Tondo

A dense district of Manila in the Philippines, and the one with the worst reputation. Harry places that reputation historically: crime rates rose in the 1970s and 80s, after independence, when an influx of migrants met widespread poverty. His own read, walking it, is that this is no longer the case — he calls it safe, and by the end of a day crossing seven districts, the most entertaining of the lot.

What Harry did

Walked in off the main road and deliberately got lost in the side streets. He was pulled into conversation constantly — men with prison tattoos behind a grille who turned out to be construction workers and fathers, kite-makers, children playing basketball, a wedding party that handed him repeated shots. A tricycle driver named Allen invited him into his home, five rooms shared between his family and neighbours, and showed him month-old babies; Harry asked them to name one after him and gave Allen 5,000 pesos for the hospitality and the hard work.

Street food

Tondo’s stalls are the part Harry rates highest, and what strikes him is that they are self-started businesses rather than jobs — people set up their own shop and the stalls sit dotted along the main roads. Everyone he spoke to was from Manila rather than an outside province.

What he ate, and what it cost: sidewalk cheeseburgers, better in his view than McDonald’s; a banana hazelnut waffle, cooked about five minutes a side on a double-plate press, which he rated the best he’d had; lemonade cut with Yakult; an ice cream made from every flavour in the cabinet with a Magnum on top, where the Magnum alone was 140; an ube milkshake; a cheeseburger from a sari-sari store at 35 pesos, from a shop trading since 1993 whose owner works from early morning until 10pm; a mango shake with boba at 60; and a beef shawarma at 100.

His verdict on the 35-peso burger: as good as any burger, so there’s little sense paying ten dollars at Shake Shack for the equivalent.

Practical facts

• Reached on foot from Valenzuela; the walk across Manila runs 27 km in total.
• Housing is shared and dense — Allen’s five rooms held his family plus neighbours — but had both electricity and running water.
• Poverty in Manila runs to 5.4 million families out of 25 million people, and the average Philippine wage is around $12 a day (from video – unverified).
• Basketball is played on the local court every Saturday and Sunday.
• English is spoken unevenly; several people Harry met spoke none.
• Street food is very cheap — burgers from 35 pesos, shakes 60, shawarma 100 — and stalls will let you eat first and pay afterwards.
• Vendors invest seriously in their businesses; one ice cream stall’s machine had cost 90k.

Harry’s tips

• Ignore the reputation and go — see judge a place for yourself. Harry rates Tondo the most entertaining district in Manila.
• Take the side streets rather than the main road. Every encounter he valued came from getting lost deliberately.
• If someone invites you into their home, go, and repay it properly.
• Eat at the sidewalk stalls over the chains — see try the street version of everyday services.
• If you’re handing money out, expect word to travel. Harry ended up followed and had to cut the day short.

Source

• Looking For Love in the Philippines! 🇵🇭 — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToCePYZJ_q8
• $1000 USD Street Food in a Philippines Hood 🇵🇭 — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxKlOQfpmOY