"Live the language. Have Fun Safely. Be responsible."

Malate, Bohemia Manila

      Malate is known for its bohemian atmosphere.  It is probably the most democratic night spot in all of Metro Manila.  It is the place where the rich and the poor mingle.  And the real problems of the city are never masked.  Here you see street children sell you flowers or snacks as you try to reach your favorite bar or dance club.  Some bars are even next to shanty houses.  It is also not uncommon to attend street parties in Malate and find yourself dancing with street children or even fish ball vendors.  As one TV host said, “Only in Malate, you never see this in Makati.”  You are never far away from the reality.  Notwithstanding my pet peeves about Malate, it is still my favorite place to party in the city.  Being so close to reality, it makes partying more honest.  You have got to dance and celebrate because who knows, the next coup d’etat might pop up and it will be all over soon.  Being in Malate is like being in a Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel.  It’s Magic Realism. Maybe, I’m just romanticizing the place.  I’m looking at Malate through rose-colored glasses.  Ah, who cares?  Sometimes too much thinking can make you mad.

Live life and be safe!

Tips for People Going to Malate

Wear anything you like, particularly something that reflects your personality.  Be quirky.  But whatever you wear, don’t wear the following because some bars might not let you in. This happened to one of my friends one time.

Don’t wear shorts or anything similar to it, unless they’re sexy stylish shorts and you’re a girl or a drag queen.

Don’t wear slippers or sandals, the kinds that you wear at home.  Make sure that they are stylish sandals, the kinds that you would wear in a party. This applies whether you’re a boy, a girl or a drag queen.

If you’re a guy and you want to wear sleeveless shirt to show off your muscles, or you just simply feel like wearing sleeveless and you don’t care if you’re lean, then make sure to bring a jacket or a t-shirt to wear in case you want to go to some restaurants.  Some restaurants or cafes, notably Cafe Adriatico, don’t allow men to come in wearing sleeveless shirts, no matter how good they look.  It happened to me once.  Of course, if you’re a woman or a drag queen, you can wear sleeveless shirt in restaurants. 

For god’s sake, don’t wear jewelry.  This is not the place to show off your bling bling.  It is not only foolish because someone might snatch those sparklers off you, but it is also a fashion crime.  Only drag queens and recently crowned beauty queens are socially permitted to wear jewelry in Malate.  And anyway, you’re not just supposed to wear one piece, but you have to wear so much jewelry that people might think you’re an electric light post.  Fake jewelry is better than real. Anyway, no one cares.

If you will take a taxi home, make sure to talk to the driver first before riding.  Tell the taxi driver where you want to go, be very clear that you want him to use the meter.  Make sure he agrees first before you ride.  If you’re with a friend, ask your friend to write down the taxi I.D. (it is written on the side of the car) or the plate number.  Most taxi drivers are very honest but it pays to be careful, especially if you are a foreigner.  

And it is okay to tell the taxi driver to stop driving if he refuses to use the meter.  Just make sure you get off at a well-lighted place. Always get in and out of a taxi in a well-lighted and crowded place, no matter where you are.  Plus, choose a reputable taxi company, like R & E, EMP, MGE and E & E.  These taxis are in yellow and green colors.

Go to Malate as a group. It’s fun when you’re with your friends.  Only habitues of Malate go there alone.  That’s because they already know so many people there that it is easy for them to run into old friends. 

Finally, if you’re the type of person who likes to go home early, Malate is not the place for you.  Everything starts in Malate at 11pm.  In fact, in the bars where I go, 11 pm is just the time for people to start thinking of going out or not.  Come early and you’ll just be bored to death.

Unleash the Naughty Beast

Every Halloween, my friends and I would go to Malate to celebrate this peculiar holiday.  Sometimes we are brave enough to wear costumes. This year, we didn’t have time to prepare so we just came up with something simple. We went for the military look.  Basically, we all wore combat green.  It was simple but it worked. 

This was a particularly special Halloween for my friends and I because it was the first time in a long while that all of us were together again.  Last year, we were all busy with work that we didn’t have time to paint the town red.

Halloween in Malate this year was no different.  The streets were filled with fascinating, if not weird, creatures.  Oddly enough, not many people dressed in the traditional Halloween costumes like ghosts, witches, vampires or anything ghoulish.  Most were dressed in more outlandish attires.   Several people were dressed in drags, trying to look like their popular divas like Madonna or the ever popular Diana Ross.  I saw some men wearing cowboy outfits.  The waiters of one of the bars in Malate were dressed like American Indians (or to be more P.C., Native Americans.)

Like always, Malate was littered with men and women wearing costumes with wings.  There were people wearing butterfly wings and angel wings.  This year, one bar actually sold butterfly wings to people.  Probably meant for those who didn’t have time to rent or make their costumes. 

However, there were those who chose to wear something out of character.  For instance, I was introduced to a woman (the name I could barely remember) who was wearing a white bunny outfit.  She was wearing something white, similar to a bathing suit with a bushy bunny tail on her tush.  On top of that, she had two big bunny ears stuck on her head.  She reminded me of Reese Witherspoon in the film Legally Blonde or Renee Zellwegger in Bridget Jones’s Diary.  Although this woman’s bunny costume wasn’t as good as those in the two aforementioned films, her costume was hilarious nonetheless.  

I was told that she was your typical yuppie on regular work days.  She usually wore formal attire.  She usually had her hair tied and she acted very professionally.  But that wasn’t so apparent that night as she strutted (or should I say hopped) the streets of Malate.  I guess it was all right.  After all it was Halloween, the perfect time to unleash the naughty beast in all of us.