Marikina Shoe Expo - Contemporary Art in Manila

This is the land of shopping malls. They are everywhere. They are huge. Near Quezon City, there is a mall called Araneta Center. And here, there is a place called Marakina Shoe-Expo. Lo and behold, between shoe stoes, the emerging contemporary art scene has taken a foothold with galleries, design shops, bookstores etc. Even a crazy Italian restaurant where the Filipino restaurant owner and paparazzi photographer greeted us in Italian. Here is a picture of my partner in crime David who is also Swiss and is studing industrial ecology in Lausanne. He's open to just about everything, including an almost 1.5 hour Jeepney ride through Manila traffic to get here.