The tour lasted about 5 hours, and included Price Mansion, MacArthur Park, Palo Cathedral, Hill 120 and a side trip to the San Juanico Bridge. The price was 2,500php per person, 2 person minimum. Includes all entry fees, tour guide, air conditioned van and boxed lunch. Since I was alone, the tour cost me 5,000php. Expensive, but sometimes have to spend if you are limited on time and don’t know your way around. It was certainly convenient as it was all done via Leyte Park Hotel. The tour guide and driver were both friendly. Overall, I considered worth the cost.

Price Mansion is where General MacArthur had his office after taking Leyte back from the Japanese. There are several pieces of memorabilia there, including many pictures, the actual sound system used and other pieces. There is a hole in one part of the wall where they say a Japanese bomb was dropped while the General was in his office, but it did not detonate, and thus MacArthur was not hurt.

MacArthur Park is the site where General MacArthur made good on his famous oath to return to the Philippines when he was driven out of the country by the Japanese. There is a famous statue there commemorating his landing on the beach in Tacloban, and it was one of the main pictures I wanted to get while there.

Hill 120 is where the American flag was raised the first time during the re-taking of the Philippines.

Palo Cathedral is a very large church and was used for injured soldiers and civilians during the war.

San Juanico bridge connects the island of Samar and Leyte. This is a nice looking bridge, built during the 1970′s under the Marcos regime.

Pictures of Tacloban Philippines World War II Memorial Tour

The museum has four levels of exhibits.  The entrance fee for resident is around 275php and for visitors about 475php.  I was able to have a tour guide for an additional 100php.  What a deal this turned out to be, as my guide Charles, is extremely informed about all aspects of the exhibits.  As an added bonus, it was a private guided tour, there were no other visitors with us!

The tour lasted 2 1/2 hours, and the time flew by as all the exhibits were beautiful and interesting.

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We started on the 4th level at the Gold of Ancestors Pre-colonial Treasures In the Philppines exhibit.  The exhibit has 1,059 dating back as far as the 10th century. Most were acquired by a private collector, and have never been seen in public. Among the pieces on display are cutwork diadems (like crowns), funerary masks, ornaments and ritual containers.  There is one piece that is almost 4 kilos in weight.  The displays are beautiful.  Each one has a drawer below it that you slide out for even more pieces to look at.  On top of the drawer is a magnifying glass you can move around and study the intricate details of the gold works.

Embroidered Mulitples 18th to 19th Century Philippine Costumes is another fun exhibit.  I found it very educational regarding the local material used in the making of the clothes.  The stitching and detail on the pieces on display are amazing.

A Millennium of Contact: Chinese and Southeast Asian Trade Ceramics in the Philippines Collection of over 500 pieces of ceramics from China and other places in Asia collected by  the Villanueva famly.

For art fans, the collection of Fernando Amorsolo’s works of the Pilipina (Women of the Philippines) is a sure winner.  Juan Luna and Fernando Zobel works are also included in the Pioneers of Philippine Art exhibit.

All in all, the Ayala Museum is a great way to spend a few hours to see some of the treasures of the Philippines and learn more about the rich history of the archipelago.

Related Links:
Newsweek – Going For The Gold
Ayala Museum