CRAZY DAY IN MANILA!! My FIRST Impressions of the Philippines! 🇵🇭
Summary
TLDRIn this video, the traveler defies warnings about Manila's crime and traffic to explore the city's hidden gems. They marvel at the skyscrapers, parks, and American Cemetery, then visit Rizal Park, a tribute to a national hero. They enjoy local cuisine at Jollybee, explore the historic Spanish Quarter, and immerse in Manila's oldest Chinatown. The day ends at the SM Mall of Asia, touted as one of the world's largest malls, where they experience the vibrant atmosphere and diverse food options.
Takeaways
- 🚫 **Avoiding Manila**: The traveler was advised to skip Manila due to high crime rates, bad traffic, and a perceived lack of attractions.
- 🌆 **First Impressions**: Upon arrival, they were pleasantly surprised by Manila's skyscrapers, natural parks, and beautiful weather.
- 🏢 **Modern Cityscape**: The city's modern and metropolitan vibe, with a mix of rugged rural and urban elements, was appreciated.
- 🌳 **Rizal Park**: Visited Rizal Park, a peaceful haven away from city chaos, and learned about Dr. Jose Rizal, a Filipino national hero.
- 🍔 **Jollibee Experience**: Tried the national fast-food chain, Jollibee, and filmed a separate video about their first impressions of the food.
- 🏰 **Spanish Influence**: Explored the old Spanish Town, known as Intramuros, with its unique architecture reflecting Spanish, Mexican, Chinese, and Filipino influences.
- ☕ **Local Coffee**: Enjoyed local coffee at a shop overlooking a Filipino wedding, noting the refreshing drink and the prevalence of singing talent among locals.
- 🥧 **Egg Tarts from Lord Stow's Bakery**: Found and enjoyed egg tarts from a bakery famous for its unique, not overly sweet desserts.
- 🌆 **Chinatown Exploration**: Visited Manila's Chinatown but found it mostly closed, except for the acquisition of Lord Stow's Bakery egg tarts.
- 🛍 **SM Mall of Asia**: Concluded the day at the SM Mall of Asia, one of the largest malls in Asia, with a focus on cleanliness and a wide variety of shopping and dining options.
Q & A
What was the initial advice given to the traveler about Manila?
-The traveler was advised to avoid Manila due to its high crime rate, bad traffic, and the belief that it is unsafe, dirty, and has nothing to do.
Why did the traveler decide to visit Manila despite the warnings?
-The traveler decided to visit Manila because they were intrigued by cities that are an assault on the senses, similar to their experiences in Naples and Bangkok.
What were the traveler's first impressions of Manila?
-The traveler was impressed by the skyscrapers, natural parks, and the mix of modern and rural vibes in Manila, contrary to what they had been told.
What historical site did the traveler visit in Manila?
-The traveler visited the American cemetery, which commemorates American soldiers who were heroes in World War II.
Which Filipino fast-food chain did the traveler try?
-The traveler tried Jollibee, a popular Filipino fast-food chain, and made a video about their experience.
What is the significance of Rizal Park in Manila?
-Rizal Park, formerly known as Lunetta Park, is a commemoration of Dr. Jose Rizal, a Filipino national hero who fought against Spanish colonialism.
What is the Old Spanish Town in Manila known for?
-The Old Spanish Town, also known as Intramuros, is known for its thick stone walls, Spanish, Mexican, Chinese, and Filipino architectural influences, and as a filming location for TV and film.
What did the traveler think of the children they met in Manila?
-The traveler found the children they met in Manila to be extremely friendly and polite, making them feel very welcome.
What is the Mall of Asia known for?
-The Mall of Asia is known for being one of the largest malls in Asia, featuring a wide variety of shopping and dining options, and is known for its cleanliness and modern amenities.
What was the traveler's experience with the local food in Manila?
-The traveler enjoyed trying local food like Jollibee and Lord Stow's Bakery's egg tarts, and they were impressed with the flavors and quality of the dishes.
Outlines
🌆 First Impressions of Manila: A City of Contrasts
The speaker disregards common advice to avoid Manila, choosing instead to explore the city firsthand. They express initial surprise at the city's modern skyline, natural parks, and the American Cemetery's historical significance. The area's blend of urban and rural vibes is highlighted, along with the speaker's excitement to explore further. Despite the long taxi ride and challenging traffic, the speaker's first impressions are overwhelmingly positive, noting the city's beauty and potential for adventure.
🏞️ Visiting Rizal Park and Exploring Manila's Spanish Quarter
The narrative continues with a visit to Rizal Park, a tranquil escape from the city's chaos, and a tribute to Dr. Jose Rizal, a Filipino national hero. The park's peaceful atmosphere and the speaker's interaction with enthusiastic local school children add to the positive experience. The journey then takes them to the old Spanish Town, known as Intramuros, where they admire the mix of architectural influences and the area's historical significance. The speaker also enjoys local cuisine at Jollibee and experiences the local talent for singing, expressing a desire to visit a karaoke bar.
🍽️ A Taste of Manila's Food Scene and Visiting Chinatown
The speaker shares their experience of trying local food at Jollibee and their quest for unique street food in Chinatown. They express disappointment at finding many food stalls closed but delight in discovering Lord Stow's Bakery, famous for its egg tarts. The narrative includes a humorous anecdote about almost missing out on the bakery's treats and a mention of David Beckham's endorsement. The speaker also visits the SM Mall of Asia, one of the largest malls in Asia, and is impressed by its cleanliness and modern features.
🛍️ Shopping and Dining at the Mall of Asia
The final paragraph details the speaker's visit to the Mall of Asia, where they shop for clothes and explore the food court. They try various local dishes, including Hong Kong-style chicken and a unique Filipino soup, adjusting the flavors to their liking with chili oil. The speaker concludes the video with a positive outlook on their Manila experience, expressing a desire to return and continue exploring the Philippines.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Manila
💡Crime rate
💡Traffic
💡Rizal Park
💡Jollibee
💡Intramuros
💡Chinatown
💡Mall of Asia
💡Lord Stow's Bakery
💡Locals
💡First impressions
Highlights
The traveler was warned to avoid Manila due to high crime rates and bad traffic, but chose to visit anyway.
Manila's skyline is filled with skyscrapers and natural parks, contrary to prior expectations.
The American Cemetery in Manila is a significant historical site commemorating World War II heroes.
Rizal Park, formerly known as Lunetta Park, is a peaceful haven away from the city's chaos.
Dr. Jose Rizal is a Filipino national hero celebrated for his role in fighting Spanish colonialism.
Jollibee, a popular fast-food chain in the Philippines, offers a taste of the country's national dish.
The Old Spanish Town in Manila, known as Intramuros, showcases a mix of Spanish, Mexican, Chinese, and Filipino architecture.
The SM Mall of Asia is one of the largest malls in Asia, offering a wide range of shopping and dining experiences.
The traveler enjoyed the local hospitality and friendliness of the Filipino people, especially school children.
The city's traffic was a challenge, with a taxi ride taking an hour and a half.
The traveler was impressed by the cleanliness and modernity of Manila, contrary to initial advice.
The Chinese influence is evident in Manila's Chinatown, one of the oldest in the world.
The traveler encountered a lively and photogenic atmosphere in the Spanish Town area.
Despite initial plans, the traveler had to adjust their itinerary due to time constraints and traffic.
The traveler experienced the local talent for singing, noting that many Filipinos they encountered could carry a tune.
The Mall of Asia features a unique attraction: self-driving security dogs.
The traveler's experience with the local food was a highlight, particularly the fried chicken from a food court.
The traveler expresses a desire to return to Manila and explore more of the Philippines.
Transcripts
avoid Manila everybody Told Me Not to
Come to Manila avoid this place at all
cost the crime rate is really high the
traffic is really
bad this is matro manella or should I
say Manila which is what the locals call
it I was cautioned to avoid this place
at all costs and head straight for the
scenic islands of the Philippines I was
told that Manila is unsafe dirty and
there's nothing to do there so I ignored
everyone's advice and I made it my very
first stop on the
trip let me explain why so I was giving
the same Spiel when I told people I was
going to Naples in Bangkok and those
places blew my mind I love a city that
is an assault on the senses so this go
to the question is vanilla really worth
visiting let's find
[Music]
[Applause]
out very very first impressions here in
Manilla like wow can we take a moment
look at the view from our balcony First
Impressions Manila ISM youth buildings
beautiful weather and we're right next
to a huge chopping Mall as well I am
seriously impressed You're simply the
best I don't know what I was expecting
but I feel like people led me to believe
it wasn't going to be like this that it
wasn't going to be full of like
skyscrapers and loads and Natural Parks
and Beauty but uh they'd be lying can
take a moment and see all these
highrises given American Vibes given
Hong Kong Vibes fully builtup District I
don't know what people are talking about
and then also if you can see just behind
me is the American cemetery that's for
all of the American soldiers that were
Heroes that fought in World War II it's
absolutely huge here behind me it's like
in a nice little circular formation you
can see all headstones and the little
crosses just to commemorate them all and
you know what I love what is a great mix
here so I feel like we're in the
business district right we're in the
heart of the think of like the financial
district like it's all very modern
Metropolitan upstairs I can hear rooster
cin the balcony upstairs like it's the
perfect mix between like rugged and
Rural and like Metropolitan City Vibes
love it so cool we're going to get ready
head out see what's in store for us
today and continue on our first
impressions here of
Manila
joice who you shareing
with who you sharing with
all right guys so after a very long taxi
ride it was almost an hour and a half
cuz the traffic here was crazy we have
made it to Rizzle park now originally my
very first stop that I wanted to go to
was Venice Mall it was very close to us
but the day was getting away from us the
traffic was crazy so we're going to skip
that but I'm not even too disappointed
we got to see the Venetian in maau and
I've heard it's very similar I know in
the one here that it's pet friendly and
the same as the one in maau you can
actually do the gondolas you can have
the gonders singing and in the one here
apparently you can even put a lock on
the Love Lock Bridge which pretty cool
so GED we didn't see that but moving
swiftly on we are now here in rizle park
and it was formerly called lunetta Park
and it's absolutely gorgeous it's like a
little Haven away from all the chaos of
the city it's really nice and peaceful
but to give you a little bit of
background information about what it is
here so Rizzle Park was basically built
in commemoration of Dr Jose Rizzle who
is basically Filipino national hero
because he's the one that kind of
kickstarted all of the rebellion and
fighting back against Spanish
colonialism so they've actually done
this parking to commemorate him you know
to say that it's about freedom and
Independence so it's very very nice very
peaceful it's a beautiful Monument to
commemorate them and there's even a
guard there paying his respects so I've
seen the country's national hero now I
want to try the country's national dish
and now I'm not talking about adobo rice
I am talking about chick and joy let's
try authentic jollybee
[Music]
guys it is so nice here in rizle park I
didn't even realize that they have
Japanese Gardens they got Chinese
gardens there's picnic tables to have
your lunch there's lovely water features
here you can sit beside there's shaded
areas I would 10 10 recommend you add
this to your must visit list in Manila
okay right hi this lovely group of
school kids started waving us over and
they were the best honestly they were so
enthusi Astic about the video and it
made us feel so so welcome subscribe to
Lauren you guys are the best high five
thank you so much high five high five
high five fiveing to meet you thank you
so you guys are so friendly this is our
first day in the Philippines bye guys by
bye they're so cute oh my God I'm
obsessed I'm obsessed with them they're
like the nicest children I've ever met
in London if somebody sees me a camera
they just slag you off oh my God FR
Manila I've been made to feel so welcome
what polite children like honestly their
parents should be so proud of them
honestly the loveliest children they've
made me feel so welcome oh my God I
could cry okay thank you so much for be
in my video if you're watching this I
thought what it's like to be
famous all right on to jollybee we've
got sidetracked on to jollybee we
ordered a lot of food and jollybee so
I've made an entire video on our very
first impressions trying jollybee in the
Philippines I'll pop a link for that
video on screen and in the description
so after we polished off our Feast it
was time to make our way over to the
Spanish quarter all right guys so next
up on the tour we are here in the old
Spanish Town in Manila it's actually
known as inter muros meaning Within
These Walls so it's actually surrounded
by huge thick stone walls because back
when it was under Spanish rule it was
built as a fortress to protect the city
from foreign invasions and since then
you can really see the influence of
Spanish Mexican Chinese and Filipino all
in the architecture that's all around
you and just let you know it's also been
used as a filming location both for TV
and film domestically and
internationally you can kind of see why
like it's super photogenic it's super
picturesque and it's a really different
structure compared to the rest of
vanilla so let's go check it
[Music]
out you guys even the Starbucks here in
all Spanish Town Manila is a Vibe like
can we take a moment I really don't
encourage people to go to Starbucks when
you're away and I'm a hypocrite cuz I've
already been to one in Hong Kong and
I've been to one in Lisbon and I'm very
tempted to go to this one we're going to
take a little bit of a walk down the
street see if we see an independent one
that's more Manila Vibes but if not I'm
more than happy to go here for a coffee
okay let's check out the rest of the
Spanish
[Music]
Town all right guys we have taken a
little shade break now we're in balb bar
Lee's gone for an iced coffee I actually
don't know what I'm getting I basically
said I didn't want any dairy so they
said they would like I don't know make
me some sort of drink without dairy it's
non-alcoholic I'm assuming and we've got
beautiful seat on the second floor I'm
not sure if you can see behind me lovely
balcony views we're overlooking some
sort of Filipino wedding celebration it
looks absolutely beautiful and at the
back of the coffee shop is where the
wedding is happening and it looks
stunning so we've got our drinks it
looks very appetizing not entirely sure
what it is but let's give it a go it's
like lemonade with a bit of mint blended
into it not overly sweet actually quite
sour but very refreshing on a hot humid
day like today it's definitely like 31°
outside I'm pretty sure it's like 99%
humidity your girl is melting and Lee's
gone for a lovely caramel
latte delicious also side note I don't
know if there's something in the water
here but every single Filipino person
that I've heard singing and we've only
been here a few hours there's a girl
apartment next door with singing the
ladies downstairs were singing people in
the taxi singing why can you all sing
[Music]
like what's going on and where can I get
this Talent from because he everybody
can carry a tune I've never known
anything like it it's unbelievable if we
had more time I would love to hit up
karaoke bar in Milla tonight and just
hear like a couple of Filipino celon
belt it out but I don't think we have
time for that so for now our mint
lemonades are going to have to suffice
Che
[Music]
guys all right guys so next up on the
tour we are going to go to the oldest
Chinatown in the world obviously not
including China itself but right here in
Manila we are in Chinatown you just
cross the pic River beautiful views at
Sunset bridges in the back lovely
Colonial Lighting and then head over
here and let's check out the street food
let's do it
[Applause]
[Music]
so guys we have come to Chinatown in the
hopes of getting some street food but it
looks like everything's shut look all
the way down there it's like majority of
the stuff is closed there's one thing
open here but we're looking for a
specific thing because we've obviously
just come from Hong Kong and maau we've
had a lot of like Chinese food so we're
trying to see if we can find something a
little bit more unique here that we
haven't already tried in either Hong
Kong or ma like we've had the dumplings
we've had the B buttons we've had a lot
of noodles so let's see we can find
something else it's not looking too
promising though everything looks closed
guys I do not believe it they have Lord
sto's Bakery here we queed for 25
minutes from the C didn't move in maau
we tried to get it again in the Venetian
in the maau couldn't find it and here it
is right in front of us in Manilla with
no Q so there's a little bit of a queue
but nothing like what it was in maau
[Music]
we literally got the last four and
they're warm saw the guy walking out
with the tray and as soon as we paid for
ours the lady people walked in the door
and she just said no more so happy days
we got them okay so we are sanitized
we've got our four egg Tarts here and
just let you know so unlike the other
egg Tarts that you will find like in
Asia these are traditional ones they're
actually made by an English pharmacist
called Andrew long story short he moved
over to maau Hong Kong area and he
didn't want to leave like he was there
to St Pharmacy but but he wanted to stay
so he met like a lovely maau lady
married her settled down and opened up
his Bakery and here we have it and these
have been endorsed by David Beckham
himself so like I said if it's good
enough for Beckham it is good enough for
your
girl delicious 128 l no more no less and
inside you got that creamy custard and
again it's not overly sweet I found a
lot of the desserts in Asia haven't been
overly sweet just the right amount of
sweetness I do feel like it's missing
the cinnamon and the icing sugar but
that's just parel preference that's just
me CS off to Lord
St we are going to tuck in and enjoy
these and if we have time if it's a very
big if because we do have a flight
really really early in the morning and
it's completely dark outside it's
getting lit we have one final stop that
we want to bring you to so bear with us
guys we're going to enjoy these
[Music]
all right guys so we did manage to make
it about 40 minutes in a taxi and we're
here we're at the SM Mall of Asia
apparently this is like one of the most
incredible malls here in the Philippines
if not the world it's the biggest in
Asia the biggest in Asia so big boy here
needs a pair of shorts he's in the
market for them so hopefully we can get
one before we got to get two Betty buys
and catch our flight because we're not
finished until we're just getting
started okay they put the camera way go
through security see you inside I know
it's like the biggest mall in Asian I
don't know what I was expecting but this
this is this is nice oo this is
nice they've gone all out the whole
place is jacked jacked the Halls lights
on lights on lights this has to be one
of the cleanest malls I've ever seen
look not a speck of dirt not a
fingerprint what's happening what look
that's just a car
with there self-driving dogs what's
happening why is there self-driving
who's driving security dogs this is like
the Tesla
they're
canines welcome to the Future
[Music]
folks just for a size reference that's
Lee and this is the size of the teddy
bear cat okay
[Music]
so the original POA was to go to a thing
called like a seafood Dapper and you
basically pick up your seafood and you
pick a restaurant and they cook it for
you real nice and you have a whole local
experience right that was plan a given
the fact that we are so limited on time
and we did eat a lot of Jollibee and we
did have some egg Parts we're now
contemplating maybe getting a snack here
in this food for if you do want to see
what the Dapper restaurants look like my
friend Ryan want sh Adventures te went
to check it out it looks class so go
check out his video I will pop the link
for it up here if you want to go watch
it for now me and Lee are going to check
out the food court and see if anything
tickles our fancy there seems to be
plenty plenty
[Music]
options I look absolutely exhausted
because I am but Le decided on some food
he has gone for some Hong Kong and his
food we literally just left Hong Kong
and he can't get enough it so he's
offered some sort of three cup chicken
apparently it h like buffalo sauce and
he wanted with vegetables but they
didn't have any I wanted a barbecue pork
butn they didn't have any and there was
something else that he wanted and they
didn't have any it's like if you've ever
seen Santa Claus one cold glasses but
delicious seasonal favorite eggnog we're
out all chocolate milk please we're out
plain milk's fine
they said it's got a bit of a kick to it
I'm waiting for it to kick tasty though
I like it I want to ask for chili oil we
got the chili oil let me add a little
bit of spice it's better with the chili
oil that's surprisingly tasty that
chicken I get that again like a sit down
meal in the restaurant this is lovely
you didn't even want through I didn't
even want it Filipinos really know how
to do Fried Chicken I'll tell you that
much it's not the most appetizing
looking um soup I've ever seen I'm being
honest T like chicken broth it's
it's a bit thicker than soup it's a bit
there's a bit of viscosity to
it oh they're gr they have more flavor
than I expected nothing wrong with that
we're going to talk in and enjoy one
[Music]
Petit all right guys that is it for the
Mall of Asia and that is it for this
video I really hope you enjoyed it
because we certainly did I will
definitely be back in man but on to the
next part of the Philippines stay tuned
because we got plenty more in store for
you until then thank you so much for
watching take care of yourselves goodbye
and good
luck this is literally par ohello has
arrived 10 10 don't judge us we Jolly
betic take away my passport I'm never
leaving
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