I love this place, even if there's not much to love about this place at all. It's really a mall…read morethat's meant as a stopover for commuters who take the MRT, so expect to find mostly food places more than anything else. For commuters, malls such as Alphaland are really convenient. If you're stuck during rush hour, it's better to get a meal first before braving the masses and the crazy MRT lines. On a hot, face-melting type of day, you can "take refuge" at Alphaland to cool your body down for a bit. If you're just bored and killing time, there's a good Booksale here, a Japan Home Center, a National Bookstore, an Office Warehouse, and some small, tiangge-like places that sell cheap clothes, shoes and accessories. This place has two convenient stores, too! There's a Family Mart and a Mini Stop. Take your pick. On the third floor you can find a modest food court. There are also days when they have some sort of food festival happening on the ground floor, and you can expect to find Filipino delicacies (i.e. Ilocos empanada) and other food kiosks reminiscent of those you would find at a Banchetto. Aside from being a commuter's refuge, on top of this mall is a pretty spacious events place (the Alphaland Tents), which I've gone to on one concert. It opens up to a rooftop viewing deck as well.

Look, being a commuter is no joke in this country. Hell, transportation in general is really hard…read morearound here. Whether you're driving in your car or riding a train to work or school, chances are you're out of your mind stressed from the train delay or the traffic or the claustrophobic interiors of the MRT or the CRAZY AS ALL HELL MOTORCYCLE DRIVERS ON THE HIGHWAYS. I just had to put that last part in all caps because there's absolutely nothing that gets my goat more than CRAZY ASS MOTORCYCLISTS. Whenever I'm driving I just want to stick my head out and scream at the top of my voice, "STAY IN YOUR DAMN LANES!!" Oops, this review turned into a bit of a rant. I digress. Anyway, since I don't have my own car, I commute to Ateneo from my home in the south, and let me just say that Alphaland is a blessed gift from the heavens. I board the Magallanes station and get out at Cubao, so having Alphaland attached to the Magallanes station makes life so much easier. When I'm running late and can't grab breakfast at home, FamilyMart or Ministop is waiting for me at the Alphaland groundfloor so I can throw my meager student's allowance at them so I can get properly caffeinated for the day. Rush hour blues when I'm coming home from school? No worries, I can eat dinner in Subway, or eat a muffin at Goldilocks, or browse through books in Booksale. They even have a Japan Store and a small National Bookstore area - perfect if ever I'm in the need of a few last-minute stationary supplies. Alphaland is definitely a commuter's mall - not really a mall to shop or do stuff in, but a stopover mall to rest your weary traveling bones.

ROX is basically an outdoor lover's playground. Three floors of serious gear, an indoor climbing…read morewall that goes up multiple levels, and everything from bikes to hiking, camping, snow, and motorcycling essentials. The brand mix is solid, Birkenstock, Allbirds, Reef, Billabong, Roxy, Columbia, Garmin, Camelbak, New Era, Nike, Fox, Deuter and more. It's rare to find this range in the Philippines, which makes this place feel like a real destination, not just a store. Even if you're not shopping, it's fun to walk through and explore. If you're into the outdoors, this is the kind of place you could easily lose an hour in. Great value coming here

One day, I decided that I wanted to try Rock/Wall Climbing so I wrote it down on my bucket list…read more After a few days I started googling places that had Rock Climbing gyms. I found really good ones but they were in Quezon city, a bit far from me. Fortunately, I found one that was just a few minutes away. I found out that R.O.X., a one stop shop for anything outdoors, had Rock Climbing facilities. What's great is that their shop is in the heart of the city: The Fort, and they are just in Bonifacio High St. They're literally inside a mall. How convenient! So I skedaddled to their Rock Climbing facility and signed up for a class. The thing was, there are no classes. There's just a quick briefing about the activity, plus a few tips. A few warnings and advices later, I found myself with a harness, a wall to climb, and zero experience. The coaches were very friendly and supportive. They guided me at the start and when I got the hang of it, I just found myself at the top of the wall tired and sweay. When I was done, I had climbed three walls; one easy, one intermediate, and one difficult. The learning curve for rock climbing isn't that steep. All I needed was myself, the desire to learn, and I had fun with it. Rock Climibng was a bit challenging but it was a very awesome experience for me. I really had fun traversing the walls with just my arms, legs, and a harness for safety. It's a bit expensive though, but a good price for this kind of activity (considering that the coaches also help you if you're a beginner). You might spot famous rock climbers in this place! When I went there, I had the privilege of seeing one of the female Filipinos who climbed Mt. Everest. And yes, I was very intimidated and honored at the same time.

At the side of the street going to the Portofino exclusive subdivisions is a vast open field. The…read morefirst thing that will draw your attention when you go there is the picturesque view of Fernbrook Gardens. The second thing you'll notice is a group of young boys (and some girls) doing some kicking drills, playing soccer and having fun (despite the heat). I've always been fascinated with soccer (when it comes to sports, I am a late-bloomer) so I went ahead and approached the guy wearing a Youth Soccer Clinic jersey. Coach Art gave me a quick background of the Daanghari Youth Soccer Clinic, which is part-outreach program and part-summer camp. The Rotary Club of Daanghari-Alabang sponsors some kids from their adopted areas in Muntinlupa and trains them to play soccer in the hopes of opening scholarship opportunities for these kids from big universities in the country. And in order to raise funds for this project, the coaches hold soccer lessons for beginners (ages 4 and up) every summer. The fee (3,500 pesos) includes 10 sessions with a coach, and a set of uniform. They also encourage parents of children with special needs to enroll their kids. The fee is slightly higher because the training includes an occupational therapist and a shadow teacher for each child. Too bad my girls are too young to sign up for the soccer clinic. But I'm not; maybe it's not too late for me to learn to play the sport.

While getting foreign exchange at BDO in SM Makati, it was literally on the men's floor of the…read moredepartment store. Right next to BDO, their underwear department was right there. My friend bought underwear from SM, although they didn't have the style I wanted, I decided to go to Bench in Glorietta instead. I use to buy Bench clothing, bags, watches, etc when I frequently visited Manila in the past. In time, I grew out of it because styles and trends constantly changed and I wasn't visiting as much. It's been years since I've stepped foot in a Bench Store and they've really kept up with the current trends. Like one store display was filled with pet shampoo and conditioner. Another display had a lot of body scents, colognes & perfume. K-Pop stars as Ambassadors of the brand, and if you're on Netflix and followed Money Heist: Korea, they also have BT21 merch! You'll find a Bench Store practically everywhere in The Philippines, their fashion shows are pretty awesome too, they even have store locations in China.

Rude staff, especially in the cashier, because they were experiencing some technical issues at that…read moretime. The cashier personnel somehow transferred her feeling of distress to me and was more annoyed when I chose an online payment method. No one was helping each other in here. Really bad customer service.

Ive known them for so long. Good bike shop. Good owner. Lots of stocks . No frills no thrills bike…read moreshop in Makati.

Okay, let's get the obvious out of the way. Endless Bike Shop is located at the less fashionable…read moreside of Makati. It's open air, and it honestly looks like a streetside car repair shop. Now if you're the kind of biker that gets turned off by such details, then this isn't the bike shop for you. However, if you're looking for incredible value, a great selection of bike parts that's well within your budget, backed up by skilled mechanics, then Endless is the place for you.

A yearly affair of book aficionados, MIBF has always been a haven for many literature lovers…read more Overflowing with books on different topics -- philosophy, literature, linguistics, etc -- the crowd are almost always thick, but they the euphoria never dies down. A variety of genres and publishing houses, plus book signings here and there, Manila International Book Fair is definitely an event to check out. Bibliophiles, unite!

For those asking, the Manila International Book Fair is an annual literary smörgåsbord, which is…read morenow on its 36th year. I only started coming here the last two years or so, and it gets much better with every year that passes. Seriously, there seems to be more book sellers, more choices, more people, and now there's even a tiny food section for booklovers who need sustenance after a long day of ooh-ing and aah-ing and credit card-swiping. My lobster's been going here every year since he moved to the city, around seven years ago, and he's seen this fair transition from only the big sellers like National Bookstore and Powerbooks, to including smaller sellers that cover not only the usual paperbacks, but also selections for schools - and even antique ones for the real connoisseur.

Columbia Sportswear does sportswear, but more like outdoor sports like skiing and camping. Camping…read moreis not really my a sport in my opinion, but my wife disagrees with me as she doesn't see it as relaxing but more of an exercise. Anyway, in this store they sell footwear, headgear, camping equipment, outerwear and skiwear. Their skiwear is actually their speciality and they are the largest american seller of ski apparel. But since only Mount Apo has snow and no skiing slopes, it's best to go here to buy your footwear and outdoor cloths and jackets when you want to go hiking. As with any other store in SM aura this place has more staff than customers in the store, so you can really take your time trying out different shoes in different sizes (this is super important for hiking shoes) and walk a few minutes around the store to try them out. The staff is very accommodating.

Like the name says, you'll find plenty of equipment designed to help you survive at SOE- Survival &…read moreOutdoor Equipment, whether it's for surviving the great (and not-so-great) outdoors, or the urban jungle. I call it the "ultimate man-cave" because it's here you'll find many, many kinds of sharp objects - knives, and yes, swords. The knives are mostly the more practical blades they stock, but there's also the flashier, more-for-zombie-apocalypse kind of swords and machetes. You won't find any guns, though, but you will find all the accessories for gun carrying, maintenance, and enhancement, meaning, there are pistol holsters, concealed-carry holsters and bags, bug-out bags, tactical lights, and weapon cleaning equipment. That's all good for "doomsday preppers". If you're not into that, you will still find the usual camping necessities like compasses, MREs (Meal, Ready-to-Eat vacuum-packed food), paracord, protective eyewear, survival knives, flashlights, head-mounted lights, the "Lifestraw" that can literally filter drinkable water from ANY source, no matter how foul, and a few odds and ends that will please almost any outdoor aficionado. Collectors of movie and military memorabilia will like SOE as well. Remember the knife that Jack Bauer, Kiefer Sutherland's character in the hit series "24"? They have it in stock, and the brand is known as "Microtec"; made of titanium with a blade, be prepared to pay a premium for this awesome knife that is Jack Bauer's. There are also some self-defense implements like pepper spray, collapsible batons, tasers, and other non-lethal personal defense tools. Check out the webpages of companies like Cold Steel and you'll see what I mean. And before this review gets way too long, you should know about SOE's "manly" offerings (ok, more like "big kid", but cool nonetheless), which are the 1/6th scale collectible action figures. They're mostly only for display, but if you ask nicely, the owner of the figures might be open to parting with some of them for the right price. You can see mostly rare, discontinued Military figures from world-famous HongKong brand "Hot Toys", but SOE stocks more of Hot Toys' movie action figures. Virtually all the Iron Man figures are there, alongside those from Christian Bale's Batman, and the Terminator, and Predator franchises. There's even some custom-made figures of Manny Pacquiao, FPJ, Dolphy, and Efren "Bata" Reyes(they're not Hot Toys, but made by a local sculptor)! All fully detailed and in perfect condition, you can ask which ones are "on sale". Also, if you're a fan of Japanese robots, there are also a number of classic robots from the cartoons we used to watch as a kid ("we" being kids of the 80s); Transformers, Voltes V, Mekanda, Mazinger... they're all there, and some are on sale. Another thing I should add about SOE is that their staff--the owners, actually, are friendly, always accommodating, and will gladly answer all your questions about their merchandise. If they don't stock something, they'll even point you to the shop that does. SOE is, by far, the ultimate source of all manly things, so if you're looking for something awesome for your dad on Father's day or want to give your favorite survivalist, outdoorsman, or collector something they'll really appreciate, you'll likely find it at SOE - Survival & Outdoor Equipment.