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Sunset seen from airplane aerial photograph Philippines

Philippines: Back to Manila, shopping, and my final thoughts about the country

Date: May 1st, 2011

Woke up at 6am, for the same reason I woke up yesterday at the same time — no electricity. Anyway, I had to get ready and reach the transport station in a few minutes.

Leaving El Nido dog on trike
That dog sat on this trike like that all the way to the station 🙂

I boarded the van and was joined by the two Italian girls who were part of my tour group yesterday. The van left El Nido at 7am and the journey to Puerto Princesa would take around 5 hours (cost ₱500/$11/€8). I chose to take a van taxi instead of the bus because I didn’t want to risk missing my 5:25pm flight back to Manila.

I didn’t bother taking any photos throughout the journey because I was behind tinted glass and also, I just didn’t feel like holding my camera. I have taken enough photos the past two weeks! 🙂 The journey was smooth and we only stopped once for a snack break.

The van reached Puerto Princesa just before noon and dropped passengers off at different spots. Myself and the two Italian girls got down at the van company’s office, which was the last stop. Our flights were both around the same time, so we placed our bags at the van company’s office and decided to have lunch together.

We sat at a nice looking restaurant located along the road leading to the airport.

Chicken inasal Palawan restaurant Philippines
I ordered chicken inasal, which was really good here

Post-lunch, the three of us collected our bags and took a tricycle taxi to the airport. But because we were rather early for our evening flights, the airport security said they would only allow passengers in at 3pm.

Puerto Princesa Airport Palawan Philippines
I took this at 1:45pm, sitting outside the airport

Good thing I had the company of the two Italian girls (well, one of them anyway… the other girl dozed off). We chatted away until it was time for us to go in. Once inside, I checked in and got my window seat. The Italians were on a Cebu Pacific flight, which was delayed by a little, but my Zest Airways flight was on time, so I boarded first.

Cebu Pacific airline landed Palawan Philippines
The Cebu Pacific flight had only just landed
Zest Air Puerto Princesa to Manila evening flight
With Zest Air, I had now flown all three of the major budget airlines in Philippines

The following was why I insisted on getting a window seat:

Flying over Palawan shores from airplane PhilippinesAerial photograph Palawan flight evening sunsetPalawan island sea from sky PhilippinesPalawan snake island from airplane PhilippinesSunset clouds from airplane islands PhilippinesSunset clouds aerial photograph PhilippinesPalawan clouds evening sky from airplane

Sunset Palawan flight Philippines
I was hoping for exactly such a sight

Clouds from airplane evening sun PhilippinesSunset sky aerial photography Palawan Philippines

Sunset seen from airplane Philippines
It was time for sunset

Sunset seen from airplane aerial photograph PhilippinesAs I sat looking out the window, in some ways I felt a sense of relief heading back to Manila. No more waking up early! I had nothing really planned for my last few days in Manila besides shopping and meeting my friend Aimee.

Evening sunset sky Philippines aerial photography
It was 6:41pm when I took this

I landed in Manila as it got dark, just past 7pm.  Collected my bags and exited the airport. I approached a taxi, but the driver quoted a rate which was too high and he wouldn’t turn on the meter. I had to walk outside of the airport and hail a passing taxi from the main road.

The last two times I landed in Manila, I chose to stay at the Kabayan in Pasay, but this time I chose to be in a more touristy area. I had asked Aimee to book me a place in Malate, near Robinsons Place and out of the two shortlisted backpacker hostels – Malate Pensionne Inn and Friendly’s Guesthouse – she ended up reserving a bed for me at Friendly’s.

Once I got to Malate (the taxi fare came to ₱110), the roads were busy as this area has a lot of clubs and restaurants. And when I mean clubs, I mean mostly KTV lounges catering to the Japanese and Koreans. Friendly’s Guesthouse and Malate Pensionne Inn are both located on Adriatico Street, and both are close to each other. It wasn’t easy to spot Friendly’s Guesthouse because they didn’t have a glowing sign outside, but after I did find the building, I got into the elevator and got off on the fourth floor.

The guy and girl manning the reception weren’t great, to be honest. But when they showed me to my dorm room, I would say I was a bit disappointed. There were a group of young Americans who were already talking loudly, high on booze, making plans to go out for some more drinking (they were English teachers in S. Korea apparently). The room was a bit messy too. The staff then pointed to my upper bed. Now, this peeved me off a bit, because I had specifically asked for a lower bed at the time of confirming my reservation via e-mail. I told the staff about it, but they said they couldn’t give me a lower bed because they were full.

Frustrated, I decided to just shower and then go out in search of another room. The bathroom wasn’t very clean either, but I was literally itching to take a proper shower. The luxury of a good hot shower eluded me while in El Nido and I needed to get all that coastal sweat off me. A lot of soap, shampoo and a clean shave later, I felt so much fresher.

I stepped out and went straight to Malate Pensionne Inn, but their dorms were full too. So I walked around and decided to check the other hotels in the area. A tout on the street then approached me, asking me if I wanted a girl. I said “no”. Then he asked me “guy?”. Definitely “no”. Then he asked me if I needed Viagra, Cialis or other drugs. I told him at my age, “no”. “Cigarettes?”. “No”. He finally gave up and asked me what I was looking for and when I told him I was in search of another room, he then went “Ah!” and told me he would show me around.

After visiting a few small hotels, nothing was as cheap as Malate Pensionne or Friendly’s. Just about every other ‘pension inn’ cost nearly a ₱1000 and above, while the rest were all star hotels in the area. Eventually, I slowed my pace of walking and decided to just manage a night in Friendly’s and try again tomorrow. Now I know why these two hostels were very popular among backpackers — there is no other choice!

All this while the tout was still beside me. I used the opportunity to ask him about the clientele at most of the KTVs in this area. He told me it wasn’t uncommon for Japanese men to spend $300-$400 on average a night(!), and that’s just to sing karaoke and enjoy the company of the women sitting beside them. If they want to take the girls out, that will cost them extra. $300 was my weekly budget, so no way was I eligible to enter these nightclubs.

The tout eventually gave up and left me alone after realizing I wasn’t going to give him any business for any of his (many) services. The one good thing about being in a touristy and popular area was that there were a few restaurants available that didn’t only serve Japanese and Korean cuisines. I had my dinner at a Persian joint and went back to my room.

I had a lot of sleeping to do!

Date: May 2nd, 2011

Woke up around 9am I believe. Lazily got out of my bed and decided to go upstairs for coffee. Also thought you guys would want to know what Friendly’s Guesthouse looks like.

Friendly's Guesthouse reception hostel rules Malate Manila Philippines
This is the reception (Taken on my phone)
Friendly's Guesthouse stairs to rooftop Malate Manila
You go upstairs for the cafe
Friendly's guesthouse roof top cafe kitchen Manila
The kitchen is up here too. It's fairly big and you can cook your own food.

Friendly's Guesthouse rooftop backpackers Malate Manila

View from Friendly's Guesthouse cafe Malate Manila Philippines
The view of Malate from up here

When you consider the facilities, and the location, paying ₱375 ($8/€6) a night for a bed in an air-conditioned dorm room is really good value. I went back to my room, where the staff were cleaning the toilets. I ultimately decided to just manage at Friendly’s for the next two nights.

Friendly's Guesthouse mixed dorm room hostel Malate Manila
I was given a bed in the mixed dorm; Friendly's has other dorms too

I spent some time online and basically took it easy. Spoke to Aimee before finally deciding to step out. Aimee had some work, so we decided to meet tomorrow. I told her I was going to check out Quezon City, which she told me was the former capital and currently the largest city in Manila province. I looked at my map and only noticed Quezon Memorial Circle as a notable attraction worth visiting. So off I went… without my DSLR. For once, I wanted to walk around without carrying my heavy camera bag. Only phone camera today. It felt so liberating!

Friendly's Guesthouse backpackers Malate Manila Philippines
This is the entrance to the building that houses Friendly's Guesthouse
Malate Starbucks building Manila morning
That yellow facade across the road is a Starbucks, which is also where Malate Pensionne Inn is located
Malate Korean stores Manila morning Philippines
The Koreans have quite literally taken over
Taft avenue Pedro Gil Malate Philippines
I walked to my nearest LRT/metro station

Pedro Gil station Metro Manila Philippines

Walkway Manila Philippines
I simply followed the map and pinpointed Cubao station, which meant I had to get to Doroteo Jose and then switch trains to get on the LRT 2 line (or purple line as they call it)
Metro line Manila Philippines
I don't remember if I got down at Cubao exactly but this was the station...
Gateway mall interiors panorama
... and I then walked straight into this mall

Comics Alley, a chain selling mostly Japanese ‘otaku’ merchandise and anime toys, were having a sale at their branch at this mall and I picked up Domo-kun plush toy for ₱250. I soaked up some more air-conditioning before going up to the food court for lunch.

Wendys prawn burger Manila Philippines
Ended up eating a Wendy's shrimp burger, which I thoroughly liked

Lazily, I got up and left the mall. I did walk around a bit, then looked at the map and decided I needed to go up Quezon Avenue. I got into a jeepney and got down at the busy Quezon Avenue.

Quezon Avenue roads Manila Philippines
The Quezon Memorial Circle is straight up from here

It was really hot today, and even though I had sunglasses on, the heat was getting to me. I stopped to have some ice cream and bought some more water. As I walked up Quezon Avenue, I noticed a man helping people cross the busy Elliptical Road.

Masked hero Quezon Manila Philippines
This masked hero (seriously) was helping the elderly cross the road by stopping speeding vehicles. I don't think he liked being photographed though.
EDSA highway crossing Quezon City Philippines
'Cos when it came time for me to cross the road... he didn't help. Hmpf, superhero with a prejudice!
Quezon Memorial Circle shrine Quezon City Manila Philippines
Anyway, this is the Quezon Memorial Circle

The Quezon Memorial Circle is both a national park and a shrine, which features a mausoleum containing the remains of Manuel L. Quezon, the second President of the Philippines. But I somehow was not in the mood to go any further and check it out… don’t know why. Maybe it was the heat.

I crossed the busy road, which itself was quite a challenge as nobody slowed down even as pedestrians were on the zebra crossing.

Once across, I kept walking further down Quezon Avenue in the hopes of seeing what life is like in this part of Manila.

Philippines Japan Quezon City roads Manila

Quezon Avenue Manila Philippines
Eventually I got tired of walking in the heat and ended up taking a jeepney instead. Quezon Avenue is one big-ass road!
Metallica disco club ktv Quezon City Manila
If Lars saw this, he would sue

In fact there were many large clubs/KTV lounges all along Quezon Avenue, none of which were open at this time though. The poshest one I saw, judging by all the high end vehicles parked there, was the Pegasus Club, which Aimee later me told is where the rich and famous (men) hang out. Also where a few girls working as ‘guest relation officers’ ended up turning into future actresses and models.

After going down the road a bit, I took a left turn as I wasn’t seeing anything besides gentlemen’s clubs and fast moving vehicles.

The Ascension church building Manila Philippines
I don't know which road I was on but the only interesting thing I saw here was this building

Other than that, all I saw were businesses dealing in automotive parts, a few bakeries and other general stores.

Quezon City Manila Philippines
So basically, after two hours of walking, I didn't see anything worthwhile

I called Aimee and asked her if I was in the wrong part of town, but she was sleeping, so I didn’t want to disturb her and cut the call short. I kept walking until I reached a metro station.

Arnel Pineda endorsement ad LRT V. Mapa Manila
Yay, Arnel Pineda of Journey!

(Plug: Do check out Journey’s new album ‘Eclipse,’ it’s brilliant!)

Manila slum houses Philippines
I walked past these slums at Doroteo Jose
Manila city view from lrt platform
I was switching trains to get back on the yellow line

Back at Pedro Gil station, I walked to Robinsons Place mall.

Robinsons Place mall floors from up Manila
Even on a Monday evening, the mall was crowded
Team Pacquiao store Robinsons Place mall Manila Philippines
Manny Pacquiao fever
Robinsons Place mall floors night Manila Philippines
Robinsons Place is a pretty good mall

After hanging around the mall for a while, I decided to have an early dinner from here itself and then head back to the room.

Kido Manga Japanese burger Manila Philippines
I saw this burger outlet and I wondered if it was anything like Mosburger

Being the curious foodie I am, I decided to give it a try. I ordered their shrimp burger meal (which at ₱150 cost the same as Wendy’s) and sat down, since the order was going to take 10 minutes (guess this restaurant isn’t what you would call ‘fast food’).

When the burger eventually came, you could say I was disappointed. I didn’t like the yellow sauce they put in the burger (don’t know if it was some sort of mayo, but it was a tad sweet). The burger patty was smaller than the one at Wendy’s and overall, it just wasn’t all that great. The fries were alright though.

Back in the room, I spent the remainder of the night talking to other backpackers who had just checked in to Friendly’s and later worked on some of my photographs.

Date: May 3rd, 2011

Today I was going to meet my friend Aimee. She was going to show me around Ortigas and then take me to Greenhills for some shopping.

SM Megacity Ortigas construction Manila Philippines
She asked me to meet her at SM Megamall in Ortigas
Ortigas business park overhead view buildings Manila
Ortigas is a major business hub

Ortigas overhead pedestrian bridge Manila Phillipines

Business park Ortigas office buildings Manila Philippines
A lot of these buildings house call centers
San Miguel corporation headquarters Manila Philippines
San Miguel Corporation's HQ - SMC is one of the largest companies in South East Asia
Manila business park buildings Philippines
Lots of glass... so your typical business park then
Ortigas business park Manila Philippines
A lot of pricey condos available here too
Ortigas square business park Manila Philippines
Ortigas is the name of a wealthy family whose land this is
Robinsons Ortigas mall Manila Philippines
Walked through Robinsons Mall just to soak up some A/C
Pedestrian walkway Ortigas Manila Philippines
Got out again
Virgin Mary EDSA shrine monument Manila Philippines
Aimee told me this statue is the Our Lady of EDSA, built to commemorate the People Power Revolution, which saw the departure of Pres. Marcos from power
Philippine Overseas Employment Administration office Manila
The ever busy Philippine Overseas Employment Administration office. Every Filipino going abroad for work has to come here first.
Elevated highway near overseas office Manila Philippines
Aimee and I decided to take a jeepney to Greenhills
Greenhills shopping center Manila Philippines
It was only a short ride away
Greenhills shopping center lobby Manila Philippines
I wanted to check out Greenhills because the way people described it, I imagined it was Manila's equivalent to Bangkok's Chatuchak market
Greenhills shopping center map Manila Philippines
Seemed like a pretty big place
Greenhills bags shops Manila Philippines
Only, unlike Chatuchak, Greenhills is indoors and has air-conditioning!

Theatre Mall Greenhills Manila Philippines

Greenhills shopping center mobiles Quezon City Philippines
You have the usual grey market electronics and mobile stores...
Greenhills shopping center inside shops Manila Philippines
... and of course clothing

But after much walking around and checking out a few stores, none of the offerings were as good as the ones I saw in Bangkok. I guess Bangkok’s street shopping experience is still the best in South East Asia.

Toe finger shoes Greenhills shop Manila
These were the only things I considered buying

After an hour spent at Greenhills, and not finding anything worth buying at all, Aimee and I took a van taxi back to SM Megamall.

SM Mega Mall interiors Manila Philippines
Checked out SM's department store and ended up buying a few good t-shirts from there. SM had official merchandise clothing from The Simpsons, Marvel, Transformers, etc. and they were all quite cheap.
Greenwich pizza pasta meal offer SM Manila
We had lunch from the food court. I ate two-thirds of this... and Aimee ate one-third of what was left. (The girl doesn't eat much)
SM Megamall in Ortigas EDSA Manila
We left Ortigas around 2:30pm
EDSA Shangri-la hotel office towers Manila Philippines
I insisted on seeing Aimee off home, so we took a bus to head to her part of town
Aimee Marie sleeping bus Manila
Poor thing was really sleepy

Farmers market Manila Philippines

Manila through dirty glass Philippines
We were going to an area called Valenzuela
SM city North Edsa Manila Philippines
This is now the largest mall in the Philippines

I walked Aimee back home, and we said our goodbyes as this would be the last I’d be seeing her. I was leaving Philippines tomorrow. It started to drizzle very lightly, so I made my way back to the main road to catch a jeepney to Monumento.

Valenzuela area Manila Philippines
There's a popular nursing college nearby, so a lot of the students live around here

Unfortunately, what started out as a drizzle, eventually turned into rain.

Raining evening Manila Philippines
Two & half weeks in Philippines and I finally see rain... and I didn't have an umbrella with me!

I took shelter in front of a Max’s Restaurant, but then, the rain got really heavy a few minutes later!

Heavy rain Manila Philippines Petron
I had to keep my camera away as it was getting wet (This was taken on my phone)

I waited nearly 45 minutes for the rain to subside. I managed to cross the road and caught a bus going to Monumento.

Monumento flooded after rains Manila Philippines
The bus dropped me here. Quite literally. I just stood on the road after I got down wondering how to get to Monumento station. It was flooded and I was wearing slippers. I just didn't feel like dipping my bare foot in the dirty water.

There were cycle taxis offering locals a ride to Monumento LRT station, but when I asked them ‘how much,’ their rate for me, a non-local, were ludicrous. So I just took a deep breath, hopped across the road — and got wet in the process anyway.

It was past 5pm and I still had some shopping to do. I got the train from Monumento and went to Pasay.

Pasay interchange LRT station evening crowds Manila
This was the scene at Pasay interchange station at 6pm. Yikes.
Glorietta malls Ayala center Manila night Philippines
I went back to Ayala Center to check out one last mall
Pedestrian overbridge to Greenbelt mall Manila Philippines
I was going to Greenbelt, Manila's 'luxury' mall
Blue lights glowing building book store Ayala center
I forgot what store this was
Greenbelt complex at night Ayala Manila
I was woefully dressed for such a place - soggy socks, shorts, moist t-shirt - but what the hell, last day!
Inside Greenbelt mall Ayala center Manila Philippines
I couldn't take many photographs inside. Security came by and said it's not allowed. (Ayala has seen bombings in the past, so security is beefed up here)

After window shopping in Greenbelt, I walked back to Landmark department store and ended up buying two K-pop CDs before walking all the way back to Ayala LRT station.

Once back at Pedro Gil, I wondered where to have my final meal in Manila. For kicks, Jollibee one last time was a consideration, but instead, I chose another chain owned by them which I had yet to try.

Mang Inasal chicken bbq Philippines
So Mang Inasal it was 🙂 (Cost ₱120/$2.7/€2)

Date: May 4th, 2011  – Last day, lasting memories

I packed my bags yesterday night itself, just so I knew just how much space I had left to fill up with some last minute shopping. I still had a few things to pick up and so once I was ready, I walked to Robinsons Place one last time. The mall only opens at 10am, and I had to wait outside until it did.

Once inside, I quickly went up to the department store to see if they had any good t-shirts like the ones I picked up from SM’s department store yesterday. They did, really good ones too – retro gaming themed Mega Man and Mario t-shirts – all for just ₱200-₱250. I ended up buying five t-shirts for my brothers from Robinsons.

After that, I rushed downstairs to the supermarket, picked up some snacks and then stopped when I spotted a bottle of Absinth in the liquor store. Absinth is something I hardly find in most liquor stores, so I picked up a bottle for my friends back in Bangalore.

I rushed back to Friendly’s Guesthouse, adjusted my bags and checked out. I took a taxi to the airport – which stopped along the way to fill up fuel – leaving me cooking inside (no A/C in the car!). I still managed to reach NAIA Terminal 1 in time.

~~~~~~ What this Indian has to say about the Philippines 🙂 ~~~~~~

Sigh. This was it. My epic two and half weeks across Philippines was finally coming to an end. In some ways, I was both happy and sad. Happy because this was such an amazing experience, and I saw pretty much every major attraction I planned to see. Hardly anything went wrong too.

Sad because, well, there’s still so much more I wanted to see! I still didn’t visit Davao – the second largest city after Manila, Boracay – the most popular island in Philippines, Mount Mayon – the most perfectly cone-shaped volcano, and of course the one place I really, really wanted to visit – the island of Batanes. I would love to return to El Nido, or even consider the islands of Coron even further north of Palawan, which people say are incredible.

I wish I could have stayed longer, but unfortunately, Indians are only given a 21 day tourist visa — that too, one that needs to be applied for in advance, something which cost me Rs. 3230 ($60) to get done. None the less, for a first visit to a country, I couldn’t be more proud of myself! Every Filipino who asked me where all I went had the same response: “Wow, even I have yet to go to all these places!”

In the end, it’s not just the natural beauty that appealed to me about the Philippines. As a Gulf-raised child from the state of Kerala in India, it was very easy for me to connect with many Filipinos I met. Especially when I stayed at Kabayan, where just about everybody was either coming from or going to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, etc. Bring up the Middle East, and it was a conversation ice breaker. I know what it’s like, and seeing Filipinos in the Middle East, I can now see how far they go just to make a living.

As a Keralite, I know my state’s greatest export isn’t coconuts — it’s people. Philippines isn’t any different. And that’s largely due to a culture (and religion) that encourages it’s people to be educated, but then, led by governments who wipe their hands clean when people were left with no choice but to leave the country in search of a better livelihood. It’s easy when all the government has to do is sit back and count the millionsbillions sent home by their own hard-working people abroad. The money from overseas workers is what fueled the local economy for decades. Some would argue it still does.

Things have started to change though. With a booming local economy, largely driven by the outsourcing movement, Filipinos now have an option. Work can be found in the country, it’s just that it may not pay as well as a job in the Middle East. The rising incomes of today’s Filipinos is what is fueling tourism within the country. I saw more Filipino tourists than foreign tourists at most places I visited. Which is not how it is in Thailand.

‘Brand Philippines’ isn’t well-marketed to the world either. Sure, San Miguel beer is now available in India, but I doubt the majority who drink it even know it’s Filipino. Yeah sure, there’s Charice and Arnel Pineda, but lets face it — only Filipinos make them appear ‘world famous’. What little most people know about Philippines is judged from its OFWs — Overseas Filipino Workers. Not exactly the best way to learn about the country and its people, especially if you go by the stereotype I hear from friends and family.

Fluency in English has given many Indians and Filipinos an edge over our Asian counterparts. There are over 10 million Filipinos working outside the Philippines, most of whom are in the Middle East. Many work as maids and sales people even in neighbouring Singapore and Hong Kong. But is it fair to draw a conclusion based on those Filipino workers? Not really. And just like millions of NRIs (Non-Resident Indians), especially those from Kerala, a large chunk of their income is sent back home to feed their families and hopefully one day, buy/build a home and retire.

Unless you have been on Philippine soil, your opinion about the Philippine people may remain skewed if you simply assumed every OFW is exactly the kind of people you will find back in Philippines. There are Filipino doctors too you know, they are just not as exported in the sheer numbers the nurses are. You have to come to Philippines to know what the modern day Filipino is like, not judge them based on the career choices they are forced to take up abroad.

All said and done, just like Kerala (and for that matter, all of India), Philippines suffers daily from its share of dirty politics. And what a history it has. Philippines was first colonized by the Spanish, turning just about everyone Catholic in the process. Then the Americans came, waged war with the Spaniards and took over the country. Philippine revolutionaries then fought the Americans. Then the Japanese invaded. Americans fought the Japanese (using many Filipino soldiers mind you) and the U.S. remained in control until Philippines finally gained independence in 1946. But like many countries post-independence, the nation’s headaches didn’t end there.

Post independence saw the struggle of Filipinos living under one corrupt government after another. The worst period being under GeneralPresident Ferdinand Marcos. Even as a kid growing up in the late 80’s, with little interest in world affairs, it wasn’t hard to not hear or come across the ‘Marcos’ name. Especially his infamous wife — just read her profile on Wikipedia and about Yamashita’s Gold — the wealth figures mentioned will leave you shell-shocked if you are non-Filipino who knew very little about Philippine politics.

Revolution after revolution, not much has changed in the political landscape. Or for that matter in society at large. The people may have progressed to a point where homosexuals are not victimized as badly as they are in other Asian countries, but stupid laws like the fact divorce is still illegal persist! Just like the majority of Indians, Filipinos hate their politicians with so much vitriol, reading any news article online about a high-ranking public official comes with its share of nasty comments.

Even the nation’s biggest celebrity, Manny Pacquiao, has joined political fray. How much of an impact will his political punches have? Who knows.

One thing I did find a bit annoying though were the many locals complaining about Manila. I still don’t think it’s as bad a city as they claim it to be. I’d like to see the very same people go to Mumbai – where real estate costs more than Manila – then come back and compare. Manila’s infrastructure still beats most Indian cities. Probably the very reason why Philippines has now overtaken India as the global call center hub.

Of course, not all infrastructure in Manila is worth bragging about. And there is no greater example of that than NAIA Terminal 1 — the terminal for most international flights. Also considered to be one of the worst airports in the world!

NAIA Terminal 1 International departures Manila Philippines
First there was a long line outside the terminal to get in, then the line to check-in was again equally long. It took nearly an hour and half after arriving at the airport to receive my boarding pass.

This terminal was built in 1981… and it still looks like that! I didn’t take any other photo besides the one above because it only goes downhill from there. Facilities are poor, and even though I didn’t face any issues, I have read about Filipinos who experienced corruption at their own airports.

Maybe it’s because I’m a tourist or a ‘foreigner,’ so the airport officials could be too ‘shy’ to try anything funny with us. But, there is one final slap-in-the-face/kick-in-the-groin every passenger gets for using this outdated terminal upon departure. Every airport I used within Philippines had an airport usage fee: ₱200 at Cebu and just ₱40 at Puerto Princesa, since both were for domestic flights. For NAIA Terminal 1 international passengers? ₱750 ($17/€12).

Now I know a lot of airports charge a user fee, and sometimes it’s even included in the ticket cost. Heck, even New Delhi International Airport has started charging passengers Rs. 1300 (₱1100) for international flights – which sucks. But, at least they began collecting this fee after they built, what is now, the 8th largest airport in the world.

Even as a non-Filipino, walking around this terminal after paying ₱750 made me angry. All I kept thinking about after I paid this ‘airport development fee’ was “how many years have they been collecting this?!” and “what the hell are they doing with this money?!”. When I think about my money going to waste or going into a suited up thief’s pocket, it makes my blood boil, be it in India or abroad.

Malaysia Airlines at NAIA Manila Philippines
The Duty Free sucked, so I simply went to my gate and sat there. My flight was on time.

As I looked around, I didn’t notice many Indians besides myself. There was one Indian couple, who looked Punjabi, but they didn’t look like the Punjabis I was used to seeing. They looked more like the Indians who came to this part of the world decades ago and tried best to keep their heritage. The ‘lost Indians’ so to speak.

Oh, I need to bring this up. In Manila, occasionally a few jeepney drivers on the streets would shout “Bombay!” to me. I assumed it was because it’s the only famous Indian city everyone knows, so I used to just smile back. But when I told Aimee about this, she told me that’s not why. Get this, Indians don’t have a good reputation in the Philippines (among the masses) because of certain “Bombays” in the country. It’s the slang term used to refer to several (illegal) money lenders, most of whom are of Indian origin, and have been in the Philippines for decades. Most of their ‘customers’ are often poor street vendors and stall owners, people who wouldn’t get much help from big banks due to the lack any of valid documentation. The “Bombays” approach such people, lend them money, but at very high interest rates. Of course, when things get bad, these “Bombays” show their nefarious side. You could say: “Well, how come they are allowed to operate?”. In a country where the police can be paid off, a lot can be ‘allowed’. They are basically ‘loan sharks‘. For more details, read this excellent research paper I dug up when I was curious to find out more about these “Bombays”.

I still didn’t see many Indians in the two and half weeks I spent in the Philippines. The few I did see were only in Manila and looked like they were here because of the BPO majors in the city — or were visiting from Singapore.

That said, I don’t expect many Indians to fly all the way to Philippines for tourism — because it’s a hard sell. I can show my friends the beaches of Palawan and they’ll say: “Doesn’t Thailand have such beaches?”. And it’s true. When Thailand offers most of what the Philippines also offers (nightlife included), chances are they rather take a 3-4 hour flight to Thailand than the 7-8 hours it takes to reach the Philippines. I can argue about how beautiful the beaches, the stunning rice terrace farms, and how less crowded Philippines’ tourist spots are in comparison, but it wouldn’t matter to the majority.

[Fun trivia: Some similarities between India and Philippines I observed — the mobile numbers are 10 digits long and all begin with 9; the men use the term “boss” a lot :)]

Philippines island leaving for Malaysia aerial photo
Another reason why Philippines is a hard country to market is because of its geography

A lot of international travellers — families, the new markets, and in the case of most Indian tourists — travel on package tours, because it’s convenient (plus they’re too lazy to do all the research themselves — that’s my reasoning). Philippines is a tough country sell as a package tour, because you simply cannot do it in less than a week. Being a nation of over 7,000 islands, it’s not landlocked country like much of Thailand or Malaysia’s touristy half (KL, Penang and Langkawi). If you are in Manila and want to see the amazing Chocolate Hills, you have no choice but to fly. Palawan? Flight again. If not flights, then by ferry. In short, accessibility is an issue. Well, easy access that is. Package tourists prefer convenience, backpackers enjoy the challenge, tiring as it may be.

Malaysia Airlines Boeing airplane wing Philippines islands
Despite the lack of connectivity, I still say Philippines is one of the most amazing destinations in South East Asia. It beats other nations like Malaysia when you compare natural beauty.

Would I go back for a second visit? If I had the chance (and the money), I would go back in an instant! Would I work there? Hmm, only if the work itself was interesting and the pay package makes it worthwhile. Would I live in Philippines? That’s… a bit tough for me to answer. Cebu maybe a preferred city for many retirees, but the only city I would only consider living in is still Manila. It’s a huge city, yes, but it’s the only city that would keep me entertained. K-pop stars drop in often and it’s global enough in its options. I could easily afford to buy an apartment in Manila with my current savings, something I can’t even do back in Bangalore. But cost of living aside, typhoon season scares me a bit. Typhoons hammer much of Philippines every year, and Manila is always hit. Everytime I see the footage, I can’t fathom what the poor slum dwellers must go through… every year!

Flying over South China Sea to Malaysia
Are these islands also a part of Philippines?

Despite all the bad, one lasting impression I will always hold in positive view is the general attitude of the Filipino people. I really like them, they are very friendly and I love their mannerisms (the good ones). Everytime I was at store, the sales staff would approach me with a “♫ Hello sirrrrrrrrrrr ♪” — and it still resonates in my head 🙂 Again, this is how I was generally treated. How Filipinos behave with each other, I’ll only know if I stay there much longer.

Malaysia Airlines seafood meal lunch
My lunch, a slightly sweet fish fillet and rice

The only notion about Philippines that remained unanswered for me was… I still don’t know what Philippine culture is! I didn’t see much that seemed ethnically Filipino, or a heritage that is native to this country. Maybe it’s because of the 300 years of Spanish rule, succeeded by the years of ‘Americana’ that followed. Philippines has, in some way, lost its native identity — probably the only South East Asian country to do so. The last few generations of Filipinos absorbed a culture and influence America left behind, and it’s now very much become their own — like their love for basketball, the preferred genres of music, fast food, and even the English they follow.

Malaysia Airlines plane wings Boeing plane clouds

Flying over Malaysia sunset ray through clouds
I was above Malaysia just before sunset
Kuala Lumpur airport departure Terminal Malaysia
Needless to say, KLIA is a much better airport
KLIA Malaysia airport interiors
I had 2 hours to kill before my connecting flight, so I walked around the terminal
Kuala Lumpur train service food court Malaysia
The trains that take passengers to the other terminals

KLIA terminal train service Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur airport international terminal pillars
This is where the gates are
Bangalore city at night lights from sky
3 1/2 hours later, I was in Bangalore

I began working on this Philippines series in June, after I got laid off from my company. Six months of sitting and writing 16 posts, nearly 2,068 photos used (out of over 5,000 clicked)… it was a lot of work, but it’s with immense satisfaction I conclude what has been the most satisfying international trip of my life so far! The response from my friends back in Bangalore when I showed them my photos of all the wonderful sights Philippines has to offer was nothing short of amazement. I guess I’ve played my small role in promoting the country.

What else can I say… hanggang sa muli Philippines! 🙂

Previous posts in this series:

Philippines 2011: Day 14 – El Nido island hopping tour A and sunset at Las Cabanas beach, Palawan

Philippines 2011: Day 13 – Puerto Princesa to El Nido by bus

Philippines 2011: Day 12 – Puerto Princesa Underground River tour, Palawan

Philippines 2011: Day 11 – Arriving in Puerto Princesa, Palawan

Philippines 2011: Day 10 – Bohol tour: Chocolate Hills, Loboc river cruise, Tarsiers, churches

Philippines 2011: Day 9 – Cebu: Fort San Pedro, Basilica of Santo Niño, Taoist Temple

Philippines 2011: Day 8 – Manila tour: Rizal Park, Intramuros, Manila Cathedral, China Town

Philippines 2011: Day 7 – Leaving Angeles City for Manila, Mall of Asia

Philippines 2011: Day 6 – Good Friday in San Fernando, San Pedro Cutud Lenten Rites

Philippines 2011: Leaving Sagada for Baguio, and arriving in Angeles city (Days 4 & 5)

Philippines 2011: Day 3 – Sagada’s Lumiang burial cave, Sumaguing cave, Hanging Coffins of Echo valley

Philippines 2011: Day 3 – Banaue town; heading to Sagada via Bontoc

Philippines 2011: Day 2 – Banaue rice terraces; trekking to Batad village

Philippines 2011: Day 1 — Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, Fort Bonifacio

Philippines 2011: Flying over South China Sea for the first time

Philippines 2011: Flying over South China Sea for the first time

Planning a trip to the Philippines began with the most unlikeliest of inspirations — an e-mail forward from my father. Not even a good official one, but one of those e-mails that had numerous ‘fwd: FW: Fwd:’ before the actual subject line of ‘can you believe Philippines has such beauty?!’ followed by numerous exclamation marks.

I usually disregard the images I find in such e-mails as they’re usually not from the country they claim to be but upon checking up some of the names of the places they showcased, I was quite surprised about how little I knew of their existence!

It dawned to me I knew very little about Philippines, this despite having grown up in the Middle East where (just like Indians) millions of them come to work. As a kid, all I knew about Filipinos is that a lot of them work in fast food joints or play in a band — and they don’t have the letter ‘F’ in their vocabulary. So I would often hear “500 pils” instead of “500 fils” when asked for change.

I learnt of Banaue and its famous rice terraces, the beautiful beaches of Boracay and Palawan, but the place that made me wish I was there was the remote island of Batanes. It was then, early 2010, I decided to consider making a trip to Philippines.

It was quite challenge really, because trying to study the geography of Philippines wasn’t easy.

Philippines country regions provinces map
(Image source: Wikipedia)

Philippines is an archipelago of 7,107 islands. Sure, many of those thousands are really tiny to even identify on a map but still, getting around the country isn’t easy. It requires some learning beforehand. Since it’s not a landlocked country like most of Thailand, you have to commute via road, ferry, and airlines just to get to certain places within the country.

I initially thought of clubbing Philippines & Thailand last year but it was proving to be quite expensive. So I decided to give Philippines it’s own time.

That time was early this year, when things weren’t looking too good at my workplace. We all knew what was coming our way with the fate of the office and so, instead of prepping up my resume and looking for another job, I researched more on Philippines instead 🙂 When things became official in March and we all knew we were going to be laid off, I booked my tickets!

I tried Air Asia first but at around INR19k, it wasn’t as cheap as I thought it would be. Plus the timings were inconvenient. I land late at night and my connecting flight would have been at 7am the next morning. No way I was going to spend that long at KL LCCT! So I checked all the usual Indian travel websites and got the best deal from Travelocity for a Malaysia Airlines flight at Rs. 26,153 ($584/€411) return. Yes, it was more than Air Asia, but it was going to be convenient, so I didn’t mind paying a bit extra for that. Also, I would get proper meals, land at KLIA and not the present warehousebudget terminal. More importantly, the time I had to wait for my connecting flight was lesser.

Philippines Airlines had just launched their direct flight service to New Delhi (only), but it was quite expensive, so flying the Philippines national carrier was not a possibility.

Next came the visa. When I researched on the tourist visa, I was happy to find out Philippines offer a 21-day visa-on-arrival for a 147 nations! Great, I thought… until I scanned down the list and couldn’t find India one among those 147 countries -_-

So I ended up at the website of the Philippines embassy in New Delhi and found out I have to pay Rs. 2320 for a tourist visa (and for just 21 days). Since I couldn’t fly to Delhi just to get a visa, I had to get it done through an agent. Some agents wouldn’t even do it, and one moron even asked for Rs. 10,000 as service charges! But I walked into the nearby Thomas cook office in Koramangala (inside Raheja Arcade) and got my visa processed by paying their Rs. 1000 service charge. At Rs. 3320, this was the most I had spent on a South East Asian visa so far, and that too for a single entry visa. My multiple entry Singapore visa for 2 years cost just Rs. 1800 and my 1 year Malaysia visa cost just Rs. 1500. Thailand was free visa-on-arrival the two times I went.

My travel period was from 16th April to 4th May and I chose the dates keeping in mind the main focus of my trip was to photograph the Easter crucifixions in San Fernando. The rest of my itinerary would see me visit the largest American war cemetery outside of the United States, traverse throughout the Ifugao province for my fix of rice terrace farms, see coffins hung on hill sides, Cebu, see odd-shaped hills in Bohol and finally enjoy the natural beauty of Palawan island. I was looking for ‘interesting’ with this trip, so I ruled out Boracay — the nation’s most popular island destination, and the most touristy. Unfortunately, Batanes was out of this trip plan as well, simply because it was too expensive to even get there. No budget carrier (and Philippines has enough of them) flies to Batanes and even those that do only fly if they get enough passengers. Batanes is that remote an island.

As days passed by, I felt a bit nervous and kept having second thoughts about spending a lot of money during uncertain times. Sure, the Philippines currency value was the same as the Indian rupee, so that really helped! But still, here I was, going on vacation when all my colleagues were busy job hunting. Plus, I was going to be visiting a new country, one that like Thailand (to the eyes of the ignorant) has a sketchy reputation. I knew what I was going to see, and I was looking forward to see if they live up to the hype, but still…

One ray of hope that eased me up a bit came my way two weeks before my departure date when one of my readers left me a comment telling me how much she appreciated my website and that I “should visit the Philippines sometime!”

🙂

That blessing of a reader couldn’t have come at a better time and after we got in touch, she would be of great help to me, even helping me out with some bookings. I felt much better knowing I had a local contact, which always helps!

Leaving Bangalore airport Malaysia Airlines flight to Kuala Lumpur
Now I was ready to fly!
Malaysia Airlines seafood meal Bangalore flight
I had pre-booked a seafood meal for a change and while the tuna and veggies were good, I couldn’t help but envy my co-passengers with their ‘regular’ meals enjoying their creamy desserts and chocolates when all I got was cold fruits. It’s as though Malaysia gimped on the rest of the meal given how much fish costs. Sucks 
Kuala Lumpur international airport tower Malaysia
Selamat pagi* Malaysia! (*Good morning)
Kuala Lumpur International Airport KLIA gates
I landed on time and took this around 7:45am
Kuala Lumpur International airport duty free liqour Malaysia
This was my first time in Kuala Lumpur International airport as last year I flew Air Asia
Kuala Lumpur airport KLIA Harrods store Malaysia
There’s a mini-Harrods (Impressed with how sharp this photo came out)
Kuala Lumpur International Airport Cadbury store Malaysia
They have an exclusive Cadbury store here too
Kuala Lumpur International airport duty free Malaysia
I loitered around the Duty Free for a while

Post loitering, I found my gate and sat in front of it. I tried to catch some sleep but ended up going online to kill time for the next 4 hours.

KLIA grey skies Malaysia morning
It was grey skies even until noon in Sepang

I boarded my second Malaysia Airlines flight for this trip in the afternoon and I was now en route to Philippines.

Sepang city Malaysia flight aerial view takeoff
Selamat tinggal Malaysia!

Sepang city Malaysia flight aerial view from skyMalaysia flight aerial view farm fields

Leaving Malaysian shores aerial view flight
Leaving Malaysian shores…
South China sea spotted clouds blue water
… and flew over the South China Sea for the first time
South China sea cloud over islands
Which was a welcome pleasant change of scene for me

I took a break from staring outside my window to eat some peanuts.

Malaysia Airlines salted peanuts allergy information
Well… duh 🙂
South China sea small hilly island aerial
Back to staring out into the blue
South China sea islands aerial photograph
Beautiful
South China sea huge cloud over islands aerial photography
Awesome
Malaysia Airlines meal packaging Manila flight
Okay, break time. Lunch had arrived!
Malaysia Airlines seafood meal Manila flight
Seafood meal again. Tuna steak and veggies again. ‘Regular’ meals came with Cadbury chocolates besides pudding for dessert. I got dried raisins. Seriously -_-
South China sea line clouds aerial view island
Meal done, back to blue

South China sea spotted clouds from plane

South China sea oval island aerial photograph
Submerged?

South China sea ring island submerged aerial photograph

South China Sea boomerang island submerged aerial photograph
Needless to say, I really enjoyed this flight

South China sea small island submerged aerial photograph

South China sea moon afternoon aerial photograph
Hello moon…

It got cloudy after this, so I lowered the shades and caught up on some sleep.

South China sea mountains above clouds aerial photograph
Woke up an hour later to the announcement we were approaching Manila
Entering mainland Philippines shores aerial photograph
Hello Philippines

Philippines Central Luzon hills aerial photography Philippines Manila shores aerial photography

Philippines Manila aerial photography
Manila city
Manila port Philippines aerial photography
Manila port
Manila city evening aerial photograph
Metro Manila is the 8th most populous metro in Asia

Manila city from plane aerial photograph

Manila sunset from plane Philippines
It was nearing 5pm in Philippines
Manila Taguig city building construction Philippines
The flight was a bit early… which is never a bad thing (as long as the traffic control clears it)
About to land manila international airport
About to land

Landing Ninoy Aquino International Airport Manila Philippines

Landed Ninoy Aquino International Airport Manila Philippines
Ninoy Aquino International Airport

So after nearly a total of 8 hours of flying, I was finally in Philippines. Phew, long journey!

Arrival Ninoy Aquino International Airport Manila Philippines
How’s the airport? Quite old and in much need for an upgrade. Well, at least Terminal I was in.

I got my passport stamped, got my bags rather quickly, converted some dollars and I was out in around 15 minutes. The first thing I wanted to do was get a local SIM and fortunately Globe was handing out free SIMs (though they were mostly for OFWs*).

I hired a pre-paid yellow taxi (which would later turn out to be a mistake) and asked him to take me to Kabayan Hotel in Pasay, which was close to the airport. I chose Kabayan as it was a popular recommendation online. Plus, I didn’t want to spend too much time in traffic just to get to touristy Makati.

But despite how close the hotel looked on the map from the airport, getting there still took nearly 45 minutes in evening traffic. It cost 250 pesos ($5/€4) which is far more than what I thought it would cost. Anyway, I went to the hotel reception, booked a single room for myself and checked in.

Kabayan Hotel single room Manila Philippines
My A/C single room, PHP950 per night ($22/€15)

Kabayan is pretty cool. They have rooms ranging from dorms all the way up to deluxe rooms and from prices starting as low PHP610, they are very popular. And get this, you get complimentary breakfast and lunch! They also have free wi-fi among other great amenities.

Kabayan hotel rooms Manila Philippines
The toilets and shower rooms are down the hall and in between (clean and well kept)

Oh by the way, they don’t use the word toilets much in Philippines, instead it’s ‘Comfort Rooms’ or ‘CR’ 🙂

I stepped out again because I needed to buy some credit for the Globe SIM so that I could inform my family of my safe arrival. Since I was out, I decided to grab dinner early. It soon struck me just how much fast food Filipinos eat. Mc Donalds and homegrown Jollibee was everywhere — and they both had multiple branches within meters of each other — and all of them were doing brisk buisness! As the fast food chains are too chicken to sell beef burgers here in India (due to religious politics), a good ol’ cheeseburger was what I was craving. I picked up a burger from Jollibee, a doughnut from 7-11 and some water.

The area I was in was quite a busy part of town as it was a major hub for transportation, so you get everything you need as far as convenience stores, supermarkets and eateries go. It’s also a very noisy area, mostly because of the jeepneys.

But Kabayan does a good job of cutting out the noise once you’re inside the hotel. I took a nice warm bath and then had my dinner. I called my aforementioned reader (whose name is Aimee) and we spoke for a while. She told me the pre-paid yellow taxi at the airport are priced way more than the usual taxis I could have gotten had I just walked a bit further out. Also, there were frequent airport buses that drop people to Pasay and back. Oh well, rookie mistake.

Kabayan hotel single pad LCD tv Manila Philippines
Unlike many hotels in this price range, Kabayan has a good selection of channels which even included Zee TV (the only Indian channel though)

Given that I hadn’t slept properly in nearly 24 hours, I called it an early night.

I couldn’t wait for tomorrow to begin!

——–

Please note: In this series of posts, I won’t be mentioning conversion rates for Indian rupees as both Philippines Peso (PHP/₱) and the Indian Rupee are more or less on a 1:1 value ratio. So Rs. 100 is like PHP98. Therefore only US dollar and Euro conversion rates will be mentioned.

*OFW = Overseas Filipino Workers; similar to NRI (Non-Resident Indian)

Other posts in this series:

Philippines 2011: Day 1 — Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, Fort Bonifacio

Philippines 2011: Day 2 – Banaue rice terraces; trekking to Batad village

Philippines 2011: Day 3 – Banaue town; heading to Sagada via Bontoc

Philippines 2011: Day 3 – Sagada’s Lumiang burial cave, Sumaguing cave, Hanging Coffins of Echo valley

Philippines 2011: Leaving Sagada for Baguio, and arriving in Angeles city (Days 4 & 5)

Philippines 2011: Day 6 – Good Friday in San Fernando, San Pedro Cutud Lenten Rites

Philippines 2011: Day 7 – Leaving Angeles City for Manila, Mall of Asia

Philippines 2011: Day 8 – Manila tour: Rizal Park, Intramuros, Manila Cathedral, China Town

Philippines 2011: Day 9 – Cebu: Fort San Pedro, Basilica of Santo Niño, Taoist Temple

Philippines 2011: Day 10 – Bohol tour: Chocolate Hills, Loboc river cruise, Tarsiers, churches

Philippines 2011: Day 11 – Arriving in Puerto Princesa, Palawan

Philippines 2011: Day 12 – Puerto Princesa Underground River tour, Palawan

Philippines 2011: Day 13 – Puerto Princesa to El Nido by bus

Philippines 2011: Day 14 – El Nido island hopping tour A and sunset at Las Cabanas beach, Palawan

Philippines 2011: Back to Manila, shopping, and my final thoughts about the country  (Final post)

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