Sunday – March 15, 2026 – Manila day 1
Featured image today is a bag of peanuts (Asian variety) from the Texas Roadhouse at the Mall of Asia. The peanuts are smaller than at home and they don’t offer all the cuts of meat, but everything else about the Texas Roadhouse in Manila was just like being back in Iowa.
I’m writing about Manila a week after we arrived. We have been quite busy over the last 7 days with 5 days off the ship in the Philippines, Taiwan and Okinawa. So, I’ll try to cover all that we did with perhaps a couple memory lapses.
We have never been to Manila and didn’t have any idea what to expect or to look for. At breakfast the day before we arrived, one of our breakfast tablemates (Joe) told us to find and take a ride in one of these unusual vehicles that holds up to 20 people. We didn’t know what he meant but did find out during our excursion the first day in Manila.
We arrived in Manila earlier than the original schedule because we didn’t leave the ship at Cairns, Australia. (You may remember we couldn’t navigate the Cairns channel so didn’t make it to port.) The original arrival was 4:00 pm but we actually arrived around 9:00 am. Our excursion was originally scheduled to begin at 4:00 pm but was moved up to close to noon. We cooled our heels in our cabin and around the ship and in the process watched the activities around the port. Saw 3 rowing teams practicing in the bay, watched planes as they gained altitude after taking off from Manila International. Even got to see (on the ship’s forward-facing camera) a staff person cleaning the widows at the front of the bridge (pretty exciting – right?).
We boarded our bus around 12:30 and began the drive to our first destination – a Catholic church with steel walls. Along the way we saw the many methods of transport in Manila – horse-drawn carts with miniature horses, lots of scooters and tuk-tuks and those strange vehicles Joe had mentioned yesterday. You’ll see photos of all these in the gallery. Our drive included a view of Chinatown – which, according to our guide, was the first Chinatown ever. There are a couple photos from that area as well. We also drove through an area famous for cooked pork called lechon. I wish we could have opened the windows of the bus because the pork on display looked delicious!
Our guide explained the history of the Philippines and Manila as we drove. She said that 95% of the residents follow the Catholic religion. That percentage was reported differently from other guides, but it appears around 80% of Philippines report to be Catholic. She told us that there was a recent celebration that included 10 million people – hard to imagine a gathering that large. The population of the Philippines is around 113 million and is divided between 3 major island groups of the over 7,600 islands in the Philippines. Those major island groups are Luzon (in the North where Manila is located), Visayas (middle group) and Mindanao (South).
We arrived at San Sebastian church (and school) around 2:00 pm. I didn’t have any magnets with me to confirm the iron walls, but they felt like metal. The inside of the church was like those we have seen in Europe with elaborate stained-glass windows, chandeliers and statues. There are photos in today’s gallery from inside.
We drove around more of the inner city on our way to BGC – Bonifacio Global City. This was definitely a high-rent area. Some of the streets are actually private and are closed at times during the year to maintain them as private (if you leave a street open 365 days a year the government may claim it as public property). We didn’t read the “fine print” of this excursion closely and were surprised when the guide said we would be left for 2 hours to shop in an area that had stores like at home. If we did shop all we wanted were souvenirs – so this time was wasted on us. We did some walking in the shopping area and did lots of people-watching. Also, quite a bit of dog watching. I didn’t know dogs wore diapers – but saw many being walked with diapers (even included a photo in the gallery).
As time was running out, we realized we were near a Krispy Kreme store near the pickup spot for the bus. I hustled over to purchase a dozen glazed which were coming out during a “HOT” time of day (all you who have had these doughnuts will know what that means). I looked at the line to purchase and decided I would miss the bus, so I reluctantly returned to wait for our pickup. I really wish I had stayed to get those doughnuts!
On the way back to the ship, I was able to snap a photo of a Jollibee restaurant. Jollibee is the equivalent of McDonalds in the Philippines. They are more popular than the Golden Arches because they tailored the menu to the Philippine people. I understand they even have locations in the USA. Didn’t have the opportunity to try any of the food so can’t comment on whether they are better, the same or worse than McDonalds.
As we returned to the ship, we were able to glimpse the sunset over Manila Bay. It was very beautiful and I can see why people gather to watch the sun set here. We were anxious to return to the ship because we planned to go to a restaurant that would remind us of home – Outback Steakhouse. We had talked with Carl about locations for American restaurants and he said they were planning to go there as well – but we didn’t know when. Regardless, we scoped out where the Outback restaurants were located (iMap showed 3 in the vicinity) and found 1 that looked like the best choice was near the largest shopping mall in the Philippines – SM MOA.
We had been told that if you take a cab, make sure it has a meter rather than a fixed rate (because many of the fixed rate drivers tend to overcharge). We asked near the ship about cabs and were told we needed to walk off the pier to get one. As we walked, we were approached by many drivers, but none had meters. One said he had a meter, so we got in his cab. He showed us the meter and told us it was a fixed rate to where we wanted to go – 3,000 Philippine pesos. Doing a quick calculation, I determined that was $60. I told Jan and Kelsey to get out of the cab and told the driver that rate was too much. We began to walk away, and another man approached us asking if we needed a cab. We told him “Yes” and that the rate we had just been given was ridiculous. We told him where we wanted to go and he offered to take us there for $15. That seemed reasonable so we got in his car and away we went. His name is Ronnel. We asked him how to get a cab back from the restaurant and he explained he would wait while we ate for an additional $5. That also seemed reasonable, so we agreed. I showed him where the Outback Steakhouse was located and he drove to that area. Driving in Manila is an entire other story! You need to be part demolition derby driver!
We arrived at the address for the Outback Steakhouse but there was no Outback Steakhouse. Ronnel found a security person and asked him about it. Apparently, the restaurant was permanently closed. I remembered there was also a Texas Roadhouse in the area – looked it up on iMaps and showed Ronnel where it was located. We drove to that area and – HOORAY – there was a Texas Roadhouse! He said he would wait in the parking lot across the street, and we should text him when we were ready to leave. We tried texting and that didn’t work so he downloaded WhatsApp and that did work. Off we went anticipating a good steak dinner!
The restaurant was crowded but we only had to wait 5 minutes for a booth. The menu was nearly the same as ours at home with chicken, ribs, steaks and the usual sides. They also serve those nice rolls with the cinnamon butter and peanuts in the shell. The peanuts, however, are Asian and smaller than those served in the USA. I got a bag to bring to Ronnel and one for myself. The dinner tasted great and Jan even finished hers – no doggie bag!
We sent the “We are done” message and Ronnel was at the door waiting for us as we exited the building. He said he would be available on Monday if our excursion plans fell through. He would be working until 3:00 am and would be back at work by 10:00 am on Monday. We told him we would let him know if we needed a cab or if friends might need one.
Ronnel returned us to the ship in time for the evening’s entertainment – a Philippine folk dance troupe. There are several photos in the gallery of the show they performed. Following the show, we spent some time on our balcony watching the lights of Manila. The traffic never seemed to stop, and we could see the vehicle lights all along the bay.
You can view today’s gallery here.