Arrived in Manila!! It was uncertain until the last minute whether I could take time off from work. Lol 2019/8/17【59】

I took a 6-night, 7-day trip to Manila during the summer vacation.

It was a Philippine Airlines flight departing from Narita at 9:30.

I woke up at 5:30, got ready, and arrived at the airport two hours early. I checked in without any issues and had a ham sandwich from Excelsior for breakfast.

As I was secretly excited about the new journey that was about to begin, three young men, who appeared to be students, sat next to me. We had various conversations, but suddenly they started to disparage solo travel. They said they didn't understand the feelings of those who travel alone, and that it must be absolutely boring, etc., even though I, who was about to embark on a solo journey, was sitting right next to them. I felt a bit upset, but at the same time, I felt pity for them, thinking what lonely people they must be.

The in-flight meal was just average. I should have chosen a fruit meal. I left some rice as I didn't want to feel full before arriving.

We arrived at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila earlier than scheduled, around 13:30 local time.

The arrival lobby of the airport was not very clean, and the clientele looked a bit impoverished. In the heat, I registered for Grab using the airport's Wifi and called a Grab Car.

By the way, I tried to register my credit card with Grab here, but both my Rakuten card and another card were not eligible for registration, which left me a bit puzzled. I had no choice but to register for cash payment. However, face registration was required for cash payment, and it took about 30 minutes to take a selfie for this registration. I don't know if I'm bad at taking selfies or if the authentication accuracy is poor...

Once in the car, I introduced myself and informed the driver of my destination. As I was excited about the new sights of Manila and the encounters awaiting me in the coming week, the driver asked me to prepare some money. At first, I was puzzled, but he explained that it was necessary to pay tolls to avoid heavy traffic on the local roads. We paid about 50 pesos (I believe) at a facility resembling a Japanese toll booth to use the expressway.

It took about 45 minutes to reach the hostel from the airport. I had thought so when we got off the highway, but I felt it again when I got out of the car. "The traffic is terrible."

I stayed at a hostel called "Lub d Makati" located in the Makati area. It was a dormitory with four bunk beds in one room, accommodating up to eight people. The price was a little over 1000 yen per night. I stayed here for six nights.

It's cheap, the facilities are generally clean, the staff are friendly, and the location is decent, so it's quite a recommended hostel.

I got along well with a male staff member of about my age who handled the check-in, and we had a conversation for a while as I gathered information about the area around the hostel. This staff member had been touring Tokyo until the day before, so our conversation was quite lively. His grandmother is Japanese, so he visits Japan occasionally, but he was very passionate about wanting to move to Japan. Lol.

After finishing our conversation, I headed to a shopping mall called Green Mall on his recommendation.

As expected of the capital, there are large buildings.

The sudden appearance of nature is nice too.

Upon arriving at Green Mall, I went to Jollibee, a Filipino fast-food chain. I was told that Jollibee is like soul food for Filipinos and that I should definitely go there. Indeed, I found this restaurant all over Manila during my stay, and no matter the time, every store was always crowded.

I ordered a set menu. It came with fried chicken, spaghetti, and tea. The fried chicken had a slight cheese flavor and was just average. The spaghetti had this red sauce that was sweet and had a strange taste. The tea was heavily sweetened. Overall, it wasn't bad, but I didn't feel like repeating it.

By the way, in the Philippines, both McDonald's and KFC have spaghetti on the menu.

After the meal, I exchanged yen for pesos at a nearby exchange office, and walked leisurely from Greenbelt back to the hostel. It's about a 30-minute walk to the hostel.

While eating ice cream in a park on the way, a cat came right next to me.

After taking a break at the hostel, I headed to a nearby "I'M Onsen Spa". I had a sauna, massage, and bath here to relieve the fatigue from the flight. The male staff who took care of my massage was interested in Japan, and we had a lively conversation about Japanese anime and manga. According to him, Japanese anime is broadcasted on TV in the Philippines, so all Filipinos are anime fans.

It was late on this day, so I bought some unfamiliar snacks at a convenience store and ate them on my way back to the hostel.