Also known as the American Cemetery, American Battle Monument is situated at the periphery of Fort Bonifacio Global City. It will take around 5 minutes of drive from Ayala Centre in Makati via McKinley Rd. This Road is flanked by the country’s posh gated villages namely Dasmariñas and Forbes.

The place is so serene that it felt like I’m too far away from the chaos of Metro Manila. And for the first time, I am literally out of reach. My first time to visit the place was mid-2007. When the grasses were tall and green and the birds chirping their own lovely tunes.

Hundreds of symmetrical marble tombstones dot the greenish grounds. Each one bearing a name on it. But I did not pay much attention of whose name was etched in there. At the other end of the landscape is a circular museum with a hollow of green lawn in the middle. You can go around the museum and with several marble panels with lengthy list of names in them – probably those who died during World War II battle between RP-US army and Japanese forces.

It was Sunday and winds are coming from the western bays…so the planes landing at NAIA airport are making their approach from the east. So aside from getting away from the fast-paced life of Manila, I also got the chance to do one of my glaring hobby - plane spotting of landing aircrafts. Very ideal weekend for someone like me who is fascinated with airplanes. And thanks to the 12X optical zoom of my S2 IS cam, I got close-up frames of several international and local carriers.

The park is almost flat all throughout with some low terrains. Standing at the other end of the park, I got a very good view of Millionaire’s Row developments of Fort Bonoifacio. It was late afternoon, so I’m actually facing the setting sun when looking at the towers lining that edge of Global City. I guess the best skyline view will be early in the morning, which means you got to be there at the park as early as 8 am.

 It was almost dusk when I decided to leave the park premises. I felt relieved and my mind cleared up from several anxieties of chaotic city living. I felt like I’m armed again to face the world of the living. The next time I want to spend a weekend of solitude…American Battle Monument will one of my top choices.

Some useful info:

The memorial park is open from 8 to 5 everyday. There’s no entrance fee collected at the gate. You only need to leave your identification card. Parking provisions are available at the other end of the park near the museum

This entry was posted on Friday, May 2nd, 2008 at 2:41 pm and is filed under Getaway, Reflections. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.