Whether you are getting active, going cultural or putting your brain through its paces, there are numerous ways to get out and meet people in Manila, even if it’s rainy season and that means doing so indoors. Try something new, join a club or take part in a class. When the rain starts, these options will make sure the weather is just keeping you inside, not away from the world.
Museum hop
Many a movie has seen strangers meet as they both stare into the depths of the same painting. So why not try a trip around the city’s museums – and there are plenty. The Metropolitan Museum of Art contains an excellent selection of Filipino art through the ages. The National Museum seeks to preserve and further its cultural heritage and natural history collections. For the out of the ordinary, try the Marikina Shoe Museum, home to former First Lady Imelda Marcos’ impressive shoe collection or Art in Island, Asia’s largest 3D art museum where you can pose inside famous art pieces.
Solve a mystery
Put your Sherlock Holmes hat on and accept the challenge. You and your fellow detectives will be left to your own devices in an unknown room, where clues, riddles and other pieces of evidence will help you get to the bottom of your conundrum. The immersive experience transports you to the heart of an imaginative mystery and the only way out is to solve it using both mental and physical prowess. Try Mystery Manila or Breakout Philippines.
Become a ninja
Manila’s first indoor parkour facility at Ninja Academy will have you jumping, freerunning, rolling, swinging, tumbling and flipping like a ninja in no time. As well as learning parkour, make a weekly Tricking date, which involves a mind-boggling combination of martial arts, gymnastics, break-dancing and capoeira, or join a rogue day to participate in parkour calisthenics. There are also classes in traditional Japanese swordsmanship, as well as the Academy’s signature Gauntlet Class comprising 30 minutes of circuit training and a 30-minute obstacle course challenge. You don’t get to become a ninja just like that.
Eye on the prize
Get your “Games of Thrones” on at one of Manila’s archery ranges. Compete with others for a bullseye. Target practice with a bow and arrow is more physically demanding than you might imagine, but is also great for mental fitness and improving focus. Choose from Kodanda Archery Range, Benel Archery and Gandiva Archery and Café, the latter is perfect if all the target practice has built up an appetite.
Bounce, baby, bounce
Aside from the more ordinary yoga, dance, core and combat classes available at Fitness Exchange, the gym has launched Urban Rebound, a fun fitness class that makes use of Kangoo Jumps – those springed shoes popular in the 1990s originally designed for athlete rehabilitation. Swap your sneakers for the bouncy boots and enjoy their protective powers.
Bring the outdoors in
When it’s too wet and slippery out, bring your activities indoors. There are plenty of indoor wall-climbing options including pioneering climbing and fitness center Power Up. As it’s wet outside, there’s no harm in getting wet inside too at one of the city’s pool complexes. ACE Water Spa is one of the best with bubble pools, jet pools, rain acupuncture, waterfalls, hot herbal pools, kids area, steam and sauna.
Boardgame bonanza
Not keen on being too active? When it’s wet outside there are few things better than hunkering down in a cozy café with some friends and a good boardgame. At Ludo Boardgame Bar and Café, you’ll find a whole host of games, ranging from the classics to the seriously obscure. The café also gets pre-released exclusives and sells new games for you to take home. Waiters not only bring good food and drinks to the table but also great knowledge of the many games on offer.
Have a laugh
It’s often said that laughter is the best medicine. But for what – a rainy day? Try it and see if it helps. Silly People’s Improv Theater (SPIT) feeds off the audience so you can get involved in some of the group’s laugh-out-loud shows, which are totally unscripted and unrehearsed.
Cook off
A rainy day marks the perfect occasion to get in on some kitchen action. So why not take a cooking class to improve on your skills for the future. Whether it’s Filipino food, another Asian cuisine or something more exotic, there is lots on offer. Chef Sylvia Renoso Gala offers a range of classes including ramen workshops, where you learn to produce the quintessential Japanese noodle dish, while Heny Sison Culinary School and The Maya Kitchen offer lifestyle programs to suit food enthusiasts in an international range of culinary styles.
Salsa with that?
Throw on your dancing shoes and head down to Chihuahua Mexican Grill for some salsa. The Salsa Project’s weekly dance-off encourages Latin dance enthusiasts to shake off the wet weather on the dance floor. Try out the evening class first, before taking to the floor to show everyone what you’ve got and dancing the night away.
Get creative
98B, home to a collective of artists, is built on the concept of creative collaboration, whether it’s sharing ideas or getting involved in discussions. Describing itself as a “multi-disciplinary art laboratory” it’s a great place to present your art – there’s plenty of space as well as a library, a kitchen and a shop, and to meet artists – be they designers, curators, writers, musicians, filmmakers, activists, educators, researchers, performers, architects, students or anyone else.
Featured image: Raleene Cabrera, Where’s the rain? via flickr CC BY-ND 2.0
Slider image: Benson Kua, Storm Over Makati via flickr CC BY-SA 2.0
