Manila
We arrived in Manila after a pretty stunning flight from Boracay including a good view of the Taal Volcano!
We decided to stay in BGC (an area in Metro Manila) rather than the city of Manila to spend some time catching up with planning, washing and sleeping before travelling to Thailand. We stayed in Hotel101 which is very newly set up, with not all facilities (such as laundry) available yet - but this also meant we could afford the room rate! We were very excited to get robes, slippers and even cotton buds (its the little things haha)!
We got a Grab from the airport to the hotel in one of the most traffic congested journeys we've ever experienced. What was a 30 min journey on Google Maps turned into an hour and a half of sat in Manila traffic, we checked in to the hotel, got some lunch from the 7-Eleven (cheese toastie for Dan and bao bun for Lauryn) and we straight out to the laundrette around the corner. This was definitely not a corner many westerners went around as we were met with some funny looks and market stalls selling fish and veg. A lovely lady took our washing, put it in a dryer and told us to collect in an hour (all for £2). The traffic really is something else in Manila - we had heard that it was bad but didn't expect it to be as bad as it was. It seems life in Manila revolves around it. BGC is probably one of the most affluent areas of the Philippines, but close to not so affluent parts of Manila.
View from the hotel - you could see the divide between poor and rich from our hotel window
After collecting the washing, we got food from a restaurant by the shops and headed back for a swim in the hotel pool.
The next morning, we went to the hotel gym for a quick workout and booked the overnight train and hotels for onward travel. We then headed out to Shaka cafe (another branch of the chain we found in Moalboal) for more smoothie bowls. Soon after leaving the hotel, Lauryn showed Dan how her sunglasses were on the last legs by wiggling them and was left a lens in each hand as a result. Dan held back the laughter somewhat well and thank goodness we were in a shopping centre.
We shared a peanut butter bowl and dragonfruit bowl
Dan's French childhood meant his dependancy on bread had been tested the past few weeks and after a quick google, found a bakery which sold baguettes. After a few minutes, he was in a much better mood.
Job 2 of the day was also soon completed with a trip to H&M for some sunglasses. We then headed back for a nap and back out for some tea. We had found a Japanese restaurant with good reviews and reasonable pricing to try.
Lauryn had udon noodles with pulled beef and an egg. Dan had katsudon. There was also a help-yourself station for tempura scraps, sauces and sesame seeds! It was fairly cheap for Japanese food too.
We got more bookings done the following morning, checked out of the hotel and grabbed some lunch (at a Singaporean restaurant) before collecting out bags and getting a Grab back to the airport. The journey was much less chaotic this time thankfully and were soon on the plane to Bangkok, having watched Race Across the World in the airport! We booked flexible tickets so had priority boarding, front plane seats and a meal.
Lunch from Singaporean restaurant. Lauryn: prawn laksa. Dan: chicken rice set. Drink: homemade peach soda
We landed, breezed through immigration (no need to book those bus tickets to Cambodia after all) and got a Grab to the hostel - realising in the Grab that the plane had landed only 20 mins late (not 1hr 2o) because there is a time difference between the Philippines and Thailand!
Next to explore the huge city of Bangkok!
