in the tiny nation, agreeing that it had been the perfect amount of time to meander through the world's oldest stilt village in Kampong Ayer, be gobsmacked by the river views of the uber-wealthy Sultan's official residence, Istana Nurul Iman, the resplendent Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque, ogle the magnificent gifts and uniforms at the Royal Regalia Museum, and be wowed by an excursion to the country's national park in the jungle so we could climb hundreds of stairs for the privilege of ascending hundreds more for a canopy walk among the treetops. Every place we went, we were made to feel welcome by the country's friendly residents.
However, the architecture, save the mosque above, failed to impress us, and even with billions in oil revenue, the infrastructure was sorely lacking with broken sidewalks, no public transportation, unnamed buildings, stench from open sewers and grates, and reprehensible amounts of trash in the Brunei River adjacent to the capital. Add in the country's adoption of Sharia Law, and Brunei has a long way to go to attract large numbers of tourists.
A final view of the 29 domes of the Jame' Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque, built for the 29th Sultan of Brunei:
Hours later, we landed in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, a country we'd hoped to explore in great length until Covid destroyed those plans in mid-2020. Four years later, Steven and I still hoped to tour the island nation for several weeks, but we now had only two almost laughably short days: one to touch the surface of Manila, and the second, an exciting day trip shooting the rapids at Pagsanjan.
6/11: Our first introduction to Manila was its traditional Jeepneys, an iconic form of public transportation in the Philippines, which were originally made from U.S. military jeeps left over from World War II. Famous for their vibrant, colorful decorations and unique names often displayed on their exteriors, they are the primary mode of transport across the Philippines.
It was impossible not to be struck by the rough-and-ready section of Manila where we'd booked our hotel. Though our hotel was decent, the moment we set foot outside, the sight of people sleeping on the sidewalks, the horrific condition of those same sidewalks, and the insane traffic almost made me glad we were only there for two days! I still don't know why this part of Manila immediately struck me so adversely, considering we've previously stayed in "questionable" parts of equally poor countries.
I've recently followed other bloggers who toured the country at length and generally raved about their experiences in the Philippines, but I was not similarly smitten.
After passing the National Library of the Philippines, our first stop in the city was at Rizal Park, although locals still refer to it as Luneta, its name until it was officially changed 75 years ago. The park was named for José Rizal, a Filipino nationalist and writer active at the end of the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines.
I smiled just now, seeing the unusual bathroom sign again for the first time in almost two years, and especially the signs inside the bathroom!
The Rizal Monument, featuring a bronze sculpture of Rizal and an obelisk set on a stone base, serves as his final resting place, honoring the national hero, propagandist, writer, and physician.
Nearby in the park was the site where he was executed on December 30, 1896, by a regiment of the Spanish colonial army. His martyrdom fanned the flames of the 1896 Filipino revolution and inspired them to seek independence.
Also in the park was the entrance arch to the Chinese Garden, which was built between 1966 and 1967 to promote friendship between the Philippines and Taiwan.
As we strolled through the park, we saw several exhibits by the Filipino Department of Agriculture, whose mission was a "food secure and resilient Philippines, empowered by prosperous farmers and fishermen." Lina, I thought of you as your niece and family were shortly moving to Manila, and working with the same department on behalf of the Canadian government, correct?
A good excuse to get away from the crowds and the muggy heat was to escape into the National Museum of Anthropology, formerly known as the Museum of the Filipino People, and part of the National Museum of the Philippines
The Kulaman limestone burial jars were found in southwest Mindanao and used between 2,800 and 1,000 years ago. The unique, carved ossuaries housed skeletal remains and are distinct from common earthenware jars found elsewhere in the Philippines.
More burial jars:
These porcelain plates were recovered from the San Diego, a Spanish galleon that sank off the coast of Luzon in 1600.
After extolling the achievements of the country's weavers, there was an impressive gallery honoring the contributions made by some of the Philippines' indigenous communities.
The museum had a feature we hadn't seen elsewhere, namely, if we stood under the dome by some of the portraits, we could listen to that person's accomplishments. It was a brilliant idea that other museums should adopt, in my opinion!
In the Islamic Gallery, we came across a Tabo drum, a signaling instrument hung horizontally in front of mosques to call people to prayer.
Behind it was a large, decorative ceramic jar or urn with intricate geometric and floral patterns, but I didn't know what it was used for.
The burraq was a mythical winged creature in Islamic tradition, often carved from wood in the Philippines. Considered a sacred celestial steed, it transported the Prophet Muhammad on his journey to heaven.
We read that the Sarimanok, a legendary bird and symbol of good fortune, prosperity, and abundance in the Philippines, is often depicted holding a fish in its beak or talons.
How could the Breasted Pottery fail to catch anyone's attention?! They have come to be known as Masuso pots, but researchers can only guess at their origins and cultural significance because of the looting and destruction of archaeological sites. Did they have ritual significance? What culture and era did they belong to? Sadly, we are only left with questions.
The Philippines' rich and varied history began with the earliest presence of people about 750,000 years ago. I hadn't previously considered a country's cultural heritage as a non-renewable resource, and that, as such, it must be protected and properly managed.
There was a wide collection of Anthropomorphic Jar Covers from 5BC to 370 AD.
The Bulol, or Granary Deities, are anthropomorphic woodcarvings important to the Ifugao rice culture in Northern Luzon and are considered a significant Ifugao art form. Typically, a pair of male and female human figures was carved standing or sitting, with arms hanging loosely at the sides or crossed over the torso, and installed in the rice paddy to ward off pests and ensure the abundance of rice. The figures were often positioned on a mortar-shaped pedestal to indicate they were intended for consecration.
These wooden Granary Idols were returned to the Filipino people from the Southwestern Michigan College Museum in 2000. I wonder how many other national relics are in collections outside the country and whether they might be repatriated as well? It's a matter of grave importance to museums around the world.
Decorative farm implements, including harrows and yokes placed around animals' necks during the farmer's preparation of fields for planting, from the National Ethnographic Collection:
The outdoor art installation, Balay Balete, spooked me more than a little when I read that the Balete tree at the heart of it was surrounded by mythical creatures that dwell in it, including a vampire-like creature that feeds on blood and unborn babies, a half-horse and half-man creature, and a faceless phantom of a woman normally dressed in white! Together, they are intended to represent the reclamation of ancient beliefs that persist but are distorted by colonialism.
Rarely, in our extensive travels over the last almost 15 years traveling internationally, have we been knowingly snookered as we were in Manila, when we hired a tuk-tuk driver to take us to San Agustin Church in the Intramuros section of the city. Before getting in, we agreed on a price of 200 pesos, but upon arrival, he said the price was for each of us. We were not happy campers! IF we'd known the price ahead of time was 400 pesos, that would have been fine, but it was the knowledge that we could be taken advantage of as tourists.
The UNESCO World Heritage Site church, completed in 1607, was the only stone church in the country. It was also the only building left intact after Intramuros, the old Spanish heart of Manila, was destroyed during the Battle of Manila during the closing days of World War II. The current structure is the third to stand on the site, which has suffered seven major earthquakes.
The church and convent became the headquarters for the Japanese during the war. From the beginning of 1942 until 1945, they stocked ammunition in the cloisters, church, and courtyards, mounted canons and machine guns on top of the bell tower, and removed the lower portion of the church's main entrance door to cover it with sandbags to conceal guns pointed at nearby streets.
During the February 1945 Battle of Manila, about 7,000 civilians and members of religious orders sought refuge inside the church from the heavy artillery and bombing in Intramuros. About 2,000 were transferred to Fort Santiago (more on that later), but many were killed by the Japanese, including a group of 141 Spanish, 14 of whom were Augustinian friars, who were buried alive by the Japanese. For some inexplicable reason, American forces battered the church with up to 300 bombs daily, beginning on February 23, 1945, destroying the church and convent's roofs. A second monastery was reduced to a pile of rubble.
His remains were transferred to Milan in a religious procession carriage, but it was unclear whether it was this one.
The Sacristy is where priests prepare for Mass and where liturgical vestments, vessels, books, candles, and other items needed to "enhance the splendor of the Catholic liturgy for the glory of God" are kept. Considering the church's devastation during the Battle of Manila, I was surprised to see massive cabinets commissioned between 1653 and 1674. Each drawer was reserved for different liturgical colors. All the previous objects in the Sacristy, including liturgical cloths and images, were reportedly stolen by the British in 1762. What a travesty that colonial and invading powers have wrought on the country.
I had difficulty understanding, after that devastation, that religious services for US soldiers in the courtyard on February 25 were held.
As a result of the war, the material losses were enormous, including 271 paintings, valuable furniture, retablos, ivory crucifixes and statues, 20,000 old books in the library were burned, along with a collection of old maps and antique silverware, for 100. It almost made me sick to read that American troops "camping" inside the church heavily damaged the floors, pews, altars, and other paintings.
The Cloister of Procession reminded Augustinian friars that life was a journey, sometimes short and sometimes long. They were invited to keep looking forward to the final destiny of happiness. As they exited through the church, they stopped to pray and contemplate at each of the four corner altars.
The painting depicted the Death of St. Augustine in 430 in his diocese of Hippo, when it was on the verge of being pillaged by the Vandals.
His remains were transferred to Milan in a religious procession carriage, but it was unclear whether it was this one.
The Legazpi Chapel was named after a Spanish Basque captain and mariner, Miguel López de Legazpi, "of whom destiny made a Conquistador," because the Order of St. Augustine brought him to these islands. He established the first permanent Spanish settlement in Manila on June 24, 1571.
The Legazpi tomb:
The Sacristy is where priests prepare for Mass and where liturgical vestments, vessels, books, candles, and other items needed to "enhance the splendor of the Catholic liturgy for the glory of God" are kept. Considering the church's devastation during the Battle of Manila, I was surprised to see massive cabinets commissioned between 1653 and 1674. Each drawer was reserved for different liturgical colors. All the previous objects in the Sacristy, including liturgical cloths and images, were reportedly stolen by the British in 1762. What a travesty that colonial and invading powers have wrought on the country.
The Augustinian friars were inspired by the thought of St. Augustine, for whom "God is beauty." They promoted the creation of beautiful works of art, including Filipino-Spanish ivories. The first artists were Sangleyes, or Chinese living in the islands, but after the 18th century, they were Filipino. Originally, San Agustin Church and Convent had an extraordinary collection of ivories, but when the British invaded and sacked Manila in 1762, 50 ivories were looted.
The statues generally had ivory heads, hands, and sometimes feet, and were embellished with paint or stain, glass eyes, and sometimes with eyelashes and glass tears. The bodies were typically made of wood, covered in richly embroidered costumes. Crowns, halos, rosaries, etc, were normally added.
The 18th-century Filipino-Spanish Statue of the Immaculate Conception was donated.
The Antesacristia was the passage from the Sacristy to the church's main altar and would originally have had benches for altar boys and others who helped during Mass, and cabinets along the walls to store items needed in the church and for processions. During the surrender of Manila to the Americans in 1898, the room was used by the Spanish governor for several weeks while terms were discussed. Japanese soldiers converted it into a prison for friars and lay people.
A very moving room for me was the Sala de Profundis, where the ashes of many beloved people remind observant Catholics that we are pilgrims and that the world is a temporary home, as our vocation is to go to heaven and to the home of God the Father. The room contained the remains of members of the Augustinian community and of Filipino and foreign families.
In the center was a monument called In Memory of the Victims of Hate, the 141 Spaniards who died in the Battle of Manila. They were crowded into bomb shelters in the ruins of the Governor's Palace across from the cathedral. It makes me almost physically sick to write that the Japanese buried them alive, shot them through holes, and launched grenades into the shelters. Most died from the wounds or from the gas. Only one Augustinian and two Franciscans survived to recount the atrocity.
Our tour of the convent led to the Rectory next.
There was always a painting of The Last Supper depicting Jesus and the 12 Apostles hanging in the rectory of the Convent of San Agustin. The original painting vanished during the British invasion in 1762. A second one was destroyed during the final days of World War II. This interpretation, created from acacia and mahogany wood, was painted by the Italian painter Luigi Diacobe in 1980.
At the end of the 18th century, there were paintings on the walls in several parts of the San Agustin Convent. But, due to humidity and other weather conditions, they have almost disappeared. Fortunately, a few have remained, such as one of the Earthly Trinity on the rectory's ceiling, painted at the end of the 16th century. They are the oldest mural paintings remaining from the Spanish period in the Philippines.
Next post: I had hoped to finish writing about the rest of our 2024 Asia trip before leaving on another extended trip to the same part of the world. However, with just two posts left, I want some closure, so you'll get to see more of Manila through our eyes.
Posted on March 29th, 2026, from Berkeley, California, where we've been visiting our older son, his wife, and three adorable (of course!) grandchildren for several days before embarking on a long AND long-planned trip to Fiji, mostly the South Island of New Zealand, Western Australia, and other exciting places! Please take care of yourself and your loved ones, especially during this challenging time in far too much of the world.
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