The sunset over Manila Bay is rightly famous, matched only in my experience by the setting sun on the Nile at Luxor. There the orange orb slides slowly below the horizon, reminding us that the ancient Egyptians held the sun to be a God and why the Valley of the Kings is on the Nile’s west bank. In Manila Bay it is the effect of the light on the clouds and the sky that is most memorable.

I have sometimes watched this beautiful sunset from a simple floating restaurant near the Manila Hotel. I have an ice-cold glass in which to pour my chilled San Miguel beer and the thoughts of what Filipino dish to order to eat with the icy quenching ale. Maybe I will have Crispy Pata, a deep fried pork shank but then I think of the cholesterol and decide on fish. As the Philippine Islands form an archipelago the fishing industry is one of the country’s biggest. As the fish is always very fresh and not too expensive it is a delicious meal prepared in a variety of ways. I could have Inihaw na Pusit, (grilled squid) or Sinigang na Sugpo, (a tamarind soured broth with prawns and vegetables). I choose alimango (a crab) steamed and eaten with the fingers, sarap as Filipinos day or delicious! There is often great debate here about whether the best crabs are male, female or bacla (gay), generally the opinion comes out in favour of bacla, but this is no reflection on the sexual preferences of the Filipino. It appears that the orange lumps of fat inside the shell are superior and this is highly prized. My crab is served with rice of course; there is always rice in the Philippines.

A little later I walk along Roxas Boulevard on the bay side. This area has been substantially renovated and now has many small casual restaurants and bars, which together with the strollers makes it a busy and fashionable hangout after dark.

Behind me are the remains of the walls erected by the Spanish, IntraMuros, used as the center of government in colonial days. It is now an interesting tourist area.

Living in the Philippines is challenging. The country is geologically, climatically and politically unstable.

Geologically, the country forms part of the Pacific Rim of Fire that extends from Japan and arcs through the Philippines and Indonesia, around Australia to New Zealand. There are many dormant volcanoes but also several potentially live ones, which are constantly monitored for activity. The biggest eruption of recent times was in 1991 when the apparently dormant Mount Pinatubo in Pampanga awoke from a 600 years sleep and gushed forth huge amounts of lava and ash. Local residents say the ash fell like snow as far south as Manila. The eruption was immediately followed by a tropical storm adding large quantities of water to the ash and lava, which therefore engulfed the whole area. It is called lahar and there are towns near Pinatubo where the roads and streets are still covered with now solid lahar. Earthquakes occasionally occur but there has not been a big one since 1990, meaning that maybe another big one is due soon. The country is ringed by some of the deepest ocean trenches in the world making an underwater earthquake and the ensuing tsunami a real possibility.

Climatically, since the country is in the tropics, there are two seasons wet and dry. Wet extends from approximately July to December. During which typhoons and tropical storms can be expected. Most of the typhoons coming in from the Pacific usually make landfall in the Visayas island group, which is essentially the middle of the country, but sometimes they hit Luzon, the northern and biggest island where the capital Manila is situated. High wind speeds and torrential rain are the characteristics, felling trees, tearing off the weaker roofs, and bringing down power lines. Some of the lower lying areas flood and stay that way for weeks. The really bad ones can cause fatalities especially in the rural areas where, often illegal, delogging leaves the soil unprotected, resulting in landslides onto defenceless villages. In the dry season blue skies are a constant and by May the temperature is getting up to daytime highs of 35C and more and everybody slows down.

Politically, the country seems to be in constant turmoil as different factions jockey for power, influence and money. Politics is mainly restricted to the elite, who do not always see themselves as servants of the people but as servants to themselves. Martial law was imposed by president Marcos, who was deposed in 1986 by a people revolution on the streets and highways. His successor, Cory Aquino endured several coup attempts. In 2001 President Joseph Estrada was impeached by the Senate for corruption and plunder and eventually deposed in a bloodless coup by President Gloria Arroyo, who also was allegedly, very corrupt. President Cory Aquino’s son Benigno (Noynoy) Aquino is the current President is, so far, untainted by accusations of corruption.

In spite of all these challenges it is a wonderful place to live. The beauty of the Philippine Islands is incredible, and many beautiful resorts are available to enable the traveller to take it all in. Whether the traveller is interested in 400 year old Spanish churches or scuba diving on some of the best coral reefs in the world, it is all here. Add to that the charm of the Filipino who even in adversity can be found smiling, the beauty of the women (one of whom I am very happily married to), the relatively low cost of living and you realize why you can often hear expats say “another day in paradise”.

I think I will watch that sunset again soon with a cold beer and steamed crab.

Mabuhay ng Filipinas! (Good health to the Philippines!)

Anthony Lee is an Englishman who has been living in the Philippines for fifteen years.

This is article appear on his blog at http://tglstuff.blogspot.com/

He also posts on http://kitchenandcook.blogspot.com/