Since all of the canteens closed and the dorms had very limited access during the Chinese New Year, we all decided to go to Manila from February 3rd to the 8th. We didn’t have class on the 2nd, which was nice because it gave me a day to relax & prepare for the weekend.
Day 1:
We flew from Hong Kong to the Manila on Phillipine Air Lines at 11:10am, a short 2 hour flight. Santiago sat beside me and we chatted the entire flight, which began a weekend of marriage as we joked because we ended up doing a lot of things together.
The first taxi ride to the hotel gave us a sight of the constant traffic. Apparently rush hour is from noon to 1pm, but the streets are almost always bumper to bumper, regardless of the time. Only on the weekends do the streets ever clear up somewhat.
Our hotel was nicer than any hotel I'd stayed at. There was a kitchen, dining area, 2 bathrooms, a bedroom with a queen, and a bedroom with 2 twins. The gym, pool, and jacuzzi access were nice benefits, as well as the view from the roof.
That evening we didn't do very much. We went to the 'Megamall' down the street to eat dinner at a Japanese restaurant. I got some sushi & tempura udon for approximately 300Php. 43.13Php = $1USD, so the meal cost less than $7USD. We tried to explore the nightlife in an area called Makati, but ended up finding nothing more than bars with old white men & Filipino prostitutes. The background of this picture of Grace and me doesn't begin to show the ridiculousness of the patrons there.
It was disgusting to see old men over 50 with girls no more than 20 years old. Ladyboys, literally boys dressed up as ladies, were quite rampant as well. These ladyboys didn't make much of an effort, either. They would have five'o'clock shadows and bellies, but long hair, lipstick, and female clothing.
Day 2:
We headed to the Intramuros area and explored Fort Santiago. I hadn't heard of the fort before the taxi dropped us off there, but it was interesting to see a bit of culture.
After, we walked down the street to see the beautiful Church of Manila.
A view of the streets in the area:
After walking through the streets, we took a taxi to Rizal Park. A statue of a man with very large knees was a centerpiece:
For dinner, we just ate at the local megamall. Santiago and I ate at a fastfood restaurant called Karate Kid. I got takoyaki and a california roll; he got a shrimp burger and chicken teriyaki. The menu was very bizarre, but it was delicious. In the evening, we went to a club called Encore, which the receptionist at the hotel recommended to us. We saw more ladyboys and were stared at like American tourists. I didn't have much fun, as a result. I was very shocked to see how few American tourists were there (or really anywhere in Manila). Most of the people were Filipino locals who didn't really experience the bar scene in the same way that an American would. No one danced except us; I thought it was funny that the people near us ordered nachos and were eating.
Day 3:
The majority of the day was spent at a mall, whose name I can't recall. It was basically the Filipino version of Mong Kok. Tons and tons of vendors lined the building where you could try your hardest to barter for a good price. I'm not a big fan of shopping, especially not for fake purses or cheap clothes, so I was bored pretty soon. I did get a bag, which I had wanted as a carryon for trips, for 1000Php, a wooden cup for 100Php, and 4 pairs of earrings for 100Php. Grace & John went crazy, buying several bags and withdrawing more money from the ATM.
For dinner, we followed another recommendation by the receptionist, Steven, at the hotel. It was a Filipino buffet, but there was a random assortment of food items. Since we went kind of late (and everything seems to shut down early), the food they put out wasn't the freshest, unfortunately. I stuck to sushi and desserts. Paid a ridiculous 800Php for dinner because they charged us astronomical prices for the drinks and even the handwipes. I wasn't pleased. The others seemed to enjoy the crazy band that played music for us, though.
After dinner, we went to another bar called Toyz. I don't know why I kept attempting to explore the nightlife. Again, it was basically just a game of let's stare at the tourists!
Day 4:
Being good Notre Dame students, we decided to go to mass on Sunday at El Basilica de San Sebastian, the only all-steel church in Asia. We took 2 taxis as per usual, which caused a minor problem. Santiago, Grace, and I got to the church to learn that we had just missed the last mass. Furthermore, the other three never showed up. Apparently, there are multiple San Sebastian Churches in the area known as San Sebastian. Once we got back to CUHK, we figured out that, despite our doubts since it didn't seem like all-steel and there weren't many tourists, Grace, Santiago, and I made it to the correct all-steel church. The others actually got to attend mass but didn't get to see the real thing.
After some frustration, both groups met up back at the hotel and then set off for the megamall yet again. I got a surprisingly delicious mango and crabstick sandwich. It was very sweet and came with a wasabi sauce. Loved it.
Grace, John, and Nancy wanted to go back to the shopping area I mentioned earlier, but Santiago, Jackie, and I were fully shopped out. Having learned about Chinatowns in my history class, I wanted to see Manila's. Worst idea ever. First, I kind of forced them to go with me since I didn't want to go alone. Second, I never got to see any Chinese architecture. Most importantly, though, we ended up going to yet another mall...I wanted to leave almost as soon as we got in, but lucky Miyako got lost. We were stuck in that mall for way too without cell phones to communicate. I actually cried tears of joy when I finally found Santiago. The shopping is exhausting since the workers constantly harass you. I cannot tell you how many times I heard, "Hi Ma'am," "Hi Sir, Bye Sir," "You like watches? We have lots of watches." Leaving Chinatown was also a hassle. The taxi drivers were very hesitant to take us to our hotel due to the traffic. There were jeepneys and tuk-tuks everywhere, and we nearly died approximately 14 times.
For dinner, we went to the megamall yet again. I believe I got a shawarma (I may have mixed up the days). Wikipedia tells me that they call them gyros in Greece, and they seemed exactly like gyros, so I'm pretty sure I ate a gyro with hot sauce. Nevertheless, it was delicious.
Day 5:
This was by far my favorite day of the trip. As I said, the people there exhausted me mentally. I was really starting to dislike the Philippines, but Tagaytay allowed the country to redeem itself in my eyes. My professor told me to make sure to see a part of the country other than the city because its like another world; she couldn't have been any more correct.
We began the day a little rough. We took the usual two taxis, but this time mine didn't make it to the right location...We ended up stranded at the wrong bus stop for about a half an hour. Thankfully, after struggling to find a taxi driver who wouldn't charge us extra, we managed to get to the right station, though. From there, we took a bus to Balibago to change buses...or so we thought. Instead of a bus, a jeepney awaited us:
I'm not going to lie; I was pretty hesitant at first. We had joked about taking a jeepney the entire trip but didn't actually think we'd ever take one. Once I got over the initial shock, I was pretty excited for an adventure, though.
Instead of spending 6000Php on a hotel tour, we decided to venture to Tagaytay on our own, which meant we really had no idea what we were doing. I started talking to some locals on the jeepney and one of them was from the area. Once we arrived at our destination, he hooked us up with some other locals who could provide us with further transportation to our final destination, the Taal Volcano.
I can confidently say that it wasn't the safest mode of transportation I've ever been on. Perhaps craziest is a better word to describe it. Perhaps I also should have been holding on with two hands:
We rode these tuk-tuks down the mountain on a windy, questionably safe road with a beautiful view to a small beach.
At the beach, we stuffed our faces with garlic shrimp, some vegetable stirfry, a soup with fresh tilapia, and steamed rice. It was phenomenal:
After the feast, I bartered with the guy (I basically did all of the haggling for the group the entire trip and saved everyone lots and lots of Php) to get a boat ride to the volcano.
When we reached the island, we found a tiny little community without running water.
More haggling also ensued. The guy wanted us to pay a ridiculous amount (I forget the exact prices since I took forever to write this, but I want to say around 1600Php a person) to get a horse ride up the hill and then down into the crater. Grace and I managed to get him down to 500Php a person to go up the hill.
The ride was definitely a bumpy one. My butt hurt for several days afterward.
The view at the top of the hill was definitely worth the 900 modes of transportation it took to get there (taxi, bus, jeepney, tuk-tuk, boat, horse, feet?).
Our horse riders waiting for us while we took close to a thousand photos:
We took the horse, boat, and tuk-tuk adventure back to the top of the mountain and settled for 2 normal buses back to Ortigas, where we got some late pizza for dinner. Overall, it was an amazing day. We were all pretty happy with our decision to have an adventure versus a planned out tour (our wallets were pleased with us as well).
Day 6:
We woke up early, took a taxi to the airport, and flew back to Hong Kong. By the end of the trip, I really missed Hong Kong, which was a bizarre feeling since I've been very homesick. In fact, I think it helped to cure my homesickness a little. It showed me how much I actually like Hong Kong, CUHK, and being back in the first world where I'm not constantly harassed to buy something or stared at for being a tourist. It was definitely a great first trip.
okay im just freaked out about ladyboys. i dont even understand...
ReplyDeletealso the cart things look awesome!