I went to bed around 1 a.m. today. I was really exhausted from the flight and the travel. Still, I really think travel is such a tiring journey. But that's exactly what makes it interesting, isn't it? That tiredness is, how should I put it, the essence of traveling.
Starting with a 12-hour deep sleep — morning in the Philippines
I went to bed around 1 a.m. today. I was really exhausted from the flight and the travel. Still, I really think travel is such a tiring journey. But that's exactly what makes it interesting, isn't it?
That tiredness is, how should I put it... Well, I actually woke up at 1 p.m. Oh no. Aaaaah. I ended up sleeping for more than 12 hours. But I told myself that days like this happen.
I was wondering what to do today, and since it was a good opportunity I decided to go to Intramuros, where Manila Cathedral is.
Heading to Intramuros — a local lunch adventure
Intramuros is like a Spanish walled city, and apparently the buildings were built around the 15th century when Spain colonized the area. It's a place where fortress remains, monasteries related to Christianity, and cathedrals gather. I decided to go to Manila Cathedral for now. But first, lunch.
When I searched "Manila lunch recommendations" on Parplexity, it recommended a long-established place called The Aristoclat, so I decided to go to a nearby restaurant from the hostel. I got ready and went outside, but it was insanely hot! When I checked the thermometer, it was 35°C. It was so hot that I felt like I was going to die just from being outside for a bit, so I hurried back to the hostel, put sunscreen on my face, and put on a hat.
Actually, it had been such a long time since I last put on sunscreen. I'd never used sunscreen while traveling around Southeast Asia until now, but I remembered a Russian friend in Thailand saying, "If you don't use sunscreen you'll get messed up when you get older," so this time I decided to put it on.
A Filipino-style restaurant
After walking for 15 minutes, I arrived at the restaurant safely. Reviews said you could have Filipino dishes there at reasonable prices. When I opened the menu, everything really looked delicious. There were spare ribs and many meat dishes. I really wanted spring rolls, so I ordered pork spring rolls, the restaurant's special rice, and a juice.
I don't remember the name of the juice — I forgot — but it seemed like some kind of syrupy drink? I had really gotten used to going into restaurants alone. Before, I couldn't go into restaurants alone at all and would always go to McDonald's or KFC, so compared to that I feel like I've really grown. I'm happy I was able to do it naturally. The taste was pretty good! But it wasn't like insanely delicious, I guess. Still, it was very Filipino in flavor, and being able to experience that was great.
However, even if a staff member nods when you call, it often takes about 30 seconds for them to come, and sometimes they forget. That made me really feel that Filipinos are laid-back and don't sweat the small stuff. I think that's a good thing, though as someone used to Japan I sometimes think, 'Are they coming yet?' But I also liked that everyone is different in their own way.
First experience with a bike taxi — to Manila Cathedral
They said it would take about 30 minutes by bike from the restaurant to Manila Cathedral, so I signed up for an app called JoyRide. This app didn't accept credit card payments and you had to top it up, so I tried to charge 500 pesos using my Wise card and Revolut card, but both were declined. So I gave up and decided to pay cash.
The total was 630 pesos (about 1,600 yen), so I paid 1,000 pesos and expected to get change to have money to pay the taxi. Even though I paid, they were slow to bring the change, and I worried for a moment that maybe they assumed, because I was Japanese, that I'd just give them the whole 1,000 pesos. The staff member who took the money had already forgotten about it and was doing other work.
When I went to speak to them, they were like 'just a moment.' What the heck! (laughs) This is the Philippines, I thought. After that I finally got my change and called a bike taxi. Surprisingly it was only about 121 pesos (300 yen). So cheap! Calling a regular taxi would have been about 480 pesos, so it's a quarter of the price. I called one and it came right away.
Philippine-style bike taxis are a bit different
I've used bike taxis in Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand, but the Philippines was a bit unique. Before putting on a helmet, they handed me that cloth thing that butchers wear in meat factories and had me put it on my head. Is that to prevent lice? I was really surprised. I thought it was amazing that they pay attention to something like that. In other countries they don't care at all.
Also, I noticed that not many people use bike taxis, so perhaps there's not much demand and there weren't many drivers. After about 30 minutes I arrived at Manila Cathedral. The moment I arrived, a tourist guide began speaking to me, asking if I wanted a tour, so it was quite overwhelming.
Encountering a wedding, and feeling the weight of history
There was a security check to enter Manila Cathedral. Since a wedding was being held today, you could only enter about one-ninth of the space; the rest was reserved for people involved with the wedding.
Interestingly, Filipino weddings are really large-scale too. There were over a hundred people participating — it was such a scale that I wondered what on earth was going on. So just putting on a wedding must be really demanding.
I thought two people would be enough. I want to have a wedding for just two of us in Antarctica, so I found this really interesting. After quickly seeing part of Manila Cathedral, I went back outside. Next... I was so tired that I went to a convenience store and bought a Pocari Sweat. The 800ml was 99 pesos, about 260 yen. Expensive!
Complex feelings felt at Fort Santiago
After that, since I was tired I decided to call a bike via JoyRide to go home. But none came! I thought 'forget it' and decided to walk to Fort Santiago.
Fort Santiago's entrance fee is 70 pesos. I paid and received change. When I went inside, they stamped my skin as proof of payment. But you need an admission ticket for that... huh? I hadn't received it. There was that kind of trouble. I told a nearby woman that I had paid but hadn't received it, and she explained it in Tagalog for me and I was able to get the stamp.
So I walked around various places. You could really tell it had been a fortified city. There were cannons and stone buildings. Everything was kind of in ruins, but you could feel the history. Inside the fortress I also saw places where, during the battles between the American and Japanese forces, the Japanese had imprisoned and tortured Filipino political prisoners.
It really felt like my chest was being squeezed. Hearing that the Japanese army had done such things made me feel conflicted. When guides and tourists explained that people had been killed by the Japanese army, I felt apologetic and wanted to leave quickly.
So I felt that people from countries that have done bad things in the past must feel like this when their country is being talked about. That was also a valuable experience. After going outside, I enjoyed nature. The greenery was beautiful. Nearby buildings were reflecting on the river and it was very pretty.
Witnessing social inequality, and then a fateful encounter
With that, I said goodbye to Fort Santiago. A Filipino friend told me that an app called Angkas is better than JoyRide, so I decided to sign up for that too.
So I linked my credit card and tried to call a bike, but none showed up! In the end it even refunded me. A bit anxious, I tried using JoyRide again, and luckily there was a bike nearby so someone came. I was able to return to the hostel safely. On the way back there were really dirty apartment buildings that looked like slums, with people living in them.
Again, I felt how extreme the inequality is. Come to think of it, while I was walking children and various people begged — "Give me 1 peso." I refused everyone, but I wonder if I should have given something to the children. I want to soften my rigid personality somehow, and soon.
I think I'm protecting myself too much — my guard is too tight. I thought I should be more friendly and easygoing. But I expect my environment will change that. After getting back to the hostel I was so exhausted that I took an afternoon nap for about two hours.
A night that changed my life — meeting William
When I woke up I was torn between going to the nearby Wendy's or going to a closer-looking local restaurant, and I decided to go to the local place. I walked over and it seemed to be full of people.
There were no people at the other place at all, which I didn't like for some reason. It's always like this with me. Why is that... When I was about to go back and head to Wendy's, two Koreans came out of that restaurant, so I decided to go in at that timing. A friendly older man greeted me and showed me in.
There I ordered something like pork ribs. I wanted something meaty. While waiting for the food, the old man started chatting with me in a friendly way.
Obviously Japanese — the lesson of the crossbody bag
He first said, 'You're Japanese, right?' (laughs). I was found out. Yes. Apparently the crossbody bag I'm wearing is really distinctive. He said Japanese people all carry crossbody bags like that, so they're easy targets.
He said a kid who came the other day came to the store at night and the next day and apparently had everything taken. So the rule is: don't carry your passport if possible, take photos of everything, and try not to carry belongings. Suddenly he gave me a really great lesson about travel.
I've never had things stolen yet, but when you're traveling around the world, getting targeted by theft is almost inevitable, so I want to be extremely careful.
So I'll use that bag in safe places but decided not to use it in places like the Philippines where security isn't that good. I was grateful to the old man for giving me such an instant lesson. A person eating in front of us joined our conversation, and he apparently carried cash and cards loose in his pockets. I thought how light that was, but I also wondered what he'd do if he dropped his card while on a bike taxi.
Thoughts on seeing 19-year-old Japanese travelers
While eating my pork ribs, some Japanese tourists came in. They were two nineteen-year-old boys. I thought, surprisingly there are Japanese people here. I'm so unused to conversations with Japanese that when they came in I kept eating my pork ribs and pretended not to notice.
Because I'm shy. Still, I thought it's amazing for two 19-year-olds to come to the Philippines together. They ordered from the old man in broken English: 'What's recommended?' 'How much is water?' As expected, being Japanese, they checked the price before ordering. Cute. Same with me (laughs). Our generation grew up after the bubble and is poorer, so we naturally worry about money. I totally empathize.
Travel advice that changed my destiny
Then he mixed me with those Japanese kids and told us a sightseeing plan. He said Tagaytay — about two hours from Manila — has a volcano and is great as a day trip. Coincidentally, this was also recommended by someone I met on Bumble yesterday. So I felt like this might be a sign. Might as well go! He then asked where I'm heading after Manila, and I said 'Puerto Princesa.'
When I said I planned to stay there for 10 days, he said, 'Listen, you definitely don't need 10 days. One day is enough. Just do the cave tour, then go to Port Barton, El Nido, and Colon.'
Apparently Colon island is the old man's hometown. At that moment I wondered if my coming to Manila was meant for me to meet him and have my trajectory changed. So I decided to follow his advice faithfully. Apparently Port Barton is a remote hidden spot; El Nido and Puerto Princesa are very famous, but Port Barton isn't famous yet.
But the sea is really beautiful so I should go. So I decided to go. Looking at my Agoda reservations, the later accommodations were still changeable, so I hurried to do that. I felt like this was another sign.
William's life philosophy — the soul of an entrepreneur
After finishing my pork ribs, the two Japanese boys left. I then talked with the old man. Apparently, 28 years ago he owned another restaurant and still uses the kitchen utensils and chairs from back then in this small restaurant.
He showed me photos from that time.
The colors were very beautiful, like from a film camera. He seemed to be the restaurant owner, and now to attract more customers he works as a waiter himself, adding value by communicating and providing information to increase repeat customers. I thought that was impressive. It was truly on point and a wonderful idea/strategy. So I was curious.
I wondered what exactly he had been doing with his life. So I asked.
He said he'd lived in New York for 28 years and had married an American. He also sold Japanese products like Toshiba and Yamaha at a discount and ran a clothing business aimed at madams.
At first he worked in delivery, and then he took over a shop — that kind of thing. He told me many interesting stories. I was glad to hear William's story.
Differentiation from other restaurants. Communicate, convey information to add value, and get customers to come. I thought that was brilliant. His communication skills are off the charts. Truly impressive.
There was so much to learn. Indeed, for business owners communication is everything. I think the most important thing for an entrepreneur is the ability to attract people with their communication. Without that, you definitely can't succeed; even if you do, you'd likely go out of business quickly. Once again, I was fascinated by someone with William's guts.
I can only say 'Hi' to people I've met at hostels, so maybe I have some weird belief or I'm afraid of rejection. I think that, but I will probably become like that person, and I believe my environment will change me.
I took a photo with the old man and said I'd probably come back tomorrow, then left.
A night that dramatically changed the journey
After returning to the hostel I changed my dates on Agoda and booked accommodation in Port Barton and El Nido. Thanks to the old man, my trip is likely to become even more interesting. Thank you.
