The rain is a low drumroll on the roof of the jeepney, a steady, patient sound that has followed me all week. It's my last full day in Manila, and I'm not treating it like a tourist. I'm treating it like a resident who's about to move. There's no check-out time, no flight to catch. There's just the city, the monsoon, and the quiet work of closing a chapter.
This morning, I woke up in my flat in Poblacion to the smell of rain on concrete and the distant rumble of a thunderstorm over Makati. I made coffee in my little kitchen, the one I've already started to think of as mine, and I sat by the window watching the city stir. The jeepneys were already out, their horns a familiar chorus. The air outside was thick, about twenty-six or twenty-seven degrees, but it felt hotter with the humidity. I could feel the weight of the day before I even stepped out.
My plan was simple: a final round of practical errands, a proper goodbye to a few corners of the city, and then a long, slow dinner somewhere I could watch the rain hit Manila Bay. I wanted to end this leg with a feeling of completion, not exhaustion. So I started with the most mundane thing of all, checking my budget. I've been tracking everything in a little notebook, and I wanted to see the numbers before I moved on. Rent in Poblacion, about eighteen thousand pesos a month for my one-bedroom, which is around three hundred dollars. Food, cheap by any standard, a plate of chicken adobo with rice from a karinderya for about ninety pesos. Transportation, the jeepney at fifteen pesos a ride, the LRT at thirty. Coffee at a café, a hundred and fifty to two hundred pesos. I'm not living large, but I'm not living tight either. It feels sustainable, which is what I came here to build.
I decided to take the LRT to the National Museum of Natural History. I skipped it earlier in the week, and I wanted to see it before I left. The station was packed, as usual. I tapped my Beep card, the same one I've been using all week, and I felt a small pang of pride. This is my city now. The train was crowded, bodies pressed together, the air humid with the smell of rain and perfume. I got off at the United Nations station and walked the short distance to the museum, the rain a fine mist on my face.
The museum is free, which is a gift. I walked into the atrium, the famous 'Tree of Life' installation rising up like a giant steel canopy. It's a beautiful thing, all those levels of branches and leaves. I wandered through the galleries, past the Philippine megafauna, the giant crocodile, the dugong, the skeletons of creatures I only knew from books. I thought about the vastness of this archipelago, the biodiversity that exists beyond the city's concrete and glass. It made me feel small, in a good way. I stood in front of the display on the Verde Island Passage, the strip of water between Luzon and Mindoro that's known as the center of marine biodiversity on Earth. My next move felt suddenly tangible. I'm heading there.
After the museum, I walked across the lawn to the National Museum of Fine Arts. I didn't go in, but I stood outside, looking at the grand, neoclassical facade. It was in this spot, more or less, that José Rizal was executed in 1896. The history is thick here, in the very stones. I bought a bottle of water from a vendor, about thirty pesos, and just stood there for a while, letting the rain wash the dust off the leaves. I felt a strange sense of calm, a sense of being part of something long.
I hopped on a jeepney going towards Malate. The route took me along the bay, and the sky was a bruised grey, the water a choppy dark green. The jeepney was full, an old woman in a floral dress clutching a bag of vegetables, a teenager in a school uniform scrolling through his phone, a man in a construction helmet, tired, staring out the window. It's a rolling cross-section of the city, all sharing this one metal box, this one ride. I got off near the corner of Mabini and Del Pilar, grabbed a quick lunch at The Aristocrat Restaurant, which has been a Manila institution for decades. I ordered their signature chicken barbecue, about two hundred and fifty pesos a plate. The staff called me 'sir' with a warmth that still feels novel, and I ate slowly, watching the rain streak down the windows.
In the afternoon, I went back to the Bureau of Immigration in Intramuros. I know, I know, it's a weird way to spend a last day. But I wanted to ask about the annual report for the ACR I-Card, the one that's due every January. I wanted to be sure I had the details right before I left Manila. The queues were long, chairs full of weary travelers and expats. I spoke to a helpful officer who confirmed the basics, the in-person requirement, the small fee. It's a good reminder that this life I'm building comes with responsibilities, and I'm okay with that.
I walked around Intramuros for a bit after, the cobblestones slick with rain. The city walls, the old Spanish era stone, hold the heat of the day and release it slowly. I passed by the San Agustin Church, its ancient baroque facade looking timeless under the grey sky. It's the oldest stone church in the country, a UNESCO site, and I stopped to admire its sturdy, unadorned beauty. I thought about the centuries of Filipinos who had walked these same streets, through sieges and typhoons and revolutions. It put my own small adventure in perspective. This is just one more season in a long, long story.
By late afternoon, the rain had softened to a drizzle. I took the LRT back to the south, but I got off at the EDSA station and rode the Carousel busway over to the Mall of Asia area. I didn't go into the mall. I wanted the bay. I walked along the promenade, the wind coming off the water full of salt and spray. The huge observation wheel, the Ferris wheel, lights up the skyline even in the daytime. I found a quiet bench and just sat, watching the container ships slide by, the grey ocean heaving in the gloom. I felt the sheer scale of the city behind me, that great sprawling metropolis, and I finally felt like I had a handle on it.
For dinner, I treated myself. I went to Harbor View Restaurant, right by the bay, and got a table with a view of the water. The place was buzzing, families and couples out for a Friday night meal. I ordered the baked scallops, the grilled liempo, a plate of garlic rice, and a tall glass of calamansi juice. The bill came to about eight hundred pesos, a splurge, but the kind of splurge that feels right on a night like this. Outside, the rain started again, a curtain of water between me and the Manila Bay sunset that never really happened. Inside, the room was warm with laughter and the clink of glasses. This felt like a proper send-off.
As I finished my meal, a band started playing a classic Manila Sound song, something from the seventies. I didn't know the title, but the melodies were familiar, the guitars and the brass evoking a kind of old-world romance. I just sat there, listening, letting the music wash over me. I wasn't sad to be leaving. I was excited. The week here has been about paperwork and bank accounts, about cementing a foundation. But the next step is the open road, the bangka rides between islands, and the promise of Palawan's reefs.
The rain followed me back to Poblacion. I walked the final stretch from the highway, the water sluicing along the gutters. My street was quiet, the neon glow from the bars on Don Pedro Street bleeding into the wet asphalt. I stopped at the sari-sari store on the corner and bought a bottle of local beer, about sixty pesos. I sat on my little balcony, listening to the geckos and the distant hum of the city, the rain a constant hiss in the background. I thought about the week that was: the SIM registration, the bank account at BPI, the ACR I-Card notice, the jeepney rides, the adobo, the bayanihan I witnessed during the flash flood. It all felt like a life, not just a visit.
Tomorrow, I leave for the port. I'm going to catch a boat south, maybe to Mindoro first, then work my way towards Palawan. I don't have a fixed itinerary. I have a backpack, a notebook full of scribbled plans, and a growing confidence in this place. Manila has been a school, and I've learned my lessons. Now it's time to apply them.
I took a sip of my beer, the cool bitterness a perfect end to a long day. I looked out at the city, the lights of Makati shimmering in the rain, and I felt a surge of gratitude. For the people, for the food, for the chaos, for the quiet moments. This is my home now. Not a layover, not a trip. A home. And while I'm ready for the next chapter, I'll be back. Manila will always be the anchor, the place I started from. But the Philippines is huge, and it's waiting. I'm just getting started.
Kumusta, Manila. Salamat. I'll see you soon.
That's it for this episode. I'm Miguel Santos, and this is the Philippines Travel Podcast. Join me next time as I catch a bangka and head south into the storm. Until then, keep exploring, and stay dry.
I'll leave you with the sound of the rain on the balcony, because that's the sound of home.
Sarap.
Goodbye from Poblacion, Manila.