When travelling to the Philippines, most of the people usually fly into Manila. Being the capital of the country it is an obvious choice. That is what I did as well. Tourists/travellers usually dislike Manila and would tell you to get out as fast as possible from it, but I really enjoyed my time there. So what is special about this place?
For a night out one should go to Poblacion which a new and hip area with loads of pubs and bars. For a longer walk, it is worth to visit the biggest park in the city – Luneta Park. Every evening and especially on the weekends it is full of locals who come here to have a picnic and just enjoy themselves. After the park, it is an easy walk to Manila Bay and the baywalk. Discovering that area is also worth it. 
Intramuros
A large-scale historical area in the centre of the city. This is from where one should start his/her trip to the Philippines. The country has such a diverse history so in order to understand Filipinos and their culture it is important to get familiar with their past. The Philippines was a colony of Spanish Empire for 333 years and later on been under American rule as well. Both of these times have influenced the people and country a lot. I was lucky to take part of a Carlos Cedran Walking Tour in Intramuros. The tour is pretty much a theatrical performance with a deep focus on the history and is really informative. I enjoyed it a lot!Makati, Ortigas and other cities
During my stay in Metro Manila, I was staying in a business area of the city called Ortigas Center. The area is really clean and with new fancy tall buildings. Same goes for the district next to it – Makati. To be fair, then Metro Manila is actually a combination of different cities. In the centre situates Manila and it is surrounded by cities like Makati and Ortigas. You do not really notice the difference though as Metro Manila is one big “city” with more than 12 million people. For a night out one should go to Poblacion which a new and hip area with loads of pubs and bars. For a longer walk, it is worth to visit the biggest park in the city – Luneta Park. Every evening and especially on the weekends it is full of locals who come here to have a picnic and just enjoy themselves. After the park, it is an easy walk to Manila Bay and the baywalk. Discovering that area is also worth it. Transportation in the city
One word – Jeepneys. Some random public “buses” which go around the city. Even locals might not know which jeepney is heading where. There are no schedules or timetables. True fact – Jeepneys are actually Jeeps that Americans left to the Philippines after they left the country after the war. Locals decided to pimp them up and use as a temporary public transportation system. Guess what – the “temporary” system still works 60 years later. Other than Jeepneys it is also possible to use sky train/ metro which has a few lines across the city. Taxis and applications like Uber and Grab with their really affordable prices are also used frequently. Traffic in Manila is absolutely crazy though. People spend hours and hours commuting from one side of the city to another.Food
Food in the Philippines is really diverse in general. Reasons from their history again. There are many fast food chains and restaurants for decent prices in Manila. They are using a lot of different meat in their dishes.