Intramuros

It can only be done when you've got the energy to deal with a city of 15 million but today I ventured to Intramuros, the historic heart of Manila, settled by Spaniards in the 16th century. This ruined building is known as the Intendencia and is just one example of the interesting structures found in this area, which is generally a quieter bubble away from the craziness that is Manila.

I captured a jeepney in the foreground, as I feel pleased with myself for negotiating Manila's immense size in these today. They're the quintessential Philippine way of getting around and it's extremely easy to have no clue where you'll end up. Filipinos though are relatively helpful so I assumed I'd always be able to find my way back to base.

I find the Philippines fascinating because of its Americanised Asian culture, and the fact that visually both the urban and rural environments often look Caribbean-esque; an impression that is mirrored in the accents of Filipinos when they speak English.

It's not happened in many cities (I recall Maputo and Trivandrum) where the sheer volume of people and activity has threatened to overwhelm me. Manila is now on this list. It's not a negative feeling but as well as being overwhelmed you must remain completely alert as these cities cause that conflicting feeling of at once being completely humbled and anonymous but also so obvious and isolated as a visitor.

There are other cities where you know they are huge (Bangkok and Mexico City for example) but you don't feel like you are on the cusp of being swallowed up, and that no one would even notice if you were.

Cities are amazing creations.