I just got back from Manila on my second International Trip of 2017. It was an awesome and eye-opening experience. It was my first time venturing outside of the relative comfort of Japan or Korea and the Philippines seemed like a logical choice because everyone speaks English, which did help make things a bit easier to navigate the city and culture.
Day 1 - Going to MNL
I opted to fly with Delta as they still fly 747's as I like the charm of the older planes. Most everyone else use 767, 777 or A330's, but there is just something about a 747. This also maybe the last year Delta flies the 747.
Day 1 - Going to MNL
I opted to fly with Delta as they still fly 747's as I like the charm of the older planes. Most everyone else use 767, 777 or A330's, but there is just something about a 747. This also maybe the last year Delta flies the 747.
Day 2 - SM Mega Mall
After a good night's rest, I actually woke up at 7 am and thought that was late! But the Mall's open @ 10 am and even after breakfast in the Hotel, I was killing time drinking coffee in Starbucks then queued for the door of SM Mega Mall. SM is a major brand and they have several large Mall's in Manila with their most famous being the SM Mall of Asia, but that was on the other side of town and I didn't want to deal with traffic just to visit a mall. SM Mega Mall was more than sufficient and is huge compared to what we have in the States with probably 800-1,000 stores packed into a massive building. The stores have a smaller footprint, which explains how they can cram in so many stores and many are major American, European & Asian brands so you can find almost anything here which makes this Mall better than what you could find back home. 
Day 3 - Hotel Room Service
Curious, I wanted to try Room Service and it was reasonable. I ordered some light fare with a Salad and other items. The food is decent and nothing to get excited for. But it's convenient and prices are similar to what you would pay back home.
Day 4, 5, 6 - Work
Nothing much to say as I was busy working. Mostly just chilled at Starbucks to do some people watching and admire the city from my Hotel room.
Day 6 - Sightseeing / Hotel Pool
Work was done and I had two (2) days to myself and did some sight seeing. Downtown Manila is NOT a city suitable for walking and while I did spend several hours traveling several miles on foot, I don't recommend it. Mostly its because the weather is hot & humid and I was sweating profusely. I had to take frequent breaks every hour so in a Coffee Shop or Fast Food joint to cool down and rehydrate. But besides that was the poor condition of the sidewalks and in some cases you have to carefully walk on the side of the road. But because of traffic moving so slowly, you didn't need to worry about getting hit by a car as long as you used common sense. 
The one benefit of sweating so much was a Pina Colada tasted incredible and I also polished off my lunch of Fish and Chips.
Day 7 - SM Mega Mall
For my last day, I just hung out at the mall as the weather was overcast and it started to rain. I hopped around various Coffee Shops and Cafe's and they were all quite good. One in particular, Satchmi had decent Cappucino's (or at least to me). I could see myself loving this Mall as there are about 40-50 Coffee Shops in various areas giving me many options. This is one thing I wished they had back in the States.
Day 8 - Return Home (MNL , NRT)
Flight back was actually easier and there was NO TRAFFIC on the way to NAIA airport in MNL. I had actually 5 hours to do absolutely nothing in MNL. NRT was the layover and probably one of the better places to enjoy.
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