Mention Manila to most people and you get the reaction they normally reserve for Baghdad, Kabul, Wigan.

There are hassles aplenty here. This is a densely populated city of shantytowns and skyscrapers, and it is almost impossible to walk around. The intelligent solution is to take a luxury jeepney - a kind of stretch American jeep decked out in chrome and a fantasia of colours and messages - and tour the main districts: Fort Santiago, the Philippine Cultural Center, and the Makati CBD. The latter might sound like a drag, but it is where all the money and hedonism are concentrated and there are cool bars and restaurants spread around the Greenbelt Mall. At dusk, you can either linger on at Greenbelt or trip over to the new clubs and bars of Fort Bonifacio, aka The Fort.

So, Manila has all the city kicks anyone would expect. But it's got other layers. It was the Paris and the New York of the Orient in the 1930s and 1940s. If the Manila Hotel is faded and dusty nowadays, you can still get great cocktails and live music - and Manilenos are acutely aware of their past, and are cultured, friendly, intriguing people.

This city has been off the map for years. Bangkok gets the Asiaphiles, Hong Kong gets the shoppers, and the safety-seeking tourists head for nearby Australasia (while the Aussies come to the Philippines). But that's an advantage - cities with no obvious thrills excel in offering many; cities which have been left to find their own devices have the best home grown art, music, food and passions; cities not teeming with souvenir hunters are amiable and good value, too.

Of course, you'll probably be dropping in here en route to most people's version of the Philippines - the beaches, the coral reefs, the surf, the jungle... but don't take a charter flight direct to these obvious pleasures. Manila is waiting... and soon it will be "hip" again and boring.

runningman writes:
This is Asia's most Latin city, where the people are undoubtedly a bigger attraction than the architecture. And where, despite dark pictures being painted by some of its Asian neighbours, a vibrant cafe culture and nightlife arguably makes it more fun than any of them.

It's a great stopover on the way to some of the region's best beaches and the Economist recently ranked it as the world's least expensive city. Prices convert at a rate of one peso to one UK penny and are astonishingly low for most things. So there's a lot to like once you're past the run-down airport building (a new one is supposed to have been opening for the last year now). Worth a visit on anyone's Asian itinerary.