Having traveled 20 hours, we were pretty exhausted and we actually managed to get a good nights sleep despite the heat and stuffiness. The next day our friend Galen met up with us to show us around Manila. The first stop was Robinson's Mall in Malate to purchase a cell phone. As we walked around the mall we noticed that it was exactly like any mall that you would find in the States. We were surprised to find KFC, Burger King, Wendy's, Pizza Hut and similar types of fast food joints that we have back home. But just like Vincent Vega says, "They got the same s*#t there that they got here, except there it's a little different". We weren't expecting to see rice served at a KFC. The Malls in Manila (they are MASSIVE) are a refuge from the relentless heat and humidity. We stopped in at a few cell phone stores and remembered that in The Philippines, almost any price is negotiable. Luckily we had an expert doing the haggling for us, and we ended up purchasing a simple cell phone for contacting our friends here, and making reservations days in advance for 1000P ($20). After purchasing the cell phone, Greg realized he needed a shave and a haircut, so he stopped inside a barber shop for a trim for only 350P ($7.19). What a deal!
Afterwards, we took a taxi to the Victory Liner terminal to purchase bus tickets to Baguio City. We ended up getting tickets for the 11:55 pm bus for the next day, and then headed over to Galen's to hang out with a few Red Horse Extra Strong beers. These beers are part of the San Miguel beer family. San Miguel Beer in The Philippines is what Budwieser is in the States. Red Horse Beer has a higher alcohol content at 7% and is more full flavored than their pilsner and their San Mig light.
From the apartment Galen took us and his fiancee Siara on the LRT (light rail transit system) to Mall of Asia (the largest mall in Asia, truly a monument to consumerism), and went to Padi's Point. Padi's Point, a restaurant/club has a few locations in Manila and the one at Mall of Asia is right on Manila Bay. They serve beer from a large cylindrical tube with a tap underneath it. All you do is press your glass against the tap to start the flow. The tower of beer can serve about four people a few times. We had the crispy pata (deep fried pork meat with fat), the perfect accompaniment with all the beer we were drinking. After the tower of beer our heads were spinning and our stomachs were full so we decided to call it a night. We took a taxi back to Malate Pensione to sleep off all the alcohol.
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