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The wife and I will be having an overnight stop in Manila either end of our holiday. Does anyone have any advice regarding places to stay/things to do? Budget accommodation is fine, would rather spend money on food and drink etc.
its grim. i can't help you out much to be honest. i stayed in the first reasonably priced and reviewed place that came up in a search. don't venture too far after dark.
Agreed, and the traffic is terrible too. If you have a longer stay The Philippines is great, but for one night I would find a hotel as close to the airport as possible.
Bring some envelopes back?
erm ... its not my favourite Asian city. Personally I’d find a nice hotel and eat in.
Generally agree with above.
Business district/Makati is probably best (read: safest) option for hotel (unless you stay near the airport), and the Blackbird restaurant in Makati is great. Avoid the main commercial/shopping areas (downtown - can't recall the name).
Nick
BTW, avoid any of the airport taxi touts. Uber works in Manilla and is great there.
My brother got bundled into a car by what turned out to be the local police. They demanded money from him for release. He managed to contact home and we ended up transferring around £1800 to get him out. After contacting the British embassy they explained don’t worry this happens all the time. Just pay up and he’ll be ok!
Before we realised it was the police who had snatched him we feared the worse. My parents didn’t sleep for weeks and my brother needed councelling.
TBH , you will be stuck in traffic ...
The transport is rubbish, the foods not much better, but the pope are really good fun!
[quote=mrmoofo said] but the pope are really good fun!
Agree.
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Sounds like a Clash tune
I stayed at Bayview hotel opposite American Embassy. 😀
Intramuros is worth a visit.
Generally the police keep away from westeners unless you're hanging around brothels. Most of the time, I felt safer in Manila than I did in London. As a westener, mugging or kidnapping you attracts too much attention.
I'm actually fond of Manila, in a bat shit mental dystopian Bladerunner kind of way.
Thanks everyone. Looks like airport hotel and quiet night in then!!
The nicer bits of town are BGC and Makati. Plenty of restaurants and bars in both of those - some good craft beers if that's your thing. When I'm there I'm a bit further North in Quezon City, where there is an incredible restaurant called Van Gogh is Bipolar. The guy that runs it is bipolar and cooking helps him keep on an even keel, and he uses mood enhancing ingredients (not that kind). It was a really cool experience, but depending on traffic, could take you 1.5 - 3 hours to get there from the airport end of town.
Check out spot.ph for eating and drinking. And of course, there's always the [s]midget[/s] little people boxing...
Tom_W1987 - Member
I'm actually fond of Manila, in a bat shit mental dystopian Bladerunner kind of way.
The only thing that put me off big time about Manila is smog/smoke from the traffic jam. 🙂
hotel we booked in to ended being a brothel...the various menus and list of things not allowed was quite eyeopening. girlfriend was not amused, breakfast was good though
Most of the time, I felt safer in Manila than I did in London
I guess it’s personal experience, but I live in London and feel very safe. I’ve travelled quite a lot and I’ve never felt more “at risk” than walking around downtown Manila in daytime. Maybe i was having a bad day, but I never felt more that 6 feet from being mugged!
My advice would be to stay in the “safe” areas (airport, Makati, probably others) and focus on enjoying the rest of your holiday elsewhere!
Nick
One night in Bang....
Oh...
I guess it’s personal experience, but I live in London and feel very safe. I’ve travelled quite a lot and I’ve never felt more “at risk” than walking around downtown Manila in daytime. Maybe i was having a bad day, but I never felt more that 6 feet from being mugged!
That's just people noticing you because you're white - even in Manila you get it - but it gets worse when you go to places like Cebu. The Philippines still isn't really a popular tourist destination, unlike say Thailand - so I'd say the feel is much closer to other countries that are off the beaten track as well....Colombia, parts of China etc.
It's the same for brown people who go to backwater towns and villages in the UK.
That said, it is of course, statistically more dangerous than any western city.
walla24 - Member
hotel we booked in to ended being a brothel...the various menus and list of things not allowed was quite eyeopening. girlfriend was not amused, breakfast was good though
What did you have ? A cream pie surprise!