KYRA DOMINGO: Philippines Week 1 of 3 of my 2014 Vacation

Week 1

Day 1: My mom and I just stayed home to rest from our long flight from the U.S. to Manila. We just hung out with family and we had a home service to get our nails done! I basically got a mani and a pedi every week it was around $4 bucks for a mani and a pedi with a nail art on every single nail!

Day 2: We went to Robinsons we looked around for a bit I bought a swim suit cover up, we ate at Mangan a Filipino Cuisine that was average in pricing. I had mais con yelo, mango shake, puto bungbong, okoy, and Arroz Caldo. We headed to Sm Megamall which is the mall that I always went to when we used to live in the Philippines, it's a pretty big mall it has 5 floors and the building is divided in A and B Building, they also have an Ice Rink, Bowling Center, and movie theaters, they've been extending and renovating this mall a lot. I really enjoyed Simple Joys (bought a lot of cute jewelries), Kamiseta (bought a top and accessories), Sunnies by Charlie ( I bought 3 pairs of sunglasses haha!). I also enjoyed eating lots of delicious food for cheap!
http://www.kamiseta.com
https://sunniesbycharlie.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Simple-Joys/134171190008552

There was a creepy guy that followed us closely for 3 floors at the escalator. I moved a step ahead at the escalator he moved closer, and when I look at him and let him know that I know he was following me, we got off the escalator I waited for him to go first, and he pretended to talk to a guy and ask for the time, I didn't see him anymore after that, which made me calm down and made me feel a lot better. My mom and I got a facial at Let's Face It- my mom and I got a facial for around $10 each (they pricked our faces and my face was definitely blackhead free! but it hurts 100x worst than getting your eyebrows threaded!). We ate at Max's Restaurant, I really enjoyed their Caramel Bars and I actually bought more to bring home.

Day 3: We went to Divisoria basically cheap and you can bargain just like Chatuchak Market from Bangkok (my money belt was definitely useful in the Philippines, especially to this place). There's a lot of snatchers, etc. so tried to blend in and didn't even try dressing up or putting much makeup on, I didn't wear any jewelry at all, I got really paranoid after that weird guy from the mall that followed us.

We were basically there after lunch til around 7 pm. We only went to the 168 Mall and that's probably the only place I'll go to when I come back.

Day 4: I was basically at the salon from 11 am to 5 pm, yes it took forever to get my hair done! I got a haircut and hair color with highlights at Beauty Brick for 7, 300 Pesos. I basically showed him a picture of the hair color and the highlights that I wanted. The base color was Medium Brown. The base color plus the haircut was 3, 800 Pesos, and the highlights was additional 3,500 pesos. The hair dresser is Mr. Shin, he's Japanese but grew up in Korea, and now has a salon in the Philippines. He studied at Toni and Guy. He also has a translator. He does highlights, hair color, haircut, digi perm, hair relax and rebond. The hair services are by appointment so call in advance! A lot of my aunt's friends went here and really liked it, it's pretty pricey and it's a higher end salon in the Philippines. The services depend on your hair length etc. After your first service at Beauty Brick they give you a 10% discount every time after the first visit. My aunt and a friend got a digi perm (curly hair for 1-2 yrs). I think it's around 3,000 pesos- 5,000 pesos depending on the length of the hair. I really like my hair color, but I wish I got a hair treatment. The employees are really friendly.
https://plus.google.com/112706647710536456855/about?gl=us&hl=en

Beauty Brick Address: Unit 103 Dona Consolacion Bldg. 122 Jupiter St. Bel-air Makati City

Phone Numbers: 408-3398/473-5108; 0917-520-0044

We got dropped off near Market Market, we went around the vicinity first because my aunt said there were things to see. We went to Fully Booked ( a bookstore), there were higher end shops across Market Market. We then finally went to Market Market, and I went to Etude House and I bought a Collagen Moistfull Firming Eye Cream and it came with a mini Collagen Moistfull First Essence ( a face moisturizer that has collagen which helps tighten your skin). It was around 1,200 pesos. I also got 2 of the pump containers (like the one from Sephora) I like it because I put my makeup remover and my toner on it and I don't have to tip it over and make a mess, and the product is controlled. It was around 200 pesos each, and I got a free Brush Cleaner. My fam picked us up, and we went to SM Aura to eat dinner at Mesa (another Filipino Restaurant). SM Aura was one of the newer malls, and it was a bit fancy, and the stores are higher end/ name brands.

If you look close it's actually books piled up together :)

http://www.fullybookedonline.com

inside Market Market! They also have movie theaters!

http://www.sm-aura.com

http://www.zomato.com/manila/mesa-1-bonifacio-global-city-taguig-city

Turon is a Filipino snack made of thinly sliced bananas and a slice of jackfruit, dusted with brown sugar, rolled in a spring roll wrapper and fried. I actually didn't get to take a picture of the actual dinner because I was really hungry!

Day 5: We went back to Market Market to look around some more. We went back home after 2 hours. We went out to go to Eastwood/High street. I bought a pair of sandals at Celine. I also got to taste Happy Lemon, which was really awesome. I had the Cocoa with rock salt and cheese which sounded weird to me, and I was really skeptical on getting it, but I tried it anyway. I was really happy that I tried it because I really enjoyed it and I love it! It was really yummy and I wanted to go back but I didn't get a chance to because I was already too busy. I will definitely come back and have this everyday if I could and try other drinks they have.

Cocoa with rock salt and cheese :)

https://www.facebook.com/HappyLemonPh

Day 6: We went back to Divisoria because my mom had to exchange/ buy something. Right after that, we went to Mall of Asia. I went to Kamiseta again and I bought a long sleeve top that had flowers it, and I also bought a headband. I went to Sunnie by Charlie and I got 2 more pairs of sunglasses haha! They are really cheap, trendy, and fashionable. We then ate at Lugang (Chinese Restaurant), I really enjoyed the Xiao Long Bao dumplings and the green tea ice cream. I didn't eat much of the other things that we ordered, which I forgot what it was called. After we ate, we went to Uniqlo (Japanese brand clothing that is "affordable") almost everything started at 990 pesos, I bought 3 pairs of jeggings. I bought a white one with black floral pattern, a solid black, and a solid gray.

https://sunniesbycharlie.com
http://www.lugangcafe.com.ph/our-menu
http://www.uniqlo.com/ph/

Day 7: We went back to SM Megamall just because it's our go to mall, we also went to St. Francis and got some phone cases/covers. We also went to the Podium. I went to the Beauty Bar and got 2 of the The Balm Instain Blushes, because it's not sold in stores in the States. I also bought another pair of sandals at CMG (sister brand of Celine but more higher end at least what the associate told me). I ate some Cinnabon, because I never had one, and I like the Cinamelt at Mcdonalds :)