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Quote little sage Hi Chocopie,
Thanks for the long response, I appreciate it.
I agree with you that the fear-factor in the news media skews reality, but I admit I do let it affect me even though I should know better... What ifs are still there in the back of my mind. Good to hear the reality perspective to drown out the CNN newsflashes in my mind.
Anyway, I do have a few more questions. Since I've spent all of 5 hours in Manila, I was wondering what the highlights are. And what is tourism like in the Philippines in general? Is Manila comparable to Bangkok in terms of how many tourist innundate the streets? I spent 10 days on Boracay over Christmas in 2001 and it was mostly European tourists, and plenty of them. Are there other less touristed places to go?
Maybe I should just learn to accept that tourist placard that is always on my head while I am, yes, touristing. |
Hard for me to compare as I spent I relatively short time in Bangkok, really just a stopover on my way out to Kosamui (sp? too lazy to check). I found Bangkok cleaner and nicer (I know some people will be amazed as I've heard people talk about Bangkok being polluted), but really it was. I felt quite comfortable in Bangkok, at least the few places I went (Kasan road, a few temples and other shops). I have good friends in Manila, as well as a godson, so my time there is not so much touristy as visiting friends. Manila is great in that you can get a lot of styles and brands that are hard to find if you're living in Korea. If you enjoy city life, Manila has lots of funky fashion, beautiful shopping malls, restaurants, cafes, spas, hotels, great clubs with live music etc etc. I like these kind of things - not much of a backpacker, like my comforts - so for me it's great. However, frankly Manila is filthy, at least large parts of it is. The air quality is bad, and crime is something to watch out for, as I've mentioned. If you're looking for more cultural things, I think there are better places in the Philippines to go. I've read that Chinatown in Manila is worth checking out, but my friends point-blank refused to let me go there because they said it wasn't a safe part of town. Intramuros is definitley worth checking out, it's the oldest part of Manila, dating back to colonial times, and some effort has been made to maintain/restore it. Lunetta park is nice, but frankly it's just a nice park, not really worth flying there for. I would check out the Lonely Planet guide for destinations outside of Manila, (unless you're a shopper/nightlifer like me) and also to suggest festivals and stuff that are worth attending. I've heard that there are some efforts made at building an eco-tourism industry in some other areas, but I don't know the details. HTH