Travel Diary: Metro Manila, Philippines

Hello dear readers! I’ve just returned from the Philippines about 2 weeks ago and miss it already. 

Location: Manila Bay

If you didn’t already know, I was actually born in Mandaluyong City in Metro Manila, but I haven’t been home for 8 years. Even though the trip was only 2 weeks, I explored so many places and remembered so many places.

My family, along with my [now] fiancé (!!!), traveled throughout the Philippines, but in this post, I’m going to focus on the city because we traveled throughout the islands.

Did you know the Philippines is made up of 7,107 islands? Now you do. Keep reading to learn more about the capital – Manila – from my eyes!

1 – Greenhills & Family

Since I was a kid, I remember Greenhills as a busy mall with no air-conditioning and tons of fake designer items from Prada wallets to Gucci purses. It’s the place to negotiate prices, but know that if you’re a foreigner (or at least look like one), your price is going to be much higher than a local. My white boyfriend (he hadn’t proposed yet) was hollered at by so many vendors – “Sir! Sir! Wallet for your wife! Sir!” He told me that at some point, a woman with red lipstick looped her arm into his and tried to drag him into her stall, but he enjoyed the experience because he’s “never experienced anything like that before.” I think he just liked the attention.

Later that same night, we finally had an (almost complete) family reunion dinner! The last time my dad’s side of the family saw me, I was 14 and super awkward, just about to start high school that fall. This time, I was a 22-year-old recent graduate who had just gotten her first full-time job offer the morning she flew out! I missed them lots and miss them now because I had the absolute best memories with them growing up. 

Location: Lola Maria

2 – Old Manila

The Philippines was colonized by the Spanish for almost 400 years, and that history is felt even today. Old Manila is surrounded 16th-century stone walls meant to protect from invaders (ironically). It was the hub of commerce, and within the old city walls you can find the execution site of the Philippines’ national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal. He led the 1898 revolution against the Spaniards, dying for his voice.

On this same day, we visited Rizal Park – a date night spot for my parents when they first started dating! It’s near Manila Bay, and the day we visited was hot and quiet. 

Chinatown was our last stop! My mom told me she lived nearby and used to go around Chinatown when she was in college. My fiancé was very surprised by how the wires were dangling all above the little city-within-a-city. 

Location: Binondo

FUN FACT: Binondo (Manila’s Chinatown) is the OLDEST in the world!

3 – Ang Huling El Bimbo!

Ang Huling El Bimbo is a Filipino musical filled with songs by the 90s Filipino boyband Eraserheads. My uncle texted us and let us know he was able to secure tickets to their final dress rehearsal before opening night!

Location: Resorts World Manila

The musical isn’t just a light-hearted comedy. It deals with trauma and pain, friendships, coming-of-age, and a glimpse into life in the Philippines. I don’t want to say too much but listen to the soundtrack and I would recommend watching this show. My heart broke, but I also laughed and was pulled into their world!

Side note: If you do listen to the soundtrack, it’s 100% in Tagalog.

4 – ABS-CBN Studios & Showtime!

We were on LIVE NATIONAL TELEVISION. My amazing cousin, who works for the studio, managed to get my siblings and I and my fiancé tickets to a live taping of Showtime! and yes, the exclamation point is meant to be there.

We arrived early for the tour portion of the day and explored all the different stages where shows were filmed. Idol Philippines was definitely one of the coolest stages we got to see!

Later on, we were briefed on how the filming of the show would go and met Brenda Mage – our hostess during commercial breaks. They were actually on a show produced by ABS-CBN, but I’ll be honest, I don’t remember which show exactly…

Brenda was awesome, though, and absolutely hilarious! She noticed my foreigner SO and immediately picked on him and cracked jokes throughout the filming. 

The actual filming was about 4 hours long, but also hilarious. Showtime! is essentially the Filipino version of a variety show so I was a little confused, but overall I loved the jokes and the content!

My fiancé and I were actually picked to play these cool rainbow electric guitars during the intro and another fun fact? He told me he almost proposed on that show. On live TV. 

Not my cup of tea, but the engagement story will come in another blog post because this is already getting long.

5 – San Roque & the Mall of Asia

San Roque is the church where my grandparents’ ashes are kept, and a place my family and I will definitely visit every time we go. It’s an old church in the city I was born in, near the street my grandma grew up on, my dad grew up on, and where I lived for the first few years of my life (and some in-between). I won’t delve too deeply because honestly, this place is more for my own family that we appreciate during our visits.

Now, the Mall of Asia was once the largest mall in Asia. It has since been beat by other malls in Asia and even in the Philippines. However, its size will astound you, especially if you aren’t used to large malls in general. It’s located near Manila Bay so some of my cousins and I went outside to the waterfront and watched the sunset. Unfortunately, parts of the mall were under construction so we couldn’t bask in the full largeness of the shopping center, but either way, I recommend visiting once just to experience a mall of that size!

We’re now at the end of part 1 of this travel diary. I know I didn’t write many details of the places I visited, but honestly, I remembered my experience more than facts you could just find on the internet.

Manila is one of mega cities of the world and has changed so much from what I remember. Of course the Philippines isn’t perfect, but I loved being home and would visit again and again – as long as I had the funds to do so.

Keep an eye out for part 2 of this trip! I’ll write more on the areas I visited outside of the city and my observations. And maybe I’ll write a part 3? Maybe about my engagement story? Who knows! 

Location: Versus Barcade

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed my messy, sleep-deprived thoughts!