I accidentally went to Manila

I never make strict plans. I really mean it, never. They rarely work out and cause stress on top of things. As my older bro says "semper gumby" (always flexible). I love it and it's a great excuse to make the best of something unexpected.

After Malapascua I felt like doing some hiking and have heard the region of northern Luzon is gorgeous. It is full of mountains and steep rice terraces unlike anywhere else in the world. But I didn't make it. My flight was delayed from Cebu to Manila and I didn't arrive in time to make the night bus heading up north. If I tried to go the next night, I didn't think I'd have enough time to appreciate the area- I felt like I was already pushing it. (I had previously booked my flight from Manila to Palawan four days later.)

So I did some research at the airport, found a hostel called Pink Manila and ended up staying in the big city from the 24th to the 27th.

Turns out Pink is actually a pretty big party hostel and there were about 20 people hanging out on the terrace overlooking the city when I got there. I found a bed in the upstairs dorm, ditched my stuff, grabbed a beer and made some friends. You know you've found a party place when you get up the next morning around 9 for some complimentary coffee and toast and the Dutch guy that was making out with the Aussie girl from the night before asks you if you know what he did last night. You don't even know his name. Then you look over and see this...

His buddies are still up drinking from the night before... ha! Anyway, I spent day one reading, chatting with friends from home, blogging, chilling, and meeting some new people passing through Manila. I hardly left the hostel- only in search for food, but sometimes I need that kind of day. I cherish having conversations with people I meet on the road. It's always a humbling and interesting experience to learn someone's lifestyle, background, journey, story, and perspective. It keeps my mind open and my feet on the ground.

There's a suspicious cat at every hostel.

Day 2 was more exciting. I probably walked close to 10 miles, just wandering around the historical "walled" district, parks, China Town, and the boardwalk. I'm not much of big city fan, but wandering is one of my favorite activities. (Traffic in Manila is ungodly horrendous.)

Got totally lost in China Town searching for this one restaurant someone had recommended, only to finally get there and see shark fin delicacies filling the first page of the menu. :( I politely told the waitress (although I don't think she understood) that I couldn't eat there due to my non-support of the extinction of sharks. It didn't take long to find a beautiful vegetarian restaurant (I'm not a vegetarian, however some of the most delicious dishes I have found here are sans-meat) and stuff my face.

Took a stroll along the top of the wall surrounding the historical district. It was a bit anticlimactic but it was something to do.

Found a great museum to explore and learned to write my name original Tagalog, or the Baybayin alphabet, which was used before switching to Latin letters. I also found a Geocache there!! (Muggles, don't ask...)

The trees are marked with environmentally friendly signs about replanting, but the area is scattered with garbage. It's a sad oxymoron, but not uncommon in this country, espically in the big cities.

Rizal Park, named after Jose Rizal, the "National Hero of the Philippines." Rizal was a well educated Filipino nationalist and novelist who played a key role in the Philippine Revolution towards the end of the 1800s against the Spanish rule. He paid for his rebellion with his life and is widely considered one of the greatest heros of the Philippines.

Filipino flags stretch across Rizal Park.

Manila by night. Makati is the downtown area in the picture. We found some seriously seedy bars here, including one called Ringside which featured Little People Boxing. Sorry I don't have a picture...

I switched hostels my third day to one closer to the airport for a less stressful morning departure the following day (and also a change of pace). That evening I visisted the SM Mall of Asia which is the 10th largest shopping mall in world and not even the largest in the Philippines. It was easily the biggest mall I had ever visited.

There was an entire iceskating rink inside.

After seeing the movie American Sniper and stuffing my face at the food court, I walked a kilometer out to the highway and queued up with the locals for a 20 cent jeepney (small bus thing) ride home instead of catching a five dollar taxi.

Overall- I wouldn't go out of my way to spend more time in Manila, but hey, big city life has its pros as well, you just have go find them. :)

Next destination- Palawan