Want to learn more about the setting of the Sugar Sun series? Click on any of the graphics below. To find these places on maps of the Philippines & Manila, click here to go straight to the bottom of this post. Enjoy your visit!
Sugar country founded by Spanish & Chinese mestizos in the 19th century. Come for whale sharks, stay for the pretty.Beaches, mountains, sugar, missionaries, & sinners. This town is still one of my favorite cities in the Philippines.The Fifth Avenue of old Manila, a place to buy harness and hardware, dry goods and diamonds, and more.While you’re on the Escolta, don’t forget to get some ice cream, fresh bread, or delicious coffee at Clarke’s.Learn about the real Moss & Della: manager West Smith & wife Stella of the troubled, faded glory Hotel Oriente.The place to see and be seen in old Manila. Mosquito free! Then the Americans went and ruined it.This town is a case study in occupation & a name that every American should know. Essential reading for the upcoming novel, Sugar Moon.Where you might play, race, or even fall in love: the beautiful shoreline of Old Manila before the Americans got a hold of it.A medieval walled city plopped into the tropics: complete with moat, cathedral, and cannons. What more do you need?Named after Saint James the Moorslayer, but the most famous man to be slayed from this prison was a smart young doctor (and bestselling author) named José Rizal.See how the shoreline of Manila was changed in the first massive infrastructure project of the American Philippines.The Americans found a perfect place to wait out the steamy Philippine summers. But how to get there—alive?Explore this beautiful town at the center of piracy, two anti-American wars, and a grand celebration of peace.
In case you want to know where these places are:
Most of the Sugar Sun series takes place in the Visayan Islands in the central and southern Philippines.
