I recently had the opportunity to return to Manila for work. This was my second trip to the city. You can read my thoughts from my first trip here. I was in town for four full days and had almost two full days to explore. I was surprised but not only were we able to fill the time, but I still have a few items on my list if I am able to return again.
For this trip, I was not staying near the old city, but we still caught a Grab and headed that way on our first free day. I returned to Rizal Park to learn about Rizal and the National Heros of the Philippines. Rizal park is named after Jose Rizal, 1861-1896, the Filipino hero for his early role in independence from Spain. His life also involves a tragic love story in which he was finally allowed to marry his sweetheart just two hours before execution.
During my last trip, I was in Manila on a Monday, and like many cities, a lot of attractions were closed. This trip I was able to visit both the National Musuem of Anthropology and the National Musuem of Fine Arts. Both are outstanding museums and I highly recommend them both! We spent a couple of hours in both. Additionally, both are in spectacular buildings (the old Judicial Building and the old Department of Finance). Both museums are free.
We then ventured into Intramuros, the Old Walled City. I returned to Illustrados for lunch and both the food and the sangria were as good as I remembered.
I also returned to the Manila Hotel to walk around and have a drink. It is a beautiful historic hotel and would be my choice of where to stay in Manila. This was McArthur’s headquarters during WW2.
On our second day we visited the American Cemetery and Balikbayan Handicrafts for shopping. The Cemetery is the largest U.S. Cemetary outside of the United States. This includes Normandy! The scale is overwhelming. The cemetery is right downtown and immaculately cared for. Additionally, the museum is world class and the best historical account of the War in the Pacific that I have ever seen. We were here three hours and only left because our brains and hearts were full. There was still more to read and learn.
Balikbayan Handicrafts is near the cemetery and was a great find for souvenirs and gifts.
I didn’t get to Corregidor island on this trip and would still like to do that. Diving in Cebu and Palawan are still on my list so hopefully I can get to Corregidor when transiting through Manila.
A few overall tips for Manila:
-For the second trip in a row, the price of a jeepney was more than I thought it would be. Prices are PER PERSON PER 30 MINUTES.
-Traffic is horrible. Plan on an hour to get anywhere. During rush hour, it took us almost 2 hours to go 8 km.
-Download Grab (rideshare) before you visit the Philippines (or most of Southeast Asia). Prices are very reasonable and cars are plentiful.
-Finally, while not a destination in itself, I definitely recommend 1-2 days here to see the old city, museums and the cemetery.
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