I was 24 on my first flight to Manila

Let's have a throwback travel article. I felt so old reminiscing my first flight to Manila. I was 24. It was a birthday gift to myself. I wasn't a traveler back then. I just started working online in 2010 and saved money.

Then, a high school classmate sent a message on Facebook. She invited me to go to Manila. She has an older sister who used to work in Manila. My friend knew how much free time that I had so she can invite me any time of the day.

That was November 2012 and I have this old photo using an old digital camera or an old Samsung phone. I was trying to be a digital nomad as I was bringing my old netbook with me.

Window seat snapshot

When it is your first time taking a plane, do not forget to take the window seat. You can actually request that to the staff if it's possible to assign you on a window seat. Request granted when there is availability.

Choosing Manila as my first destination

When you're a probinsyana or a girl from the province, you are curious about what Manila looks like. I just took advantage of the invitation from a friend and was happy to have a companion.

We stayed in Pasig as her sister lived there. Fortunately, I have an aunt who actually lives there. Perfect timing that it was near to visit my aunt. I just took a tricycle from my friend's village to my aunt's village. My aunt welcomed me as she was happy to see me.

Just a little glow up

My friends and I went to Divisoria to buy something for Christmas. I bought something for myself to look myself pretty. Compared to the first photo and this one, I felt prettier. Haha!

We also went to Trinoma to see her other friends who took Ph.D. at UP Diliman. We went to UP Diliman after just by taking a taxi.

Welcome to the University of the Philippines - Diliman

The ever famous naked man statue in the university. I remember my mother had the same photos here when she went to Manila and stayed in Pasig as well, with her cousin, my aunt.

It was a cool afternoon. UP Diliman was big. You actually need to take a jeep to get around inside the university belt.

This statue is called The Oblation.

The Burger Project

We were hungry so we went to The Burger Project. You can actually create your own burger here, what do you want inside the buns. How many burger patties do you want, the sauce, the cheese, etc.

The Enchanted Kingdom in Laguna

From Manila, we took a van ride to Laguna just to visit the first theme park in the Philippines. It was like a must-visit when you are a tourist and a first-timer. It was actually fun. It was a good day. There were so many students on a weekend. We never had a theme park in Cebu so it was fun for a probinsyana to enjoy a theme park.

Mayon Volcano from afar

Going back home, I saw Mayon Volcano from afar. It was a good sight to see. I was using a camera phone here so the quality was bad. It was good to see the perfect cone volcano in the Philippines.

My Thoughts about Manila?

I hate the heavy traffic. It was very expensive when we took the taxi from Manila airport to Pasig. It also took us 2-3 hours. I was a bit shocked. Metro Manila is very big with so many cities. Unlike Cebu, from Mactan to Cebu City, it will take 30 minutes or less when there is no traffic.

So, I've been to Manila many times after that. Brought some other friends as well as it was also their first time. My friends kept on telling me that I should invite them when I had my next travels.

Originally published this on my travel blog at - I was 24 When I Experienced My First Airplane Ride to Manila