We had an early start and were out of the house by 7.20am. The drive to the airport was easy however the airport was total mayhem. Getting dropped off was busy, getting checked in took ages (mostly because people are not organised) and then security was crazy. Eventually we made it into the international terminal, got coffee and set up our esims for the Phillipines.
Boarding and taking off was nice and simple with Phillipine airlines. The seats were nice and the staff gave out little amenity kits which was very nice. It had toothbrush and toothpaste, socks and a eye mask. We settled into our 8 hour flight and started listening to our joint audiobook.
Lunch was served not long after takeoff. Anthony had chilli con carne and I had satay chicken. It was alright. We watched YouTube, had a nap and then watched Spiderman: Into the SpiderVerse. It was actually really good. We finished the flight with some reading and starting descending into the Philippines. It was very cool as we were getting closer to Manila as you fly over a lot of the Phillipines little islands. It was a very pretty view.
The airport in Manila was easy we were through immigration got our bags and went through customs in about 10 minutes. We got a grab and before we knew it we were travelling along the roads to our accommodation.
We are staying at 1898 Hotel Colonia En Las Filipinas. When we arrived people came and carried our bags for us and help the doors it was super fancy. Our room is on the 23rd floor and has beautiful views of Manila.
We settled in and then decided to go to dinner. We had heard about the Filling Station which has been in Manila for 34years and is an ode to everything old American. It is a 50s diner that was started by a former Navy chef back 1989. His dream was to bring traditional and home-cooked meals to Filipinos and tourists in the heart of Makati.
What Filling Station is known and has gone viral for is their retro memorabilia and wow there was so so much of it. The ceilings were covered with records and number plates. There was Betty Boop, the Kernel, pink panther, comic book characters as statues everywhere. They had staff dressed as Chucky and Marilyn Monroe it was certainly a different experience. The food was pretty good.
We came back to the hotel to rest. At about 8 there were some fireworks in the distance which was pretty cool. However the Power Mall which we could see was meant to have fireworks at 9. Luckily for us we could lie in bed and watch the very cool fireworks from our window! Then we slept as we were pretty tired.
