We stayed at a place called the Manila Pavilion Hotel, and it was truly the worst hotel ever. I found myself wondering whether I’d ever again in my life end up in a hotel this shabby… Originally I’d planned to stay at the Hyatt, but there was a conference on and it was fully booked. That was the biggest letdown of the whole trip.
The view from the hotel
I think it’s probably somewhere around Makati? But I’m not really sure.
Manila port
For a port city, it didn’t look all that lively.
At a harbourside restaurant where we went for a meal
The view isn’t bad. I’d heard the Philippine economy is in pretty bad shape these days, so maybe that’s why it felt even quieter.
Inside the restaurant
Apparently Filipinos who eat at places like this belong to the quite wealthy class…
Green mango shake
This one was a bit unusual… It has a sourness you just don’t get from ripe mango, and it really whets the appetite. It only cost about 2,000 won, and I kept wanting to buy more.
Meatball spaghetti
This was pretty ordinary. It tasted like a three-minute microwave spaghetti. This place is actually famous for its seafood, but, well, I wasn’t particularly in the mood for seafood, so I was happy with a cheap dish.
Clubhouse sandwich
This was just so-so… Though compared with the clubhouse sandwich at Manila airport, it’s actually really well made. ^_^ On the way back I found there’s really nothing worth eating at Manila airport. Had I known, I’d have bought something beforehand.
Dinner was at a Korean-style yakiniku place. I remember the restaurant being called Korean Village or something like that. It’s run by a Korean, and it tasted more or less like Korea. Prices weren’t cheap by local standards; it seemed to cater mainly to tourists.
Side dishes
I never found out whether they were free refills…
Gopchang (beef intestines)
Hmm… drowned in sauce. This isn’t Korean style, it’s Japanese style… probably closer to the Osaka way…
Galbi
Slightly sweet, tuned to Japanese tastes… It felt kind of fusion-y. We ordered plenty of other dishes too, but none of them looked all that tasty, so I’ll skip them.
City sightseeing
A street scene. Ignoring traffic rules is typical of Southeast Asia, but compared with Vietnam or Indonesia it’s incredibly quiet.
Downtown
The people in the photo aren’t part of our group.
Private bus (a jeepney)
Flashy buses like this were running around.
Japanese-style ramen at Rai Rai Ken
Just as some Koreans always look for Korean food when they go abroad, some Japanese have to eat Japanese food no matter what, so that’s why we went here… I took one bite and went “yuck.” What on earth is this…
Inside Harrison Plaza
It’s a big shopping mall, but inside it feels like a market. On top of that, they frisked us on the way in. I’ve been to a few malls like this, and they all have pretty much the same vibe.
That evening we went to Tanaka, supposedly the most expensive Japanese restaurant in Manila -_-, paid 30,000-40,000 won a head, and ate nothing special at all. I didn’t even feel like taking photos… The worst part was that I don’t get to choose the menu, but what can you do. I don’t have any clout yet… sob sob… Well, I should still be grateful just to get to join a training trip like this.