Manila

I'm carrying a 12kg backpack on this trip... Needless to say I don't have much room for cold weather clothes. Which is why my stay in Tokyo was so short... Though the sun was shining a lot, nights were cold and my jeans and hoodie could only do so much... A 5 hour flight south to Manila quickly changed that! Manila also proved to be a major culture shock from the calm chaos of Tokyo... Holy cow Manila is madness, the second I walked out of the airport I was quickly hassled by one person after another, while in Tokyo I could have been invisible. My stay in Manila was short, sweet and plenty...

I stayed right in the heart of the city on the bay. My favorite parts of the area were the massive mall and a nice bar that served craft beer from the region. The massive 7-story mall literally had everything including Texas Roadhouse, Krispy Kreme and Panda Express just to name a few... The odd part about the mall was you would walk a block from it and be back in what seemed like a not so great neighborhood. 

While Manila does throw out that shady vibe I still felt plenty comfortable walking 10-12 miles of he city's core during my one full day there. I visited Rizal Park, the walled part of the city including an impressive church and basilica and the National Museum of Fine Arts, which was probably the highlight in my book. Very unique art of all sorts. 

But the real reason I visited the Philippines was white sand beaches and turquoise waters... So the next morning I'm took a 50 minute flight to Boracay Island...

 

Hotel view of Manila Bay

Rizel Park

Cathedral

Art Gallery

Jipneys galore

All motos all the time