Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1
SPECTATOR SPORTS
Because the PBA (Philippine Basketball Association) teams are owned by corporations, and do
not play in a home stadium, most
basketball
games are played at the Araneta Coliseum in
Cubao (see p.96) and the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay; games usually run Wednesday, Friday
and Sunday from October to July. Tickets in the cheap seats, the “bleachers”, cost as little as
P10, while a ringside seat will set you back P250-600. Tickets are available from Ticketnet (see
p.96) or
W
pba.inquirer.net.
Major
cockfighting
venues in Manila include the huge air-conditioned Pasay City Cockpit
Arena (Arnaiz Ave at Dolores St), where “derbies” take place most Sundays from noon to 5pm
(around P20 entry fee). Fights also take place on Monday, Wednesday and Friday 1-5pm.
Sat & Sun P1445; includes caddie fee and insurance).
Driving range around P220/hr.
Club Intramuros
Bonifacio Drive at Soriano St
(formerly Aduana St), Intramuros
T
02 527 6612.
Basic
facilities and a short eighteen-hole course that runs along
the walls of the old city. Figure on around P3500 for green
fees (P1500 daily), caddie hire and clubs. Offers night
golfing also.
Villamor Golf Course
Jesus Villamor Air Base, Pasay
T
02 833 8630.
Home of the Philippine Masters; green
fees are around P1500 (Mon-Fri) and P2300 (Sat & Sun).
GOLF
There are three golf courses in Manila where non-
members can turn up and pay for a round - it's usually
first come, first served (which means waits of 1-2hr
at weekends) - and one where you can reserve in
advance. You can book ahead at all three courses via
the GolfPH website (
T
02 625 4200,
W
golfph.com;
P650 per reservation).
Army Golf Club
(Kagitingan)
Bayani Rd, Fort
Bonifacio, south of Makati
T
02 812 7521.
Boasts some
of the lowest green fees in the country (Mon-Fri P1085;
SHOPPING
The combination of intense heat and dense tra
c means many Manileños forsake the pleasures of the outdoors at
weekends for the computer-controlled climate of their local
mall
- there can be few cities that have as many malls per
head of population as this one. Note that the developers rarely pay as much attention to the surrounding roads as they do
to their precious real estate, which means that tra
c is especially gridlocked in these areas. Despite the growth of malls,
there are still plenty of earthy outdoor
markets
in Manila where you can buy food, antiques and gifts at rock-bottom
prices, as well as some decent bookshops and fashion boutiques. One trendy local brand to look out for is Bench (
W
bench
.com.ph), which sells Ben Chan's men's and women's lines in stores all over the city.
literary section in town. It's owned by the novelist F. Sionil
José and, apart from stocking his own excellent novels,
has a small selection of highbrow fiction and lots of
material on the Philippines.
Mon-Sat 9am-6pm.
BOOKS
National Book Store
G/F Harrison Plaza, M. Adriatico
St
T
02 525 8205, map p.69; Level 1, Robinsons Place,
Ermita
T
02 536 7893, map p.69; Glorietta 5, Makati
T
02 757 0525, map p.77; Sct. Borromeo at Quezon
Ave, Quezon City
T
02 373 3454, map p.82;
W
national
bookstore.com.ph.
The country's major bookshop chain,
but as ever their stock is limited to contemporary thrillers,
literary classics and
New York Times
bestsellers, with much
of what's on offer stocked specifically for students.
Quezon
Ave
daily 10am-7pm; Glorietta 5 & Harrison Plaza daily
10am-8pm; Robinsons Place daily 9am-9pm.
Powerbooks
Branches at Level 4 Manila Midtown,
Robinsons Place, Ermita, map p.69; Glorietta 3, Makati,
map p.77; Greenbelt 4, Makati, map p.77.
The best
general bookshop in Manila, with seven branches around
the city.
Manila Midtown & Glorietta 3 Mon-Thurs &
Sun 10am-9pm, Fri & Sat 10am-10pm.; Greenbelt 4
daily 10am-10pm.
Solidaridad Bookshop
531 Padre Faura St, Ermita
T
02 254 1086; map p.69.
The bookshop with the best
HANDICRAFTS AND SOUVENIRS
There are touristy shops all over Manila selling repro-
duction tribal art, especially
bulol
(sometimes spelt
bulul
) - depictions of rice gods, worshipped by northern
tribespeople because they are said to keep evil spirits
from the home and bless farmers with a good harvest.
Genuine
bulol
are made from
narra
wood and are dark
and stained from the soot of tribal fires and from blood
poured over them during sacrifices. Good places to pick
up souvenirs are markets (see p.100) and the Silahis
Center (see p.62).
Balikbayan Handicrafts
Pasay branch, HK Sun Plaza,
Macapagal Ave (just south of the CCP)
T
02 831 0044,
map p.80; also 1010 Arnaiz Ave (Pasay Rd), Makati
T
02 893 0775, map p.77;
W
balikbayanhandicrafts
.com.
The first stop for tourists looking for indigenous
