Rachel and I stayed in “Big Bad Manila” a few times over the period we were in the
Philippines. Love it or hate it, Manila is an intense place. A lot of the travelers
we met along the way had a distaste for it. There are a lot of people on the streets,
heavy traffic, pollution, evil taxi drivers, hawkers, beggars, grime, dimly lit places
you wouldn’t want to be alone at night, and a broad spectrum of wealth.
Against my expectations, I was drawn into the place. It’s an assault on the senses.
Just getting from one place to the next was an adventure, and I was willing to brave
hell itself to eat some Taco Bell, which has five (not so) convenient locations in
the many malls spread out through Manila’s interior.
We spent the majority of our time in Makati, the financial and red-light district
of Manila. This area of Manilla is considered to be “safe” and appears to be a fantastic
place to get some “street viagra.” As a side note, our couchsurfing friend Ronnie,
who took us on a great tour, told us that the last few years have been good for Manila
as a whole.
What We Learned
- Patience, calm, breathe, smile .... But never relent to the taxi drivers. Most
of these guys don’t own the taxis they’re driving. They rent them out from an agency
for a 24 hour period, at a fixed price. All the profits are theirs after the rental
fee and gas costs are covered so they usually don’t sleep for the entire time the
car is on loan. If they can short change you, they will. If they can pressure a tip
out of you, they will. They’ll refuse to use their meters and then take you half-way
to your destination, lie about it, and then try to dump you off so they can get other
passengers. All in all, they are an unavoidable nuisance, and if there is any justice
in this life or the next .... They will all burn in hell.
- If you send us a comment asking for it, we can give you a stellar connection for
accomodation in Makati.
- Caution: Be sure of which terminal you are flying out of in Manila. We chose the
wrong one each time and it was a costly (taxi cons) and timely process to correct.
International, domestic, means nothing. Different airlines fly out of different places
regardless of the destination.
- Try to use the subway if possible, however, during rush hour it’s a pushy, crowded
mess.
- The traffic wasn’t as bad as people made it out to be, but it’s definitely not
good.
