Crammed Manila Backpacking Trip Part 1

When I was still young, I thought that Manila is a city where the action happens. All the big events, celebrities, concerts and big businesses are in Manila which made me think that Manila is a place where I want to live in someday. People who are living in Manila that came from Bacolod says the opposite. It's better to live in Bacolod where everything is cleaner, greener and a lot less traffic compared to "Maynila" as they say it. That made me think, is Manila such a great city? Well, after having my first Manila trip at the age of 21, I would say the answer is a yes.

I never had plans to go to Manila anytime soon. My sisters, especially my eldest, second and third sister always go there due to business reasons, R and R, their favorite singer will have a concert there and etc. Around March, 2015, One Direction was going to be in Manila to have their concert. My eldest sister and her kids as well as my fourth sister was going to watch the concert and I was going to be left here in Bacolod because when they bought their tickets, I was still a student and did not have any money. But my third sister who was working in Manila, posted a comment on one of my posts saying that she has two free tickets to the One Direction concert and she told me that I can have one of the tickets. Then, I got very excited, because I was given a reason to go Manila. I also invited my girlfriend to go with me because she was born in Luzon and pretty much every two or three years goes to Pampanga or somewhere in Luzon to have a vacation. I invited her to be my Tagalog interpreter. I know how to speak Tagalog but i'm not good at it. I packed my bags and we were all set to Manila.

Our flight was in the evening. I thought it would be boring because I can't see the landscape of Manila. But when I saw the skyline of the city, I was mesmerized. The abundance of lights, the streetlights of cars moving and also standing by (because of the traffic) was beautiful. After an hour and a half of flying time, there I was, in the big city. My sisters, knowing that I love eating as well as scrumptious food always spoil me and treat me in good restaurants. Our first stop is Tonkatsu in Greenbelt 3. As an avid watcher of Anime and reader of Manga, I started loving Japanese food, their Tonkatsu in tonkatsu was tender and not oily. The serving was just right and what made the meal greater was their shredded cabbage partnered with roasted garlic sauce. Even just the cabbage and the sauce was good as a meal for me. We went around Greenbelt for around 30 mins and it was huge! It was like the hub of rich kids and their rich friends. A lot of people were dressed to impress and there I was, wearing shorts, full of dust and carrying my huge back pack. I really looked like a "Probinsyano" or a person from the province. Even just looking at stores which were closed because it was around 10:30 but parts of the mall was still open because of their dining area, amazed me. After roaming around we went to the condominium that we rented for two days. The city was still jam packed even though it was around 11 pm already which was an uncommon thing in Bacolod especially it was a weekday and that is when I realized, I really am a "Probinsyano".

This is just the first part of my Crammed Manila Backpacking Trip. It was a fun and exciting trip so one post won't be enough. Hahaha. What are your thoughts about Manila? Tell me in the comments below! :)