Manila's makeover

New infrastructure projects make it easier to navigate this bustling metropolis and discover the growing crop of creative districts

- TAMARA HINSON

Manila hasn't always been the easiest city to explore, something Coldplay would attest to. In January 2024, when the band performed here, lead singer Chris Martin was so shocked by Manila's traffic that he sang an impromptu ditty about its congested roads.

It's true Manila can seem chaotic, particularly in neighbourhoods like Binondo, the world's oldest Chinatown - a place where jeepneys (beautifully painted buses cobbled together from vehicles abandoned by US soldiers) dodge wooden handcarts, but that's part of its charm.

In reality, there are cities with worse traffic, and Manila is also becoming much more accessible these days. The Philippines Department of Tourism introduced Manila's first Hop-On-HopOff (HOHO) bus in 2023. Stops include the National Museum, and the Binondo and Intramuros districts, and there's a slick dedicated website (philippines-hoho.ph) and an app. There are also plans for a new Philippine national railway service, which will connect downtown Manila with Laguna, Quezon and Camarines Sur, known for its palm-fringed beaches.

Greater connectivity is also occurring off-road. In October 2023, United Airlines launched new San Francisco to Manila flights, while in November, Hong Kong-based Greater Bay Airlines' direct flights to Manila took to the skies. In late 2023, Cebu Pacific increased flights between Manila and Sydney to five times a week, and last month, Philippine Airlines added a third weekly flight between Manila and Toronto.

There's a new international airport on the horizon, too - in 2028 the New Manila International Airport is scheduled to open in Bulacan, 30 kilometres north of the capital. It will have an initial capacity of 35 million passengers annually, with a target of 100 million passengers a year once complete, and is intended to provide a much-needed solution to the capital's air traffic congestion.