Now that it’s March 2015, almost exactly one year ago that my visit to the Philippines began, it seems appropriate for me finally make some progress on my backlog of posts and photos before I completely forget what happened. It’s actually pretty fun doing this a year later: retracing steps and piecing together past travels from photos, itineraries, receipts, and incomplete notes.

Manila. Chaotic, dirty, an overall mess of poorly (un)planned urban sprawl and infrastructure. Highways crawl with endless traffic jams. On/off ramps are seemingly non existent for many of the urban centres that must have sprung up before or after highways were ‘planned’. Getting into and out of the bumper to bumper madness often involves u-turns and obscure back alley traverses that boggle the mind. Cabs are quite cheap, but the drivers pretend they don’t know where your destination is, ‘forget’ to turn the meter on, or try to sneak in a few extra kilometres if it doesn’t look like you’re paying attention.

Manila’s current state is quite intriguing when viewed in a historical context relative to other Asian cities. Early in the 20th century, Manila was a shining star in Asia, the ‘Pearl of the Orient’. It was one of Asia’s most prosperous and advanced cities, rivalling even Tokyo. As both cities rebuilt and grew after the war, Tokyo flourished with stunning infrastructure binding it’s various districts together while Manila evolved without a cohesive plan to manage the growth of the various cities that form its greater metro area.

Yet Manila is most certainly not without it’s charm! It’s a vibrant city bubbling with the energy of it’s many citizens. They are warm, friendly, and helpful — balancing the ever-present but comparably few who are trying to hustle you. Tasty, cheap food can be found in abundance if you know where/how to look. Meeting Kim’s friends and family was a highlight: they were awesome and so was the food that we shared.

But enough of all of that, on to the food and friends…

 Arrival

We arrived at MNL late in the evening on Tues, March 11th, 2014. It was definitely the most run down international airport that I’ve ever seen. A little weary from the travelling, we were glad that Kim’s mom had pre-arranged us a ride to our Airbnb apartment in Fort Bonifacio ‘Global City’.

 Day 1 – Breakfast with Jo, Ma Ong’s Feast, and a Speakeasy

The first morning started with food! Well at least for me it did. The rest of the gang utilized their jet lag to go for an early morning run. I was doing my best to force some more sleep and passed on the 6AM wakeup. We met Kim’s friend Jo at the Early Morning Breakfast Club to chow down on some meaty/greasy breakfast foods (minus Kim and her cup o fruit :p). Jo was the reason why our crew was together in the Philippines as she was getting married the following week. Kim and Akshay were going to the wedding while Gabe and I were tagging along for some pre-wedding adventures.

Still digesting breakfast’s bacon and salty-sweet sausage meats, we jumped in a cab and made our way to an area of town called ‘New Manila’ to visit Kim’s family home. Like pretty much every cab ride I took in Manila, it was a test of patience and required good knowledge of the area, a map, or a stern mom on a speakerphone to keep the driver in line. Upon arriving we were warmly greeted with a spectacular feast. It was definitely a food highlight of both the Philippines and the whole trip. We also had great timing for a variety of fresh, ripe tropical fruits that I had never tried before.

After our epic feast and some time hanging out with the family at their local sports club, we made our way back through the chaotic traffic to our Fort Bonifacio abode with a bag full of fresh mangosteens courtesy of Ma. We took a little time to recharge (to the point of almost sleeping through the whole evening) but eventually came to, with the help of some mangosteens and duty free scotch, and made our way out for some food and drinks. We started with a cocktail bar/restaurant within walking distance and then three of us headed out in search of stiffer drinks. We found them, at a speakeasy styled place in the neighbouring Makati city. A nondescript black door with a braille sign lead into a cozy bar area where delicious classic/classic styled cocktails are the specialty.

Day 2 – Friends, Universities, and Grilled Pork Catastrophe

For our second, and last full day in Manila, the plan was to visit Kim’s university and old school friends. After a slow start with various people squeezing in exercise, laundry/exchange chores, etc., we snaked our way towards Ateneo de Manila University. Aside from visiting the school, one of the key goals at the university was to chow down on their grilled pork belly (this had been built up for months prior). Due to our late start, there was only one plate of the pork left 🙁 Between us, Kim’s mom & friends, about one piece per person. Tragedy! An alternative plan was hatched. We made our way across the school grounds to a nice little restaurant called Wooden Spoon that served Filipino cuisine with a modern twist. It filled the grumbling tummies quickly.

After lunch the food adventure was to continue with a trip to University of the Philippines for some street food. It may have been best that we didn’t find what we were looking for. The belly was already stuffed and more tasty food might have done me in. For the next stop we sough comfort in the air conditioned confines of a mall. Half the group, me included, were quickly overwhelmed by the din and bustle of the mall. Two of us, fighting to stay awake, cabbed back to the apt with coffees in hand and the rest stayed behind to enjoy the comforts of the mall. After a swim, a nap, and reunifying the group, we were ready to head back out for, yes, more food! Dinner was organized by Kim’s friends at the Bagoong Club. More tasty food, good people, and fun times!

The remainder of the evening was low key. We were off to Boracay the following day.

Days in Transit (Between the Islands)

The other portions of days spent in Manila were between flights linking Boracay, Coron, and eventually my departure to Singapore. We stayed one night as a group in the Sofitel Plaza Manila between Boracay and Coron, and I stayed another night there myself before flying out to Singapore. During our stop over between Boracay and Coron, we visited one of the largest malls I have ever been to in my life.

After the mall we had to begin physical (a quick swim) and mental preparations for our next challenge: the Sofitel Manila buffet! Gluttony to it’s extremes, we wolfed down plate after plate of food. It wasn’t cheap, but I’m pretty sure we got our money’s worth.