Stores, Malls or Markets in City of Manila

Behind the Manila City Hall is another big mall called SM. Here, find everything you want to buy from food to clothes to electronics. Eat anything you want to eat from Italian to Philippine dishes. Do anything you want to do - from foot massage to watching movies. The mall also has banks, ATMs and a money exchange. What more can you ask for?

What to buy: Anything cheap and anything you fancy. How about a mini jeepney figurine?

What to pay: from P1,000 to P5,000

168 Shopping Mall is a wholesale and retail shopping mall in Divisoria ("Bargainville" of Manila) with the modern sophistication and clean, decent ambiance of commercial centers like Greenhills, Market Market in The Fort, and supermalls in Makati. I go there occasionally because it is a shopper's paradise.

I usually avoid Divisoria though it is considered a shoppers’ mecca because I can't stand the dirty and polluted environment; yet, I when I need to buy bargain items in wholesale quantities, I find it convenient to shop at 168's airconditioned stalls. I was surprised that all kinds of shoppers, from Class A-E fashionistas to the street vendors patronize their stalls. A self-confessed shopper there is the former First Lady Imelda Marcos.

I recommend 168 because some of their items like ready-to-wear clothes are 50% cheaper than the ones sold in Greenhills, and of course, much, much cheaper than in SM malls..

What to buy: At 168, you'll find all kinds of commodities, from novelty items, bags, shoes, toys, hardware, RTW's, etc.

Note: No photos in this tip because I don't bring my camera to Divisoria.

What to pay: Your P1,000 will already buy 4-5 pieces of blouses.

Fyi, the Chronos group owns Lucerne, Time Studio, and Swissgear (I think) so prices in these stores will be uniform. They carry Omega, Rolex, AWC, Ball, etc if that is your thing. Cash price is very low compared to 0% deferred payment. I bought mine there and so far they've given me outstanding service. I met the matriarch owner in Greenhills who was very nice.

What to buy: Genuine (not pre-owned) Rolex, Omega, AWC, Ball, Breitling, etc.

What to pay: Omega Constellation around PHP70K cash.

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The Philippines is known as the Pearl of the Orient*. Here different kinds of pearls abound - mother of pearl, fresh water, cultured pearls. Aside from your usual strand of pearl necklace and earrings, pearls and shells are fashioned into boxes, curtains, placemats and plates.

If you are interested in any of these, please send me an email.

What to buy: On the picture is a mother of pearl necklace which I am sure any woman will love to have in her jewelry box.

What to pay: Mother of pearl necklace - $10-$20, depending on quality.

This is a street lined with a lot of shops that cater to the photography things

What to buy: The street is lined with stores selling mostly cameras and every photography gadget you can think of from the latest models to museum-piece antique gadgets!

What to pay: Everything is way below the prices that you would have to bear if you bought the same things from the malls or specialty stores!

This is not a single shop but city blocks of commercial stalls awash with music, video or installer discs 100% "illegal copies" - oh my badness why am I saying these!

What to buy: Music CDs, Videoke CDs/DVDs, Movie DVDs, Compilation DVDs of your favourite TV shows (from soap operas to documentaries), application installer CDs, educational discs from Dora to Barney to Sesame Street and more - oh my badness why am I telling all these!

What to pay: everything for sale at as cheap as P10 (yep 10 pesos) per disc - and some of them are 6 titles in 1 disc!

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If you need to do some last minute shopping of souvenirs at the terminal 1 of Ninoy Aquino International Airport, there are a dew handicrafts shops but the cheapest is Tesoro's Handicraft (see photo). This shop also have quite a big variety of souvenirs and the staff are friendly too.

If you want to buy the famous dried mangoes of the Philippines, it is much cheaper to get in Manila than inside the airport. The airport is also a good place to buy ice-cream (which is famous in Philippines) back home. The shop will give you an insulated container packed with ice and this should be OK for the ice-cream for short flights of a few hours.

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The Makati area of Metro Manila is perhaps the most famous shopping area of the city. Most of the skyscrapers of the city are located here together will big shopping malls, hotels etc. The main street of Makati area is Ayala Street, where you find many hotels. The major shopping centre at Makati is the Glorietta shopping centre which has 4 annexes known as Glorietta 1, Glorietta 2, Glorietta 3 and Glorietta 4. There are lots of shops here, including cinemas and the famous department store called Shoemart (or SM in short). Next to the Glorietta shopping centre is the Landmark shopping centre and across the road (via a bridged walkway) is the Greenbelts shopping centre. The famous Ayala Museum is located just next to Greenbelts shopping centre. Overall, Makati is a good shopping area, plus a good place to hangout because of the many restaurants, pubs etc.

Please note that whenever you enter a shopping centre, there will be a simple security check which can slow down your entry to the shopping centres on a crowded day. Also, do note that there are separate doors for entrance and exit (these are clearly marked on the door).