13.2.-19.2.2023
Monday was the stopover day between Bohol and Manila for us. We took the ferry to Cebu and checked ourselves in to a hotel relatively close to the docks. It wasn’t close enough to walk, so we had to take a taxi. At the passenger terminal there were many so called taxi drivers, who tried to offer their services to us. When we asked if they drive by the meter, they said no. So we decided to walk out of the terminal area and just flag down a regular taxi. It was so much cheaper than the offers from these other “taxi drivers”.
We had our dinner at the mall next to our hotel. There we ended up in a fast food restaurant called Chowking. The food was very good, and being Chinese, not so unhealthy either. Ronja said that we should have this fast food restaurant chain in Finland too. (That’s a big compliment to a restaurant coming from her.) Later we walked to another mall next to the first one. (Yes, here there seems to be a mall almost in every corner.) There the kids spotted some sort of an open aerobic lesson and decided to join in for a while. Then it was time to go for an evening swim in the rooftop pool and eventually to bed.
The next morning we left the hotel right after breakfast and went to the docks to wait for the ferry to Manila. Once we got there, we were told that the ferry is late and will leave around three o’clock instead of eleven. Oh well, what can you do, but wait. So we waited and waited. If we had had a local number, we would have been informed about this change in the timetable, but since we only had the Finnish number, the info didn’t reach us.
Around two we were transported from Pier 3 to the area where our ship was waiting for the passengers and the cargo. When we got out of the bus, we were told to put our things in one line. After that a police dog checked all the bags. When we got “all clear”, we could embark to the ship.
After the ship left port, we heard a call on the central radio to join in a prayer for a safe journey. Apparently, people here do not rely solely on technology, but also ask for help from above. A similar prayer was also broadcast on the ferry between Tagbilaran and Cebu.
Maligaya isn’t quite like the ferries going between Finland and Sweden. We were able to reserve one of the four state room on the ship and it was cosy enough. Even the toilet seat was heated. There are three meals included in the ticket, so we had our lunch, dinner and breakfast there. If you expect buffet meals similar to the ones on the ferries going to Sweden, you’ll be disappointed. The customers are given two choices to choose from and all you get to drink is water. The food is good, but not really much to choose from.
There wasn’t much to do while on board. Since it was Valentine’s Day, there was some sort of a “date show” at the restaurant, but we didn’t understand much, since it was only in Filipino. The karaoke machine was also in active use, but other than that, nothing. There was a tiny shop where you can buy small snacks and noodles, and prepare them with the water you get from the hot water station downstairs.
For the night Jaana and the kids stayed in the state room, and Marko walked downstairs to his business class single cabin. The pillow and the bedsheet were included, but Marko had to rent his blanket for 50PHP (less than one Euro)
The ferry was supposed to arrive in Manila at 8:00, but we were there at 13:00. When the ship’s doors opened, about twenty porters rushed in, offering to help passengers with their luggage, for a fee, of course. We were also offered their services, but we decided to carry our own bags off the ship.
It didn’t take too long to disembark, but it took a long time to find a taxi. Or technically we could have gotten a taxi right away when we walked out from the ferry (there was a heard of aggressive taxi drivers there to offer their services), but they used only fixed fee, and it was 1500PHP (25€), so we said no thanks and walked out of the gate. There we were ambushed by another group of drivers, whose best offer was 800PHP. Still a way too much. We flagged down a couple of metered taxis, but they saw an opportunity and suddenly the meter was either broken, or “nobody used a meter in Manila”. The best offer from these guys was 700PHP (about 11€).
At this point a couple of local guys from the same ferry came over to us and offered to call us a Grab-taxi, some sort of a version of Über. We waited for a while, but there were no free taxis around. So we used the plan b: We flagged down another taxi, and these guys negotiated the price with the driver. The result was that the driver put the meter on, but we would pay him 100PHP extra. We were happy with this offer, so we thanked the guys and hopped on the taxi.
It took forever to get to Mandaluyong, where our apartment was. The reason for that was that the traffic in Manila is absolutely insane. Cars and motorbikes everywhere and the traffic is just one big traffic jam! We also ended up sitting some extra in the taxi because the driver knew the area, but he had no clue, where the apartment there was. After taking a couple of wrong turns, he stopped to ask for directions and finally we got there. When we arrived, the fee was only 330PHP, so we would have paid way too much if we had taken any of the earlier offers.
The apartment was nice and clean. When registering as a guest, we were asked to show our Covid vaccination cards for the first time. Then we got the keys and got into our apartment on the 21st floor. The view from the balcony, especially in the evening, was great. After a very late lunch or an early dinner, the kids went for a swim in the pool on the 55th floor. Jaana took the laundry to the tower building next door. Since we wanted our laundry to be ready the next day, we had to pay the double price, but 420PHP (7€) isn’t too much for the service where they wash, dry and fold our clothes.
After the sunset Marko walked to the closest mall to get some groceries. There he hit the jackpot! Now we have bread, milk, yoghurt and proper cheese in the fridge. The kids said that it was great to eat yoghurt after a long time.
The housing compound is nice and strictly guarded. The guards monitor even the elevators. Once Jaana was coming from the pool wrapped in a towel, we heard the security guard’s voice in the elevator saying “Madam, next time you need to wear a dress. Now it’s ok, but next time not.” (We’re assuming it means, that Jaana would be fined if caught wearing a towel in the lift the next time.) There are restaurants, cafes, a couple of small grocery stores, a pet shop, barber and even a kindy within this area. Since Manila isn’t famous for its greenery, there is also “a secret garden” between the towers, where you can go out for a walk if you like. So far this seems to be a nicer area to live in than the one where we stayed the night when we arrived to the Philippines for the first time.
While being in Manila we visited only Intramuros, the historic walled area. It’s completely surrounded by fortifications and was at the time of Spanish Empire considered to be the whole city of Manila. This place has grown quite a bit since those days! We travelled on a horse carriage for an hour and stopped to see some sights in Intramuros. We climbed on the thick walls (all together 6km long) and stopped at Fort Santiago, which is one of the most important historical sites in Manila. Several people died in its prisons during the Spanish Empire and World War II. José Rizal, one of the Philippine national heroes, was imprisoned there too.
The last stop was at Plaza de Roma where we visited the Manila Cathedral. After that we walked to the Rizal Park nearby. The park isn’t very green, and you can only walk on the designated footpaths, so we didn’t stay there too long.
We took a taxi from the park to the Mall of Asia, the largest mall in the Philippines. Depending on the source it’s also rated the third largest mall in the world. The place was massive! We only saw a fraction of it. You could do archery, or go ice skating there. We didn’t. We only ate at a pizza and pasta oriented fast food restaurant new to us, Greenwich, and bought buns from Cinnabon as a dessert. The kids also spent an hour in the local indoor playground there.
There are apparently sights to see in Manila, but we didn’t go to see many of them. We just mainly stayed in the apartment, which was fine for everyone. You don’t have to be constantly on the move. Also the traffic here is so bad, that it takes forever to drive even short distances, so it basically takes the whole day to visit one place.
On Sunday we had a flight back to KL from where we will continue to Sydney in few days.