Manila Madness - Day Two - Makati Bars/Red Light District

Day 2

In the morning, I ask reception if there is a nearby convenience store and they direct me to a 7-Eleven right around the corner.  As soon I walk outside, I’m hit with the humidity of the Philippines and immediately notice the street smells like urine.  As I proceed to the store, I see a child peeing into a storm drain.  That explains that.  I have made no real plans in the Philippines and have no idea what to do.  I plan parts of my vacations like this just so I don’t have an agenda to adhere to since I like getting real recommendations from the locals.  

I spend part of the day trying to get a pre-paid data SIM card so I can at least have a map of where I’m going.  After two malls, no luck.  The taxi rides between my hotel and the mall were about $1.50-$3.00USD.

 Oppa Gangnam Style...

A trend I noticed at every mall I entered (there are a lot), there are armed security guards checking people for weapons before you enter.  I guess something must have happened in the past.  While shopping at any of the stores within the mall, the employees follow you as you browse the store.  And I don’t mean discretely, I mean right up in your personal space but with no eye contact.  Really, they are an inch away from you!  I was really uncomfortable with it at the first store that this happened, because I thought - they thought I was a thief.  When I noticed this happened more at other stores and with other people, then I realized it’s part of their loss prevention practices.

Adobo Republic
This seems like a VERY racist logo.

By night, I meet up with my friend from the states who is going to school in the Philippines for school.  He and his girlfriend meet me in the restaurant attached to the hotel and we begin our drinking adventure.

We go to many, many bars. Just doing 1 drink per bar then checking out another place.  We go to strip bars, midget vs. stripper bars, and regular non-stripper bars.  Everything just kept turning out to be the red light district somehow.

This bar was actually really sad.  I walked in and walked right out.  There were strippers and midgets in a boxing ring fighting each other and I thought, "This is their job..."  I went in with curiosity but left with a little depression (no little pun intended).

We even passed by a Korean church (it was next to a strip bar). I didn't really feel compelled to go to church after what I've seen this night, but it's good to know I have the option.

After a night of adventuring, we call it a night around 04:00 since we have to pick up a friend at the airport the next morning.  Plus, 6 hours of drinking is a lot.  I’m not as young as I used to be.