I was told not to go to Manila. When I was making my summer plans, my co-worker informed me that Manila was "grotty", but that was just hearsay and besides, he's scottish, so everything he says sounds snobby. I thought to myself, "Am I the type of girl who follows the herd? Or do I blaze my own trail, make my own opinions, and discover the world?"
I have been called stubborn, hard-headed, a knuckle-head, and almost any other word that can be used to mean someone who refuses to listen to another's opinion. I have, time and again, learned things the hard way because I am hard-wired for independent verification. So I booked a 4-day stay in Manila to "discover" the hidden gems of a city that was so soundly denounced by all, and I have to say:
It was a dump.
I don't say that lightly. I love cities of all stripes, but my first impression of Manila was that it reminded me a post-rapture, post-apocalypse city you might see in a sci-fi movie: The airport is still functioning, but there may be flesh-eating zombies on the loose.
As I cruised down the 6 lane highway full of Jeeps, overcrowded with dust-covered workmen, motorcycles zooming head first towards fiery death, and drivers diving into every square centimeter of smoggy air, I alternatively watched my cabbie to make he didn't smirk TOO much as he drove me around in rather obvious circles, and looked around.
Manila 2011 looks a lot light Detroit, actually. If Detroit were hit by a grim bomb, and about 70% of its hope for life was sucked away. The structure of the city high looked a lot like the lodge, careening through the city and passed billboards advertising relief from backne and hot chicken sandwiches. Everything was in English - a surprise after being so long in Korea. And - shocker of shocker - I saw Halle Barry's beautiful face smiling at me from an ad, tempting me to purchase Revlon lipstick.
I arrived at my hostel one suspiciously expensive cab right later. I am shaking my head even now, as I think of that place. Strawberry Hometel was definitely a FAIL on my part. I should have been tipped off by the name "hometel", that things were not what they should have been.
I thought there were just being cute.
It turns out, the hometel was too quiet, too far away from the main drag, and had a horrifying bathroom.
But more on that, later.
Just to wrap up - when I arrived in Manila it was pouring rain, and I was alone. I stayed in Quezon City, an area with a lot of students. I sampled several restaurants. Most were chain-y, and a bit of a disappointment. If I wasn't so hard up for food flavored with something other that soy sauce and red pepper paste, it would have been a real drag. I did find a cute cake shop, and I camped out there every morning to make my plans for the day. I was able to get around on my own, but with difficulty - public transport is inconvenient, and I got hassled a lot my tricylce drivers.
The city does not really present itself as a tourist city. There is not much to see, and not much that's exceptional. For that reason, I would not recommend it. Most cities are, in some ways, unique. They have a feeling, a vibe, a flavor. Manila didn't have that - not really. There was nothing there that you couldn't get somewhere else, and get it better. At least, this was the impression I had while I was alone.
The people, though. Oh lord, I would move to Manila for them. After being in Korea, I was incredibilty sensitive to small courtesies like:
1) People look at you and smile.
2) Babies don't cry when they see you.
3) Filipinos speak English. Understandable, wonderful English.
4) People are friendly, and use friendly vocabulary words like: "are you single?" as opposed to "is your boyfriend a negro?"
You know, it's the little things.
So despite the lackluster surroundings, I was enjoying discovering pockets of Quezon City. And then my trip got even better - I made a friend!
