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frank12
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entrance fees
how much is your entrance fee and cottage fee in jed's island resort in calumpit bulacan philippines?
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olga51
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saint agatha resort
Can you give me the telephone number of Saint Agathas Resort in Bulacan? Thanks.
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neilray
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Getting around Manila
I should say from the outset that I have always found Manila a difficult place to get around. In fact I have always stayed in much the same area, Makati, on the basis that I will not have to go anywhere else. Manila fans will no doubt be ready with a good argument against my feelings but much is down to the Jeepney. Basically I don't fit inside these vehicles. It is fine if you are a small Filipino lady, but for someone who is nearly 2 metres in height, and some would say of solid build, the Jeepney is a nightmare. I would advise anyone visiting Manila to either stay somewhere near the MRT line or simply keep to the area you arrived in. Sorry Manila!
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Sarahs_Welt
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Manila – Dining in Greenbelt
Greenbelt ist Manilas Treffpunkt für die Reichen und Schönen. Aber selbst als Traveller kann man sich dort gediegen einen Cocktail leisten. Der ist schön mit einer Orchideenblüte dekoriert und passt wunderbar zum restlichen Ambiente. Greenbelt hat unzählige Restaurants jeder Nation. Besonders stilvoll ist das Museumscafe. Organischen Kaffee gibts bei Figaro. Greenbelt ist ein Muss für jeden Manilabesucher! Allein ein Spaziergang entlang der Szene lässt einen alles vergessen.
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jennarink
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Manila: Not a Very Healthy Destination
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
I have to say that the city of Manila is one of the dirtiest that I have been to. When it comes to provincial cities and towns like Cebu, Davao or Iloilo, Philippines can be viewed as clean. In Manila, the humidity is so high up to 98 degrees and it is very difficult to not being sweatened when walking on the street. The smoke is very thick and the air smells very bad.
When it is mentioned as Manila City, it is different from the "Metro Manila" area which is composed of various cities. Just be prepared to have something to cover your nose when visiting Manila for it is not very healthy to have all the dirt to breath.
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redrogue
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Manila, Expensively Cheap
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
I hope you don't wonder about this paradoxed title. For those who have experienced Manila would understand what it means. Philippines in general offers the cheapest of many things. In fact, even in grocery stores I overheard Korean shoppers exclaiming how cheaper the prices are compared to their country's merchandise. But how come the cheapiness becomes so expensive? It is beacue if a foreigner (usual victims are Caucasians and Koreans) transacts with an individual and there is no bar code in the product, chances are he/ would be overcharged. I have experienced this many times with my European companion although I am a Filipino. When we bought cigarettes at street vendors, a forty pesos packet becomes one hundred and twenty! The same is so with taxis and tuk tuks. The moment a Caucasian flags a taxi, the meter rate suddenly increases to a so called "special tariff". It is annoyingly funny and irritating. Don't get fooled with these scams because the taxi meter is the only legal basis to pay. Give tips if you want but don't tolerate the swindling drivers.
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JamesH
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Passing time in Manila
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
I arrived in Manila at the start of a two-month trip to the Philippines. It is not the most appealing city to arrive in but I ended up spending a bit of time there because it is a good place to return to and get ferries/flights to other parts of the Philippines. And with a bit of exploration it can be a fun city to see. I was on a tight budget on this trip and so stayed at a guesthouse called Joward’s Pension, which may well have doubled up as a brothel… lets say that the mattresses were plastic coated and if my sleeping bag came from under me in the night I would wake up stuck to the mattress and left with the task of peeling myself from it. The room I stayed in also had no windows and the shared toilet and shower were not the cleanest. So Joward’s Pension is not a place for the faint hearted; however the staff were friendly and someone remained at the guesthouse entrance all night which made me feel safe and my room had a fan. And also it was cheap, I was paying 220 pesos per night which is about £2.70.
The guesthouse is located on Adriatico Street in Malate. This street has several other ‘backpacker price’ guesthouses that you may want to check out. The street is busy at night and it is an experience just to walk along it. It has many bars and girls stand outside trying to tempt you in. I only ventured into one of these bars once with a couple of English guys I met. It was quite an interesting experience, a cover band played on the central stage and they were pretty good at doing slightly accented versions of popular western music. The strangest part of the night was when I went to the urinals and a guy followed me in and began massaging my shoulders whilst I urinated…
Prostitutes also patrol Adriatico Street at night, many of whom are extremely convincing transsexuals. A night time walk through Malate can lead to being pursued by a prostitute trying to gain your affections, my advise would be to smile and walk on…
Whilst in Manila waiting for a ferry or plane I spent several nights at the cinema, which is cheap and shows certain films in English. Check that the film is in English if that’s what you want as there are Filipino films showing too.
In the day I found the city a bustling, lively place with bad pollution problems - I bought a handkerchief to cover my mouth whilst walking around, a tactic many locals also employ. It is actually really easy to get around Manila, when you get involved with the transport systems. You can get Jeepneys (colourful Jeeps that weave in and out of the traffic taking passengers all around the city) and busses to nearly any destination. To catch a Jeepney simply flag it down, get in, tell the driver where you are going and he’ll tell you what you owe (usually about 5 – 10 pesos). The Jeepneys do run on routes around the city so in order to get where I wanted to go I would get on a main road that I wanted to travel down, wait for a Jeepney, and take it until it left the route I wanted to go on, and then I got a different one – easy! I’m sure it is possible to find out which number Jeepney goes where by asking local people, but I mainly just got on and hoped for the best.
I spent time just exploring the inner city looking around the market stalls, eating at roadside stalls. I also went to the zoo, which had some interesting animals to see, such as an orang utan (see photo), but the animals didn’t seems to be particularly well looked after. I visited the Intramuros, which is the historic walled part of the city, built by the Spanish during their occupation. This was a good way to spend a day and you can walk round the paths and explore the remains of various historic architecture, visit the cathedral, and the huge Rizal Park is nearby which is also worth seeing.
So there are things to do in Manila, I spent a fair bit of time walking round shopping malls and generally loitering around the city centre watching busy city moving around me and at one point got caught up in the middle of a huge protest (see photo). However the best part about Manila is that you can access the rest of the Philippines from it.
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Annalissa
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Be Prepared in Manila
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
I suggest that if you want to go or visit Manila, you take something to wipe your sweat and cover your nose. The heat and humidity will really make you crazy as what i feel in my daily life here. Humidity reaches as far as 98 degrees and heat up to 44 degrees. When I travel around and not take the taxi or hitch with a friend's car, I suffer the smoke that jeepneys and old buses offer for free to everyone. Just be prepared when you go here. Good luck and enjoy your visit.
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Annalissa
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EDSA Traffic
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
I live in this city for much years and one thing I dont like so much, the congested traffic in EDSA everyday. Evry morning when I go to work I really have to suffer for this and everytime I go back home.
My advice to all those who go around Manila, try not to pass on the lengthy EDSA for it is full of vehicles especially during peak hours of 7-9 in the moring and 5:30 to 9 in the evening.
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redrogue
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Have a Bumpy Jeepney Ride!
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
It is true that everyone wants to take a safer way home or to any other destination. The same is true in the Philippines especially if you are new to the place. Taxis are not always the safest to take. Rail transportation are the best and the fastest but don't miss the jeepneys of the city. It is not as dangerous as it looks. I promise! If you happen to visit Manila or any part of the Philippines, grab the chance that you have and hop on a jeepney, the symbol of Philippine transportation system even though it is really weird for you. It is thrilling to do so and you will have a feeling how Filipinos feel when inside these jeepneys. Indeed you would feel that everyone inside are looking at you or are curious of each other or sometimes you find your fellow passengers chatting non-stop if with a friend or simply pretending to be cool with their mp3s' earphones stuffed in their ears. You would also feel bumpy, hot and sweating and probably too crowded in and packed like sardines but this is the best way to take a peek at the culture of Filipinos. It's truly Pinoy. Have a great trip!
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redrogue
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I. Checking for What?
1 of 2 people found this review helpful
Philippine Airports (NAIA) Security, Only A Show?
Upon entrance to the airport, there are security checks. At a one meter distance, there is the liuggage scanner/x-ray (or whatever they call it) check. After checking -in at the booth and proceeding to buy this airport terminal fee, there is a security guard check. After clearing with the customs/immigration officers, there is a scanning device and even belts and shoes are required to be taken off. When entering at the departure waiting area, there is a check. At the departure waiting area, the personnel of Emirates opened our hand-carried luggae. We have these all! No less, no more.
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redrogue
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VI. The Feeling
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
The experience of taking the kalesa was really thrilling and it was wonderful to feel and do something like the people in the country before, especially during Spanish times, and to have experienced riding their kind of transporation. It was a necessity back then but now, it is a luxury to have this kind of ride because the fee for normal jeepney ride is Php 8 and the ride for the kalesa is Php 50 minimum. For us, however in the tour, we have paid Php 400 per coachman because of the long tour. It was worth the experience though. Try to visit and Binondo area when you happen to visit Manila. Mabuhay.
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redrogue
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V. By the Coachman
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
As I was aboard the coach with another lady from the tour, I was holding a conversation with the coachman of our kalesa. It was a great feeling to be told first hand about the area. Generally, coachmen are gentle and sometimes offer their passengers to see how they raise the horse in the city and how they miaintain the animal at their backyard (if they have any in the slums). They are only, however, taking care of the horse as a source of livelihood. It is owned by someone else who is more better off in life and rent out the horses to coachmen in the area. The coachmen maintain the horse and pay the rentals to its owner at the same time.
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redrogue
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III. Touring Around the Chinatown of Manila
1 of 2 people found this review helpful
Starting from the little fountain of the little plaza right across the Binondo church, we treaded through the famous Chinese streets named after some famous Chinese in the Philippine history. The Ongpin Street. Old Chinese houses and establishments are in the place to see on how they survive until now from a long time of existence. Of course, not to be missed is the current slums in the area with little children around shouting to us as we pass by telling that the horses smell bad because of their excretes.
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redrogue
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I. Binondo Manila
1 of 2 people found this review helpful
When I was in a group tour led by Mr. Carlos Celdran in Manila's Chinatown, he told us that one of his clients from China have considered the place as ""more Chinese than China". But to me, I can say that the place looks more of a hispanized area. But maybe it is the impression I got after I have seen the old Binondo Catholic chruch and have seen many horse- drawn coaches around which is for me, a Spanish thing in the Philippines centuries ago. But at least we may consider the place as a good blending of Spanish and Chinese cultures.
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Marc888
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The Citadel, Manila, Philippines
I find that the Philippines, and in particular Manila, is a strange place when it comes to hotels. Whilst the relatively weak peso should enable you to get a good deal, The Philippines is one of those countries which utilizes a dual currency system, at least as far as tourists are concerned. To that end, most hotel rooms are priced in US$, even though this is definitely not the national currency. There is also a very large gap between the rich and the poor in The Philippines, and this is born out also when looking to book a hotel Either there are sumptuous 5* hotels with prices on a par with what you would pay in Paris or London, or there are very low class places which have very cheap rates. Finding a medium priced room is not impossible but needs some perseverance. The Citadel in Makati is a tall tower block of studio apartments and this made for a good choice in solving this quandary. Rooms were moderately priced, but looked very nice. The location was also very good, and I managed to get a high floor which afforded very good views.
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dingclancy
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Surprisingly old Manila
If you’re in Manila, be sure to stay long enough to visit the many historic sites that are loosely scattered across the Metropolis. One of the things that you must see is the famous Intramuros where you have a medieval walled city where wars used to take place during the period of colonization of the country. Another thing that is unique to the Philippines, most especially Manila, are the churches and cathedrals that abound since they were constructed mostly during the occupation of the Spaniards. Once you’ve had your fill of these monuments, then it’s high-time you hit Malate where it houses different bars, restaurants and cafes that is sure to complete your Manila experience.
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