Manila Trip July 2013 - DAY 1

Hey guysss! It's in the morning when I'm writing this so, goooood morningggggg! Hope all is well. If not well, then go to the clinic or see a shrink or something. :) So last month I went to Manila again for a few days and also had the chance to visit Boracay again for the 3rd time. I seriously am in love with Boracay! It's really easy for beach lovers to love Boracay. The white smooth sandy beach and crystal clear waters are something you definitely won't miss. Boracay also offers many fun-filled beach activities such as the normal ones like snorkeling and diving and some very cool ones such as cliff jumping (into the ocean of course) and glass bottom boat tour (where you can see the fishes without getting wet). You can also ride the ATV and go zorbing inland. Well....now I can't wait to go there again hehe. Anyways...I'll start with Day 1 in Manila.

ATTENTION: When you arrive at NAIA airport and plan to take the taxi, please be aware that you can choose between premium taxi and normal taxi. Go and find the normal taxi which is much cheaper than the premium one. For normal taxi you just enter the cab and tell where to go and they will charge using the meter. For premium taxi you have to pay up front at the counter. They charged me 350 Pesos for the premium taxi (I thought it was the normal taxi since it didn't look anything near exclusive haha) to Malate area when actually by normal metered taxi in will only go up to 200 Pesos max when traffic is bad.

Day 1 : KL - Manila Ninoy Aquino Int. Airport - 11:00am

AirAsia has tied with Philippines low cost airline ZestAir so now we can go direct from KL to Manila NAIA without going to Clark which is still 2 hours from Manila. This is me in ZestAir.

If you ever land at Terminal 4 at NAIA by ZestAir, make sure you are amongst the first to get out of the plane coz there will only be 2 immigration counters! The queue will be long if you wait for others to go out first. As pictured, we had to queue for over 30 minutes to pass through the immigration counter. Thank God for data roaming. Candy Crush time!

Day 1 : Check-In Chill Out Guesthouse - 4:00pm

On both my previous trips to Manila I stayed at Tune Hotel Malate which is great especially for its location that is near to many Halal food outlets. This time I wanted to try a cheaper place that was also nearby the Halal restaurants although not as near as Tune Hotel.

This guesthouse is located just at the roundabout at Remedios St. Lots of taxis here.

They should just have stop at CONFORDABLE. Meaning comfortable + affordable. Huhu.

The common area... Free coffee and tea all day long and bread and butter and jam for breakfast.

Reception counter...

My really cheap small room. Exactly in front of  the reception counter. Cost only 350 Pesos but only fan cooled, shared toilet and no windows that can be opened to let the fresh air in. Windows that you can see is only for show since there is a wall of concrete wall blocking the window. We used the window grille to hang our clothes. :P

I would probably not stay here again unless I take the air-conditioned room instead. Huhu. If you want a budget hotel near Malate area, Tune Hotel is my recommendation. Best thing is 7-Eleven is exactly beside the Tune Hotel entrance which is really useful.

Day 1 : Mall Of Asia -  5:00pm

After some rest time at the hotel we went straight to look for early dinner in Mall of Asia or MOA as the locals call them. One of the top 10 biggest shopping complex in the world, MOA has so many things that I love such as Bench (Philippines own fashion outlet like H&M), Razon's (where you can find one of the best tasting Halo Halo dessert in Manila) and Muhlach (to me one of the best tasting Ensaymadas-cheese bread in Philippines).

Taxi from Malate Remedios St to MOA was 100 Pesos. We were all starving by the time we reached MOA. So we first had dinner at one Halal indonesian restaurant below:


Dinner @ Martabak Cafe (Halal) 

This restaurant is located at the outside wing of MOA. If you are facing the main entrance of MOA where the large globe at the roundabout is at your back, then go to the right side and turn left at the open air restaurants row. The restaurant is further inside the row on the right side.

Shop @ BENCH


One of the MUST thing to do when you are in Manila is to check out this Filipino fashion outlet. If you are hip and trendy then there sure will be something for you to grab. Quality is good as well and price are very reasonable. Do also check out their arrays of perfumes. They have clothes, bags, wallets, watches, perfumes and more!

The top Philippines owned fashion outlet. Clothes are hip and fashionable and up to date and most of all very reasonably priced. Whenever you are in Manila don't forget to drop by! They even got Jacob from Twilight to be their model! You can see in this pic at left.

Taste All The Snacks You Can Find!

  Crunchy mini brownies!

This mini brownies are really cool and tasty! Really crunchy too!

  Crunchy mini brownies!

Looks yummy right? It is... :)

  Delish mini ice creams!

This mini ice creams are seriously tasty too! And cheap!

  Delish mini ice creams!

Mini ice creams ready to be attacked! :)

  Delish mini ice creams!

Yummmmmy!

                      Yummy Ensaymadas!

This is my favorite! Mini bread with lots and lots of cheese on top!

 Yummy Ensaymadas!

Very compulsory for cheese lovers!

 Yummy Ensaymadas!

They have various toppings to but the original is still the best. But I do also love the yam and blueberry filling.

 Cool & Creamy Halo Halo!

Please look for Razon's to taste one of the best Halo Halo!

      Cool & Creamy Halo Halo!

This traditional Filipino dessert is filled with lots of sweet delicacies and topped with shaved ice and caramel pudding on top.

 
  Cool & Creamy Halo Halo!

Finished our Halo Halo in a flash! Yeahhh! The best! :)

Well.... so on our first day we only had time to explore Mall of Asia until almost closing time. Then we went back to our hotel to have some rest since we're leaving for Boracay the next day! Yeahhhhhh!!! I will continue on my next entry. Take care all! :D