When in Manila and wanting to see a bit of the old Manila, there are a bunch of walking tours you can try.  There’s Old Manila Walks, the famous Carlos Celdran-led Walk This Way, and even the free FSCC Postal Heritage Tours, all promising strolls around the Philippine capital, complete with interesting historical tidbits and definite photo opportunities.   White Knight Tours is one of these agencies, offering packages for strolls around the famous [...]

New York has the New Yorker, and Paris has its famous café culture, but When in Manila, you’ll never have to be starved for the arts, especially the written ones.  For the urbanite on-the-go who still wants to get a dose of the literate life, never fear: Metro Serye is here!   Lit-in-transit: Me reading Metro Serye.   The brainchild of poet Mookie Katigbak-Lacuesta, Metro Serye is no ordinary literary magazine.  Featuring bite-sized doses of [...]

  When In Manila, you’ll notice that activity has definitely reached fever pitch in anticipation for Christmas.  The traffic is bumper-to-bumper, the lights are burning till late in all the store windows, and there’s a party going on in every party-able venue.  The Metro has definitely gone all out in anticipation for “the most wonderful time of the year,” and it’s hard to imagine, surrounded by all the trimmings and the tinsel, that it could [...]

  When In Manila, the insane pace of life in the Metro means that most of us Manileños would rather step out the door without clothes than without our smartphones.  Taking the place of our laptops, address books, planners, cameras, and even flashlights, the smartphone is this generation’s Swiss Army knife, serving multiple purposes to keep up with the many hats that a city-slicker on the go has to wear in a day.  And since [...]

When In Manila, it has become a trend for history buffs and travel junkies to take a day off and see the historical sites, which our nation’s capital has in the dozens.  Some do these on their own, visiting famous tourist spots such as Casa Manila and Fort Santiago, but many others opt for the more in-vogue way of exploring the city’s antiquities: taking a guided walking tour.  Groups and tour programs such as Old [...]

Quand vous êtes à Manille, or in English When In Manila (actually, it’s better translated as “When you are in Manila”), as much as you’d like to be, you are not in “the Paris of The Orient.”  China’s glittering commercial city of Shanghai, long ago, claimed that title for itself, but with the lights, the glitz, the glamour, and the history, you have to admit, Manila could be a close second.         For one night, [...]

When In Manila, or more specifically, when in Makati, you’d be hard-pressed not to notice the stunning piece of architecture that is The Ayala Museum.  Established in 1967, the gorgeous glass, steel, and concrete construction is a work of art in itself, has as its slogan “Re-collecting the past; re-presenting the future.”  The past is accurately recollected through six permanent exhibits on Philippine history and art.  As for the future…   Come and play!: Invitation [...]

   Photograph of the Philippine Post Office, courtesy of Mr. Lawrence Chan.     When In Manila, you are in a multilayered city.  The lights of the Metro, the most familiar face of this Oriental capital, is only the surface layer.  Go down deeper, and you may discover pieces of Philippine history you never knew.  Go deeper still, and you may discover its very beginnings.   The best way, perhaps, to do this digging, is [...]

When In Manila, there is a ninety-nine point nine percent chance that you are stressed.  Between work and the infamous Philippine traffic you have to fight to get to work (or do it), there is very little time to sleep, much less enjoy some leisure time.  Unless, of course, there is a long weekend–a blessing to busy city slickers who want to find time to enjoy the finer things in life.  November 5 fell on [...]

  When In Manila, there’s something for everybody when it comes to style.  While the upper crust may favor the polish of luxury brands, edgy “street chic” is alive and kicking amongst the young and avant garde Manileños.  As made obvious by the rise of small galleries, cafés, and “hipster” locales such as Cubao X and Bangkal, Makati, the new Manila is home to the artsy young urbanite, a creative individual dressed in graphic tees [...]

    When In Manila, the luxe life is at your fingertips — it’s why the term “Manileño” has always glittered with the promise of a glamorous urban lifestyle, whether it’s keeping up to date the latest fashions or snagging the most high-end gadgetry.   Philippine Fashion Week has been an integral part of this promise, delivering the best sartorial selections twice a year to the fashionable Filipino public.  Clothes, shoes, and accessories are put [...]

  When In Manila, you are not only in the political and economic capital of our beloved PH, you are also at the epicenter of thePinoy fashion universe, a universe which converges every season at the Philippine Fashion Week.  Whether it’s off the rack or haute couture, foreign flavor or local talent, PFW is the mecca for the avant garde, the on-trend, and those who simply want to bask in one week of fashion heaven at the only place in the Metro big [...]

    When in Manila, you don’t have to just stay in Manila: Why not have a taste of the famous City of Lights in your own backyard?  The French Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines-Le Club invites interested francophiles to experience a night of la vie Parisienne at Soirée Beaujolais 2011.   An annual event held by the French Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines, Soirée Beaujolais features a region or a cultural aspect of France for guests to [...]

  When in Manila, you know you are connected to the very pulse of Philippine fashion.  The latest trends and hottest looks are easily spotted, whether in the malls or on the streets.  Like Tokyo and New York, Metro Manila is the country’s hub for style and chic, as well as the glitz and glamour of high society.  And while the limelight may be out of reach for most of us mere mortals (such as [...]

    When in Manila, amazing things happen every day: stars are born, millions are made (and lost), and people defy gravity.  I got to see this for myself, watching the jaw-dropping, eye-popping, and even heartwrenching performance of Polecats Manila, the Philippines’ premiere pole-dancing group, at PhilAm Life Auditorium.  Infusing pole-dance moves with jazz, ballet, gymnastics, and maybe just a pinch of superhumanity, the Polecats wowed the crowd at Polarity: The Polecats Manila Second Year Anniversary Show. [...]