Manila is a city of stark contrasts—unbelievable wealth nestled alongside heartbreaking poverty. Crossing the border out of BGC feels like stepping into another world, where the slums paint a harsh and sobering picture of everyday life for many. It’s hard to reconcile these extremes, especially with the dazzling malls that dominate the cityscape. Speaking of malls, they are spectacular—majestic even. Staying near the Venetian Mall in BGC felt like living in a world-class postcard.
Unfortunately, the food didn’t live up to the setting. Fish often had an unpleasant metallic tang, and even the rice—an absolute staple—was surprisingly underwhelming. This was particularly jarring after experiencing the perfect grains of Korea, Japan, or Greece. Marat eventually made the rice edible by drowning it in butter, but it was a struggle.
El Nido offered slightly better dining options, though at a steep price—higher than eating out in Japan. Even then, I managed to get food poisoning, which took the shine off any culinary improvements.
The lack of hot water in showers was another surprise. It’s apparently not even considered a feature worth mentioning in rental listings—it just isn’t there. While a cold shower can be refreshing in the heat, a warm one every now and then would’ve been nice. And don’t get me started on the water pressure—calling it a drizzle would be generous. It left you feeling perpetually unclean, no matter how hard you tried.
While accommodation prices were relatively low, the price-to-quality ratio was frustrating. Cheap didn’t mean good, and “value” seemed to be an overpriced concept. I’d rather go to Greece for the same price!
Our days often blurred together because there wasn’t much to do in many locations. We wandered as much as we could, but it was hard to find anything truly engaging, with exception of island-hopping tours. But you couldn’t do too many of them back to back.
The Philippines became a waiting game—counting down the days, hoping the next destination would bring something better, only to face greater disappointments (giving you a dirty eye, El Nido). BUT Panglao turned out to be different. We had a lovely time there, because of the spacious accommodation, swimming pool and 100% home-cooked meals.
Overall, it felt less like travel and more like survival… Sorry, Philippines, but you didn’t win our hearts.
