Barbara at Global City, Philippines

I had a great trip to Manila, Philippines this past November. My previous visit was in 1993 but was a totally different experience. I was there for a convention and stayed at the renowned Manila Hotel, one of country’s top hotels. I didn’t get an opportunity to explore much of the city so I was looking forward to this visit.

This time, I stayed in a newly constructed high-rise condo overlooking a golf course in Mandaluyong, a city in the Metro Manila area. It was a great location –  albeit a very busy area. There were nearby restaurants and shopping within walking distance of the unit.

Wack Wack Golf Course

Mandaluyong is considered the “shopping mall capital of the Philippines” and I was about 15 minutes by car from five different shopping malls. From the Shangri-La Plaza with designer stores like Gucci, Calvin Klein, Burberry and Dolce and Gabbana to Greenhills Shopping Center which sells just about everything you can imagine from electronics and furniture to jewelry, souvenirs and clothing — all in an indoor flea market style setup.

To say that Filipinos love shopping is an understatement. Because the Philippines gets very hot and humid, the country’s pastime is “malling,” or spending time at shopping malls (where you can get free air conditioning!) The entire family gets together to go to the mall — to eat, watch a movie, go bowling, ice skating, shopping for food and other goods, and even to go to church!  Yes, there are chapels in the malls!!

The Philippines has overtaken India as the leader in call centers which has resulted in a boom for the economy.  I thought the MegaMall was the largest shopping mall in the Philippines (ranks 7th in the world) with two separate six-story malls connected by walkways. But the largest mall in the Philippines is the third largest mall in the world – The Mall of Asia. This mall is so big it would take about one week to see everything it has to offer. It sits on Manila Bay and has close to 10,000 acres of floor space, 8,000 parking spaces, a separate entertainment mall which includes an eight-story IMAX theater and an Olympic size ice skating rink. Nothing in the U.S. comes close (the Mall of America in Minnesota ranks 13th largest in the world). We might lead the world in technology, but not in shopping!

Mall of Asia

My favorite mall in Manila however, is Greenhills Shopping Center — the place to go for pearls. You can get a little overwhelmed with all the sales girls shouting “freshwater pearls, ma’am, South Sea pearls, ma’am” as you pass their booths, but I got used to it after a few visits. They all seemed to carry the same or similar items so it was all about negotiating to get the best deal.

Pearls are synonymous with class, style and sophistication and jewlery every woman should have. I already had several strands of pearls, but hey, a girl can never have too many pearls.

Fresh water pearls at Greenhills

Of course I got gifts and souvenirs, but I also got some really beautiful freshwater strands of pearls. My prize though is an awesome South Sea pearl ring.  It’s champagne in color with a row of diamonds set in 18k yellow gold. I have large fingers and almost always have to have rings sized, but this one fit perfectly, so I just had to buy it!

The Philippines is one of the few countries where the dollar is still strong so I actually got some good deals on jewelry.

If you’re in the market for pearls and you’re in Southeast Asia, it’s worth a trip to the Philippines to get good quality pearls at a great price.

Next I’ll discuss the food of the Philippines.

Already planning my next trip…