Mahubay, Mahalin Manila
To Live, To Love Manila
I made a much needed trip out of town last weekend to Manila with 2 of my good friends, Adam & Charles. It was a spontaneous trip and I booked my tickets only a week before for about SGD550 on Philippines Airlines - it was almost 3 times its usual price but the experience made it worth every penny.
On the night we arrived, after a 4-hour flight, we hyped ourselves and straight from the airport to catch Armin van Buuren spin at the World Trade Center.
Armin showed why he was named the No.1 DJ in the World (for the 3 consecutive years) and that set was probably the best House/Trance music display I've seen this year.
Armin van Buuren spinning Manila at the World Trade Center. The man's got talent and living his dream. Amazing.
A little hangover didn't stop us from doing a little retail therapy at the biggest mall in Asia the next day - MALL OF ASIA.
Girls, if you like shopping, go there. Make sure you bring lots of recycled bags because you're gonna need it for all the shopping. I bought 3 killer heels in an hour, for about 1300 pesos each. You can never get a deal like that in Singapore. I even got a manicure/pedicure for 300 pesos - That's only $10!
Yup, Mall of Asia is SO big, they even have an ice-skating rink inside.
We hopped on over to Greenbelt Mall for dinner at Fely J's restaurant. It was about 15 minutes away but we got there 45 minutes late because of heavy traffic.
Traffic was HELL. Luckily, we called the restaurant to let them know we were running late so they kept our table for us. I recommend making a reservation before heading down there because they are usually fully booked, especially during dinner time. Also, definitely try the Crispy Tilapia Fish & Sticky Mango Rice with Vanilla ice-cream... Tasty!
That's Charles' sweet mom on the left. She taught me a bit of Tagalog (it is related to Austronesian languages such as Indonesian, Malay, Javanese & Spanish).
Stuffing ourselves at Fely J's.
After dinner, we made our way to Rockwell to check out a friend's bikini stall at a bazaar they had right outside the mall. Rockwell is a very nice downtown area, it reminded me of Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills a little.
We were going to out partying again that night (we only had 4 days in Manila afterall!) but finally decided to rest up for our day trip the next morning to Tagaytay. We hired a driver for about 3000 pesos (SGD90 to take us around). 90 bucks to get a driver to take you anywhere you wanted for the day? Deal.
Don't forget to eat your breakfast! I still live by my health rules everywhere I go. We ate at Pancake House (may not be the healthiest but hey, I eat oatmeal almost every other day!) and it was heaaaaaaaaven. Probably even better than IHOP?! I had the blueberry pancake with kiwi juice.
Time to walk it out! On our way up the mountain to see the beautiful view from Tagaytay. Adam & Charles were poking fun at my backpack - said I looked like I was ready to go to school. Meanies!
Tagaytay View We got lucky because it had been drizzling/raining a bit but the weather that day was PERFECT.
- Click Here For A Full View
After an hour of excessive cam-whoring, we were off to look for the pier to find a boat that would take us to Taal Volcano for a little hike. Sure you'll see a few cows, horses and goats for sale on your drive up/down the mountain but we even spotted a Starbucks! And a pretty nice looking one too (again, it reminded me of the States. Am I homesick?).
The castle and tree top houses looked UNREAL. At first I thought I was hallucinating. Would definitely like to check it out sometime. I'll see you soon, FANTASY WORLD.
Our driver took us to this pretty shady looking pier that had only one boat and a guy asking for 1700 pesos for the boat ride to Taal Volcano. That only included a return trip and no guide or whatsoever.
We had a feeling he was trying to rip us off so we left the place and after nearly 3 hours later, we realized our driver was lost again. He didn't know the area very well and had stopped more than 30 times to ask for directions but it didn't get us anywhere. We could only blame ourselves for not having a map. It was already almost 3pm and we had made dinner plans at 8pm so we decided to skip the whole volcano adventure altogether and hit the beach to catch the sunset.
Cutest stray puppy I've ever seen!
We found ourselves on a beach near Batangas (South of Manila), don't remember what it was called but the people there were really nice, friendly and not too pushy at all. We rented a bamboo house float where we enjoyed some fine brew (San Miguel, baby!) and watched the sunset...
Most Beautiful Sunset That's the bikini I got from a friend's bikini store called Soak Swimwear.
Gorgeous skies in Batangas.
The next day was Charles' grandma's 85th birthday (the main reason why he went there to visit, Adam & I just tagged along because neither of us have been to the Philippines). A few of their close friends and relatives came to the house to celebrate. It was nice to be at a traditional Filipino family gathering. It really made me appreciate the culture, tradition and...
...FOOD! Halo-halo, anyone?
We left the same evening, I was a little sad because I wasn't ready to leave! Nanai is wearing the necklace I got as her birthday gift - it was a smoky quartz stone from Brazil. Its believed to help detoxify the body, relieve fears, lift depressions and bring calmness and positive thought. ♥
Wished I could have stayed longer, I've fallen in love with the Philippines. Words can't describe. The nature, the people, the culture, shopping... There's just so much to explore out there.
I'll be back!
Chasing the sun across the globe, starting from Singapore to California, Florida, and now Kuala Lumpur.
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December 16th, 2009 - 18:38
Great post, glad you enjoyed my city!
)
If you liked Manila (and not all visitors do, to be honest), check out the rest of the country, particularly the mountain provinces up north & the white beaches in the south. You’ll adore it. ‘Til next time! Happy holidays.
December 16th, 2009 - 18:39
p.s. post more pics. the bikini ones are thinspo-worthy!
December 16th, 2009 - 23:48
Hey Fay!
May I know which brand of liquid foundation your using and in which shade? Cos it looks really flattering on you and I happen to share slightly more tanned skin tone like you do.
December 17th, 2009 - 11:37
Hi Tasha! I use the ‘Moisture Rich Foundation’ from Bobbi Brown (Shade 4.5) and the ‘Lifting Foundation’ from Shiseido (Deep Ochre 060).
December 17th, 2009 - 02:28
Wow, I really want to go there now! Haha, the pictures are lovely.
December 19th, 2009 - 20:41
The manila you saw was not the real manila! its the rich side of manila!
January 27th, 2010 - 23:06
hey fay love the white crop top your wearing! do you mind i ask where did you get it? :p
January 28th, 2010 - 10:19
Hi Casey, the white top’s from United Colors of Benetton but I got it a couple of years ago so I doubt it’ll still be on the racks! Do they even have UCB in Singapore? Hmm…
January 28th, 2010 - 23:07
Sweet.. Never knew they carried such pretty pieces. It looks really cute on ya :] (There’s a UCB at Marina Sq) Thanks for the info dear!
February 20th, 2011 - 05:03
Hiya, my mum rents out a home in manila, and my grandma has a lodge too x
April 15th, 2011 - 16:43
Go back and go to the beaches in boracay and palawan. It’s more fun. And try eating some of our exotic dishes, i think you’ll enjoy.
July 11th, 2011 - 12:01
I was at the same palce you were in 2008…I stayed in Mkati in the Greenbelt district in a condo and it wa super,,,,,I highly recommend anyone going to Manila to stay inthe city of Makati which is the more higher class place in Manila area,,,,than I went to thr Mall of Asia and oh my gosh this place was so gorgeous….I’ve never seena more beautiful mall in my life,,,,2 stories high and over 700 stores,,,,,it was gorgeous,,,,,nothing like this in the USA except maybe in Minneapolis where they have a mall that has 520 stores, but Mall of Asia is the largest,,,it would take you 10 days to shop the etire place…..most Philippine people like gto go there just to enjoy the air condition and to get out of the heat,,,,,,I also went to Tagaytay like these folks did,,,,,,I than got married to a gorgeous Philippine girl who sung in the 2005 Miss World Contest that was in Sanya China on the Hainan Islands which is beautiful and called the Hawaii of Asia as there are so many palm trees at this resort,,,,,,I stayed at the Marriot and my wife, but gf than stayed next door at the Sheraton where the Miss World contest was,,,,,,anynow MABUHAYmmmmPhilippine people are soooooooo nice and I’m so glad I have a Phlis girl as they are very honest anf pure….been to Asia 3 times….Phils twice,,,,,China once,,,you need to go….Tom from Ohio