reminders for your trip to manila~ for windthorne
hi nikki omfg i’m so excited for you to come visit here c:
there are a lot of nice things here in manila, and not on the usual tourist route but are easily accessible since everyone here has a decent grasp of english \o/
here are my things to do while in manila:
visit museums!~ tbh the national museum is not as nice and actually kinda boring compared to the contemporary ones. learn about philippine history at the ayala museum via the diorama exhibit (the guide book is pretty interesting imo) they’re also situated inside a good mall so yey shopping! the mind museum is a science museum so idek if you wanna go there.
food trip in binondo! it’s the oldest chinatown in the world (and has a lot of good chinese food) there’s a tour for that too by a guy named ivan man dy and his tours are very recommended (tried it myself; very fun!)
if you have time, you should go down south to tagaytay! it has a view of taal volcano, the world’s smallest active volcano. it’s a volcano, inside a lake, inside a crater of a mountain. it’s really nice to see and a bit chillier than the city.
we have a lot of malls omfg one of south east asia’s largest malls is the SM Mall of Asia (or MOA) it’s rEALLY BUSY but the sunset by manila bay is pretty to watch from there. then again, you can drive past roxas boulevard to see the sunset and it’s just as good / even better. there are SM malls everywhere and it’s not very nice to visit imo bc it’s so crowded all the time and it’s so generic ;; i like going to Bonifacio Global City (where a lot of the better + newer malls are) or the Ayala center (most of the older + better malls are. they don’t look old at all tho ahaha )
if you want to go shopping for souvenirs, ditch the touristy trinkets being sold everywhere. ya aren’t gonna use them anyway i guess. team manila lifestyle stores have a lot of philippine pop culture inspired clothes that you can actually wear out. you can take a look at the website for designs \ o /
i spend most of my time in bookstores like fully booked... well actually just fully booked ahaha
bRING LOTS OF WATER i cannot stress this enough especially if you’re not used to the heat.
don’t use public toilets. the ones outside malls are dangerous territories and really gross. the ones inside the nicer malls are good to use. bring small tissue packs bc most of the time, the bathroom stalls don’t have toilet paper orz
huge backpacks are not recommended for going around. they scream not from here + make you more susceptible for pick pockets / bag slashers when you walk the streets
air pollution is really bad in the more densely populated areas here so if you’re asthmatic or have respiratory problems, bringing a face mask is recommended if you’re walking the sidewalk
traffic jams here can last up to 2 hours on major highways during weekdays, so be prepared to sleep or get frustrated
a pre paid sim card for texting and calling can be bought anywhere! service is shit here tho but it’s handy for contacting your family + def cheaper
our wifi is one of the slowest in the world, and the slowest in asia so prepare to be frustrated ;;
stepping out of the air port and taking your first breath here is like having someone shove a blow dryer up your nose
tAXI LINES AT THE AIRPORT CAN LAST UP TO 3 HOURS BC OF CONSTRUCTION ;; i hope you have someone to pick you up!!
the currency exchange rate is $1 to 45 Philippine pesos, so go wild. :333
oH LASTLY the abbreviation of Philippines here is PH and not PI (actually PI is like an abbreviation of putang ina [son of a bitch]) :))
i’m so excited for you to come by here aaaaa this place has a lot of flaws but it also has a lot to love about it. hope you have a great time here when you come down c:
