manila sunset

(spiral girl shorts, solemio top, cotton shoes, forever 21 beanie)

The Philippines is famous for its beaches, beautiful sunset, and the plethora of shopping malls that you can spend literally all day in. This booming country is filled with malls left and right swarmed with people from all walks of life looking to hang out, shop, people watch, or escape from the intense heat and humidity outside and bask inside the air conditioned shops.

Anyway, some of my favorite spots for shopping are..

Greenhills- this place is a flea market style arena where you can bargain and find imitation goods, souvineres, clothes, shoes, jewelry; it has just about a little bit of everything.

Glorietta is a mall that fits my lifestyle since it's located  in the heart of Makati and is surrounded by 5 star hotels and carries a mix of high end fashion to well loved flea markets. It's divided into 4 sections, and Glorietta 2 carried the majority of my favorite shops in the Philippines until some bombing last year and Topshop is now no longer there. 

Fortunately, Greenbelt has one and is in the same area as Glorietta which caters to a more high end consumer, but offers numerous restaurants, bars, lounges, and gives a tranquil outdoor atmosphere for shopping.

And then there's the Mall of Asia,  which is the largest mall in the Philippines and the 3rd largest shopping center in the world.  It's huge and you can't cover this place in simply one day, with over 650 shops, a cinema complex, an ice skating rink, restaurants and a monstrous food court, you will not be disappointed or bored. You can view the Manila Bay Sunset and watch the spectacular fireworks show every Friday and Saturday at 7pm. 

the cure for a hangover

 

  

 

(mango royale salad, carrot coriander soup, baked NZ mussels, baked salmon, paella rice, mango bravo)

after partying in Hong Kong till 4am and a flight to catch for the Philippines at 6am, falling asleep wouldn't be the best idea so i pulled an all nighter and watched the sunrise.

with the flight being only an hour and a half, the deprivation of sleep began to kick in. 

fortunately i was welcomed to a hearty meal at one of my favorite restaurants in the Philippines called Conti's a delicious Filipino fusion cusine that has hands down the best Mango Dessert.

I then got a hot stone massage at Rodeo Spa for dirt cheap.

I was literally passed out by the time my massage started and my jetlag was finally kicking in and so i slept the whole night to catch up from all the travel and lack of rest.

of course I was awake before dawn, but I fell back to sleep by watching an excellent quality bootleg DVD (something you can easily find here) of The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons.

destination: philippines

(kimchi & blue cardigan, forever21 sleeveless sweater, tank top, jeans, nine west boots, urbn beanie, dior eyeglasses)

• yes i'm blind and after wearing my one a day contacts for more than a day, I decided to give my eyeballs some rest.. i swear lasik is a surgery i've been putting off for too long. i can't wait for the day when i wake up and can actually see. haha.
• hat's are a nice way to cover a bad hair day or when you want to look a little more pulled together
• these denim leggings gave a great illusion for skinny jeans with the comfort of sweats
• and i absolutely love these boots, they're not too flat but super comfy
• and what would i do without this laptop.. it's kept me entertained with the free internet in the Hong Kong airport.. anyhow, it's such a short flight.. i'll be in the philippines in no time.

flashing lights

(american apparel dress, steve madden booties, lv purse)

It's not that I'm a "clubber" i just like to drink, get down, and have a good time. I don't mind a bar/lounge or something chill because I'm such a social butterfly.. but I love to dance.

Believe me I have my moments where I'm over the scene (haha.. maybe one too many of them) but then I'll go through a phase and just want to party.

So I've been to Hong Kong many times before and have never checked out the nightlife.. and might I say, they sure get down here. :)

Soho and Lan Kwai Fong are definitely the spots if you want to check out hip, trendy nightclubs filled with gorgeous people that ooze with style. You can find the streets filled with expats, foreigners and locals having a good time.

We first had dinner at Tsui Wah- the Denny's in Hong Kong which has 3 levels packed with people eating. Then hit up Azure to start the night with drinks and a breathtaking view of the city's skyline. Chilled at Racks.. a pool house that plays amazing music until things started to get real busy at Beijing right below.

And talking about Asian invasion, this place is definitely crackin'. I felt 18 all over again feeling like a sardine, however, there's a very fun vibe of partygoers and people enjoying the action of the 3 floors this mega club has for music and dancing.

The party doesn't stop in a city like this and we stayed up and hung out at the Flying Pan another 24 hour joint nearby.

With a flight to catch in a few hours, I figured I might as well go all out and got my drunken meal at McDonalds and stayed up. Anyway, thanks to the folks at hypebeast for showing me around.. fun, fun times! :)