A random jumbling of electrons

There is amazing amount of wealth in Manila it seems. First there is the opulent hotel Shangri-La, with its huge lobby, dozens of staff on the floor greeting each guest, armed guards with bomb sniffing dogs and metal detectors. Across the street from the hotel is an enormous mall which could be mistaken for any high end mall in the states. Indeed, there were times in the mall that it did feel like you were in the states. In the mall is a Hard Rock Cafe, California Pizza Kitchen, and a wide range of stores from Dolce & Gabbana to Ducks Unlimited (?!?).