Monday, August 31, 2015

Greetings From Manila

Today is my 4th Day of 7 days in Manila and am enjoying every minute here. I am staying in an expensive & horrible hotel in the upscale Makati which faces the most happening Greenbelt Hubs. It is not by choice that my wife has to stay in this dated hotel for 2 weeks as other better hotels of this exact location is all fully booked. She has to share daily transport of the host together with other delegates who are attending her training somewhere in Makati.

I am glad to bring along the latest & smallest Lumix DSLR camera to snap photos and to experiment its functions. It was my little present for my wife's birthday last year and never had the chance to play with her toy till now.





1. I took a 4 hour flight from KL to Manila and barely had 3 hours sleep 
before my taxi showed up at 4.30am!!





2. I always have to spend so much extra to book the premium Hot Seats 
on Air Asia. Having long legs is always costly. The plane was full 
but my row had only 2 passengers as most people avoid the emergency doors! 
How silly! I had a good time to Buy 1 Get 3 Free!






3. I pre-booked my breakfast and ate this Satay Wrap.
It was nice and tasty.






4. Look at the funny ads above. It reminds me of 
Heels Over Heads!





5. I am very impressed with the whole area of the shopping city
in Makati where they have the interesting Greenbelt 1 to 5.
I will blog later on the shops & fabulous concept there.






6. I had a nice Shabu-Shabu dinner with my wife tonight.
Tomorrow she will have another last 2 days of working
hell here. So have to pamper her with energy & happy food.






7. The way the Pinoys eat Shabu-Shabu is slightly different here.
You have to order your own sauces and soup at separate charges.






8. Life is really short and let's jump & be happy always!
We hired a tour guide driver today and saw many interesting
eye openers which will appear in my coming blogs.
I was quite shocked here to see the big contrasts of the wealthy people
living in the upscale of Makati and the poorest in the slums of the
Smokey Mountains area.

Interesting Places Visited In Manila
(1) Wealthy Chinese Cemetery
(2) Greenbelt Shopping City
(3) American Soldiers Cemetery & Memorial
(4) Ayala Boulevard
(5) Fort Santiago
(6) Bay Of Manila
(7) Mall Of Asia
(8) Jose Rizal National Monument
(9) Manila Cathedral
(10) Smokey Mountains

& many more to come!



62 comments:

  1. Very concise and to-the-point update. I like how you have so many apt photos to show us the events throughout the whole day. Your last photo will give SK a run for his money.The divide between the rich and the poor is getting wider everywhere.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for your compliments. I am always trying to follow you guys and not be slow in updating my blog.
      I brought the right camera to snap otherwise I could not jump.

      Delete
  2. Mabuhay Anay!!! wow, you are blogging from Makati Manila, fresh from the oven dei.. so not your style huh?? you usually will only blog about your trips after you have gone home, most probably you have too much free time over there especially when your wife ditches you in the hotel while she goes to work..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am changing and want to be a different blogger. Thambee had shown Anay that we can blog from overseas and the pies would smell better.

      Delete
  3. #1.. you could get a 3 hour sleep on board!! i can hardly sleep unless i am really tired..

    #2.. how nice you have got no other passengers sitting next to you, spread your legs for extra room!! no wonder you could get some sleep dei.. BTW, did you snore very loudly that the air-stewardess gotta wake you up, feed you cheesy mutton curry with extra paneer and aloo ghobi so that you are kept awake and not snore to sleep again..

    #3.. pre-booked meals!! Thambee never do that, but instead he will pre-buy food from supermarket and smuggle onboard, hehehehe!! :D

    #4.. wah, now they are earning more by renting advertising spaces onboard!! clever Tony!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Eh....You did speed reading ka? I barely had my sleep at home before the taxi came. I could not even sleep over 10 mins every time I dozed off as the seat was 90 degrees upright like hell. Yeah I snored like a wild boar until the pilot took his hunting gun out.
      I always enjoyed eating onboard after suffering in the past when others are while I had none.
      They are smart and desperate to place the space for ads. So ugly la.

      Delete
  4. #5.. Anay loves the Greenbelt so much that he cannot resist himself from sticking onto the glass door!!! OMG, that man on his right must be so irritated that he quickly left the place~~

    #6.. Thambee is very sure Letchumy is very happy to have Anay spending a week there with her!!!

    #7.. oh, need to pay extra for soup and sauces?? great!!! this would make all Malaysians appreciate and not waste a single drop of sauce that we are so spoilt to be given bottomless and FOC at all eateries..

    #8..OMG, Anay jumped so high and Thambee is so worried for Anay!! his expression on the face is telling Thambee that he either sprained his waist or hip, and he is yelling for help!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You CB mouthed. I would still be jumping on my 80th birthday. Just wait yeah....
      I agree that the paid sauce would teach our folks to be thrifty! The food is nice here.
      When you visit Manila you will stick to the doors too at GreenBelt.

      Delete
  5. wah.. so happy Anay went to many interesting places in Manila.. 10 places to blog about in your coming travelogue?? looking forward to them, probably Anay will just write about 4 posts to complete them?? 4 posts for a trip, unlike Long Winded Granny, 4 posts per place and take 4 years to finish writing~~ :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I actually had a shock recently to see my Taipei trip in just one post!!!!! I need to take a course from FoongPC.

      Delete
  6. wow... I am sure you had a great time in Manila as you got no time to fight for FC in thambee last post which I also lost it...muahahahha...
    I am also thinking of booking tickets to Philippines during year end. Yes, the trip is damn long ... 4 hours but lucky you ... got empty seats for your legs.

    OK la... enjoy yourself and don't copy thambee signature post la... hehehe

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are a Christian and would love Manila for sure. It has a very different environment for a quick holiday. The shopping is plenty.

      Delete
  7. Hello TM! I like your last photo, you looked so funny and happy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you. I am so thick skinned and still jump at my age. I would still jump when I reach 80.

      Delete
  8. #2 - There was once I took budget airline I think Tiger Airways, the seats besides me also empty, so shiok I have the whole row to myself

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Next time I will book to sit next to emergency doors. Silly people avoid these doors not knowing that I could jump out faster than them.

      Delete
  9. #3 - Satay wrap sounds delicious! Yum!

    ReplyDelete
  10. #5 - LOL you just bang yourself into the glass door!

    ReplyDelete
  11. #6 - Your wife must be very happy to see you

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes she was happy indeed as her mood could sink to the floor for being alone for 2 weeks unlike her U.S. trip where many colleagues went along.

      Delete
  12. My sis just went to Philippines too but to Boracay Island

    ReplyDelete
  13. Ahh, nice, just 2 persons in that row.. Less crowded, and more space.. Can do whatever you like huh.. Satay wrap looks good, but I still prefer simple sandwiches or fried mihun, hehe, ol' fashion me.. Scared eat halfway lausai or tummy upset, then not syiok liao.. So I prefer simple airline food.. Your last picture looks very carefree, happy, I also wana make this post next time, you wait me ahh..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We seem to have common liking for mihun and sandwiches but the satay wrap caught my eyes to try. I always worry of tummy aches on the plane so I have to eat lesser before flying.
      You should start jumping after your baby has arrived. We are waiting to see your photos ok. For goodness sake please update your blog!!!

      Delete
  14. Good morning TM... Hot weather today, and it's Nomination Day in Singapore today...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Who won??
      Weather here is fabulous. The sun only gets hottest after lunch.

      Delete
  15. The last picture, hope to see TM and SK pose together the pose, kakaka...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We will wait for you to snap us together like jumping elephants. Wakakaka

      Delete
  16. wow, nice jump..happy holidays! hv fun and be happy!

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  17. Looking forward to your posts! Enjoy your trip

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for your kind wishes. More posts coming up.

      Delete
  18. so fast 4 days ah? mak oi.......syok la....can rilek rilek there

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. camera give letchumi but terbalik you playing with it ah? LOL. What brand d oh...the photos looks good

      Delete
    2. So much leg room ah? Got tidur melintang and snore ka?

      Delete
    3. wah Letchumi go lecturing you go shopping for her ya. Sure she happy see you there. Must feed her kau kau leh. Ya lor need a lot of energy leh

      Delete
    4. LOL....sorry cant help laughing at the 1st in your list. Faster kick your bum...post up

      Delete
    5. I might save that for last or blog first?

      Delete
  19. Wahhhh Anay get to have a mini honeymoon there with Letchumi although Letchumi had to work. ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh honeymoon long over liao. You have honeymoon every weekend.

      Delete
  20. I see that you can goyang kaki on the flight, nice! You are so energetic to be able to execute that high leap in the last pic!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Heh heh... I am also wondering how many more years I could jump.

      Delete
  21. Kanneh, how come I never get Buy 1 Get 3 Free from my flight experiences so far??

    I had a Pinay friend from my previous online gaming experiences, she confirmed what you just said about the disparity between the wealthy and the poor. She is one of the elite rich. She regularly refers to the poor Filipinos as "dirty and lazy", "thieves and crooks", "deserve what they get"...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was debating in my head for days about how the govt could curb and help these poorest folks. I realised that even if you have them all proper cheap houses, their mentality might not be changed and continue on........ like how your friend had thought so.

      Delete
  22. Can't wait for you to share your photos in and around Makati in the Philippines. I spent most of my times at Greenhills area during my last 2 trips there mainly for business purpose.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You mean Greenbelt areas? That was my hangout too.

      Delete
  23. Just wondering........ if you've to.spend so much extra to book the premium seats, isn't it better not to take budget air in that case? I heard you've to add on other charges such as pillows, meals etc........

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is still cheaper than MAS by many folds. I was a bit late to book but it was less than RM300 for return flight KL -Manila. I paid a bit more for being late and extras.

      Delete
  24. hi TM.. cool... I hope you had a blast exploring our Country... the moment you have mentioned that you went to Fort Santiago and Manila Cathedral...I think you just got the right place to explore... Intramuros or the walled city in manila is filled with so much history

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I went to several places as recommended by an associate here. I am saving the volcanoes & Malacanang Palace for my future trip.

      Delete
  25. unfortunately we weren't able to meet due to conflicting schedule :( I was actually thinking of bringing you to Intramuros too hehe.. but i guess there would still be other chances right?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks buddy. I never expected that you should come over as I believe Manila is too faraway from your place. Where is your hometown?

      Delete
  26. Expensive & horrible is not a good combination

    ReplyDelete
  27. On early of October 2015, I just travel to Manila. In your list, many places I did not go for such as Wealthy Chinese Cemetery, American Soldiers Cemetery & Memorial, Ayala Boulevard, Bay of Manila (just see from taxi on the way to MOA) and Smokey Mountains. If next time go again can try explore those places. I also did not have time to explore Makati.

    ReplyDelete

Stay Tuned.