The colorful history of Dutch colonialism is on proud display in Lelystad. The several times we’ve been in the area, last weekend was the first time we finally made it on board the popular life-size replica of the sailing ship, Batavia. It was pretty impressive, actually. The weather was theme-park worthy and, while I would’ve preferred to be in Paris Disneyland instead, it was a good enough alternative — not to mention considerably cheaper. Children here really have it good.

I couldn’t help thinking the same concept could be done in Manila since it was a major stop along the Galleon Trade with Mexico and was a significant part of what the city is…or was. Sounds like a tall order, certainly, but all it takes is one man with a lot of disposable income and an appreciable sense of history. Now if I only had a billion dollars…