Even though I am Vietnamese who is studying and living in Finland, I still didn't get along with the city and the lifestyle there. Why do I say about my nationality and my current resident? I want you to understand that maybe I am living in Finland but I am Vietnamese, a country in South East Asia (SEA) like the Philippines. I used to travel to Thailand and Cambodia - both in SEA and I can feel something like Vietnam. Yes, there are many differences among countries but there are some common features because in the end, we're all neighbors. However, the Philippines doesn't have any common things to neither Thailand, Cambodia nor Vietnam. Totally different!
First, the environment
Extremely polluted! There are so many dusts in the air. I swear that my white bag became black after 2 weeks going backward and forward from home to the office. My sneakers needed washing every 2 weeks as the white shoe laces turned to grey. My advice: Get a health mask and avoid using white stuff.
Second, population and traffic
There are so many people in the morning and evening where they rush to the street straight to the office and back to home. You will find the sticky touch if you go into a lift. My gosh! around 13 persons stuck in the lift as nobody wants to wait for the next turn or use the stair, so they just tried to stand all in one lift. Their sweaty bodies will touch you and you are not gonna like it. Gross! Even walking on the street they might hit you as well. I repeat there are too many people.
My friend was studying in a university in Laguna, the neighbor region of Makati city. Every day, he woke up at 4 o' clock in the morning, went to the bus at 4:30 and spent 5 hours to the class. Traffic jam is always a nightmare to the Philippines. And be careful when using public transportation like Jeepneys, buses and MRT as the thief will try to take advantage of the crowd and pocket your money/ valuable things. Try to look at the signs in the bus and if you're not sure, ask directly the driver because everything will be so crazy in rush hours and you need to act quickly to blend in the traffic. Otherwise, you'll miss the bus and be late, or worse, go to the wrong bus and get to the opposite site of the target spot.
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| Picture of a jeepney. During the rush hours, it is full of people and you can see some standing on the roof of it. |
The food
Although the Philippines is a tropical country, people here don't like vegetables. They like fruits and mango is the best thing in the Philippines but vegetables are not on the menu. The most famous chained restaurants are Jollibee and Mang Inasal. Their menu doesn't have vegetables, not at all, even the lightest slice of tomato. You will be surprised to see some people eating without using a spoon, fork or knife. They use their bare hands. Need to think about the hygiene in this situation.
Pinoys (Filipinos like to call themselves) love meat. They eat lots of meat, especially I found out that the beef is quite cheap there. With high-caloried food and without fiber from vegetables, it is no surprised that the people here is quite chubby or fat. And the price of vegetables are quite expensive.
Recreation
Pinoys surely know how to enjoy life. They love singing and dancing. They talk a lot. You can find so many karaokes in Makati, like every 5 minutes of walking, I'm not kidding. About the malls, yup, you can find big malls in Makati with most of the brands you can think of: H&M, Zara, Blue Navy, etc. If you want to visit Manila Ocean Park, avoid the weekends because it will be so crowded and hot. It is not like in the poster, so don't expect too much. I remember that I paid 550 pesos for the cheapest package of touring in which it said I could go for a tour of touching so many sea lives. Instead they let me touch quickly the back of a ray. That was it! When I went to the jelly fish's symphony, there were bunches of students who laughing and yelling louder than a launching rocket!
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| Jelly fish's symphony |
Safety
Are you kidding me? Guns are allowed if you have the license and I'm telling you that you can buy the license from black market. They try to mimic the USA but their management is not as high as the USA and even USA has itself the debate of is it right to allow using guns! The corruption in the Philippines is quite bad and therefore, what will protect you if the thief can own a gun? In order to protect people, they have bodyguards outside of the buildings, malls, and shops. You have to (have to - have no choice) open your bag and let them see what inside. Then, you can go. What? Seriously? If you cannot control the gun using, then ban it! Seeing inside the bag is insulting!
My friends who have stayed there for over 3 years telling me that if you see a robber, let him rob, otherwise he will shoot you. Your stuff or your life, you choose. What a lesson!
General, these are just my experience in Makati, the Philippines. If you have any opinions, leave a comment and I will try to respond ASAP.
See you and have a nice day!
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