Exchange in SUTD Week 7: Recess Week--Trip to Philippines I

3/7-3/9 Manila

Day 1

During the recess week, we traveled to Philippines for 8 days. For the first 3 days, we stayed in Manila. 

After we arrived in Manila, we headed straight for a highly evaluated cafe to enjoy our breakfast. Then, we decided to proceed to our hotel on foot. Though it showed on the Google map that it was a 30-minute walk, it was the most tiring journey that I had ever experienced. In Manila, the traffic is always heavy, and most drivers honk the horn continuously. What's worse, sidewalks are rough and narrow, and often there's no traffic lights and crossroads. We all felt very tired after we arrived at our hotel. However, I think it's worth walking since we got the chance to go deep into the society.

Random view of a street

After we rest for a while in our room, our last plan was to go to Little Venice. The place is really stunning, and there are also many decent shops there. I would highly recommend one to visit there. 

Little Venice

So far, my experience in Philippines is well enough. However, there are some points that one should be careful for. First, the public transportation is really inconvenient. Thus, most of the time we hire Grab. Second, there is a lot of crime in the city so one should avoid going alone or going out in the night.  

View from our place

Day 2

After lunch, we went to the Rizal Park, which is one of the largest urban parks in Asia. In Rizal Park, there is a green space where we can enjoy the view of Chinese Garden and Japanese Garden. Due to the hot weather, we didn't spend too much time in the park. Instead, we went to the National Museum of the Philippines. the museum is pretty big and most of the displays are art. 

Chinese Garden

Casa Manila

As dusk fell, we decided to visit the oldest Chinatown in the world. Most of the buildings there are quite ancient. Unlike other Chinatowns, the Chinatown here doesn't have much shops or restaurants. It is more like a historical spot rather than a tourist spot. After visiting Chinatown, we went to a Korean restaurant to eat sashimi. It was definitely the best meal we had in Philippines. 

Watching sunset on William A. Jones Memorial Bridge

Binondo Church in Chinatown

Gems...

Day 3

It's the day we left for Bohol. After we woke up, we went straight to the airport.