Under the intense heat, a daze slowly lodges itself in my mind. The humid air feels more like treacle through my lungs - it is thick with the smell of diesel fumes and punctuated by blaring car horns, ringing from frozen columns of traffic. Even the locals seem to be affected - they too, long to escape the labyrinthine alleyways, the constant bombardment of monsoon rain, and the buzzing cabling above. The senses are hemmed in by these structures, forming a seemingly inescapable concrete rainforest suffused with hope, despair, and desire. This is Manila.