Country Info
- Manila
- Capital
- Philippine Peso (PHP)
- Currency
- 82,841,518
- Population
- PH
- Country Code
Manila Slideshow
Manila
Travel Blogs from Manila, Philippines
Rice Terraces, Caves and Hanging Coffins, Oh My !
... mountains. At one point I saw a sign saying that we were at the highest point of the highway system in the Philippines. The trip was spectacular. The landscape was beautiful, with towns and rice terraces, and planting terraces all blending in together. ...
manila
... and got absolutely ripped off in the process. i then flew to kuala lumpur in malaysia for my 24 hour lay over to manila, phillipenes. because im tryin to be a scrupulous backpacker and save wenever possible i decided to spend the 24 hours or so ...
Manila
... first arrived. There are several busts of other National Heros there, as well as the burial monument for Jose Rizal, the Philippines National Hero. We walked back to the hotel, and had dinner at McDonald's...We had fried chicken, rice, ...
Back in San Antonio Valley
... to climb onto our boat under cover of a massive beach umbrella! Ha Ha. Checked back into the same hostel as last time in Manila and headed straight to the doc to get some pain killers for Lucy for the oncoming flights. Doctor was really nice and there ...
Happy Birthday to me (Jane)
... like 69 might be appropriate. Good thing they have cheap cosmetic surgery at the mall. Unfortunately my birthday followed me to Manila and people wouldn't let me forget. On the morning ride to work I got a call from my brother John ...
Twister
... about tornados. I did not witness the tornado since I was attending Mark's MBA graduation at the very elegant and historic Manila Hotel. I was probably stuffing my face with merienda snacks at the time. The only tornado I witnessed was the ...
Law and Order??? (Jane)
My commute to work started off with a bang - literally. We came to a stop on the EDSA and a truck 2 cars back did not. The result was a nice dent in the back of our brand new car and a long wait in the rain for assistance to show up. ...
Amassador's cocktail party (Jane)
... of ours and we weren't there to advise her on world affairs. Every year she has a party for all newcomer's to the Philippines in conjunction with the American Women's Club. We never met anyone this high up the food chain before so we made sure ...
Back in Manila (Jane)
... in Manila I turned on my blackberry and the first message I saw was from a friend who told me she was leaving Manila that very day for personal reasons. Another friend gone! We keep meeting people we like and they keep disappearing. ...
Happy New Year!
It was another spectacular New Year's Eve fireworks show in Manila. The celebration began in the early evening and built to a crescendo of sights and sounds by midnight. A haze of smoke still hung over the city the next morning. The ...
Super Bowl Monday (Jane)
... haven't been keeping up with American football this year. American football is just too American for most countries and living in Manila means the timing is all wrong even if you can find it televised. But being the Superbowl we just had ...
Letting Nature Take It's Course
Our first thought on finding the kittens in the air con room was "Akkkk!!!" The second thought was “do we have their mom recuperating in our bathroom?” No momma cat materialized to take care of the kittens which made that possibility ...
Rubbing Elbows - (Jane)
... . Fernando Zobel de Ayala and several family members were there. They are one of the richest families in the Philippines and they ooze of good taste and breeding. Unlike me, they were impeccably dressed. Then we spotted celebrity ...
Corazon Aquino dies
Former President of the Philippines, Corazon Aquino died of cancer early this morning. A 10 day period of mourning has been declared. Her "People Power" movement pushed out dictator, Ferdinand Marcos, 3 years after her husband ...
The SM Experience (Jane)
... We had alerted them before leaving the US that we were moving out of the country and would be using our card in the Philippines. But this alert has an expiration and since we were making big purchases for our condo they flagged us for potential ...
Narita to Manila
A nice daytime flight from Narita to Manila. It was raining pretty hard in Manila and we had to wait 30 minutes for the weather to clear enough for us to get ...
Car delivery and driver interviews (Jane)
... ; But I think we handled it ok. We got a list of potential drivers that other expats had to let go when they left Manila or their circumstances changed. Russ texted four of them to see if they were still looking for work. This took him a ...
I'd like to teach the world to sing
The Philippines is all about song. Everyone sings, every advertisement on television has a catchy tune to it. Every mall, every elevator has music piped in. Believe it or not, even the car parks have loudspeakers pumping out the latest ...
Aftermath of Tropical Storm Ondoy
It's now Wednesday and 4 days after the flooding. We spent most of Monday trying to contact everyobody to make sure they are ok. By the end of Monday many were still not accounted for including some of the people I work with directly. Our ...
A Sunday Drive to the Mall of Asia (Russ and Jane)
... around actually using a u-turn slot in the middle of the road (a special traffic control system unique to the Philippines).Again using some "filipino" driving skills we get turned around in the right direction and finally make it to the ...
Toilet Paper (Jane)
I must belong here now because I got my toilet paper allowance at the office today. The guy came by with a big box and gave me three rolls. Toilet paper is not available in many restrooms unless you are in an upscale mall or restaurant. ...
Ensaymada (Jane)
Just when I was beginning to think I was losing my tastes for desserts, along came ensaymadas. Ensaymadas are the Philippines answer to Krispy Kreme doughnuts only better and you don't have to wait for the hot sign to be lit for them to be at their ...
Computers and Phones (Jane)
... even if I haven't yet won the war. I finally have a new computer at work that is 95% functional. I arrived in Manila with my laptop from the US. I could connect to the office network in Manila but it was excrutiatingly slow. Every ...
B-day in Manila
... found ourselves heading towards the complete opposite scenery - Makati city (a part of Metro Manila), the major financial, commercial and economical hub in the Philippines. Clean streets, elegantly dressed crowd (wearing shoes!), huge, chique, modern ...
Last few days in the Philis
... catch up with Hanne for a few days before moving on - had such a great time and really did not want to leave the Philippines, boo hoo... but had I'd arranged to meet a friend in Indonesia on 26th June, plus I had onward travel booked quite some time ago ...
Hello, I Must Be Going (Jane)
... zone we can crawl back to. A fellow expat told me that the first time he traveled back to the US and spent a few weeks living out of his suitcase, he realized his "home" was now in Manila and he looked forward to getting back here. We'll ...
Condo Rental (Jane)
Temporary housing is ok, especially when it comes with daily maid service. My nails have gotten quite long from lack of dish washing and chores to do. That will come to an end when we move since we don't want a live-in maid. I guess we ...
Civilized Health Care
We're spending way too much time at medical facilities. When we signed up for this gig we envisioned an adventure filled with discovering new cultures and exotic travel. But we seem to be having a lot of adventures involving how the health ...
Jane's Big Hospital Adventure
... you who cares and who doesn't. I came home to a nice flower arrangement and fruit basket from people I work with in Manila. That meant a lot. I also came home to a big doggy bag of middle eastern food some friends put together from the AWCP ...