There's another place I'd love to visit, eventually. Mumbai, in particular, after reading "Maximum City" by Sukhetu Mehta.

Manila and Mumbai provide such an interesting contrast to each other; so many obvious points of comparison!

... Everyday uses of religion; participation in the global outsourcing industry; attitudes towards gender; responses to 'Western' pop cult.

And it surely doesn't end there! Another real biggie is the way corruption gets integrated with daily life.

i've been wanting to read 'maximum city' but a lot of reviews i read said that mehta could've made the same points in 300 pages less.

but those are some excellent and keen observations of the two cities!