The Manila Madness
From the very start my time in Manila was hectic, but I had a very enjoyable stay as well. When I landed at Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport it was one of the absolute worst immigration lines that I have seen. Actually, I take that back. It was much less a line than a giant bunch of people making their way towards the immigration booths in no discernible order. So, chaos, basically. After about an hour I finally made it through where my driver to my hotel, Amelie Hotel Manila, was waiting out front. The traffic was crazy because I think it is always crazy but eventually we made it to my hotel.
It was so late by the time that I finally arrived but I had a quick and welcoming check in and loved my large and comfortable room high up in the hotel. I loved the design of the room and felt very at home even after a crazy start to my time in Manila. I cannot thank Amelie Hotel Manila for sponsoring my stay in the Philippines!
I ended up sleeping in much later than I had anticipated but still had time to get out and see Manila today. I took an Uber from Amelie Hotel Manila to the Intramuros area of the city, which is the historic Spanish area that was built during Spanish colonization starting all the way back in the 16th century. The ride over was quite interesting in itself. Manila is a crazy place and just driving through the streets was eye opening. Once I was in Intramuros I spent a bit just walking around and appreciating the architecture. My favorite site was the beautiful San Agustin Church, which actually had a wedding going on inside that you could see from the street since they left the doors wide open. It was so cool!
I had very spotty cell service in the city for some reason so it took a while to finally call an Uber to take me back to Amelie Hotel Manila. When I arrived back at the hotel I met with Pia, the resident manager of the hotel, along with other members of the hotel staff. We sat down for an absolutely lovely local meal at the hotel restaurant, Braska. I got to try so many new things and they were all quite tasty! I also really enjoyed spending time with Pia and asking her all about Manila and the Philippines. I learned so much and she was the absolute sweetest. She has promised to send me a video of her dancing with pom-poms when I finish breaking the record - I can’t wait!
While I had a very short stay in Manila I really enjoyed it. I would absolutely love to come back to the Philippines in the future and spend more time visiting the beautiful islands. I really enjoyed being able to at least see Intramuros and learning all about the Philippines with Pia. After our late lunch I took the long, traffic-filled ride back to the airport to catch my next plane. Immigration was not nearly as bad leaving the country, thank goodness. I was a bit early but finally boarded my plane around 9pm. I’m really looking forward to my next stop as it is my first Pacific Island and the only one that I will make it to for quite some time. I can’t wait to get to Palau soon!
106 countries down, 90 to go.
To learn more about Amelie Hotel Manila click here.
