Section outline

  • Accommodation

    You will have many accommodation options, depending on the area of Metro Manila you wish to live in and the facilities you require.

    To start, we suggest staying in the Malate district. It is conveniently located near Robinsons Place Manila which is a large shopping malls. This provides you access to groceries, restaurant, banks and other essential services. Malate is also close to various transportation hub, particularly the LRT system which is likely what you will use to go to San Lazaro Hospital

    There are many apartments and hotels. Many of past staff and students have stayed in Birch Towers which feature WiFi internet, refrigerator, shower (no bathtub), toilet (with shower, not washlet), microwave, tableware and iron.  There is an office on the 4th floor, a pool on the 9th floor and a gym on the 10th floor.  Water and electricity bills are paid separately. There is no laundry in the unit but there are various laundry facilities in the area.

                   

    Birch Tower                                      　　                                   One Adriatico Tower 1

    Another similar apartment is One Adriatico Tower, which is right beside Robinsons Mall.

    Other options are hotels. The most commonly used hotel by visitors from Nagasaki University are Hotel Kimberly and Tropicana Suites. Hotel Kimberly is right on Pedro Gil Avenue and is only about 2 blocks form Taft Avenue. Hotel Kimberly has an attached restaurant, convenient and has reliable staff. Depending on the type of room, there are varying number and sizes of beds. Some have a kitchenette and tubs.

    About further 4 minute walk from Hotel Kimberly, after turning left on Guerrero Street is Tropicana Suites. Being a suite, it has a kitchenette and tends to have larger rooms.

     

    Food

    There are many restaurants and food stalls in Metro Manila. Food can be bought from a range of source, from street vendors to high-end restaurants. Cuisines range from traditional Filipino cuisines to Western food. There are significant number of Japanese and Korean restaurants in Malate. Food can also be ordered using the Grab app. Being a vegetarian in the Philippines might be challenging. However, you will have access to fresh produce at reasonable prices.

    There are many local cuisines worth trying. The key component is rice, kanin. However, unlike in Japan where rice is eaten by itself, you will encounter the concept of ulam, which means side dish. Rice is so integral as a staple food that you might encounter unli rice, which is short for unlimited rice.  It is common to see ulam being put on rice. There various ulam such as sisig (sizzling chopped pork), adobo (chicken or pork cooked in soy sauce and vinegar) and sinigang (sour broth with pork, fish or shrimp). Alternatively, noodles are common such as pansit (stir fry noodles).

    In aside sit-down restaurant where you order, there are also turo-turo food stalls which translates to ‘point’. Here various dishes are already cooked and you literally point to the food that you want. Here, you can spend as little at 100 pesos for a meal.

    There are many reasonably priced fast food restaurants. You will see a lot of Jollibee (burger/ chicken), Mang Inasal (chicken), Greenwich (pizza)  and Red Ribbon (pastry) restaurants.

    If you are adventurous, consider eating street food but with caution. It would be hard to determine which ones are safe to eat. You can probably tell by the number of people lining up.

    When you have the chance, enjoy the local produce, especially the various fruits if they are in season such as mangoes, watermelon, durian, jackfruit and mangosteen.

     

    Laundry

    There are various laundry shops in the Malate district, making it very convenient. There is at least one laundry shop on the first floor of Birch Tower, within a 30-second walk and a 3-minute walk. Usually, clothes can be washed for you and is returned after 2 days. You can request for it to be available for the next day with slight increase in price. The price depends on the weight, but it is around 100 pesos.

     

    Clothing

    Temperature usually is between 25 to 34 C. If you are planning to travel around the Philippines, consider bringing shorts and sandals as it will help you get comfortable when traveling. Try to bring hats and sunglasses to protect against the sun. Also, keep in mind that towards June and July, rainy season starts and you will have periods of sudden torrential rain.

     

    Toilets

    Access and quality of toilet facilities in the Philippines are variable. Public toilets can be as simple as a latrine or can be a Western style. Bidet or spray are not common.

    Commonly, there are no toilet paper. Also, many toilet facilities are not able to handle toilet paper, causing clogging. Hence, people will be commonly advised to throw toilet paper onto the trash.

    It is also common to have no access to running water and soap in the toilet. We strongly recommend carrying around hand sanitizer and toilet paper.