3 Top Shopping Places around Metro Manila
0, June 10, 2009
Whenever people travel outside their country, they always ask where they can buy any kinds of stuff for the cheapest price. This practice is the same wherever you go. I myself would often ask first which is the best place to shop and then ask afterwards which places are the cheapest. Bargain is relative of course. Not only to the place but also as to the product. Sometimes things may seem cheap but it may be because of the material. There are some that are indeed less expensive but the quality is still top notch.
In Manila, there are many places where one could go where he or she could buy a lot of items at a discount price. Foreigners however should be warned as some of these places are not exactly easy to go to. Some people would argue that the stress of going to these places may be too much that the ensuing savings may not be worth it. Still if you think you can handle it, here are some places where you could get a bargain.
1) Divisoria Area/ Divisoria Shopping Mall- Perhaps there is no mall that has more cheap goods than the Divisoria Shopping Mall right at the heart of Manila. The area is indeed full of bargains but none of them could supplant the prices of Divi Mall. The prices here are unbelievably low and they can go lower still when you buy them in “bulk”.
When buying in Divi Mall, you are almost always asked if you will buy a bulk order. Now, do not be surprised. They’re not actually asking you if you want to buy a box of mugs or a whole crate of pencils. Bulk really means a few small boxes like 5 small boxes of pencils or even 5 pieces of lighters. That’s basically bulk in DiviMall talk so do not worry. Ask what bulk exactly means because you might wind up buying in bulk anyway.
Just to show you how cheap the items are here, a normal gel pen in a bookstore would probably cost 12 Pesos. Here, in Divi Mall, if you buy a box of pens, one pen would wind up costing 2.50. Yes, you read that one right. 2.50 Baby! That’s exactly how cheap these items are and that is why the mall is so unbelievably full.
The whole Divisoria Area is just a sea of people. The area is comprised of several malls and smaller stall areas. The area is composed of Divisoria Mall, Tutuban Mall, and 168 Mall. The streets are unbearably full and it would be impossible not to touch anyone. Believe me, you will be pressing against people just like everybody else.
Going to this area however is very difficult. Because of the amount of people in the area, traffic going to and coming from the area can be absolutely horrendous. There are other ways to go here however and the fastest way is to take either the LRT Line 2 or LRT Line 1 to Recto. After that, you can ride the jeepney to Divisoria and you will probably still have to walk a few meters because of the traffic. The best way would be to park your car somewhere before Recto (Araneta Center in Cubao) would be ideal and then take the LRT.
Shopping here is so cheap but it is advisable that you come early. As the day wears on, more and more people arrive and it will be much harder to go around.
2) Greenhills Shopping Center: For a lot of people from the B-C crowd, Greenhills Shopping Center is the ultimate shopping destination. This place earned the reputation through constant bazaars during the Christmas Season. It’s actually quite funny bcause what used to be a seasonal thing became a regular thing with just different titles attached to it. For example, the bazaar was used to be during the Holdays only and therefore there were banners that read “Christmas Bazaar!”. This stretches From November through January. After that it’s the “Valentine’s Bazaarfrom February through March. Then there’s the Summer Bazaar from April to June. Followed by the Mid-Year Bazaar which stretches till September. Lastly there’s the Halloween Baaar that ends in November. The cycle is then repeated.
Absurd as it may be, nobody is really going to complain about this. Hell, where did you hear anyone complain about a bargain anyway?
They have a lot of products on sale here. They have high quality furniture as well as figurines for display. This should make mothers come in droves. If that doesn’t do it, then perhaps there is the jewelry area that is full of pearls from the South. This has been the constant destination of my mother ever since I can remember. While we are out looking for T-Shirts and belts as well as novelty items, my mom would usually find an excuse to drift towards the numerous pearl stores lined up in one of the farther corners of the shopping center.
Greenhills Shopping has become somewhat of a tradition during Christmas time. A lot of people really do their shopping here. While it does not match the low cost of Divisoria, it is by far more convenient than the latter. Divisoria often leaves people feeling harassed and this is why Greenhills offers a much better location especially for female shoppers. If one gets tired, one can just walk a few meters away from the bedlam and have a nice cup of coffee or have a hearty meal. If you’re not into shopping much but your companions are, you can just watch a movie and wait for them to finish up.
3) Tiendesitas – Coming out of Nowheresville in the early part of this decade is Tiendesitas located right smack in the intersection of Pasig, and Quezon Cities. The design of the place is very much inviting. Outside, it looks like an overblown hut and true to form, it does look like one gigantic kubo. However, this hut is separated by areas and you can buy almost anything there if you go to the right places.
There is a place for antiques, for fruits, agricultural stuff, pets and of course clothes. The clothes area is especially unique. Tiendesitas is generally an open air shopping center but the clothing stores have their own separate small rooms that are airconditioned. One can go in and choose the clothes that they want to buy in the comfort of an air conditioned room. The clothes vary from everyday clothes as well as corporate and office attires.
The Pets area is one f the highlights of Tiendesitas. Aside from the usual animals such as dogs, cats and hamsters, there are also exotic animals being sold here such as snakes, tarantulas and turtles. You can also bring your pet dogs and cats here and have them cleaned and groomed.
Tiendesitas is relatively cheap compared to when you buy in department stores. There is a lot of variety and one can have a great time choosing different things to buy. The antiques area has a lot of old records as well as antique money bills and coins. It is virtually a collector’s paradise and every turn you make would provide you with something old yet special.
These three are definitely the best places to go to if you want to go shopping around Metro Manila. They ffer different things and may have differences in terms of being bargain places but the experience of each place is special and one that you would definitely enjoy. Shopping in Metro Manila can be fun if you know where you want to go and know what you want to do. You cannot go wrong with these places.
