Thriller in Manila

The Philippines, a new country for me

Having arrived into the Philippines on a ridiculously timed flight at 04:55 for the 3 hour flight. I was greeted with a warm welcome from my Korean host. Been allowed into my room at 7am was a massive bonus, after much needed shower, fruit for breakfast, handing a huge pile of laundry to the delightfully polite and very pleasant house maid, I caught up on some much needed sleep.

Fully refreshed I went on a little walk around. First thing that hit me was it was extremely hot, humid too. It wasn't too long into my walk my shirt was soaked through.

I stumbled on Rizal Park, a few statues, fountains, monuments, gardens made for a nice stroll, trying to gain shade of the trees from the blistering heat even though it was fairly cloudy.

Rizal Park, Manila

I paid around 30p to see the site of Rizal's execution (National hero, whom the park is named after) recreated with bronze statues.

Bronze statue reconstruction of Rizal's (National Hero) execution

In the firing line

The Korean Lady at my AirBnB accommodation offered me to stay for dinner to sample a Korean feast. The food was excellent, a very nice touch from the host. Not sure whose dinner I ate but it was nice.

Now that is a proper Korean spread for dinner

Next job was to find a safe (non seedy) bar for beers in downtown Metro Manila. First bar I came across was my favorite place in Manila. It was an open sided bar with a band playing on the large stage at the front. It was just a 'normal' bar frequented by students and tourists alike.

San Mig Light, the first of many

Next up I found a bar that would be showing the cricket world cup final in 2 days time. Beers were more expensive in there but it would definitely do a job for the game.

All the recent overnight travelling final took its toll and the next day was sleep, sleep and more sleep. Finally I got myself moving went to the shopping mall where I bumped into the security guard from my apartment complex. I was telling him about my night out the previous evening, and he said he would show me around the 'best' bars in Metro Manila. What followed was a 'girlie' bar walking tour, mid afternoon.

I'd researched a local eating institution for evening meal at a place called Aristocrat. It was indeed popular with the locals. The massive place was packed early on a Saturday night, it wasn't cheap either. I had a local dish which was basically belly pork and crackling. Not the healthiest of meals but very tasty.

Pork and crackling for supper

I'd been tipped off about a bar selling ultra cheap beers sitting on plastic chairs on the street. I liked it in there. Plenty of strange characters inside and even stranger sights walking by, including some obvious ladyboys in full 'costume'.

I headed back to the bar close by my apartment the one I liked from the previous evening with live bands playing tunes. Strangely having been packed on Friday night, it was fairly dead on the Saturday. This however gave the waitress plenty of time to chat to me. She was very nice and I lost count how many times I said, OK one more beer then I'm going.

Second night in Super 8

Those additional 'one more' beers took their toll on me the next day and I was a little hung over. Following a 'refreshing' (cold) swim I hit the tourist beat again. 

Pool at the apartment

I visited the Intramuros district. It was nice, away from all the hustle and bustle of down town Manila and started with a hearty lunch.

Lunch in Intramuros, tasty it was too

I visited the Fort (Fort Santiago) which had an informative museum, nice gardens and was good to stroll around, nothing to strenuous. Outside the fort it was quite 'old worldy' it was nice to walk the streets ducking into churches and cathedrals. I managed to gate crash two weddings that day.

Fort Santiago

Church in Intramuros

Manila Cathedral

I went for a walk to harbour to see the sunset over the bay, grabbed a few cheap beers at the pavement bar, and went to watch England play in the Cricket T20 World Cup Final.

Sunset over Manila harbour

The bar I watched the game in was run by an Aussie, surprisingly him and his mate were cheering England on. With England in an almost unbeatable position with an over to go they left the bar saying it's all over. 4 balls later the game turned and England lost. I'd have loved to have seen their faces when they picked up the morning paper the next day. I was disappointed, but pleased to have seen some great cricket live in India and got to watch the semi-final in Malaysia and the final in Philippines on TV.

The next day I took a flight to Kalibo where I found budget accommodation at under £5 for a single room. I had a quiet night, just a late night beer whilst chatting with the lady from reception. 

The next day I was going to catch a ferry to the beautiful and party island of Boracay.

Back to where it all began, Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur is the place my career break began early in October 2015. I like KL, so much so that my return here from India will be my 4th visit. I wasn't desperate to come back but it was the cheapest flight to South East Asia from Delhi. KL is a great travel hub so I knew I would be able to make onward travel plans easily and most important of all, many budget airlines have a base here.

Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur

I have already blogged about KL so this is an ideal opportunity to point any new readers back to the start of my blogs The Big Leap - First Strop Kuala Lumpur

Strangely KL International Airport (KLIA) is located over 50km from the cities Sentral Station. There is a very fast, clean and efficient train that does the journey at a cost of about £10 each way (55 Ringgit). I have always used this to get to and from the airport. 

Arriving at an early hour I had plenty of time on my hands before check-in at my hotel so I took the bus instead. The bus was just £2 (11 Ringgit) each way and was very clean and comfortable. They depart and arrive from the same place the only difference really is the time it takes to do the trip. I arrived in rush hour and it took over an hour, where as the train can do it in half that time. In future I will always use the bus to commute.

Once I'd got into my room, I was well overdue a shower as I was still in the clothes I wondered around the streets of Delhi in the day before and then spent hours on a plane.

The hotel I stayed in was run by Sri Lankan's who were enthusiastic about cricket. When I pulled out my photo's of the England v Sri Lanka game just two days earlier they could not believe I'd been at the match. The hotel had boutique in its name, personally I think that is stretching it a bit far. It was a clean tiny single room with bathroom and at a little over £8 per night including a decent breakfast was an absolute steel in my opinion. It was in a great location also just around the corner from restaurants, bars, clubs and shopping malls.

That afternoon I rekindled my growing love affair with the Petronas Towers. I had a walk around the park infront that gives great views of the magnificent structure. I didn't do the tour as I'd done it before, luckily really, as the connecting bridge was closed for maintenance.

I love these towers

Artistically Done

On the evening there is no better place to spend time eating and drinking on Jalan Alor. The place is a buzz of locals, tourists and touts. I had a beer and food in one of my favorite spots. I was home before dark due to the lack of sleep the night before.

Food and a beer before an early night

I'd had phone issues for the last week or so, it intermitantly stopped reading my memory card, kept over heating and turning off, often very slow to charge and quick to drain the battery. Sometimes the camera worked others it didn't. I felt if I didn't get a new one it would hamper my travels, afterall a phone these days is my camera, my guide book, my map etc. I'd chosen the one I wanted in India, didn't get around to buying it and ended up paying £30 more for the same model in Malyasia.

Setting up the phone took ages, by the time I was ready to go out it was after 2pm. I took myself on a little half day trip to Batu Caves. It is easy to get out here on public transport take the monorail, LRT or MRT to Sentral and catch a train direct to the caves. It is easy and under a £1 each way. The caves are also free so it is a cheap day out. There is a few bits and pieces up there that demand an entry fee, but none of them seemed to me to be worth the money.

The cave is located up some 272 steps, at the foot of which is a huge golden Hindu statue. The statue is 42.7m high and dwarfs the steps. Climbing the steps is easy, although with the sun beating down on your back you are bound to get a little sweaty. As you make your way up the steps there are monkeys playing, fighting, looking for food all around you. They think nothing of taking food of tourists. At the top there are a couple of big caves and temples.

Giant Hindu statue at Batu Caves - yes it really is this big!

View from the top looking down

My route back to the station was halted by some geezer feeding about 50 monkeys by the entrance. I bravely tried to squeeze past but one didn't look happy at the possibility of me steeling his food and did sufficient to make me wait until feeding time was over and the path to the station was clear.

Monkeys everywhere

The hotel gave me a City map with all the sights marked clearly on it, with a little bit of information on each sight. The KL City Gallery was described as the place you should go first when in Kuala Lumpur. I hadn't done it before so thought even though I was 4 visits too late I would head over to this. It wasn't bad in there, quite informative without information overload under a £1 entry fee and you could exchange your used ticket for either an ice-cream or a coffee in the gift shop cafe. I had an Iced Coffee and it was worth the entrance fee on its own.

Buildings around Merdeka Square

Buildings around Merdeka Square

The City Gallery is located at one end of Merdeka Square. A tip for a cheap eat around this touristy location. Under the huge flagpole is the entrance to a small underground mall. There is a food court at the back where locals frequent. I had Soup, Chicken Curry and noodles with an Iced Tea for £1.10. Very good food and excellent value for money.

All this for £1

Next up on my day tour of attractions I'd not done before was a walk around the Botanical Gardens. This was nice but it was crazily hot when you weren't in the shade. To cool down after an hours walk I went to the National Museum. Very informative and well presented.

Plenty of Greenery in the Botanical Gardens

I was leaving KL the next day and had a few options of what to do and where to go. One option was to head north to the Cameron Highlands for a break from the heat and to view the tea plantations. If I was to go north I would have continued up into Thailand making my way to Bangkok a couple of weeks later for the Songkran Water Festival. The second option was bus to Melacca and stay for the Friday night market, before heading down to Singapore where an onward flight to the Philippines was quite a bit cheaper than from KL. The final option was to fly straight into the Philippines.

I opted for the 2nd option booked an AirBnB but it got declined due to an over booking, so went for the third option and booked a flight to Manila for the following evening.

This night was the semi final of the Cricket World Cup England v New Zealand. My night started with cheap food and not too expensive drinks again down Jalan Alor. I had sourced a bar with the cricket on 5 minutes walk from Jalan Alor, but had also noticed that drinks were expensive. There were many bars on this strip each one having a seemingly good deal on until you worked out it was still expensive. I settled on a bar, had a few beers and a couple of celebratory Mojitos as England won the game comfortably.

Jalan Alor Selfie

Bar with the cricket on

The next morning I met a chap from Manila and bloke from KL over breakfast. They were very helpful and informative in telling me where I should stay in Manila and what Islands I should visit during my 4 week stay.

One of the restrictions of a free Visa into Philippines is you need evidence of your exit from the country so I had to book my onward flight to Taiwan, booking early meant I got it for a cracking price.

The Mojitos the night before all but wiped me out of Malaysian Ringgit. That afternoon I headed back to the Petronas Towers park and sat in the shade reading Lonely Planet - Philippines.

KLCC Park

Last view of the towers

My flight was ridiculously timed leaving KL at 02:30 and arriving in Manila at 05:00. The good news was that I had managed to arrange with the lady of the place I was staying at to let me check-in at 7am.

Spending my last Ringgits on dinner before my very late flight

I was looking forward to the Philippines, another new country for me and my first new country since entering Laos late in November.

KL Tower at night

I still love KL

Delhi delights

With my train from Agra been delayed, I arrived into New Delhi station late at night ~1am. I had a fair idea where my hotel was, it was walkable along the Main Bazaar Street of the Paraganj area of the city. It was in an alley way just off the main street. I tried to take an auto-rickshaw or a bicycle-rickshaw but they weren't keen on taking me, just pointing me down the correct littered alleyways. Half way down the alley, a few stay dogs took exception to me been on their patch. A couple of locals chased them away and helped me find my hotel.

I had a ticket for the first of the games in Delhi against Afghanistan (£10) due to a double booking error by one of the lads. The biggest game on the Saturday was against Sri Lanka, which I wanted to source a ticket for early. It was easy enough to buy a ticket (£5) when I went to the booking office with a friend who had some pre-order tickets to collect.

So my cricket tickets for all 4 England group games totaled £25, not bad value at all. That said, I feel that they were overpriced, which has resulted in many games been left less than half full. When I went to the first ever T20 World Cup in South Africa in 2007, tickets were just 20 rand (little over £1 back then) and consequently had full stadiums with a great atmosphere.

Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium Delhi

The game against Afghanistan itself was a poor tight affair, England were excellent for a small spell of the game during the last 3 overs of batting and first 3 of bowling. This was enough to overcome an emerging Afghan team.

View from the top tier

Some of lads were heading home after this game so we had a few (lots of) post match beers in the Immigrant Cafe (better than it sounds) located on the modern pleasant Connaught Place.

The next morning was Holi Festival in Northern India. The festival of colours is celebrated with people throwing paint powder, squirting you with water pistols (often with paint mixed in), throwing water bombs and generally having 'fun'.

I went out to the shop to buy some Indian sweets for a present. Kids were covered in coloured paint head to toe. A few of them tried to play Holi with me and I had to negotiate just a smearing of paint on my forehead rather than a clothes ruining soaking.

Managed to get away with just a little paint on my head

I went to a house party for a meal to celebrate Holi, it was quite far (in another state) and sourcing a taxi was not easy due to it been festival day. I arrived at Indu's house (a friend whom I used to work with a couple of years back) which was a apartment block and all the youngsters were playing with water, paint and dancing to some banging beats. It was great to see the real festival at close quarters. A couple of kids fired water pistols at me but I survived a paint attack. Half of me wishes I'd just gone for it, got totally soaked and truly embraced the festival.

Everyone playing Holi outside the apartment block

Indu and his family had gathered from Northern India together for a special meal. It was really nice to have been invited on this family celebration, it was similar to been invited to a Christmas lunch. Once again the Indian hospitality that I received was first class as was the food.

A fine Holi lunch

Indu (right) and his family

Back in Delhi with it been Holi, no bars were open, but on the off chance I tried the rooftop bar of the hotel my friends had been staying in, sure enough beer was flowing up there. I heard a reasonably loud bang, on looking out from the rooftop I saw a car on its roof, within 30 seconds a crowd of 50 had gathered round. The crowd rose as time went on, the central reservation was more like a terrace for a better view. By now the road was blocked and a cacophony of horns blasting was filling the early evening air. Even after the police arrived it took them a long time to get the traffic moving again.

Seconds after the car crash

I had a free day for some sightseeing so got the very clean and efficient metro towards Delhi Fort. I have visited the Fort before and gone inside, but last time I left with the feeling it was better from the outside, so I just took a few pictures and carried on.

Delhi Fort

Delhi Fort walls

On my previous visit, the chaos of Old Delhi Bazaar was quite mind blowing. As I did it back them I hired a bycle-ricksaw to peddle me through the narrow streets. Sadly my 'driver' was more keen to get me into specific shops to boost his commission. This got annoying and I cut short the 1 hour tour and paid the bloke the £2 fee we had agreed and continued the tour on foot.

My bicycle Rickshaw rider

Spice market

I'd agreed to meet a young lad that evening called Gav (on his first tour) for a few beers. The pace was quite quick and we got through far too many of the large 660ml Kingfisher beers. The night ended with us in an Indian dive bar with 3 female singers screeching out tunes, whilst we got chatting to a Nepalese trader and a very drunk South Korean. At 2 AM when we went downstairs to leave we were locked in as an argument had broken out with one of the punters and the owner over his bill.

When I got back, the laundry man was waiting for me with my clean clothes and wanted his 150 rupees (£1.50). He had been there since 8pm (6 hours) sadly I had spent up and only had a few coins. He knocked on my door at 9am asking for it but, surprise surprise I hadn't been to bank in those 7 sleeping hours. I did go and get him his money as I was feeling guilty.

After that massive drinking session the next morning was very slow. I just about managed to make it to the barbers for a shave. I put back the optimistic time to start drinking again with Gav to 2 PM, when we met back in the Immigrant café prior to the final game versus Sri Lanka.

Beers started off going down very slowly, but following a meal and the build up to the game it soon started flowing again and we managed a bit of a pub crawl around Connaught Place.

The large proud India Flag flying in the centre of Connaught Place

The game was a must win game for both teams, it was effectively a quarter final where the winners went into the semi finals and the losers were on the plane home. England were cruising to victory at one point, but a spirited fightback from Sri Lanka took the game closer than it should have been. In the end England held on for a well deserved victory.

Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium Delhi

I was on the top tier of the stand which gave for cracking views, the stand also had a small vociferous group of Sri Lankan fans who were studying in Delhi. It made for a decent atmosphere and despite still been a little hungover from the night before, I really enjoyed the game.

Mixing it with the opposition

Among the thousands of fans leaving the ground somehow I managed to get straight in a tuk-tuk and was back in the bar within minutes of the game finishing. I think a test match in Delhi would be a good one, especially when the open the Metro station by the ground.

On my last day in India, I took in a bit more tourism sights. I went to India Gate and the Presidents Palace. The roads are really wide with little traffic on them, once you step out of the metro station you feel you are in a different country. The Presidents Palace is great to wonder around outside. I'm surprised how easy and free to move around you were.

The East wing of the Presidents Palace

I than took the 3km walk (so the several tuktuk driver's told me) in the heat to avoid the 20p fare, with which I bought myself an ice cream.

The road from the Presidents Palace to India Gate 

India Gate

India Gate

I was meeting my mate Indu and his wife for a meal before I left for the airport. We had a great chat over a lovely veg curry. A good way to end my time in India.

Myself, Indu and his wife Saumya after my last meal in India on this trip

My stay in India has been a fabulous experience, the time has flown by, yet also it feels I've been there for months. Thank you to all that played a part in such happy memories.

Next stop, Kuala Lumpur - a return to the start of my career reboot in October 2015.