shopping

Bohol Beach Club

This is my second and final installation of ‘Best of the Philippines’ where I sum up all I’ve learned in the last 21 months of living here.  I know you’ll put it to good use and I encourage you to pass it along to other ‘newbies’ in town.  Click here if you missed the first installment, Best of the Philippines Part 1: Food and Services.  Thanks for your continued readership – I love writing for you!

Enjoy, Sarah

Travel

Best 3 Day Weekend Getaway = Bohol (Must Sees: Bee Farm, Chocolate Hills)

CLICK HERE FOR MY BOHOL PHOTO GALLERIES: Gallery 1, Gallery 2

 

Batanes

Most Undiscovered Gem = Batanes

CLICK HERE FOR MY BATANES PHOTO GALLERY

 

Boracay

Most Beautiful Beach = Boracay

CLICK HERE FOR MY BORACAY PHOTO GALLERIES: Gallery 1, Gallery 2

 

Swimming with the Whale Sharks at Donsol

Most Unique Experience = Swimming with the Whale Sharks, Donsol

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO OF US SWIMMING WITH THE WHALE SHARKS

CLICK HERE FOR MY DONSOL PHOTO GALLERY

 

Swimming with the Dolphins at Subic's Ocean Adventure

Best Experience with Animals = Ocean Adventure in Subic

CLICK HERE TO SEE PHOTOS OF US SWIMMING WITH THE DOLPHINS AT OCEAN ADVENTURE PARK

 

Hidden Valley Springs Laguna

Best Day Trip = Hidden Valley Springs

 

Sanctuario de San Pablo

Best Overnight Trip = San Pablo (Villa Escudero, Sanctuario de San Pablo, Ugu Bigyan’s Pottery Garden, Sulyap Cafe)

CLICK HERE TO SEE PICTURES OF SAN PABLO

 

Coco Beach Resort

Best First Trip (Before You have a Car) = Coco Beach (They will pick you up at the Diamond Hotel by van)

CLICK HERE TO SEE PICTURES OF COCO BEACH

Best Historical Site = Corregidor

Best Food Excursion = Tagaytay (Antonio’s, Sonia’s Garden, Bag of Beans)

 

Tondo Dump Manila

Most Life-changing Experience: Tour of Tondo with the Philippine Community Fund

CLICK HERE TO SEE MY PHOTOS OF THE TONDO TRASH DUMP WHERE 1.5 MILLION PEOPLE LIVE

Products & Experiences

Best Place to Buy Pearls = Greenhills/Dam Good Stuff

 

Pearls from Jawahir's Shop at Greenhills

Favorite Greenhills Pearl Vendors =

  • Jawahir (stand 71) for strings of pearls
  • Taslimah (stall H) for pearls combined with silver

 

My Custom Chaise from CMG Rattan

Favorite Chaise Lounge Maker = CMG Rattan

3rd Floor Furniture Bazaar, Market Market.  Good for custom made rattan and abaca furniture.  Reliable and reasonable, Tel (+632)3850654 Mobile: (+63)09157570022

 

Market Shopping at Divisoria

Best Bargains = Divisoria (Note: Take a veteran with you – lots of pickpockets and hard to navigate)

 

AWCP Bazaar

Best Bazaar = USEC Bazaar AND the AWCP Bazaar

Best Place to Get Filipino Handicrafts = Kultura

 

Ugu Bigyan's Pottery Garden

Best Pottery = Ugu Bigyan’s Pottery Garden

 

Graduation from Basic Photography

Best Photography Class for Beginners = PhotoWorld Manila’s Basic Photography

Best Photoshop Class for Beginners = De La Salle’s Photoshop Short Course

 

Live Karaoke at Nicotina's

Best LIVE Karaoke with a Band = Nicotina’s Garden Pavilion

Best Videoke = Redbox

Best Sunset = Roxas Boulevard Boardwalk

Best Calm Oasis Where You Can Forget You’re in Manila = The American Cemetery

Most Unique Golf Course = Intramuros Golf Course

 

A Mausoleum at the Chinese Cemetery

Most Fascinating Outing = The Chinoy Cemetery Tour

Best Gym = Fitness First

 

Greenbelt Mall

Best Mall = Greenbelt

 

Friendship Home

Favorite Places to Volunteer:

Best Movie Theatre: IMAX Mall of Asia

 

Director's Club at Mall of Asia

Most Unique Movie Experience: Director’s Club Mall of Asia

Best Hospital Ambiance = St. Luke’s

Best Hospital Care = Makati Med

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Greenbelt Mall, my beloved second home…

by Sarah Novak on August 6, 2009

greenbelt mall

Since my posting got a bit wordy yesterday, I’ll keep it more succinct today.  Just wanted to introduce you to my second home (AND NO, it’s not Starbucks)!  I am priveledged enough to live right next to a fantastic mall called Greenbelt.  Being that I visit her religiously EVERY DAY, I thought it’s about time that you met.  I’ll just highlight her best features and leave the SMUGMUG gallery to show the rest!

There are 5 parts to Greenbelt (GB 1, 2,3, 4, and 5 – very creative, I know!).  The Ayala mall is adjacent and has 100′s more stores but I never venture there because Greenbelt has met all of my needs thus far.  GB 1 has a movie theater, a regular perfomance theatre, a hardware store, internet cafe, grocery store, spa and drug store.  It’s main focus is on household and electronic goods.  It’s my practical go-to stop.  GB2 is all clothes and since I stocked up so much before coming, I’ve spent hardly any time there.  Same with GB4, which features all of the high-end places like Louis Vuitton and Burberry.  Too expensive, even for Manila… GB3 is the main restaurant hub, with equal numbers indoors and out.  It also has a brand new movie theater and 30-40 stores.  Finally, GB5 is the most recent addition.  This one is the most like a traditional mall, with equal amounts of food places and retail outlets.  It’s organized by floor, so clothes are on 1st and 2nd, Kids and electronics on 3rd and beauty places on 4th floor.  This is my second-most visited one, next to GB1.  All 3 pictures are in Greenbelt 5.

greenbelt mall

Here’s a summation of my favorite things about Greenbelt (besides the fact that it’s in my backyard):

  • There are easily 75-100 restaurant choices
  • At the center of the 5 complexes is a nicely wooded park
  • The customary Catholic church is also located in the middle of the park and offers 5 masses a day (makes it much easier to do the church/shopping combo date)
  • You can find anything you’re looking for due to the wide variety of types of shops available: hardware, electronics, drug store, clothes, etc.
  • Most of the restaurants have outdoor seating.  Each has a really unique look with cute furniture and nice place settings.  There are very few chains other than American ones.  The picture below is from a restaurant in GB5.
  • It gives me an excuse to get out of the house!

greenbelt mall

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