Philippines: Manila: Binondo, Escolta, and Ermita

North of Intramuros--which is to say, across the Pasig River--and south of it as well, business districts flourished for many years.  These areas are so run-down now that it's hard to believe Fred Wernstedt and Joe Spencer had their eyes open when, in a book they published in 1967, they described the Escolta as a street with "many fashionable shops and department stores that display every item of imported and Philippine origin."  Don't hold your breath. The Metro Manila they knew had 1,400,000 people in 1960; today's has 10,000,000, not to mention another 5,000,000 or so in adjoining areas.  Even in the 1920s, people began moving out of the core; in recent decades, the only people left have been those too poor to get out.