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Makati was a vast expanse of malarial swampland until the Ayala family, one of the country's most influential business dynasties, started developing it at the turn of the century. It is now Manila's business district and is chock-full of plush hotels, international restaurant chains, expensive condominiums and monolithic air-conditioned malls, containing everything from cinemas and bowling alleys to cacophonous food courts. The main triangle of Makati is bordered by Ayala Avenue, Paseo de Roxas and Makati Avenue, and is where most of the banks, insurance companies and multinational corporations are sited. For sightseers, Makati is something of a wasteland, but for shoppers it's nirvana. The biggest mall by far is Glorietta , opposite the Shangri-La Makati. Glorietta heaves with people seeking refuge from the traffic and the heat. All the big brand names are represented, but there aren't many shops with real interest. On the other side of Makati Avenue from Glorietta is Greenbelt Park with its pleasant white-domed church. Overlooking the park is the small but interesting Ayala Museum (Tues-Sat 8am-6pm; tel 02/812 1191-7), which has a permanent display of Philippine history and rotating exhibitions by artists, photographers and sculptors. It also houses a collection of oils by Amorsolo, the country's most famous painter. Admission is free and there's a nice cafe and a museum shop. Makati's other main mall is Greenbelt Mall , behind the Ayala Museum. It's smaller than Glorietta and has some nice restaurants. The Filipinas Heritage Library (tel 02/892 1801) on Makati Avenue, opposite The Peninsula Hotel, is an interesting little piece of history. It was Manila's first airport. Paseo de Roxas is now where the runway used to be. The library is privately owned (by the Ayalas), but has a bookshop selling Philippine books and a quiet cafe with Internet access. On the edge of Makati in McKinley Avenue is the American Cemetery and Memorial (daily 6.30am-4.30pm; free). The cemetery covers a wide area and contains the largest number of graves of American military dead of World War II, a total of 17,206.
smbes says "to symphatised,emphatised
to griefing are more humane,
" filipinograce says ".................eow poh!!!!!"
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