Manila / Philippines advice.

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fixbones

.......sometimes i thinks
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Hey ppl,

Will be in Philippines for 2 weeks sometime late November, early December.
Manila for a week as I am attending a conference and then..... not sure.

Was thinking of going up north and pay the rice terraces a visit but have to say the travelling time and arrangements put me off a little.

Are there much to do if I just hang around Manila for another week and do small little day trips i.e. Mt Pinatubo, Taal lake etc?

Advice much appreciated :)
 
Hi, I'm from Philippines. Where are you staying? Going to the North may be a bit of a hassle as it's quite far and you may need a guide when you're there. How much free days do you have? Mt. Pinatubo will be good, Taal lake as well but on the Talisay side. Btw, are you Australian?
 
What are you looking for?

What are you looking for?

Can you post some info about what you're looking for? I was there about 4 years ago and was in Manila, Bataan, Taal, Caliraya, and a few other places in the course of a few weeks.

The Philippines are awesome, but there is so much to see and do it would really be helpful to know more about you and what you're in to.

For instance, I'm into people, documentary photojournalism is my passion. So, I would be looking for all the places that are not on the tourist map, where I could find real and meaningful interactions with people in their natural environment.

Others might not be so adventurous or looking for a more relaxing tour.
 
I like soaking in the environment, smell and street..... just generally trying to blend in.
Otherwise.... i have a soft spot for nature.... more hills, lakes, forest. Less so beach, snorkel and scuba.

Gilpen, yes... I am from Australia. Tentatively arriving 29th November. Conference from 30 Nov to 3 dec. Leaving either 9 or 10 of December. So I should have about 4 to 5 free days.

Not sure yet where I will be staying but the conference will be held at Crowne plaza Manila
 
You need to go to Chinatown in Manila preferably with a companion, also the baywalk is a nice place to go, famous Manila Bay sunset and people living around the breakwater. There are many photo oopportunities there. You may want to go to Corregidor, there's a boat living in the morning and return in the afternoon or the following day depends on which tour you prefer. Corregidor is an island about 1+ hour from Manila. It was the last bastion of American and Philippine soldiers during Japanese occupation. This is all about war relics and the place is scenic and picturesque. I suggest to spend overnight and explore the island in the afternoon and early morning. You may have time to visit Tagaytay, also 1+ hour from Manila. Flowers, nature, etc. If you have time maybe we can meet up for some beer after office.
 
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Gilpen, Thank you very much for your suggestions.
Why do I need a companion for Chinatown? I am chinese by the way.

Will definitely look into corregidor and tagaytay.

It'll be cool to meet up.... never met a fellow RFfer before.
 
fixbones said:
Gilpen, Thank you very much for your suggestions.
Why do I need a companion for Chinatown? I am chinese by the way.
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To watch your back!

It's not it's dangerous but it's an older part of the city, quite dirty and a lot of pickpockets. A guy on his own would be a prime target, especially somebody who doesn't know the area.

Another good place to go would be Baguio, 5,000 plus foot altitude. It will be quite cool up there but the central market is amazing!

About 350 mms north of Manila and I think its about 6 hours in the bus.

Tagatay is well worth the visit, plus the boat ride over to Taal volcano. If you do that I recommend you hire a horse as it's quite a trek to the top and very hot and dusty to walk it. The horse's are more like pony's but they took my 100kg plus weight :)
 
mgd711 said:
To watch your back!

It's not it's dangerous but it's an older part of the city, quite dirty and a lot of pickpockets. A guy on his own would be a prime target, especially somebody who doesn't know the area.
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Thanks for the heads up.
Considered Baguio but kinda far.... would be nice to see the rice terraces up north too
 
fixbones said:
Thanks for the heads up.
Considered Baguio but kinda far.... would be nice to see the rice terraces up north too
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if you take a Victory Liner (only victory liner will get you there that fast) bus, it would only be a few hours travel between Manila and Baguio, especially if you travel in the early morning) thats not too bad really, when you consider all that Baguio offers. not really the best time of year to take in Baguio I suppose but its still well worth seeing. Im not from the philippines but Baguio is a second home to me and I love it dearly. beautiful city and wonderful weather. great atmosphere and extremely friendly folks. I have many friends and a few people I consider family there. one of my favorite places on Luzon. I can understand due to time constrains that you don’t want to spend too much time traveling so I wouldn’t mention anywhere farther up north like Vigan (beautiful city by the way) but I think you would be doing yourself a disservice by counting Baguio out. as for manila though I can’t help you much as I try to avoid spending too much time in manila. too busy, noisy and crowded for me. Fort Bonifacio District (‘global city’) in Taguig City is really nice though. great shopping and eating. a little cleaner and less crowded than most places in manila.
 
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Séamuis,

I live in Fort Bonifacio (and in Northern Bulacan) I'd not consider Fort Bonifacio a great place, unless you like hanging out with with brash expats who want to show off what they are worth... I like living there but never hang out on Fort Boni high street!

Great bar's and club's in Makati and Oritagas (Boardwalk area), lot's of fine restaurants in these area's and sensible but fun bar's... there is always the dirty underside of the city, but if that's your scene better going to Angeles City!
 
mgd711 said:
Séamuis,

I live in Fort Bonifacio (and in Northern Bulacan) I'd not consider Fort Bonifacio a great place, unless you like hanging out with with brash expats who want to show off what they are worth... I like living there but never hang out on Fort Boni high street!

Great bar's and club's in Makati and Oritagas (Boardwalk area), lot's of fine restaurants in these area's and sensible but fun bar's... there is always the dirty underside of the city, but if that's your scene better going to Angeles City!
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I dont recall seeing too many expats there, but then again, like I said I don’t spend much time in Manila. I have a few very close friends that have a second home there, so much of my time in manila is spent in that area. though I admit that its not exactly ‘Manila’ as one might imagine it. I won’t argue against Makati, as it has a very shall I say ‘rich’ social scene. a very busy and quite progressive part of Manila. but I can imagine you’d know far more than I as you live there. most of my time is spent in Baguio.
 
Pilipinas

Pilipinas

also from the PH.

A visit to chinatown would be great. You can also pass by Intramuros on the way to Manila Bay if you want to see old spanish colonial buildings. The Manila Bay sunset is breath taking at this time of year granted there won't be rainshowers during your visit. The weather has been erratic the past few weeks.

Or as others have suggested, you can go outside Manila and visit taal lake in tagaytay, batangas. Corregidor in bataan. Lots of places to visit really...

Baguio is a bit farther up north and would take up considerable time. Might as well visit the rice terraces too.
 
Great advice so far guys.
Have to say the one thing that i'd really like to see is the rice terraces... so I am not counting the North out yet! Baquio, batad, sagada sounds very much like my kind of place.
Still need to do some research.
 
fixbones said:
Great advice so far guys.
Have to say the one thing that i'd really like to see is the rice terraces... so I am not counting the North out yet! Baquio, batad, sagada sounds very much like my kind of place.
Still need to do some research.
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in that case this might help,

http://www.lakwatsero.com/destinations/sagada/

it's a backpacker budget guide. 3-4 days would be enough. From baguio you can actually choose if you want to go to sagada, batad, or even mt. pulag (which is also a popular destination, do check it out)
 
if you really want rice terraces in the north, leave Manila after midnight you'll be there mid day then go down to Baguio 4-5 days may be a bit short. Sagada is good maybe Pagudpod as well. Drop me a PM if you're here.
 
sagada is beautiful, you wouldn't be disappointed there I can assure you. rice terraces, the underground river, etc. hotels usually run between 200 and 250 pisos per night, so very cheap. what I love about Sagada is the strong pre-spanish tribal culture that still exists there. but english is still spoken very well. absolutely beautiful, and a stark contrast to the heavily spanish influenced areas of the country.
 
If you you only have 4-5 days, a road trip up north to multiple cities (i.e. to Rice Terraces, Vigan, Sagada, Baguio City, etc.) might be a bit too long. You could probably do a rushed Sagada/Rice Terraces and Baguio City trip or just spend your 4-5 days doing short day trips (i.e. one day in Tagaytay, another day seeing Chinatown, Intramuros, etc.). Or another option is to do just Baguio City for 1-2 nights then spend the rest of the time day trips around Manila. You must be confused by now.

CC
 
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