Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1
DE STRESSING MANILA: SPAS, STEAM AND SHIATSU
After a day sweating it out on Manila's congested streets, a couple of hours in a spa can be
extremely tempting, especially now there are plenty of reputable ones serving stressed-out
locals rather than sex-starved tourists. Note also that most of the five-star hotels listed in
“Accommodation” (see pp.84-89) have excellent spas.
Neo Day Spa G/F, Net One Center Building, 26th St
at 3rd Ave, Bonifacio Global City T 02 815 8233,
W neospa.net. Serene modern spa inspired by Zen
minimalism, with elaborate Japanese-style massages
from P1750 (90min), shiatsu (P950/1hr) and P420
head and neck massages (20min). Mon-Thurs & Sun
1-11pm, Fri & Sat noon-11pm.
Soneva Spa 4th Forum Building, Tomas Morato
Ave, Quezon City T 02 926 6249, W sonevaspa.com.
Right on the main strip in Quezon City, this offers great
value for your peso - come on a weekday afternoon
and it's a dreamy, tranquil place with a huge roster of
Xiamen (Chinese)-style massages from P699 (1hr) to
P380 (feet) and P599 (back and feet combos). Daily
1pm-midnight.
The Spa G/F, Paseo de Roxas Drop-off Entrance,
Greenbelt I, Makati T 02 840 1325, W thespa.com
.ph. One of a popular chain of deluxe spas, with
the full range of treatments, from Swedish massage
(P820/1hr) to volcanic rock massages (P1500 for 1hr
15min). Daily noon-9pm.
from fabric and Christmas decorations to clothes,
candles, bags and hair accessories, try fighting your
way through the crowds at the immense market district.
The pretty lanterns ( parols ) made from capiz seashells
that you see all over the country at Christmas cost half
what you would pay in a mall. The actual Divisoria
Mall is at Tabora and Santo Cristo streets, but it's the
warren of streets around it that are good for bargains
(especially Juan Luna, Ylaya, Tabora, Santo Cristo and
Soler). Daily 24hr.
Greenhills Tiangge Greenhills Shopping Center,
Ortigas Ave, San Juan W greenhills.com.ph; map
pp.60-61. Sprawling market inside this mall north of
Makati which is notorious for its illegal bargains: fake
designer goods as well as pirated software and DVDs.
There's also attractive costume jewellery on sale, and an
area full of stalls selling jewellery made with pearls from
China and Mindanao; a good-quality bracelet or necklace
made with cultured pearls will cost from P1000, depending
on the style and the number of pearls used. Other sections
of the mall offer cheap mobile phones (some secondhand),
household goods and home decor. Mon-Thurs & Sun
10am-8pm, Fri & Sat 10am-9pm.
Ilalim ng Tulay Quezon Blvd, Quiapo; map p.73. You
can hunt down the cheapest woodcarvings, capiz -shell
items, buri bags and embroidery in Manila among the
ramshackle stalls beneath the underpass leading to
Quezon Bridge in Quiapo (literally “under the bridge”); tell
drivers “Quiapo Ilalim”. Daily 24hr.
MARKETS
Taking a taxi from one of Manila's opulent malls to a more
traditional market district such as Quiapo or Divisoria is
like going from New York to Guatemala in thirty minutes -
the difference between the two worlds is shocking.
Needless to say, prices in Manila's markets are a lot cheaper
than the malls.
168 Shopping Mall Santa Elena and Soler sts, Binondo
W 168shoppingmall.com; map p.73. Technically a two-
section mall but more like a market, with over a thousand
stalls flooded with mostly Chinese-made leather hand-
bags, jackets, T-shirts, wallets, caps, toys, shoes and clothes
for incredibly low prices. Forms part of the Divisoria market
district (see below). Daily 8am-8pm.
Baclaran market Pasay City; map p.80. This labyrin-
thine street market is spread tentacle-like around the
Baclaran LRT station; little stalls huddle under the LRT line
as far as the EDSA station, and fill Dr Gabriel St as far west
as Roxas Blvd. The focus throughout is cheap clothes and
shoes of every hue, size and style, though you'll also come
across fake designer watches and pirated CDs and DVDs.
The market is a big, noisy, pungent place, and often
incredibly crowded, but lots of fun. It's open all week but
especially crowded every Wed, the so-called Baclaran Day,
when devotees of Our Mother of Perpetual Help crowd
into the Redemptorist Church on Dr Gabriel St for the
weekly novena . Daily 24hr.
Divisoria Market District Claro M. Recto Ave, North
Binondo; map p.73. For a range of bargain goods,
DIRECTORY
Banks and exchange Most major bank branches have
24hr ATMs for Visa and MasterCard cash advances. The
moneychangers of Ermita, Malate, P. Burgos St (Makati)
and in many malls offer better rates than the banks.
Citibank is at 8741 Paseo de Roxas, Makati (Mon-Fri
9am-3pm) and at the YET Bldg, 500 San Fernando St at
Plaza del Conde, Binondo (Mon-Fri 9am-3pm); HSBC has
branches at 6766 Ayala Ave, Makati (Mon-Fri 9am-4pm),
 
 
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