Our first stop in the Philippines was when we flew into Manila and stayed one night. Then when we left the Philippines we stayed another 2 nights before we flew out to Japan. Many people will suggest that you don’t need to go to Manila; why go to Manila when you can spend time on beautiful beaches or rainforest? But Manila is the capital city and is massive it has a population of almost 13 million in the metro area; with that many people there is definitely going to be some interesting things to see and do there. People will tell you that you need to be careful and it’s dirty and dangerous. Any heavily populated capital city in a third world country is going to have it’s share of problems, but so do we over here in the first world. I wouldn’t feel safe walking through the roughest neighborhoods in Winnipeg at night either.
Yes there Manila has its share of poverty and crime, but I never felt unsafe anywhere. And yes, it is dirty but with that many people of course it will be. But, the Pasig River, which used to be known as the plastic river, has been cleaned up. I will say this though, the horror stories of the traffic are true. Traffic is terrible. Manila is busy and it’s loud but that’s all part of the charm. The jeepneys and tricycles dominate the traffic ridden streets and it’s a sight to see.
Our first night we stayed in the Heritage Hotel in the Pasay neighborhood. At night the neighborhood looked rough around the edges but there was a charm to it. The streets were busy and full of pedestrians, jeepneys, tricycles and other vehicles. There were overpasses everywhere, almost all with a Jollibee on the other side. And speaking of Jollibee, our first night, what else did we eat besides some Jollibee? I headed for a walk through the busy streets, over the overpass and to Jollibee. I picked up some spicy chicken and spaghetti and slowly returned to the hotel, mingling with some locals along the way. We were exhausted from the long journey to the Philippines so asides from the food and a beer in the hotel bar, we just relaxed on our first night in the Philippines.
When we returned to Manila three weeks later, we were ready to explore. We were picked up from the airport by some family we were with earlier in the trip and were off. Again, I noticed the traffic and business of Manila. It is a sight to see, but I can imagine the pain of having to drive through that everyday on the way to and from work. You can also notice the contrasts of Manila. There are extremely impoverished areas and brand new developed areas with expensive vehicles cruising through them. You will notice the glamorous skyscrapers while driving alongside shantytowns while people bath in the streets. We even took a wrong turn at one point, got stuck behind a parade and were struck driving the wrong way down a one-way street through the slums. I kept my window down and received many waves and greetings from the people in the streets. It was like something out of a movie, and I never felt the need to roll my window up or lock the door, I just held my phone a bit tighter and continued to wave back and yell “viva fiesta!”
After checking in to U Hotels Makati, we were off for a day full of sightseeing. After cruising around a bit we were off to our first stop, the walled city of Intramuros. I’ve been to many Spanish colonial cities and neighborhoods in Latin America but you’d never expect to visit one in Asia. But the Philippines was colonized by the Spanish, and they have a walled city, surrounded by stone walls, with colonial buildings right in the heart of downtown. Intramuros was built in the 16th century and has history spanning from the Spaniards up until WWII when the Japanese occupied the fort. The fort was then bombed by a combined force of Americans and Filipinos to free it from the Japanese. Parts of the fort were then reconstructed in 1984. Asides from learning history, there was cool architecture to explore, a famous restaurant called Barbara’s with amazing Spanish food and bars serving craft beer. It was an interesting tourist attraction and worth visiting, despite being pricey like all tourist hot spots are. You can watch my YouTube video here exploring Intramuros.
Following our hot and tiring half day in Intramuros, we headed down to Binondo, Asia’s oldest China town to go on a food tour. There is a really cool church on the outside of the neighborhood and a cool atmosphere in the neighborhood. The tight streets with Chinese signage, hanging red lanterns and restaurants is cool to stroll through, but it is very busy. The food tour which is famous on TikTok involves long lines and a tiring day. We checked out some of the spots and checked out some other ones to beat the lines. To read about where and what to eat and save some time, read my blog which will be posted later this week.
Our final day in Manila was spent checking out one of the largest malls in the world, The Mall of Asia. The mall is located on the Manila Bay and is massive. It would take you multiple days to explore the entire thing. We bought a few shirts, walked around, searched for our baby’s milk and I had to buy a new suitcase as mine was beginning to fall apart and wasn’t big enough to bring home all my luggage and newly purchased souvenirs. The suitcase was nice and half the price it would cost back home. The mall was cool but I’m not a huge fan of shopping on vacation. Aside from shopping, we tried street food outside the mall, there are several food trucks and kiosks, had some lunch and walked around the bay, in front of the mall.
To finish our final, commercial and touristy day, we headed down to BGC, Bonifacio Global City. BGC is an upscale neighborhood with tons of restaurants, shopping centers and skyscrapers. It was a nice change from the rural and beach experiences I had for three weeks in the Philippines. We ate dinner and walked around a bit before heading back to our hotel in Makati. Makati, like BGC is a modern and trendy neighborhood with big buildings. It isn’t as new and developed as BGC and there are some old sections. It was my last night in the Philippines, so I had to go for a walk and get a beer. Burgos Street was lit up and full of bars. I headed down the street from our hotel and was approached by prostitutes, Viagra pushers and people trying to get me into their bar. It was annoying and some of them were pushy, but all part of the experience. I ended up settling for a beer in the least grungy bar, took a few videos of the street, see my YouTube video here, and headed back for a good night’s rest before departing to Japan.
People may criticize Manila for the traffic, the busyness and the poverty, but that’s what you get when you have a massive city in a third world country. Despite its faults, Manila has a lot of character. There are tons of things to do and there’s something for everyone in Manila. I enjoyed my time in Manila and will definitely be back when we return to the Philippines.
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