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A long weekend in Manila started with a stay at The Peninsula Manila in the Makati district, offering a luxurious experience worth recommending. Arriving late, we explored the nearby Raffles Hotel and enjoyed drinks at the Long Bar. Day two was filled with sightseeing—starting with the National Museum of Natural History, which was underwhelming, followed by the impressive National Museum of Fine Arts with its grand architecture and art collection. We also visited Fort Santiago, Casa Manila, and Saint Augustine Church, admiring the colonial-era architecture and rich history. The final day included shopping, food, and navigating Manila’s infamous traffic jams.

Day One

Our internal struggle to choose a destination for a long weekend was resolved this time to the capital of the Philippines - Manila. I was last in Manila during my MBA on a business trip, when we focused on learning more about the Philippines - the country’s economy, culture, and nature. For the current trip, we decided not to go far and wide, and spend the whole time in Manila.

After about three and a half hours of flight and a taxi ride, we unpacked our luggage at The Peninsula Manila, an incredible hotel in the heart of Makati district. The hotel offered various stay-in packages with access to the hotel’s private lounge, which includes afternoon tea and drinks, but we decided to opt-out. In general, the hotel is gorgeous and really worth every cent, so I strongly recommend checking it out.

As we arrived reasonably late, we didn’t have much time on the first day to explore the city, so we just walked around the hotel and discovered that the Raffles Hotel is also nearby. So, we decided to check out the famous Long Bar and get a Singapore Sling! Obviously, Singapore isn’t the right location for that :) It was fun to see the crowd and how ladies in years start dancing after a couple of cocktails.

I personally enjoyed this masterpiece:

Photo from Asia Bars

Day Two

National Museum of Natural History

The second day we were entirely dedicated to sightseeing. First, we headed to the National Museum of Natural History. The museum entrance was nice, but, unfortunately, the internals didn’t impress me - mediocre “skylift”, mediocre exhibition, and mediocre gift shop. The only notable thing was the speed of the elevator once we offboarded from it. It took maybe 30 minutes to bring the next batch of people to the top. Ah, also, there is no air conditioning, so don’t expect cool air like in Singapore.

National Museum of Fine Arts

The second museum, the National Museum of Fine Arts, is much more than the first one. The museum building is far more notable and grand, and some of the rooms have aircon to escape excessive heat! But jokes aside, the museum art collection is very lovely, and I truly enjoyed seeing both international and Filipino artists. The most notable art work for me is a monumental mural that encompasses the history of the country.

Fort Santiago

After the National Museum of Fine Arts, we went to Fort Santiago, a must-visit in Manila. It’s truly a remarkable fortress, and it’s an interesting experience to see a conventional Spanish fortress a thousand kilometers away from Spain. I’ve been there last time, so it was just a pleasure to keep an eye on details and reminisce on my last visit.

Casa Manila

Lastly, the two last signs we covered that day - Casa Manila and Archdiocese of Manila. Casa Manila is a gorgeous museum that “features the lifestyle of an affluent Filipino family during the late Spanish colonial period”. The place has an amazing interior with intricate ornament, carved furniture made of various types of wood, elegant marble-top tables, and elegant wicker chairs. It was truly a visual pleasure exploring this space.

Archdiocese of Manila

The second place is the gorgeous Saint Augustine Church. Firstly, the place is grand and visually stunning. It truly reminds me of “The Name of the Rose” with its detailed description of a medieval abbey. The place is insanely beautiful, but it also has a lot to learn about, especially augustinians’ involvement in the Philippines’ development.

We also had a quick stop in a local Chinatown with a quick visit to a museum of Chinese culture, which is great I learned a lot about the amalgamation of both Chinese and Filipino cultures, but I don’t really have too many photos from there.

Last Day

The last day was about shopping and good food, good food and shopping.

Sponsor of the next paragraph - traffic jams in Manila! Traffic Jams in Manilla, you can complete an entire book while you are stuck! As we spent a lot of time in traffic jams, I had a chance to read this amazing resource about AGI and what type of future awaits - Situational Awareness. If you are keen to learn more about how AI is going to affect the future, that’s the right resource to check out.

Famous Jeepney, an evolution of US hammer:

Probably, I can highlight only a little Venice, a grand mall with a canal in the middle:

No surprises, it’s as far from Venice as Manila is.