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Manila We have almost nothing good to say about Manila, and recommend that you do not spend much time there. It is a filthy, overcrowded, polluted and congested city. Getting around can be very difficult. This is exacerbated by conditions of high humidity and choking exhaust fumes. There is lots of crime and plenty of it focused at foreigners. Between 12 and 15 million people live here and many of them are desperately poor. The Australian government has put out a warning to Australian citizens to be careful of gangs or individuals that drug tourists. As this has happened to people I know, it really is a threat. See Scams . There are lots of great places to go in the Philippines, Manila is just not one of them. "Baywalk" is a long, well-lit footpath that follows Manila Bay for about 4 kilometers. It would be a nice place except that Manila Bay stinks something awful. An article about it in the local paper recently said that it was now illegal to swim in the bay because it was to dangerous to one's health. A friend was also taken to the local police station some time ago for drinking beer at bay walk which was supposedly illegal. My Filipino friend was drinking root beer and the policeman would not believe that root beer is non alcoholic. There were also no signs up either at the time to say that you could not drink alcohol there. My friend was told that this was because they did not have budget for the signs yet. This incident was not a dangerous one but shows the sort of things that can happen "only in the Philippines", as the local expression goes. Live music here is great and affordable and the best thing (maybe only thing) that Manila has going for it.  We particularly like Jazz, but also enjoy Blues, Reggae and indigenous music. Good food is one of the most challenging aspects of living in the Philippines. It does not have a food culture like Thailand, Indonesia or Malaysia. When in Manila, don't ride on the calesa, which is a two wheeled horse drawn cab. The drivers of these calesas are notorious for changing agreed prices and often become very aggressive to get their money. Expect that the money changer in a tourist area is going to rip you off. A couple of family members visiting from Australia went to a money changer in Ermita recently and the money changer assistant even stole their shopping bags from behind them. The bags were dumped outside when they found no valuables inside. Best place to change money is to go to a big shopping mall. I have never had problems changing money there. Banco de Oro gives the best rates. Getting around Manila Taxis are the best way to get around for the tourist. They are cheap and all are air-conditioned. Flag fall is 30 pesos (about 60 cents US), and a 15 minute journey will cost about 80 pesos. The taxis will almost without exception try to rip you off if they know you are a tourist. Avoid traveling around Manila between 8:00 and 9:30AM and between 5:00 and 8:00PM during week days. Not only is it hard to get a cab, but you will discover the very worst side of Philippines traffic and pollution. It is much worse if  there is heavy rain as the traffic cops will go for shelter and the whole system can grid-lock.   VAT, Service Charge and Local tax Watch those bills in hotels and restaurants. Check if there are service charges and taxes. Take your magnifying glass so you can see the fine print on the menu that says "prices are exclusive of taxes and service charges". Almost all hotels and restaurants will stack these onto the bill and it will typically add another 25%. My sister had booked by phone for some of my family to stay in the "Holiday Inn" in Ortigas recently and was assured that the prices included all taxes. When she went to pay the bill, there was an extra 25% on the bill. No amount of complaining made made any difference. VAT                 12% Service charge   10% Local tax            2.5% (sometimes)

 

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