Manila club, ayala museum, chinatown and other places
Manila is the capital of the Philippines, it’s is a very lively city and a business metropol. It is a large city with a population of more than 15 million people, hard to say exactly as new people move into Manila from the provinces every day looking for work. It is a very interesting city with a mix of many cultures.
Manila has a lot of museums, churches and other interesting sights. You will find most of them in the old spanish part of the city, for instance Fort Santiago and Instramuros. The most important park in the Philippines is also here, called the Rizal Park. Other interesting places to visit is the National Museum of the Philippines, the Chinese and Japanese Gardens and the Butterfly Pavillion.
If you have an interest in Philippine culture you should visit Ayala Museum in Makati Avenue. There they have a very nice exhibition of art and history. If you want to really get to know Philippine culture well you should take a guided tour. Close to this museum you will find greenbelt, with cafes, bars, parks and several shops. Greenbelt is good nightlife spot, and I will write more on that in another article.
If you enjoy classical music or Filipino style ballet performances you could visit the Cultural Center of the Philippines. If you are more the amusement park type of person, check out Star City, it’s an amusement park in the middle of Manila.
You should also check you Chinatown when in Manila, maybe take a walk on the well known Ongpin Street. Here you will see several Chinese style houses, shops, tea houses and small restaurant. The Chinese churchyard here is also a sight, both the graves and the old buildings like the Chong Hoch Tong Temple from 1850.
Like in any large city you have all the necessary services here like banks, post offices and hospitals as well as lots of large shopping malls, restaurants, bars and nightclubs. I’d recomment taking out quite a bit of money in ATMs before leaving Manila, as it can be hard to find ATMs in many of the smaller villages and islands. It’s also best to do your money changing in Manila, as the exchange rate is way better here than any other place in the Philippines. A nice way to spend your last evening in Manila is at the baywalk watching the beautifull subset there.
I’m always interested in hearing of other peoples experiences, so I hope you will take the time to leave a comment.
