Divisoria, Divisoria, Divisoria, Di-vi-so-riaaaaaaaa!
The heat, the dust, the noise--I am indeed in Divisoria--and my first time at that. Clad only in shorts, a plain black shirt and my trusty keds slippers, I braved the infamous streets of Manila to have me a taste of haggle shopping--Divisoria style.
Thanks to my Mom’s amazing instinct for bargain finds, I was finally brought into the world that is Divisoria. And since my dad wasn’t on hand to drive us to Divisoria, we opted for the 25-minute LRT ride from Katipunan station all the way to Recto. As we got off Recto station, we got on a jeep going to Divisoria.
Like I said, it was my first trip to the place and I was unsure whether those tales about robbers and thieves from manong jeepney driver really helped at all. He could probably tell we’re new in the area so he told us all those stories as a warning--but instead it kind of freaked me out. Scratch that--it freaked the shit out of me man!
Finding the place wasn’t really hard. After a mere 10-minute jeepney ride, and a five-minute walk from where we got off, we finally made it to Manila’s well-known refuge for bargain hunters and punters alike--168 mall.
I was reminded of what Henry (our tour guide in HK) told us before about the name of that mall, 168: these are the three lucky numbers in Chinese numerology;6 meaning always and 8 meaning lucky and 1, well, uhm, my short attention span kind of got in the way.
True to its name, the mall probably brings good luck to sellers and buyers alike. Well, I’m not really sure about the sellers though, but for us, I’m pretty sure we got a really good end of the deal--what with all my mom’s bargaining skills and being one of the most kuripot mom I ever knew. She was able to make tawad with nearly everything we bought! And with almost eighty (and then some) pesos off the original selling price of the items, I know we definitely got a good buy.
It would be a crime not to mention all the hot Chinese boys I spotted while shopping. Yes. I can multitask! Look Ma, I can find a good bargain and spot really cute boys at the same time! And I am not embarrassed to admit it! Vaket va? E sa gwapo e. They’re probably the kids of those Chinese businessmen at 168 (duh).
Towards the end of the day, it was downright retail-overload I started feeling dizzy--not to mention the heat and the crowd and everything else (I get kind of claustrophobic at times). But it was still a pleasant experience nonetheless.
So kids, for plans of going to Divisoria for your holiday shopping I suggest you drop by the place early on--particularly during Monday mornings cause that’s when it’s really not that jammed with other shoppers.
Here’s a photo of one of the girliest pair of shoes I ever had, just one of the many stuff I bought from Divisoria:
Thanks to my Mom’s amazing instinct for bargain finds, I was finally brought into the world that is Divisoria. And since my dad wasn’t on hand to drive us to Divisoria, we opted for the 25-minute LRT ride from Katipunan station all the way to Recto. As we got off Recto station, we got on a jeep going to Divisoria.
Like I said, it was my first trip to the place and I was unsure whether those tales about robbers and thieves from manong jeepney driver really helped at all. He could probably tell we’re new in the area so he told us all those stories as a warning--but instead it kind of freaked me out. Scratch that--it freaked the shit out of me man!
Finding the place wasn’t really hard. After a mere 10-minute jeepney ride, and a five-minute walk from where we got off, we finally made it to Manila’s well-known refuge for bargain hunters and punters alike--168 mall.
I was reminded of what Henry (our tour guide in HK) told us before about the name of that mall, 168: these are the three lucky numbers in Chinese numerology;6 meaning always and 8 meaning lucky and 1, well, uhm, my short attention span kind of got in the way.
True to its name, the mall probably brings good luck to sellers and buyers alike. Well, I’m not really sure about the sellers though, but for us, I’m pretty sure we got a really good end of the deal--what with all my mom’s bargaining skills and being one of the most kuripot mom I ever knew. She was able to make tawad with nearly everything we bought! And with almost eighty (and then some) pesos off the original selling price of the items, I know we definitely got a good buy.
It would be a crime not to mention all the hot Chinese boys I spotted while shopping. Yes. I can multitask! Look Ma, I can find a good bargain and spot really cute boys at the same time! And I am not embarrassed to admit it! Vaket va? E sa gwapo e. They’re probably the kids of those Chinese businessmen at 168 (duh).
Towards the end of the day, it was downright retail-overload I started feeling dizzy--not to mention the heat and the crowd and everything else (I get kind of claustrophobic at times). But it was still a pleasant experience nonetheless.
So kids, for plans of going to Divisoria for your holiday shopping I suggest you drop by the place early on--particularly during Monday mornings cause that’s when it’s really not that jammed with other shoppers.
Here’s a photo of one of the girliest pair of shoes I ever had, just one of the many stuff I bought from Divisoria: