My First Time in Makati City

The year was 2017. My boss had ordered me to travel North to secure some documents for an important trip. The task was pretty simple: I travel to Makati City in the evening, secure the documents the following morning, then fly back to Cebu before the day ends. But that’s not what happened.

Due to some delays (some documents needed to be processed for days), I ended up staying longer than expected. For most people, this doesn’t sound very special. For me, however, a true-blue Cebuano who has never been to this part of the country, this was an amazing opportunity to explore, discover, and learn.

The city of Makati is unlike any Philippine city that I’d been to. Aptly called the financial and industrial center of the Philippines, Makati City is home to some of the country’s biggest and most lucrative businesses. Everything is big in Makati. Like, seriously. From skyscrapers to roads to parks, Makati City is a model city that most Philippine cities can only hope to become.

So imagine my excitement (and fear) when I learned that not only was I flying to Makati, but I was also staying there solo for more than a day!

My company got me a red-eye flight, which I liked, because I didn’t want to miss my very early appointment the next day. Actually, the plan was to just stay at the airport until daybreak before I get on a cab and head to my destination. Here’s me writing on my mini journal while waiting for my flight. Thank you Xerxes for this!

As expected, the plane was half empty. All passengers were free to choose a seat but were encouraged to sit close to the front. We all ended up staying near the front.

Upon arrival in Manila, this was what greeted me – a completely empty baggage section. During my many travels through this airport, I had never seen it look this empty before.

So, long story short, I got to my destination at around 7 am and was done by around 9 am. Everything went smoothly, but I had to wait for a couple of days for the approved documents to be released. Since this was a matter of life and death for my boss, I had to be there to personally pick them up and bring them all back to Cebu.

My next appointment was scheduled at around 8 am two days later. That means that from 9 am of the first day, I was free to do whatever I wanted. And that was exactly what I did.

First thing that I did was explore the streets of Makati on foot. Unlike in Cebu, the sidewalks here are wide and nice. I actually quite enjoyed my longs walks for the next two days.

An entirely new experience for me was the underpass. Instead of skywalks (which are everywhere in Cebu), pedestrians crossed via these interconnected underground tunnels. And they look amazing!

Let me remind you that this was back in 2017. Way before I was able to take my first international flight. The skyscrapers were truly mindblowing. In Cebu in 2017, the very tall buildings were probably only Crown Regency near my house and a couple more at the Cebu Business Park.

Of course, I checked out the famous malls in the area. I marveled at how similar and at the same time different they were to Cebu malls.

Reminds you of the old lagoon at Ayala Center Cebu, doesn’t it?

That’s me during one of my ‘quick’ walks around Makati. Our admin officer had asked me what I was doing and this was what I sent her. Haha.

One of the most gorgeous things I liked about this part of Makati was this raised walkways along the roads. I believe they lead people straight to train stations but I never saw and heard one. But, they look lovely, nonetheless.

View of the sky-walk and the 4-lane street below.

Jollibee. A fitting reminder that this was still in the Philippines.

Another one of those gorgeous high-rises in Makati City. If it weren’t for the jeep, you’d think this was somewhere in South Korea.

Two days later, I was finally able to secure the documents. Now it was time to head back to Cebu.

Here’s one final look at this familiar scene at the airport.

Like my flight going to Manila, I took a similar flight going home. On the plane I got a chance to take a look at the magnificence of the capital. Indeed Makati (and Metro Manila) are lovely.