First impressions are often the longest lasting.
My first and lasting impressions of Manila were dense air, humidity, humanity, traffic and guns.

Stepping out of the NAIA you're suddenly hit by the humidity and soon build up a good sweat.

After humidity the next thing you notice is the mass of people.
Which isn't surprising as Manila is one of the most populated cities in the world.
One contrast I also noticed was in gender balance. Manila’s gender-balance seemed to me to be skewed to the fairer sex.

Next is traffic. Manila seems always in heavy traffic.
Traffic everywhere, small roads or big roads. Metro Manila does have plenty of big roads, expressways and flyovers. Sometimes, you get a number of those three-lane expressways together, with those awful U turn slots that are so good at clogging up the traffic even more.

Locals with money have their cars and SUVs. Locals without money pack into jeepneys.
There are clearly more vehicles than the roads could ever possibly accommodate.

Manila looks a rich city, but also a very poor one.
The inequality is striking, especially in the close co-existence of private opulence and public squalor. The haves and the have nots.

Which brings me to my final impression. Guns
I’m aware that many countries have armed police and many have armed uniformed soldiers.
But what really struck me was the sheer number of private security forces.
These guys are armed with automatic rifles and light machine guns and are everywhere. Shopping malls, offices, service stations and residential areas.

There are a large number of so called ‘gated communities’. These are basically housing estates that are behind secured walls where the affluent live seggragated from the poor majority.
These gated communities are also guarded by very well armed and highly visible security forces.

There are good reasons for the security. But there just appears to be guns everywhere.

Do I feel safe in Philippines? Yes
I have never had a safety problem, a close call,or needed to take extra special precautions beyond the usual do's and do not's of living in any big city.

I hope this post does not sound too negative. Actually, Manila grows on me. I must be in a minority I think.