The King of Spain gave Manila the rather grandiose title of `The Noble and Ever Loyal City’. The city’s beginnings were fairly humble, but since the Spaniards recognised its strategic importance Manila’s star has been on the ascendant- growing richer and more vibrant with every passing decade. Despite modernisation, many of Manila’s old streets and monuments- from the time of the Spanish occupation- are not just intact and well preserved, but a living, breathing part of daily life. It’s a city caught in two worlds- the old and the new, the East and the West, the rich and the poor. Whichever way you look at it, Manila is an interesting city. The capital of the Philippines, Manila, is the country’s capital in more ways than one. It is the centre of the country as far as government and administration go and is also one of the most important- if not the most important- commercial, social and cultural hubs of the country.