A Solo Travellers Mind

My flight to Manila involved flying to Bangkok, having a 4 hour layover and then a 4 hour flight to Manila. Everything went off without a hitch, if I’m honest. With the new Harry and Meghan series keeping me entertained (a must see fyi). On arrival I needed to get a grab, after hearing some taxis could be dodgy, this was a little difficult at first but then a lovely security guard connected me to the airport staff WiFi and helped me get one! A quick check-in and an early night was much needed after travelling all day.

With one full day in Manila, I decided I’d try to see as many of the sights as possible. I’ll be honest, when originally planning my trip here, I did very little research on the country, so I was unaware of how “dangerous” it was until talking to others on my travels. This did make me enter with caution. I still made the choice to walk around the city, and I completely understand how it could be perceived as scary/dangerous, with some streets quickly turning into slums as you walk through them. As the day went on, I learnt that the majority of people aren’t here to try and make you uncomfortable, and they are just living their life. The conditions of which they live, to me, could be seen as dangerous, but ultimately, it is just how some people in Manila live. 

My first stop was Rizal Park, a very beautiful park with Chinese and Japanese gardens! From here I jumped on the side car of a pedal bike to be taken around the Intramuros, where I saw the Cathedral, the oldest church, multiple canons, gates and walls, old French houses and finally Fort Santiago. The final stop on my journey was the Manila Baywalk, a man made beach, created to turn a litter filled area into somewhere for the community. My walk home was an interesting one. Knowing Google Maps was taking me an interesting route, I found myself in an alley/slum and got rather intimidated. I realised quickly though that the people around me weren’t bad people. It can be intimidating, being surrounded by other people in an area that looks quite rough, but I think this is more because it’s something I’ve not encountered close up before. However, this is just the reality of some areas of the city. 

Manila, although a city with a bad name, isn’t all that bad. It has good things to visit and a lot of history to learn about. And as long as you keep your wits about you, you’re most likely going to be safe in most places.