Introducing Manila

Metro Manila (Filipino: Kalakhang Maynila), located on the island of Luzon, is the Philippines' national capital city. With a population of around 24 million people, it is the country's smallest administrative area but the most populous, accounting for no less than 37 percent of the Philippines' GDP. It is the country's administrative, corporate, educational, diplomatic, and entertainment hub, a large metropolis with massive social contrasts that may even outnumber those in Latin America and are expressed in urban landscape contrasts.

Metro Manila is often considered a difficult city to explore due to major traffic jams and a reputation for insecurity in comparison to other Southeast Asian cities, but in fact, the contrasts are precisely what make the city a great destination for both the most spoiled and the most adventurous travellers.

Expect local traditions and behaviors to vary from your own, as they do in the Philippines. Locals in Metro Manila are more advanced than those in the countryside, but they should anticipate traditions, attitudes, and circumstances that may irritate first-time tourists.