*Cockfights-There are several cokfights that take place in the afternoon and many in Pasay City. I do not have the address for the one in Pasay city but Lonely Planet Guide has tons of address' and the scheduled times for cockfights. I believe the one I went to was on Dolores Street in Pasay. I suggest finding a taxi driver and going with him. I gave a guy 250 to go for two hours and he gave me the lowdown on gambling and what to watch out for. The fights are bloody as hell and many times both of the cocks end up dead after severe loss of blood. I bet on cocks randomly and had the driver bet for me and won 800 pesos. I gave him 400 of it for good karma as it was free money anyways.

*Shopping- Manila malls are huge and have all of the stores we have here in the U.S. I like to go to Robinson's in Ermita as there are a lot of hotties walking around that place and they will give you eye contact. There is a nice Starbuck's on the ground level which sells local cofee packaged by Starbuck's. Nowhere in the world is there such a disparity in looks between filipinas and their filipino boyfriends. You will see some of the most gorgeous teenage girls in the world with guys that look like they got hit by a dump truck. Found myself flirting with a lot of the clerks in the stores as many are very hot. The mall is also walking distance to LA Cafe for some afternoon sessions. If you are planning to buy souvenirs to make your trip look legit, you will be searching a while. The Philippines has virtually nothing worth buying as a souvenir except alcohol. I would also check out the SM Mall as there are some unreal looking univ. students cruising around.

For daytime activities:

* Rizal (Luneta) park. Lots of eye candy during the day, and on Sunday evening, I saw a really great free dance perfomance there (with fireworks in the background). I am not a big fan of artistic dance, but even I was impressed by the dance school competition.
* For malls, I was most impressed with the malls in Makati - Greenbelt, Glorieta. Beautiful girls abound, and they aren't yet jaded by tourists trying to offer them money for sex from the get-go. Many are part of Manila's elite, and make a US middle-class salary while residing in the cheap economy of the Philippines, so don't expect to buy these girls with money. Internet cafes and cell phone shops were especially fruitful for me, for collecting digits. If in the mall late, there are many bars and dance clubs on premises of these two malls for free local pickups. Some pros are there as well, but there is a reason why they are not trolling the usual whoring spots. Chances are, they are not welcome there. I'd only pick up non-pros in these locations...
* Shanty towns. I know, not a tourist attraction. But I recommend at least peeking into one, and walking the narrow, winding streets, with clothes drying over your head, and little kids openly staring at you. Buying a pepsi from one of the multiple sari-sari stores there probably feeds the entire family for that day. Eating a home-cooked meal at one of the home-based restaurants will bring lots of interesting conversation and interaction with the locals. Don't flash jewelry, and don't come with more than 500 pesos in small bills in your pocket. I found the shanties to be a much safer environment than US inner city. While I didn't see anything scary in Tondo, for a novice, I'd recommend the shanties of San Juan and Santa Cruz, in that order.

For Souvenirs:

* Handbags made from Palm tree fiber are a local specialty, and were a hit with all the women in my life back in the USA. These are generally hand-painted, and have a nice texture to them. I paid p900 for the larger ones, and I overpaid because I bought them at Glorieta (this is where the local upper class shops).
* Barong tagalog/Barot sayas and other filipino traditional clothing. Some made from exotic materials like banana or coconut fiber. According to a certain female, the banana fiber felt "orgasmic" on her skin.
* Philippine dried mangoes. These are found in any grocery store, or airport shop. They are different from the mangoes found in the US, and i find them more delicious.
* Pick up a Philipino edition of Maxim magazine.

(Message edited by dubmeun4given on March 13, 2007)