Hi guys!
I've been pretty quiet on here recently as I've been planning and experiencing my Chinese New Year in Manila. I thought I'd share some of the highlights of the trip for anyone thinking about travelling to Manila in the future!
We arrived late on Thursday evening, and so went out for a quick bite in an open air street market style food and drinks venue called The Social near our hotel. We stayed in Makati, the trendy business district of Manila, which has a lively bar and hipster restaurant scene that was especially lively considering it was CNY!
The next morning we caught an uber and headed straight for the famous Fort Santiago in the Intramuros Spanish Colonial district of Manila.
Apart from providing a nice walk and a view of the river, the fort contains many piece of contemporary art, as well as a museum dedicated to the Filipino national hero Jose Rizal, as he was incarcerated at the fort before his execution.
After lunch we headed to the cathedral, accidentally gatecrashing someone's wedding, though the didn't seem to mind too much!
Finally, for dinner, we headed to a typical hipster spot serving traditional Filipino cuisine not far from our hotel. We definitely recommend the food (and drinks deals) at Lobo!
I enjoyed reading your post about your day in my city. Hope you post stories about your day 2 and 3. I usually hang out in Makati after work as I live nearby and there are a lot of amazing restaurants that you can try.
Maybe you can also go to our islands on your next visit. The beaches in the Philippines arebreathtaking :)
Thanks for reading! Actually we've been to the Philippines before and we went to many of the islands (Palawan, Bohol, Boracay) and we loved it, which is why we came back for a city break! It's one of our favourite places :)
We really like Makati. Let me know of you have any restaurant recommendations, tonight is our last night and we're looking for somewhere to go!
Cool! Glad to know you enjoy coming back to the Philippines :)
If you are up for beer and ribs tonight, you can try Holy Smokes, or for Indian food, try Royal Indian Curry House. Enjoy your last night in Manila! :)
I'm glad you were able to accomplish a lot in a day. And you even attended a wedding haha. They should have invited you to their dinner reception. :)
Looks like authentic fare being served here. Anything to drink?
Great photos! The cathedral looks so stately; definitely a Spanish influence... Enjoy your trip!
We had the drinks to the side as we had a bucket and it wouldn't fit on the table! Food and drinks are so affordable you can get almost anything you can think of for a really good price