Mabuhay! Making the Most out of Your 6 Hour Layover in Manila

In this blog post series I will give you an idea how much stuff you can do while taking 6 flights 9 days!

While the sun disappears between the skyscrapers in Dubai I feel a mix of excitement and a bit of stress. I look at the travel plans in front of me while I order ravioli and nip from a gin tonic in DXB Terminal 1 Business lounge (ask your bank about loungkey to get FREE access as well!). It hits me that I am about to take 6 flights and 4 ferry boats in the next 9 days. I can’t resist smiling because all those flights only cost me 900 AED / 245 USD in total. And you can do it too 😉

 

Flight 1: Dubai – Manila

8pm Dubai. A quick stop in duty free as I am inspired by the 8 dollar flight upgrade trick and buy a big bag of M&M’s for the Philippine Airlines crew. It works! The crew looks surprised but very happy and they even come by, one by one, to say thank you. A small gesture that brings a lot of joy on a 9 hour flight.

Around 9am we arrive in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, a country that has about 7500 islands. The doors of the airport slide open, a gentle warm breeze (compared to Dubai) hits me and I see Maggie waving from an open car window  “Mabuhay! Welcome to Manila!”. We met a few months earlier when she was vising Dubai. It’s a lot of fun making friends allover the world! She is so kind to take me on a tour through the center of Manila during my 6 hour layover.

Maggie notices I could use a coffee and we stop at UCC Clockwork, a very trendy coffee/breakfast place. Looks like I will take a power start here with tocilog: fried egg, garlic fried rice, and sweet pork. This stuff is delicious and I feel rejuvenated, the side effects of a lack of sleep disappear quickly!

Een video die is geplaatst door UCC 3rdwave Clockwork. (@uccclockwork) op 30 Sep 2016 om 6:13 PDT

There is no time to lose so we take a horse carriage ride, locally known as calesa or caritela, to explore the old center of Manila. Our guide points to the 300 peso cost sign but we get ripped of for 1000 peso in the end as one guy blocks Maggies car until we pay. Too tired to make a scene but it’s best to keep repeating the price before you start the ride and it’s totally fine to be very frank and direct to people who try to rip you off 😉

 

On the way we see a couple of old monuments and churches. Even more interesting is the traffic for me. Our carriage makes its way through passing Jeepneys, some kind of long open trucks that take people from A to B, the local public transport system. And those Jeepneys are often nicely decorated, its like a moving art museum on the road! I am definitely enjoying my first few ours here.

On the way back to the airport we pass by Makati where I stayed in Z-hostel last year. Maggie can’t see me leaving without trying some more local dishes in Dampa Seaside Macapagal. Squid shrimps and off course more pork and rice, eaten by hand 😉 No plastic gloves here like the boodle fight places in Dubai but there is a sink to wash your hands before you dig in. All the seafood comes from the market across the street, you can even go there and pick the fishes yourself and ask the restaurant to prepare them. That concept is called Dampa.

Een foto die is geplaatst door Restless Feet 👣🌏 (@chasingsunsets_) op 23 Okt 2016 om 2:23 PDT

My 6 hours in Manila have flown by so fast, the next flight to Cebu is waiting for me, sadly time to say good bye or better, see you next time!

Thanks for showing me around Maggie! You turned a 6 hour layover into a fun sightseeing tour of Manila! Btw definitely checkout and like  Maggie’s Box concept if you are a shoe fan!

Up next on my trip: Cebu, Bohol and Hong Kong!