Our first stop in the Philippines was Manila, a city we'd heard lots of negative things about. Often the usual comments about big cities, fly in and travel straight out. This is something we'd heard too with Bangkok, which we ended up loving. But also lots of people warning about how dangerous the city was. Talking about how hostels, shops and restaurants were fronted with armed police officers, and telling stories of being robbed at arms point in broad daylight in the street.
So naturally we went into Manila a little edgy. I wanted to love Manila, I wanted to have another Bangkok situation where we actually loved it. But unfortunately we didn't. And I think there were various factors to that.
1 - I think we stayed in the wrong area for our first visit. We'd researched online best areas to stay and found an area good for sightseeing and being near the old Spanish city. Those two benefits to the area we stayed in, Ermita, were definitely correct, but it was also a very, very untouristy and small neighbourhood area. Which, in some countries is lovely and some of our favourite places to stay, off the beaten track, a little more authentic etc. But unfortunately we found this area to feel more unsafe than were used to, less welcoming than we'd expected and just that it wasnt an area we should be in. Our hotel was situated above a 24 hour massage parlour attached to a nightclub, the lock on our bedroom door didn't work from the inside, and as we'd be warned, everywhere was guarded with armed police. Which all created an atmosphere we just didn't feel very safe in.
2 - The current social-economic situation in Manila really took us by surprise, and (I suppose unsurprisingly but shockingly) wasn'tsomething we've seen talked about much when researching Manila. We've seen poverty, homeless and lifestyles very different to ours throughout our travels, of course. It's something we witness with grace, and is a reminder of how privileged we are to live the life we do and even to travel to these parts of the world and see other ways of living. We eat, shop and buy local wherever we can deliberately to try and support local communities and people in a way that empowers those business owners.
Much like any capital city, you often see a very stark difference the rich and the poor, with towering sky scrappers and business areas alongside more deprived areas with densely packed homes and neighbourhoods. But Manila was on a different level. It was the first time we've seen whole families, parents and children as young as babies sleeping on the streets, right next to high end shopping outlets. We saw large slums and complex living environments crammed between 5* hotels and fast food chain restaurants.
We spent some time in Manila researching the situation and status of poverty and homelessness in Manila while we were there. Learning that manila has one of the highest homelessness percentages in the world. In 2018 over 4.5 million people in the Philippines were reported homeless, with over 2 thirds of those residing in Manila itself, which is believed to be the most in any urban area across the world.
There are a number of factors that have contributed to the level of homelessness in the Philippines and in Manila, covid-19 playing a big part, but also things like displacement from natural disasters and one of the more complex challenges that come from situations of inherited poverty, which is something we've seen throughout Asia. Where children dont attend school as they're needed to can help their families earn money from begging, working their businesses and keeping income afloat. However this then leads to a further generations without any education and limited options for moving out of poverty. In the Philippines and Vietnam we saw government signs saying not to given children money, because it encourages them to remain out of school. However it is such a complex issue, as not supporting them also means they get no education, and aren't financially more secure either. It's so complex.
We later saw a documentary on YouTube from a food channel talking about a heartbreaking insight into a type of street food in Manila called Pag Pag. Pag Pag is the name for a street food dish, where the street food owner will collect bags of rubbish, open them up and look for scraps of typically fried chicken, often from fast food chains like Mcdonalds and Jollibies. They'll collect these food scraps, clean, reseason, recook and resell this food to people in the neighbourhood as a low cost option for food.
I would encourage anyone reading this blogpost to watch the video linked before as Sonys explination and exploration of this topic is better than I could explain briefly here, but it's an eye opening and heartbreaking watch
But, Manila has such a interesting history and lots to learn. We visited to old Spanish capital in Manila, Intramuros, the walled city in the center of Manila.
The spanish colonised the Philippines in 1571 and the intramuros area was the settlement for the Spanish for over 300 years, until the late 1800s, after the spanish-american war when the spanish surrendered the Philippines. Within the walls of Intramuros there are two churches, various houses and residential dwellings. Many of these buildings were actually destroyed in various earthquakes and have since been reconstructed. Most notably, the Manila Catherdal which was originally built in 1571, nd destroyed seven times since through earthquakes, bombs and structural problems!
The Intramuros was such an interesting and beautiful place to explore. It definitely didn't feel like we were in Asia while walking around, the spanish, and 17th century American influence was really prevalent throughout!
All in all, we found Manila eye opening, different but also interesting. It's a shame my experience of Manila was similar to the words of warning we'd received ahead of arriving though. However, I do also recognise and think though, that because we'd heard so many negative things about Manila we went into this city with some bias and preconceived exceptions already set which set a tone for us. Which I hold my hands up, is a really bad thing and isnt something I'm proud of. That said, we worked hard to address that bias by educating ourselves, and by returning to Manila at the end of our trip with a more open mind.
From capital city, to a tiny island
After a few days in Manila, we had a flight out to a very small island called Coron. Coron is notorious for some of the most beautiful snorkling in the world and stunning ocean landscapes.
We didn't have too long here, just a short 4 night visit. After 6 weeks in Vietnam, we were definitely after a more relaxed few days and an island escape, so very much welcomed only having one activity planned on Coron.
Coron town itself is an interesting one, quite touristy and actually full of expats! So there was quite a lot of decent Western food spots, but unfortunately not very many authentic local places to eat! We did however stumble across a very delicious vegan restaurant... which we ended up eating at 4 times!! They did absolutely incredible vegan falafel burgers, and a rum and coke for £1! We also discovered what would soon become a big highlight of the Philippines for us.... the small bakeries on street corners! They are magical. The windows are stacked with freshly baked goods, varying from super sweet treats to savoury options. But each item is around £0.08p a go! So these bakeries made a really great travel snack, or light breakfast option!
Aside from snorkling, the other main thing to do in Coron is hike the 720 steps to the sunset viewpoint. That hike was HARD!! We started the climb thinking it'd be easy and that because the sun was setting it wouldn't be that hot? Nope. The Philippines is HOT and HUMIDDDD! That walk to the top was really, really hard. Thankfully there was plenty of rest spots along the way, and helpfully they count every 100 steps for you so you can count down! Fair to say we were very sweaty by the top😅
But, the view was SO worth it. Maybe one of the best sunsets I've ever seen! We bought some beers to take up and enjoy with the sunset, and it was just perfect. The sun set behind a series of small islands off the coast of Coron, but actually the golden glow across the landscape of Coron was absolutely stunning! I'm not sure why but it felt like we were on the Land Before Time set😅 the landscape was so peaceful, green and untouched.
On our last full day in Coron, we went on our snorkling trip around Coron. And wow. Unreal. We hadn't snorkled too many times at this point, just a couple times in Thailand but this was absolutely amazing!! What was nice was the variety of spots and sights, we went to see a Japanese shipwreck, a turtle view point, blue lagoons and the most incredible coral I have ever seen!
I have never, ever seen water so blue and clear. I'd seen pictures of Coron, but never expect it to look like those in real life. But it really did. It was absolutely magical.
The wraps up our first week in the Philippines. The difference between Coron and Manila was so stark, but I am glad we saw both. I'm glad we gave Manila some time, as it was a big learning experience for us and has been an experience that's sat with me since.
Then Coron was so naturally beautiful and is a sight I wont forget, it was absolutely stunning.
I wasn't sure what to expect from the Philippines but this first week got me excited to see the various faces of the Philippines and learn more about a country I knew very little about prior to visiting.
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