I woke up at about 5 AM on the plane. Surprisingly, I slept well even though the seat did not recline. I looked at the flight map and saw that we still had some time before landing at Ninoy Aquino International Airport, so I tried to go back to sleep. However, for some reason, I couldn’t fall asleep again, so I spent the rest of the flight looking out the window and listening to music.
The plane was flying just above the clouds, and the horizontal sunlight illuminated the top layer of them. It was beautiful. No matter how many times I fly, I never get tired of the view from an airplane. As I looked outside, I reflected on my journey, which had only two weeks left. Along the way, I experienced many things, met a lot of people, and learned from them.
We arrived at about 6:15 AM, right on schedule. The immigration process was the quickest I have ever experienced when entering a new country, although I had needed to fill out the eTravel form before arrival. There were only a few people in the immigration line for foreign passport holders, while there were four or five immigration officers working. A woman who looked to be in her thirties asked me, “How long are you planning to stay?” I replied, “For about two weeks.” She immediately stamped my passport without asking any further questions. I thought, “Is that it?”
I received the final entry stamp of this trip and headed toward the exit.
Whenever I enter a new country in Southeast Asia where I plan to stay for more than two weeks, there are two things I always do first. The first is withdraw cash, and the second is get a physical SIM card. The problem, as usual, is figuring out how to leave the airport and get into the city.
I had asked ChatGPT which bank charged the lowest ATM fees for foreigners, and it recommended HSBC. I searched for the nearest branch, and it became my first destination. I asked a security guard, who didn’t really speak English, how I should get there. He recommended using Grab. However, when I checked the fare from the airport to the bank, it was about $4.
My mind was still in Indonesia, where Grab motorbike rides often cost less than a dollar, so $4 felt expensive. I asked the security guard whether I could use a motorcycle taxi instead, but I couldn’t understand what he was saying. After looking it up myself, I found out that I needed a different app called Move It. I downloaded it, but it seemed to require a Philippine phone number. (Later I found out that I could have registered using my foreign number through WhatsApp.) At that point, I gave up and reluctantly paid $4 for a Grab car.
I thanked the security guard and headed to the pickup point.
Inside the car, an English-language radio station was playing, which gave the ride a very different atmosphere from the other Southeast Asian countries I had visited, except for Singapore. According to the app, the trip would take about 20 minutes, but I had no idea how long it actually felt because I fell asleep. I woke up just before we arrived and got out of the car.
I was dropped off in Makati City, an area full of office buildings and business centers. As I walked around, I saw many people commuting to work. It was only about 7:30 AM, and the bank wouldn’t open until 9 AM, so I went into a random coffee shop and bought a coffee for $2.
I had to adjust my sense of prices all over again. It always takes time to mentally convert the local currency into dollars and figure out whether something is expensive or cheap. One good thing was that the numbers themselves were much smaller than in Indonesia.
At the coffee shop, I couldn’t write my personal journal or update this blog because I was tired from the flight and the lack of sleep—at least, that’s the excuse I gave myself.
Instead, I spent most of my time thinking about what I wanted to do during my two weeks in the Philippines and reading about the country’s history. Japan has a strong historical connection with the Philippines because of World War II, so I wanted to visit some of the historical sites in Manila. Other than that, I couldn’t really find many attractions that interested me.
I decided to spend a few days in Manila training judo and sightseeing before moving on to other cities. Since I didn’t want to fly, and Cebu and El Nido seemed too touristy, I decided not to visit them. Instead, while looking at Google Maps, I found a place that I had saved a long time ago.
I remembered that an Irish guy whom I had shared a sleeper bus bed with on the journey from Pakse to Vientiane in Laos had recommended it. He and his sister had visited the Philippines several times and highly recommended it. The place was Batad Rice Terraces. Since it was on the same island and accessible by bus, I thought, “Maybe I’m meant to go there.”
For about an hour, I planned how I would spend the rest of my trip.
Accommodation and food are always important while traveling. According to ChatGPT, both were more expensive in the Philippines than in Indonesia. I searched for hostels and found that very few cost less than $6. In my mind, anything under $6 in Southeast Asia is cheap enough for me to book without hesitation. However, after the overnight flight, I wanted a good night’s sleep, so I booked Ola Hostel Manila for $9.
As the coffee shop became crowded with office workers, I left and walked to the nearby HSBC branch to withdraw cash. As soon as I entered, I noticed several security guards carrying guns, which made me a little nervous. The staff told me to use the ATMs.
I withdrew 13,000 PHP (about $210) for my two-week stay. The first task was complete.
The second task was getting a SIM card. Luckily, one of the major carriers, Globe, had a store nearby inside a shopping mall. When I arrived, several people were already waiting outside before it opened.
At 10 AM, the store opened, and we checked in. Not long afterward, I was assigned to one of the service booths. A young staff member politely helped me install the SIM card. I bought a plan that cost 400 PHP (about $6.50) for 48 GB valid for 15 days.
I was glad I had arrived early because many more people entered the store while I was there. The second task was complete.
After leaving the mall, I walked about 50 minutes to my hostel because my goal in Manila was to spend as little money as possible. I wanted to save most of my budget for the other cities I planned to visit.
There were a couple of guys chatting near the entrance of the building. I gave them my name, and they led me to the reception desk on the second floor. I filled out a registration form and paid a 500 PHP (about $8) deposit.
I couldn’t check in yet because check-in started at 2 PM, so I sat in the lounge next to the reception. I noticed a guy with long, curly hair relaxing on the sofa while I continued planning my trip on my laptop.
He walked past me and left the hostel, but came back about ten minutes later. I couldn’t help but start a conversation because I was surprised by how tall he was.
He was from Canada and had been staying in Manila for a week. He told me he was leaving for Cebu that day. When I commented, “You’re really tall,” he laughed and replied, “Yeah, but you know, there are pros and cons to that.”
I could imagine how inconvenient it must be while traveling, especially with the small hostel beds and cramped bus seats. Before I started budget traveling, I used to wish I were taller because I thought girls preferred tall guys. But now, I actually appreciate being short.
He had a hangover from the previous night, so he went out to get some food. Since I was also planning to have lunch, I asked him for a recommendation. He suggested his favorite open-air restaurant, Jim’s Pares & Mami.
After finally checking in and leaving my large backpack on my bed, I headed there. The dorm room had eight beds, and all of the bottom bunks were already occupied, so I took one of the top bunks.
I used Move It to get to the restaurant for less than a dollar.
There was only one serving of pares with beef marrow left, which the staff recommended, but it looked like it had been sitting there for a while. Instead, I ordered pares with small pieces of beef, rice, and a boiled egg.
It cost 150 PHP (about $2.40), which felt expensive for the portion.
I already missed Indonesia.
I ate it standing at a high table. The taste was great, but I wished the portion had been larger.
After that, I walked around the area. I found it to be the most chaotic area I had seen so far. There were many modern-looking Japanese, Korean, and Chinese restaurants, a few vendors selling coconut juice for 20 PHP (30 cents), which tasted amazing, nightclubs, adult entertainment venues, and a shopping mall. Most of the buildings looked very old, and the roads were poorly organized. There were also a few elderly people and children asking for money. Jeepneys and other vehicles clanked loudly as they passed by.
I noticed an even clearer economic disparity when I walked through the mall, where people were wearing nice clothes and shopping. I relaxed at one of the coffee shops inside the mall, but my first impression of the Philippines was not very good. I couldn’t use the Wi-Fi because the staff told me I had to buy some kind of loyalty card first.
I left the mall and had dinner at another local open-air restaurant where several young staff members, who looked to be in their late teens or early twenties, were working. I ordered beef pares, rice, a boiled egg, and water. Since the skewers another group was eating looked delicious, I also ordered two pork neck skewers. The total came to 160 PHP ($2.60).
Since the restaurant was just across the street from Jim’s Pares & Mami, where I had eaten lunch, I took a look while I was waiting for a Move It motorcycle. The restaurant was busy with customers. One of them looked familiar. I realized it was the tall Canadian guy I had met at the hostel. I walked over and said hi. He wasn’t very surprised to see me and simply said, “What’s up?” We exchanged a few sentences before I got on the motorcycle that had just arrived. As I left, I waved goodbye to him. He must really like that restaurant.
After getting back to the hostel, I went to the bar on the fifth floor to use the free drink voucher I had received at check-in. There were only a few people there. There were only three drink options, so I chose a vodka Sprite. It was the first time in my life that I had ever drunk alcohol by myself. I took a few sips and left the bar.
What is so enjoyable about drinking alone?
When I returned to the room, there was a guy wearing nothing but his underwear while playing music on his phone. He had hair all over his body, looked to be in his forties, and was packing a large suitcase. It was hard not to start a conversation, so I asked him where he was from.
It turned out that his name was Yaron. He was 42 years old, from Israel, and had been staying in Manila for two weeks. He travels around Southeast Asia as a digital nomad. He doesn’t have a home—just his large suitcase.
The way he spoke was a bit aggressive, and he complained about random things, but somehow I enjoyed listening to him. I told him that being a digital nomad seemed cool because he could travel around the world while working. He replied that it wasn’t as good as people imagined.
Since he said he was leaving for Cebu that night, I mentioned the tall Canadian guy who was also heading there. Yaron immediately recognized him as “the crazy guy.” He explained that the Canadian had forgotten his room key and had tried to smash the door handle in the middle of the night. Everyone woke up, and they started arguing. Yaron even claimed that the Canadian had hit him, although I’m not sure whether that was true because the Canadian had seemed very friendly to me.
I joked, “I hope you won’t end up staying at the same hostel in Cebu.”
He replied, “No way… but it’s possible because there aren’t that many hostels in Cebu.”
He seemed genuinely upset whenever he talked about the Canadian. He added, “You know, when you stay at cheap hostels, you meet crazy people. He’s one of them.”
Fortunately, I haven’t met many crazy travelers so far. But honestly, I think it would make for a memorable story when I look back on this trip.
After taking a shower in the bathroom inside the dorm room, Yaron was still packing and said, “I hate packing.”
I settled into my bed and heard loud sirens outside. Yaron told me that it happened every day. Later, however, one of the hostel staff told me that wasn’t true. I think Yaron tended to exaggerate things.
Still, he was interesting to talk to.
When he was finally ready to leave, he said goodbye, and I replied, “Have a good trip.”
He walked out of the room with his mobile home—a large suitcase.
As I watched him leave, I hoped that he and the Canadian guy wouldn’t run into each other again. At the same time, though, part of me wanted it to happen just so I could imagine the chaos that would follow.
Since I was exhausted and desperate for sleep, I went to bed at 9 PM.
The view of the street where I was walking around
