Philippines Day 6 - Shopping & Shoppping Around Manila

Date of Visit: 25th March 2012

On the 6th day of our Philippines trip, my friends and I decided to have a last minute shopping before going back home on the next day. You know it's hard for ladies to resist themselves from shopping, right? Oh well, not only that we bought for ourselves but also for our dearest family and friends.

We went to SM Mall of Asia for the second time just for Kultura Filipino - their local famous brand for its culture and crafts (which I did blogged before - HERE). Plus, I noticed there is a post office nearby for me to send out the postcards I wrote. Hence, we decided to go there again by taxi, just like what we did during our maiden visit there.

#1: Had our lunch in the food court - Plenty of choices to choose from and it's reasonable. [Note: It's served non-halal foods]

Regarding the post office, I approached the security guard and asked where's the post office located and he showed me the direction. Came out from the mall but I couldn't see any sign of post office and I decided to give up and move on to the next destination instead. One of my friend suggested that we should try to have a ride on jeepney and while we were on our way to the jeepney station, my friend stopped and told me that she saw the post office.

#2: This is how the post office looks like. Thank goodness I found it and thanks to my friend in black jacket.

We took jeepney to the nearest train station. It's kinda cool experience to have a ride in a jeepney and it's our first time experience of doing so. After staying in Philippines for 6 days, finally we did the "One of the Things You Should Do When In Philippines". Squeezing with the local inside this fancy decorated small bus, we were puzzled on how should we pass the money to the driver like the local did. We were unsure how much it cost for a ride from the mall to the station, hence we waited when reach the desired destination, we walked to the front and passed the money to the driver.

#3: Experienced train ride in Manila. 

#4: Shopping malls in Makati city

Upon reaching the Ayala Center Station, it's seems like we reach another part of the world from where we were staying in Manila. Here, which being known as Makati city, is the largest business district and has a highest concentration of multinational and local corporations in the country. Major banks, corporations, department stores as well as foreign embassies are based in here. Therefore, no surprised we saw many corporate workers once we came out from the station. Plus, we also didn't spotted any beggars here, unlike in Malate (where we stayed).

Makati is well-known for being one of the most popular shopping destinations. From average shopping mall to high-end shopping mall, this city is a home to a cluster of shopping malls which include Glorietta, Greenbelt, The Landmark, Rustan's, The Link and SM Makati that offer both international and local retail shops, high-end boutiques, dining outlets and entertainment facilities. Almost all of these malls are attached together. So, if you are a shopaholic, then this place is highly recommended for you and probably you might spend whole day there. Never thought that Filipinos can be so obsessed with shopping as well. 

#5: Bubba Gump Shrimp Co - A seafood restaurant chain inspired by famous film called "Forest Gump".

#6: The wall decoration inside one of Glorietta building.

#7: Love this attractive and creative wall decoration

We did spend few hours in one of the department stores which I found it was kinda reasonable and not harm so much to our wallet. Wondering what did I bought? Stay tune for my few upcoming post on my travel haul. 

#8: Beautiful and impressive cakes in one of the bakery shop nearby train station

Once we done with the shopping, we went back to Malate by taking train and again, we stopped by another shopping mall before seriously going back to our guesthouse.

#9: Robinsons Place Mall

Robinsons Place Mall, one of the biggest shopping mall which located 5 minutes walking distance away from where we stayed. We went here before on the first day we arrived to hunt for our dinner, and now we decided to do the same thing again cause we spotted this 7 floors shopping mall offers wide range of  dining outlets and restaurants such as KFC, Pizza Hut, Krispy Kreme, Kenny Rogers Roaster, Burger King, McDonalds and never ending list. Talking abount hungry - we won't found this word in our dictionary when in Manila. 

#10: Yellow Cab Pizza Co - Ordered a Hawaiian pizza and oven-baked potato halves loaded with mozzarella and romano cheese topped with bacon bits

We settled down our dinner in this yellow signboard restaurant which mainly serve on pizza. The pizza was totally taste differently from our local Pizza Hut and I found their cheese were imported either from Australia or New Zealand. The size of the pizza was kinda huge for three of us but what's most importantly was it satisfied our taste buds. Awesomely delicious! The total damages for a pizza, sidemeal and three drinks cost P635 (approx. RM46) - kinda reasonable and cheap.

Ended our last night in Philippines by checking out Robinsons department store. Okay, we ladies never had enough of our shopping spree. Before I concluded this post, look what I found in one of the printed T-shirt that catch my attention. 

#11: Who do you support? Taylor Swift or Bruno Mars? 

Curious on how many shopping malls did we visited on that day? It's totally uncountable cause shopping malls in Philippines are seriously insane and mad. There are too many of them.