[Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] thank you what's going on
everybody this is Island Hopper TV and today we're going to talk about things to do while visiting
Manila Philippines let's do it first up on the list is Intramuros here in Old Town Manila this
was originally established by the Spanish dating back to the 1500s then the Japanese took this area
and then the Americans after World War II took it back and now it's currently a historical park for
those of you who want to come visit t
his part of manila's History you will notice that there
is a golf course that goes around the area of intramuros and that was actually put in after
World War II covering up the moat that served as a fortification barrier of Entry protecting
the fort and as we continue to show you around Manila here I want to remind you guys that if you
check the description below you will find time stamps so you can bounce around from location
to location very close to intramuros is Fort Santiago sitting he
re at the mouth of the pasig
river it served as the premier defense Fortress for the Spanish government while they controlled
the country of the Philippines an interesting fact about this fort here it served as the prison for
the national hero Jose Rizal who was executed in 1896 nearby is the Jose Rizal Museum and the
Jose Rizal Park you will see in many of the municipalities and provinces across Philippines
a Jose Rizal statue in front of the city halls or the government buildings and whil
e here at Fort
Santiago you'll be able to walk through some of the prison areas where the actual prisoners were
held in case you're wondering what Jose resolves alleged crime was it was Rebellion which later
led to the Philippine Revolution breaking out now we're headed over to Chinatown known as benondo
it is the oldest Chinatown in the world and the most visited towns in the Philippine capital city
of Manila Chinatown here in Manila is actually known for its food so if you're down here an
d you
want to try some street food or any sort of unique Cuisine that's what's the main attraction here it
is quite crowded and it might not be for everybody so do a little bit of research on Chinatown
on TripAdvisor or read some of the blogs that ride up about this location for me I found it
very interesting and I did try some of the food while here just some quick history about manila's
Chinatown it's more than 400 years old and it was established in 1594 as a permanent settlement for
th
e Chinese Catholic immigrants here in Manila I ended up taking a trike from Intramuros over here
to Chinatown and we went over the Passaic River it took around 10 to 50 15 minutes because of traffic
but it could be a little bit faster depending on the time of day now here we are at San Augustine
church this was completed in 1607 it is the oldest Stone Church in the country this is not to be
confused with the Manila Cathedral Basilica which we will be showing you a bit later on in the film
i
n case you're wondering what the largest church in the Philippines is it's tall Basilica near
tall volcano which is an area we will be showing you a little bit later on in the film also if
you plan to visit the Philippines check the link description below because there are several
more videos we are making from across the country now here we are at the Venice Canal shops while
walking around here you'll notice that there's a gondola and many boats that you can ride going
around the mall and
the shops similar to what you would find at the Venetian in Las Vegas
or Macau while here you'll notice that it's an outdoor venue with many different shops on two
different levels located nearby the ritzy area of Manila known as BGC Bonifacio Global City now
while here in BGC you can also walk around High Street now this is an area where they're going to
have many different restaurants it's very popular with people who are looking for outdoor activities
such as shopping hanging out at caf
es going to restaurants with bars or just relaxing in the park
right in the middle of High Street when you visit BGC you'll notice that the prices of hotels are
going to be more expensive than they are even in Makati or other parts of Manila because it is
really the ritzy business Central Area another ritzy area is going to be Manila sea side right
here along Manila Bay walking along the Waterfront is popular as well as going towards the amusement
park this one is called SM by the bay here
they have a large ferris wheel as well as a variety
of different Kitty rides and games for the whole family where you can try and win a teddy bear
or something for your girlfriend even prices do vary for the rides for example the dream twister
is 100 pesos that's two US dollars right so if you wanted to do the drop tower that's a hundred
pesos they have the bumper car which is 60 pesos the pirate ship which is really exhilarating ride
that's 100 pesos so just depending on what you're gonna
do you pay per ride and right next to
the amusement park is SM Mall of Asia this is actually the largest shopping mall in all of the
Philippines and certainly right here in Manila so if you want to go to a mega mall this is the
one you're going to come to while here I actually stayed at the Conrad hotel which is very close
to both of these I'm not saying you'll want to stay at that hotel because it is a bit expensive
I use my Hilton Honors points to get that room but I found that to be a co
nvenient hotel for those
of you who do have reward points now let's talk about nightlife here in Manila this is a bit
of a tricky subject because depending on who you ask you'll get different answers but for the
most part people will tell you Makati and then even depending on what hotel you're at they'll
tell you publish on so publish on is basically the party area where there's bars but it's a
bit of a CD area if you know what I'm saying so keep that in mind if you're looking for a more
h
igh-end nightlife experience consider going to BGC in places like forbestown which we will be
showing you a little later on but it's going to be the daytime experience at Forbes town the
area you're looking at right here is called Pete Burgos here in publishan which is in Makati now
around here you're going to find cheaper hotels as well which is going to be a relief from BGC
and even though it's about two kilometers away from BGC it still takes about a half hour to get
here from BGC by the
way now which leads me to something I'd like to point out driving in Manila
is very congested and it does take a long time to go several kilometers something that should
take only maybe 10 minutes takes a half hour next up is Tal volcano and this one is actually
active sitting right here along the lake it's about an hour away from Manila it is a unique
natural beauty next up we're headed to City of Dreams this here is a casino and gaming area where
they have multiple different hotels inclu
ding the Hyatt Regency they also have some high-end
restaurants here like Wolfgang Puck and the DreamWork dream play for the kids so if you like
good food casinos and chilling out with the family in a little bit more of a ritzy area again City
of Dreams might be for you now here's a look at Forbes town but this time it's going to be in the
daytime like I said this is a place you may want to check out in the evening time you're going to
find high-end restaurants and cafes like a Tim Hortons
for example which is something you'd find
in Canada right here in Manila they also have many different restaurants that may be interesting
for you so again Forbes town right here in BGC could be a solution for some of you who are
looking for a high-end experience in Manila and the reason I keep going back to BGC with a lot
of this commentary is because this is an area you can get around without congestion now getting
here you're going to experience congestion but once you're here it's not a
s congested and crazy
as you would get around the rest of the city and just walking around BGC in general is what
I'm doing here showing you what the rest of BGC is there's got condos here where you may be able
to get a rental for an Airbnb they also have the Grand Hyatt nearby several other hotels but really
the best area to be is BGC you can see it looks like Singapore right here which I have noticed
comes as a bit of a surprise for foreigners who come here thinking that Manila is full of
traffic
jams and congestion so when they come out here they're like wow I didn't expect this awesome
area inside of Manila so yes BGC add that to your list of places to really hang out for those
who want to avoid the congestion but it's going to come at a price right it's expensive here I
found it to be easy to walk around but if you wanted to take one of these rental scooters to go
around or rent a bike you can do that also there's going to be plenty of taxis and they have grav
readily a
vailable so download that app now we're over here you're doing a manila haircut style I
like to get my hair cut here in Manila with one of these local guys who know what they're doing
with the switch blade they know how to trim it line it up really nicely so if you want a good
treatment for a fair price get your hair cut and line up with some nice shampoo and conditioner
and walk away feeling fresh and clean as you go around Manila streets this haircut service I
got was at Big Boss Barber r
ight here at Venice Canal shops in case you're wondering we got some
adobo and some lumpia so the adobo definitely tastes like it's a pork it doesn't taste like
a chicken okay so I got some prawn tacos here what is this called This is look at this Lumpia Shanghai a
popular delicacy here is actually called Balut this is actually a duck that's
almost about ready to hatch and you eat it it's a baby duck but what's the name yeah what does it look like inside a
boiled egg mini boiled eggs oh it
tastes good huh yeah wagyu and
garlic carbonara spaghetti sauce ah yes thank you sir for those of you who do plan to stay in BGC
maybe you consider checking out mini Park which is right here in BGC Village but it gives
you an idea of what life is like inside of much of Manila without actually having to go too
far in a car to see what the rest of Manila is like so this place like mini Park kind of cool
it's right next to the Bonifacio Memorial right there so you could probably get both and
then
you can head over to the SM aura Premier Mall as you've probably noticed some of the most
interesting things you'll do while visiting Manila is going to these malls and it's also
a great way to beat the humidity and the heat in these modern malls that they have all
across Makati BGC and the Manila Seaside area speaking of Manila Seaside area we're going to go
over to Newport World Resort this is similar to City of Dreams where they have several different
Resorts like the Sheraton the
Marriott as well as the Hilton and then they have of course the
casinos with a mall right next door it used to be called Resorts World but now it's renamed
Newport World Resort this area is just around the mall where you'll see all these crazy lighting
exhibits from Newport World Resort let's go back towards the intramuros area this year is the
minnella cathedral for those of you who like to study the history or of the Spanish settlements
in the area then come over here and check out this b
eautiful cathedral and that's going to do it for
this episode of Manila best things to do if you enjoyed it please hit the like button and if you
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