The Philippines Trip pt 2

I am pretty sure I read it somewhere in the blogs and what not that the best cheap shopping destination in Manila is Divisoria. Cherry Third Quarter Kinky Queen confirmed this. The Filipino chick we met in KK confirmed this. So I googled the map and it look pretty far from the hotel, but hey, if people say that’s the best cheap shopping place, then to Divisoria we shall go.

The first morning, we wondered how to get to Divisoria. We tried our luck by asking the reception if there were any direct jeepneys and guess what, there is. We only had to walk to Pedro Gil which is only five minutes away. Now, someone whom I shall not name said, based on common sense, we must cross the busy streets to take the jeepneys.

We did that and I nearly lost my head because I forget that in the Philippines, they drive on the other side of the road. I automatically looked to my right when suddenly a big bus come speeding from the left. Jatuh my jantung. Before I could recover, we found out that we were on the wrong side of the road and we need to cross the road again.

San Pedro street

We took a jeepney and paid RM0.50 and told the driver to show us where to stop. We passed by City Hall, Rizal Park and not long after, the driver told us to go down. I told myself it wasn’t that far until I realized we were in Binondo instead. I know for a fact that the two places are not that far apart, so we asked the tricycles driver how to get to Divisoria. They replied to us in Tagalog but from the hand gestures, that place is nearby. We told them we don’t speak Tagaolog, so they tried explaining to us in English but somehow his translation went back to Tagalog and his friends laughed at him.

Now, although I have googled Divisoria plenty of times, I have no idea how and what the place is like. I imagine it looking like our pasar malam. We walked around, unsure what we were looking for. Our biggest mistake was, we wasted too much effort looking for the Divisoria we imagined that we didn’t really enjoy the hustle and bustle of the area. There plenty of stalls selling almost everything imaginable. From fruits to shoes, plastics to clothes. Everything.

View from Divisoria Mall

We found the New Divisoria Shopping Mall and it wasn’t what we imagined it to be. In the building, there were smaller stalls that sells everything in bulk, however, the clothes and things available wasn’t what we had in mind. So we went out and continued walking. Now, the heat was terrible and the place was crowded. We did find few stalls that sell cheap and fashionable clothes from RM3.70 and that kept me going. We grabbed a quick lunch at Chow King and the food is yummy.


the malls

Our adventure continues and we found a stall that sells pretty masquerade mask at really cheap prices. I don’t know when I will ever need a masquerade mask, but I bought one anyway which the lady customized for me on the spot for only RM7.40. The two ladies also bought a mask for their own.

lots and lots of masks

While walking we found shops that sells wedding gowns, laces, clothes, scrubs but no clothes. I went around looking at the wedding dresses [out of curiosity] but my sister finds it a little pathetic so we went to the other block instead.

the haze and the crowd can be overwhelming

We found another shopping mall called 168 Mall and the things there were cheap with plenty of options. I was devastated to know that my shoe size is not common in Manila and I only ended buying a pair of working shoes and a pair of casual shoes for RM7.40 each. I also bought two slippers for only RM3.70 a pair and Ekiel’s slipper only cost me RM1.85.

At the end of the day, I announced to the girls that I am never coming back to Divisoria. I know I wasn’t the best shopping buddy with my migraine, the heat and the crowd. But now, when I really think about it, I am looking forward to go back and really venture that place.

you could literally shop till you drop

This time I will go earlier, with a hat, lots of water, a better camera and a big shopping bag. My fingers turned blue from all the plastic bags twisting around my fingers.


church in Binondo

a local boy taking his bath at the fountain

We got back to Manila around 7pm and had dinner at Red Ribbons. Again, food was good.

My sister has colleagues (let’s call them The Quiet Guide and The Talkative Driver) from Manila who did some project at her office in KL. They came that night and took us out. They showed us a seafood place where diners need to go buy their seafood from the vendors outside and bring them to any of the restaurants available to be cooked. The concept sounded weird to me, but it was interesting to see people lining up at the stalls and bringing their dinner into the shop. The place was packed so we opt to go to Mall of Asia for dinner [again] at Gerry’s Grill for some local food. Don’t ask me what we had because I don’t know and yes, no photos were taken but trust me when I say the food was excellent especially the beef soup thingy and the grilled fish.

We went around Mall of Asia and decided to walk around the outdoor side facing the Manila Bay. There were plenty of things to eat, do and see. I am pretty sure it’s a popular dating location as there were many couples giving each other the lovey-dovey look.

the crowd at outdoor Mall of Asia around 10pm

the do silly and yet entertaining dances

While I was enjoying my local bubble tea with the gentle breeze blowing my greasy hair, a couple in front of me was busy taking their photo with a camera phone. The funny bit is, they don’t stop at one photo. After the 5^th or 6^th photo, I decided to make it fun for them and gave them the peace sign pose, the comel-comel pose, the serious pose and my personal favourite, my infamous macam mau kiss orang pout.

Fyi, Hooters Manila is located here. No, we didn’t go see because our guides were not like that.

Our nice guides took us around Manila. We went to many places, which I don’t remember now. We also crossed over river using the bridge with the funny lights. The lights went on like waves and it doesn’t serve any purpose except being the joke of every driver (The Talkative Driver’s especially) who crosses the bridge.

They told us that under the bridge is a charity home for some children. Before Manila, I would never believe anyone would live under the bridge but they do. Under the bridge, the flyover, monsoon drain.

some just slep by the roadside. a pitiful sight really

Anyway, going around Manila at night is differently beautiful especially when those churches and interesting buildings are lighted perfectly. A must for all photographers.

Rizal Park

Manila Cathedral

one of the churches in Intramurous

a chuch made of steel

The Quiet Guide and The Talkative Driver offered to take us to see Taal Volcano the next day which we accepted graciously and I’m glad we did.

To be continued.

the Phillipine trip pt 1

The Philippines trip was good though it didn’t happened the way I, well we imagined it to be. The Cherry Third Quarter Kinky Queen promised to torment me about this for the longest time. Oh well. I had no regrets skipping the whole crazy night outing.

After 6, well technically it was just 4, days in the Philippines, I am still a little confused about the whole neighbourhood system. One minute we’re in Manila, the next San Juan, etc. There is also Metro Manila, which I do not get despite the somewhat detailed explanation by our very nice local guide.

No worries, as long you remember the name of the street and the neighbourhood you’re staying, you’ll be fine.

Anyway, thankfully it was only a two hour flight to the Philippines via Kota Kinabalu as I tend to get very restless in the plane. I was slightly disappointed to see Malaysian faces and names serving us on board. I was hoping [someone who looks like] Diether Ocampo would push the food trolley down the aisle.

We had to fill the immigration form in the plane and there are some sections which I found confusing but I must have filled it right. By the way, I don’t understand why they make the answer column so bloody small and you had to squeeze everything until it is barely legible.

We landed in Clark airport which was officially named as Diosdado Macapagal International Airport by President Arroyo in memory of her father, the former President Diosdado Macapagal in 2003. I’m sure everyone knows that the airport was the Clark Air Base for the U.S. Air forces until the late 1991, where it was closed after the explosion of Mount Pinatubo. The airport is currently in its renovation phase, so there is nothing much to see or do at the airport.

The Clark airport

The immigration process was quick but when the very serious looking guy asked, “Clara, how long will you be staying in Manila?” in his strong accent, my mind froze for a while. Cherry Third Quarter Kinky Queen had to give me the date before I embarrass myself further at the counter. The guy must think I am so blonde. Oh well. Nasib baik dia tidak hensem.

One of our biggest concerns was to find transport to go to Manila. Since this is a budget trip, everything must be super cheap. We asked a Filipino chick whom we met in KK and she told us to get a taxi to Dau Bus Station, take a bus to Manila and finally a cab to our hotel. I got the transportation charges from blogs and travel forum and with the head spinning direction to get from one point to the other it will still cost us around RM21 per person for one way.

I continued to surf the website and found out we could get a bus or a taxi to Manila from the airport. The easiest way to travel is of course to take the taxi but that will cost you about RM200 per trip. Definitely expensive but it is a two hour trip to Manila. Yes people, two long hours.

We chose to take the bus which cost us around RM26.00 and it takes us straight to Manila. We decided to head to Pasay as it was nearer to the hotel. There were two bus operators, but we chose Partas because the girl at the counter was the only one who paid attention to us. *LOL*

The comfortable bus

The bus was air conditioned and comfortable. They even put a DVD on - Haeundae, a Korean movie about the tsunami expected to hit Busan, Korea. At first, I was busy enjoying the view of the acres and acres of paddy field but as soon we entered the city, my eyes were fixed on the movie.

We reached Pasay around 6.00pm. The moment we stepped down from the bus, people just gathered around us offering all sorts of services. One taxi driver offered to send us to the hotel for only USD10 and according to him the neighbourhood is dangerous and there is no public taxi around. Only USD10? That’s like RM34 for a cab ride.

We wanted to take the LRT but we were told that baggages are not allowed. We didn’t get to check if this is true as the LRT looked too packed anyway. We decided to look for something to eat because we were starving.

We headed down to Jollibee as it was the only place we recognized. I was surprised to see an armed security guard at the door but after a while, it was a common sight and I do feel much safer with them around. We ordered the spaghetti and Palabok (vermicelli served with palabok sauce, pork chicharon bits, tinapa flakes, sautéed pork, shrimps and slices of egg) and it is so yummy.

By the way, I must apologize for the lack of food photos. I was too hungry to even bother about food shots.

We wondered how to get to Manila so we ask the nice staff and he actually helped us to stop a taxi right outside the outlet and the metered taxi only cost us RM8.00.

I found Toilena Board & Room (1419 San Marcelino Street, Manila) through the internet. The taxi driver didn’t know the hotel and we nearly missed it as it was located behind the STAR petrol station. The nice boy greeted us at the counter but he couldn’t understand what we were saying so he went to get his colleague to help us.

[Most] Filipinos are nice and helpful but although we basically speak English, the slang differences make it a little hard to communicate. Unconsciously, I began to sound like them but hey, at least I get things done kan?

We got the family room which fits four and it only cost us RM190.00 per person for five nights. The room is big, clean and comfortable. The bathroom is also super clean so I have nothing to complain except the water heater then gone haywire the third night but it was soon after we complained.

After we checked in, we went to the nearest mall. We know there would be plenty of jeepneys going to that direction, so we asked the blur boy where to get one. Instead of telling us how to get to the bus stop, he took us there.

Now, our nice local guides were surprised to hear that we took the jeepneys to most of the places instead of taxi. They told us not many locals would take the jeepneys because there are too many of them going too many directions. Well, some of the jeepneys have signages on them, and some don’t. Whatever it is, you must always ask the driver if they are going your direction and never be embarrassed to ask them to tell you when to go down at your stop.

Jeepneys are great not only because it is super cheap, only RM0.50 per person per ride, it is also available 24 hours a day and you never have to wait long for one.

Robinson Mall concourse

We went to Robinsons Mall at San Juan and I was impressed with the size of the mall. It’s bigger than Centre Point! There are plenty of boutiques, restaurants and food stalls that sells pizza slices to dim sum. There is also a supermarket in the mall. We didn’t get to really explore the place as it closes at 9pm. We went to the food court to get dinner and we stood there for the longest time not knowing what to eat. The choices were plenty and the food was of course unfamiliar so we pretty much depended on the photo or looking what the other customers are getting. I played it safe by getting the BBQ chicken and pork which cost me around RM10.00 but the food was good and the portion was huge. Definitely worth the money.

After the mall was closed, we wanted to take the jeepney back but none of the signage showed San Marcelino. So we went to Treats, a 24 hour convenient store and we ended up chatting with the security guard who told us the jeepneys do pass by the area and we would need to stop at the junction. So we hopped on a jeepney and told the driver to show us where to stop, which he did. Unfortunately, he didn’t show us which direction to go. We asked a girl who was standing at the junction, and she pointed us to one.

Among the many interesting signboards I see during the night exploration

About twenty minutes later, we realised we got lost. We asked many people the direction, and each pointed different ways and some do not know the way at all. Finally, after one hour and thirty minutes later, we gave up and took the tricycle which he charged us RM3.70 per person.

In the tricycle

We finally figured out what went wrong. That girl at the junction pointed us the opposite direction. Had we crossed the road and walk straight, we would have reached the hotel in less than 10 minutes. Instead we ended up walking aimlessly in the night exploring the streets of Manila.

That was some experience.

To be continued.