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When Manila was in its heyday Manila Bay must have been a sight to behold, with its sweeping panorama across the South China Sea and dreamy sunsets. Manilenos still watch sunsets from the harbour wall or the outside bar at the Westin Philippine Plaza, but much of Manila Bay is trading on its romantic past. Its buildings were bombed flat during the war and have been replaced with bulk-standard boxes of poured concrete. Horse-drawn carriages ( calesas) still tout for business, but the horses look bored and even the palm trees that line Roxas Boulevard are drooping in the face of pollution. A trip along the boulevard heading north from its southern end in Pasay takes you past the Heritage Hotel and on towards reclaimed land jutting out into the bay. This is the site of the Westin Philippine Plaza Hotel, the Cultural Center of the Philippines and the ruins of Imelda Marcos's infamous Manila Film Center, which she hoped would turn Manila into the Cannes of the east. Construction was rushed to beat tight deadlines and as a result the building collapsed, trapping an unknown number of workers inside. The Marcos government covered up the disaster and continued with the work. Some say bodies are still trapped inside today. A mile or so further on and the US Embassy is on your left followed by Rizal Park on your right. Behind Rizal Park in the Old Congress Building on Padre Burgos Street is the National Museum (Mon-Fri 9am-4pm; tel 02/527 1215 or 527 1242; P30), with some dusty but fascinating archeological, botanical and anthropological displays and a priceless selection of Filipino masters, including the renowned Spolarium by Juan Luna, an immense oil painting that shows fallen gladiators being dragged from a Roman arena. Another museum in the area is the Metropolitan , usually known as the Met, at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Complex, Roxas Boulevard (Mon-Sat 10am-6pm; P50). This fine arts museum, a Filipino mini-Guggenheim, also houses the Central Bank's collection of prehistoric jewellery and coins. Roxas Boulevard ends at the Manila Hotel, home from home in Manila for the likes of General Douglas MacArthur (who has a suite named after him), Michael Jackson and Bill Clinton.
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