Day 4 – 13 March 2024, Wednesday
Today was D-Day…the day we would be Together Again with Janet, or Miss Jackson, if you’re nasty! I woke up excited at 6:45am and had breakfast at our Airbnb apartment, consisting of Flosss bun that we bought from BreadTalk last night, and instant coffee from home. As the concert was at night, we had the morning and afternoon free for sightseeing.
At 8:20am, we left Gramercy Residences. There were few Grab car drivers on this Wednesday morning so our car took quite long (12 minutes) to arrive. Like last night’s trip, our Grab booking today also had the additional 3% foreign payment method fee imposed for credit card payments, so we decided to pay in cash to save on the 3% fee. The ride to Rizal Park took almost 40 minutes and it cost 421 pesos (S$10.10).
Rizal Park is one of the largest urban parks in Asia, spanning 58 hectares and located adjacent to the historic Walled City of Intramuros. It was originally known as Luneta Park, deriving from the French word “Lunette”, which means a “crescent-shaped fort”. It was later renamed Rizal Park in 1967 to honour the Philippine national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal.
We alighted along Roxas Boulevard, near the Jose Rizal Monument. The massive, 46m-tall Independence Flagpole stood in front of the monument, with a huge Philippine national flag fluttering proudly in the morning breeze. The Philippine flag was first hoisted on this site on 4 July 1946 to commemorate the country’s independence from the United States. This is the tallest flagpole in the country.
The 14m-tall Rizal Monument is the main landmark in the park. The monument comprises of bronze statues made by Swiss sculptor Richard Kissling and an obelisk sitting atop a granite base, which houses Rizal’s remains. The remains were transferred here on 30 December 1912 and the monument was officially unveiled exactly a year later, during Rizal’s 17th death anniversary. The monument is guarded 24/7 by members of the Philippine Marine Corps.
Dr Rizal is considered to be the Philippines’ national hero who opened the consciousness of Filipinos to fight for the country’s freedom through his novels Noli Me Tángere (1887) and El filibusterismo (1891). He was a key member of the Filipino Propaganda Movement, which advocated political reforms for the colony under Spain. He was executed on charges of initiating a rebellion against the Spanish government on 30 December 1896.
It was a very fine morning to be at Rizal Park. It was sunny and breezy, not too hot yet. The hedges surrounding the monument were full of beautiful, bright yellow hibiscus flowers with deep crimson centres. The park was also not very crowded, although we encountered a few Chinese and Korean tour groups along the way. We also saw some street hawkers peddling bean curd and ice-cream.
Located about 100 metres away from the Rizal Monument was The Martyrdom of Dr. Jose Rizal, another memorial marking Rizal’s execution site. The memorial features his poem Mi Ultimo Adios (or My Last Farewell) engraved on a black granite wall and a bas relief depicting important moments during his life.
Next to The Martyrdom of Dr. Jose Rizal was the Chinese Garden, built between 1966 and 1967 with donations from Taiwan. There was a small pond with a zig-zag bridge, a Wisdom Walk featuring Chinese proverbs scattered along the walkway with traditional green-tiled roofs, and a life-sized granite statue of Confucius. The garden was a tranquil oasis, a nice quiet spot away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Many locals were casually hanging out under the sheltered walkway, enjoying their me-time.
We walked past the dancing fountain in the middle of Rizal Park and also the Japanese Garden before crossing the road to the northern end of the park. This section of Rizal Park was closed for upgrading works so we had to walk around the perimeter to reach the entrance of the National Museum of History along Kalaw Avenue. We arrived at 9:55am and joined the short queue to enter the museum. Entry is free for all visitors (even tourists) but registration is required, so remember to bring your passport with you.
The National Museum of History is one of the three national museums occupying previously civic buildings within Rizal Park – the Finance Building was the first to be converted to the National Museum of Anthropology in 1988, followed by the Legislative Building converted to the National Museum of Fine Arts in 2000, and lastly the Tourism Building converted to the Museum of Natural History in 2018.
But before it housed the Department of Tourism, it was constructed as the Agriculture and Commerce Building in 1940. The original building was destroyed in the Battle of Manila during World War II and was reconstructed after the war, largely retaining its original appearance. The building was designed in Neoclassical style by Filipino architect Antonio Toledo and it sports giant Corinthian columns and windows decorated with ornate grillwork. Inside, the 12 galleries of the National Museum of History are spread over four floors, with zoological, botanical and geological specimens displayed alongside interactive displays, video guides, diagrams and illustrations.
After passing through the entrance, we emerged into the central courtyard, where a huge glass dome and a metal supporting structure containing a lift took centrestage. Dubbed the “Tree of Life”, this massive dome structure was added to the building after the Department of Tourism vacated the premises in 2015. It symbolises the encompassing embrace of all life on earth under God and nature. The design of the dome reminded me a little of our Jewel Changi in Singapore as well as the British Museum in London. As a centrepiece, it was certainly impressive.
We toured the galleries one by one, moving from floor to floor. The exhibits were very well presented, with lots of photos and visual aids. All the write-ups were in English, which made it very tourist-friendly. The specimens were tastefully displayed with good lighting. The galleries were very spacious so it was comfortable to move around. It was not crowded during our visit but there were a few school groups and they were creating quite a ruckus as they moved through the galleries.
In all, we spent an hour visiting the National Museum of Natural History. Of course, one hour is not enough to fully absorb the wealth of information from all the exhibits. If you have time, you should set aside three hours to make the most out of your visit. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the National Museum of Natural History and would recommend it.
We considered walking over to the National Museum of Fine Arts but the upgrading works in the area meant that we couldn’t cut through Rizal Park, and had to take a detour around the perimeter. Hence, we decided to take a tuk tuk to save us some time. We found a driver who agreed to send us there for 100 pesos (S$2.40). A quick check showed that a Grab car ride would cost 114 pesos, so we thought 100 pesos was reasonable.
The tuk tuk ride took just three minutes. As we were about to alight, the driver asked us to pay 100 pesos each, and we firmly said no. We paid him 100 pesos and walked away. That’s the thing about taking tuk tuks – you need to agree on a fare beforehand and be firm about it. There are always drivers who like to play punk and try their luck to fleece those who are more gullible. Don’t let them makan (literally: eat; or to take advantage of) you!
Entry to the National Museum of Fine Arts is also free, and likewise, all visitors need to register before they are allowed to enter. After passing through the security check, we found ourselves in a large and sparse hall. At the far end of the hall was the crown jewel of the museum’s collection – Spoliarium by renowned Filipino artist Juan Luna. The huge painting measures 4.22m by 7.675m and it took up the entire space from floor to ceiling. It was simply magnificent.
“Spoliarium” is a Latin word that refers to the basement of the Roman Colosseum, where fallen and dying gladiators were dumped. This painting by Juan Luna depicts such a scene. He spent eight months completing the masterpiece. In 1884, he submitted Spoliarium to the Exposición National de Bellas Artes in Madrid, where it won the first gold medal. The painting was then sold to the provincial government of Barcelona in 1886, and it eventually made its back way to the Philippines in 1958 as a gift from the government of Spain.
Undoubtedly, Spoliarium is a very fine piece of art, showcasing Juan Luna’s masterful brushstrokes on canvas, but what makes Spoliarium so famous is its message. The painting is usually interpreted as a visual metaphor or representation of the suffering of the Filipino people experienced during the Spanish colonial period. It was intended as a critique of the oppressive colonial regime and the exploitation of the Filipino people. That was what made the painting so powerful and why it resonated so deeply with the Filipinos. Today, Spoliarium hangs proudly in the main gallery on the first floor and it is the first artwork that greets visitors upon entry into the museum. Right where it belongs.
The artworks are spread over the four floors of the Old Legislative Building – the Judiciary Floor (level 1), the House of Representatives Floor (level 2), the Senate Floor (level 3) and the Executive Floor (level 4). We started from the top floor and made our way down through the galleries.
To be honest, paintings and sculptures are not my forte. While I can enjoy a painting based on its aesthetic appeal, I cannot appreciate the artwork like I can do a piece of music. To me, visual arts in the form of paintings and sculptures is more about the feeling it evokes at the moment when I see it. It may stir up an emotion of happiness or melancholy or it may simply provoke a response of “I like it”, or “I don’t like it”. That feeling is ephemeral and it exists only in that moment. I won’t think about the artwork after I leave the room, unlike after experiencing a concert or hearing a piece of music, where the feeling or the melody lingers long after I have heard it.
Having said that, I did enjoy browsing the galleries and looking at the various paintings and sculptures. At the same time, I also enjoyed admiring the beautiful halls and interiors of the Old Legislative Building. I really love old buildings that have character. I especially liked the graceful arches, the intricate steelwork on the railings, the spiral staircases and the grand Corinthian columns found throughout the building. I am glad they repurposed the Old Legislative Building into an art gallery, a space that the public can enjoy, for free.
We spent an hour at the National Gallery of Fine Arts. With that, we were done with our sightseeing for the day. Next on the agenda was lunch at Robinsons Place Manila shopping mall. I tried booking a Grab car but couldn’t get one. In the end, we decided to take a tuk tuk again. The tuk tuk driver asked for 250 pesos but I insisted on 150 pesos (S$3.60) because I checked the fare on Grab (147 pesos) and used it as a benchmark. Realising that we were no pushovers, the driver agreed on 150 pesos. The ride took just six minutes and we arrived at Robinsons Place Manila at 12:36pm.
WY had done some research last night and shortlisted a restaurant called Mangan for lunch. Even though we had the unit number, it took us a while to locate the restaurant because the mall was so big. When we were there at 12:45pm, the restaurant was filled with locals but we managed to get a table.
Mangan is a Kampangan word that means “Let’s eat!”, inviting Filipinos to savour traditional and home-cooked Kampangan cuisine. Kampangan is one of the eight major languages of the Philippines, and the predominant language of the province of Pampanga, northwest of Manila. We figured we should try some famous local dishes so we ordered adobo with pork and chicken (278 pesos), grilled Milkfish (318 pesos) and a green mango salad (128 pesos) to share. I also ordered a taro shake with boba (158 pesos), while WY ordered an ube Halo-Halo (198 pesos). Including taxes, the bill came up to 1,176 pesos (S$28.37).
Adobo is a quintessential Filipino dish of meat marinated in vinegar, soy sauce, garlic and other spices. It is slowly cooked until the meat becomes tender and flavourful. It was nice and tender, but like a lot of Filipino food, the gravy was very salty. Milkfish is also called Bangus and it is actually a very bony fish, but for this dish, they removed most of the bones to make it “boneless”. The special thing about the dish is that they stuff the Milkfish with chopped salad comprising tomatoes, onions, garlic and calamansi juice. Honestly, I wasn’t a big fan of it. The mango salad was very raw and sour, without any sauce or peanuts. Among all the food we tried, I think I liked the taro shake best.
After finishing our lunch at around 2:10pm, we shopped around the mall for a while. Robinsons Place Manila is quite an old mall, built in 1980, but it has undergone a few rounds of expansions. After its last expansion in 2008, is has become the largest Robinsons mall in the Philippines, with three wings. We didn’t have time to cover the entire mall so we only shopped for an hour, and left at 3:17pm. The Grab ride back to Gramercy Residences cost 297 pesos (S$7.13) and we arrived just before 4pm.
We initially wanted to come back earlier to rest before heading out again for the concert. In the end, we didn’t have much time but I managed to catch a short nap after my shower. At 5:30pm, we left Gramercy again. It was difficult booking a Grab car at that hour, and we had to wait at least 10 minutes for the car to arrive. After a few attempts and cancellations, we finally got one and the fare was very expensive – 580 pesos (S$13.92).
Peak hour traffic in Manila is crazy, and the 7km drive to the Smart Araneta Coliseum took more than an hour. We were quite exhausted when we finally arrived at 6:37pm. I made a beeline to the merchandise stand to snap up the concert merch. A few days prior, the concert promoter Live Nation had posted the range of merchandise that would be sold at the venue. For this Manila leg, only four items were available. Truth be told, the designs were not that great, but I decided to bite the bullet and bought all of them for 8,000 pesos (S$192.97) – a hoodie, two T-shirts and a tote bag. WY also bought the white T-shirt.
After that, we walked around the venue to take photos and videos with the concert billboards. We encountered a fan dressed up as Michael Jackson during the HIStory era, and he attracted plenty of attention. I wanted to tell him “wrong concert lah, dude”, but his costume and make up were quite well done, so I took a photo with him. Good effort.
I was anxious to enter the venue early to soak up the atmosphere, so we searched for a place to have a quick dinner. Everywhere was crowded and for those that weren’t, the food would take q while to be served. We eventually settled on a simple chicken and cheese empanada from Banapple.
We started queueing to enter the venue at 7:30pm. The queue moved quickly and we made our way to the Upper Box section. There were food stands inside so we bought a taco and a drink from Taco Bell, and brought it into the venue to eat.
After passing through our section entrance, there was a bottleneck. We soon realised that it was because the seats were not numbered so all the patrons had difficulties locating their seats. Even the seats on both ends of each row were not numbered so we didn’t know which end was seat number 1 and which end was seat number 20. There were also no ushers around to help. We eventually found out from one of the patrons that seat number 1 was on the left end of the row, and then had to physically count the number of seats from left to right to determine where our seats were. It was chaotic and quite dangerous as many people crowded around the staircase after passing through the section entrance, without a clue what was going on.
Furthermore, the seats were non-retractable and the aisles were very narrow. Whenever someone wanted to pass through, you’d need to stand and let them squeeze past you. The seats themselves were tiny and not wide enough. Even though they were cushioned, it was cramped so it was quite uncomfortable. For the ticket price we paid (9,800 pesos/S$235), we expected better in terms of logistics and crowd management. But we knew that we were in a foreign country and we cannot compare everything to Singapore.
I was determined to still enjoy myself tonight. After all, I had flown all the way to Manila to watch one of my favourite artists perform. But in the end, even my patience was tested severely. The concert was scheduled to start at 8pm but even at 8:30pm, the venue was still relatively empty. At 8:45pm, the venue looked about 75% full but there was no sign that the concert was about to begin. We were annoyed because we could have had a better dinner and not rush into the concert venue. Janet had earlier posted on Instagram that she had arrived at the venue hours ago, so she was probably taking “Manila Time” into account for the audience, knowing that they would be late because of the traffic jams.
Finally, at 9:03pm, the lights dimmed and the concert began, an hour after the scheduled start time. I cast aside all my grievances and switched into concert mode. It was time for the Together Again Tour! I think the venue was about 80% full at most. The most expensive floor seats (19,800 pesos/S$476) were mostly filled but the section below us were empty at the sides. Nevertheless, the Manila crowd gave it their all and cheered loudly to welcome Janet on stage.
Prior to this, I had watched the concert many times on YouTube and social media so it wasn’t really fresh for me anymore. However, it was my first time watching the show from afar, since most of the clips I watched online were close-ups. Watching from a distance, I could see the entire stage setup and the full choreography, which was nice. I still needed to rely on the big screens at the sides to catch Janet’s facial expressions and the more intricate moves.
I was disappointed that she wore her “Black Ninja” outfit, which she previously used only for her one-off festival performances. For her regular Together Again Tour during the summer in the US last year (2023), she would wear her gold bodysuit and purple ribbon for the opening numbers before changing outfits for the other segments. For this Manila show, she wore the same Black Ninja outfit for the entire concert, so there were no outfit changes.
It was especially disappointing because she did wear her regular outfits for the other shows on this extended spring leg of the Together Again Tour in 2024 – three shows in Hawaii (before Manila) and three shows in Japan (after Manila). So our Manila show was the only one with the Black Ninja treatment. She also didn’t bring her regular circular ring lights for the Manila show. Thus, I felt a little shortchanged that we didn’t get the full experience. Maybe it’s because the tickets were not sold out for the Manila show, compared to the Hawaii and Japan shows, which were all sold out.
Nevertheless, Janet and her team still put on an amazing show. She is still the blueprint for all the female pop artists that you see now. The dance breakdown for If will never not be iconic. She no longer moves like she did in her prime, but at 57 years old, Janet still does a pretty good job. I am just happy that I managed to watch her in concert three times – Singapore in 2010, Tokyo in 2019 and Manila in 2024.
After the concert ended at 10:45pm, we streamed out of the venue and booked a Grab car to take us home. We got one at 11:02pm and waited a while for the car to arrive because of road closures in the immediate vicinity of the venue. Halfway through the ride, I noticed that the driver was driving more and more slowly, and the car was drifting between lanes. We were positively startled when he let out a big yawn, as if trying to shake himself to stay awake. It was clear that he was very tired so we tried to talk to him to prevent him from falling asleep at the wheel. We finally reached Gramercy Residences safely at 11:54pm. The fare was 338 pesos but I gave him 500 pesos (S$12) and asked him to go back home early and rest. I really hope he did so.
Day 5 – 14 March 2024, Thursday
For our last morning in Manila, I woke up at 7:00am and went to the swimming pool at our Gramercy Residences condo for a dip. The view from the infinity pool was not bad but it was a cloudy morning so it didn’t look the best. There was also a 25-metre pool for lap swimming. After a refreshing dip, I went back to the apartment for breakfast before heading over to Century City mall next door for some last-minute shopping at the Marketplace supermarket.
We checked out of our Airbnb apartment at 9:45am and hopped on a Grab car 10 minutes later. The ride to the airport was smooth and pleasant. Along the way, I recollected my thoughts about the past four days in Manila:
We were quite lucky with the weather and it was not as hot as I expected. I thought it would be 35 degrees C but it was mostly cloudy and less humid than Singapore. The only really sunny day was when we went to Tagaytay for our day trip, and that was for a short while.
Driving along the streets of Manila, I noticed that human traffic controllers are quite common despite traffic lights being in use. I think there are just too many vehicles on the road and no one really follows the traffic lights, so they need a human to control the traffic. There are also lots of motorcycles here so the traffic situation can get very chaotic. Miraculously, there are bicycle lanes in certain parts of the city, and people do use them despite the heavy vehicular traffic.
The income disparity in Manila is very big. On the one hand, there are many old buildings with slum-like conditions. Many people still live in dilapidated houses, selling food at makeshift stalls by the roadside. On the other hand, there are also many people who can afford to buy top-tier Janet Jackson concert tickets and shop at high end malls. Tackling the huge income gap will be a big challenge for the government.
We arrived at Ninoy Aquino International Airport at 10:15am. For this Grab booking, we opted to pay cash in order to save the 3% foreign credit card fee. The fare was 337 pesos (S$8.09) but the driver said he had no change for my 500 peso note. He even showed us his wallet, which contained only 1,000 peso notes. I asked him to keep the change. I was exasperated because we wanted to save money but ended up paying more. Oh well.
After dropping our luggage and getting our boarding passes, we entered the Departure hall at 10:50am. There was still a lot of time before our flight so we browsed through the shops before settling on a simple meal of Tapsilog for lunch. Tapsilog is a portmanteau of the Tagalog words “tapa” (smoked meat), “sinangang” (garlic fried rice/garlic rice) and “itlog” (egg). The tapa in this dish is sliced beef cured with salt and spices, and the white steamed rice came with some fried garlic bits on top. It was a simple meal (270 pesos/S$6.48) but very tasty.
After lunch, we still had time so we went to have a cup of coffee at Bluesmith before boarding our Cebu Pacific flight 5J 805 at 1:45pm. The aircraft looked sparkling new and bright. I also liked the cheerful uniforms of the cabin crew. They wore bright yellow polo tees and jeans. After the flight took off, the guys put on an additional green vest while the ladies adorned an additional scarf.
The seats were a nice shade of blue. However, for this A321 model of aircraft, the seats were all non-reclinable. So it was good for short, day flights like this, but not for longer or overnight flights. I had a middle seat but the seat on my right was an air crew seat because it was the last row. Thus, it felt a bit weird when the air stewardess sat beside me during take-off, as she faced the opposite direction.
Flight duration from Manila to Singapore was 3 hours 15 minutes. We were supposed to depart at 2:10pm but it was delayed and we only took off at 2:55pm. However, we managed to make up time during the flight and touched down at Changi Airport Terminal 4 at 6:03pm as scheduled. After five days, it was Home Sweet Home once again.
Overall, it was a short five-day trip but I feel like we covered plenty, and did almost everything I wanted to do. With most of the important sightseeing accomplished, I’ll perhaps come back to Manila again for more shopping next time. Grateful to have a wonderful travel companion in WY, and thanks again for celebrating my birthday with me. Till the next time, Manila!